“David, take your shirt off,” Brook teased me.
“Governor, I’ll have to apologize for my friends’ behavior. I think they’ve had a beer too many,” I said.
Luckily, the governor was a good sport. He and I talked football, and I caught him up on my season. The governor then wanted to hear about my recruiting trips. I found him easy to talk to and that I liked him as a person. His wife was funny and told stories on Kurt. Yep, we were now on a first-name basis. I got really interested when they told me funny stories about my grandpa. I hadn’t known that my grandpa had taken Kurt under his wing and mentored him when he first got started. Then the conversation got serious.
“David, your grandfather meant the world to me. I’ve had conversations with your grandmother, and if you ever need anything, I want you to call me. Even if I can’t help you directly, I might know who to get you in touch with. I’m not just saying this, I mean it. I would never have gotten to where I am today without Davey Dawson’s help. I hope you feel the same way because I might need you to help me on the campaign trail,” Kurt said with a smile.
“I don’t know what good I would do, but all you have to do is ask,” I said.
We settled in and watched the game. The good news about having the governor sit next to you was that we were actually served, instead of having to run down drinks or food. I switched to Coke, but the girls continued to drink free beer. I was glad to see they didn’t go overboard but were having a good time.
In the second inning, the Cubs hit a home run to take a 1–0 lead. There was a seventeen-mile-per-hour wind blowing out, and anything hit towards the outfield just seemed to hang forever. The Cardinals answered in the fourth by putting up two runs, but their lead was short-lived. The good guys hit three homers to take a 5–2 lead. In the sixth, the Cards stormed back with the long ball to come within a run at 5–4. The Cubs hit two more home runs to take a commanding 8–4 lead into the ninth. The Cardinals showed why they had won the division and with a swing of the bat added two more runs.
The game ended 8–6 in a long-ball fest. The Cubs were built with Wrigley Field in mind. If they could continue to hit home runs, they would win the series.
There was no hurry to get out because everyone had stayed until the end. They had a photographer, so we had him snap some pictures. I had one taken with Governor Higgins, Bev Mass, and Senators Dixon and Caster. The senators had attended my uncle’s wedding. I gave the photographer my email address so I could save the photo.
◊◊◊
After the game, I was hungry and asked Jack Mass for a recommendation. Jack invited us back to his house. He called in an order for Chinese as we left the ballpark. Traffic was nuts, but we followed Bev and Jack, who knew the shortcuts, so we were soon at their Lincoln Park home. I’d seen it before, but Brook and Tracy wanted the tour. The Mass home was as spectacular as I remembered. It was a credit to his company, which had built it.
“How do you know David?” Brook asked as we sat down to eat.
“David dated our daughter, Harper,” Bev said. “Funny story. My husband met David when Jack had to bail Harper out of jail. Needless to say, he wasn’t a fan at first.”
“I’m surprised David let her get arrested. He’s usually very good at sweet-talking the police,” Tracy said.
“This was right after filming his movie. David had had his head shaved, and the tattoos still looked real,” Jack said while shaking his head. “I’d been led to believe he was this All-American boy. When I show up, here’s this freak who I think my daughter’s dating to pay me back for some perceived slight in her childhood. I expected he’d have a motorcycle waiting to take her home on. He was my worst nightmare when I first saw him.”
“My dad has said those same words many times,” Tracy revealed.
“I thought your dad liked me,” I said.
Tracy rolled her eyes.
“My mom LOVES him,” Tracy said. “But Dad, not so much, as far as boyfriend material goes.”
“What is it with moms liking him? I think they like him a little too much,” Brook teased.
“I know what you mean,” Jack said with a smile.
“Admit it. You wish David was still dating Harper,” Bev said in my defense.
Jack just threw his hands up in defeat.
◊◊◊
On the ride home, Brook quizzed me about my grandfather and how he knew everyone. I admitted that I was just getting to know the governor. I then told them about how Davey Dawson had been a political force up until his death a few years ago. I explained how my grandma had made a point to introduce me to both political and business people at my uncle’s wedding. It seemed my grandma wanted me to follow in my grandpa’s footsteps and run for office someday.
◊◊◊ Tuesday October 13
When I arrived at school, a bigger crowd than normal waited by the front door. It looked like most of the football team was there. I walked up and gave them a confused look, but Jim simply grinned.
“Wait for it,” he said cryptically.
Then Mike came walking towards the front door from the parking lot. I looked at Jim and worried he might want to go another round with Mike for hitting on his girlfriend. When Mike made it to the front sidewalk, Wolf pulled out an old-school boom box.
“This song is for you, Mike,” Wolf called out.
I had to bite my lower lip when the old-school song by Naughty by Nature started—‘O.P.P.’ I was impressed when the team began dancing like they were a well-choreographed flash mob. They even knew all the words. It’s a song about being down about snaking Other People’s Property (well, they actually referred to a crude term for female genitals). The song actually condoned the practice, but the guys made it clear that the team had just put Mike on notice that if he went after anyone else’s girlfriend, he was dead. I was on board with the message. I was also on board with how they did it. My solution was to fight him. I think I was oh for two with that approach.
Mike’s face turned red, and he pushed through the team to get inside. Before we all followed him in, Jim stopped us.
“No one touches Mike first. If anyone does, they have to answer to David,” he said, volunteering me to be the bad guy.
I had a feeling they’d put the pressure on Mike to see the error of his ways, but if he threw the first punch, all bets were off.
◊◊◊
Throughout the day, I heard guys singing about Mike and O.P.P.
I’d never seen the team turn on someone like this before. The closest had been Bill Rogers when he came after Tracy. Boy, that was a blast from the past. I’d like to have another go at him when he got out of jail. I think this time would be different.
◊◊◊
Because of my concussion, I wasn’t allowed to work out with the team or go to the dojo. Bud Mason, my quarterback coach, thought it was a perfect time to video chat with him while we prepared for Homecoming and playing Springfield. Our athletic director must have had brain damage to set up this game because Springfield was one of the best teams in the state. They had lost their first game of the season to Bloomington, who we beat, but they had won all their games since.
Our game last year had been intense. Springfield was the eventual State Champion in the class above ours. From looking at their game films, we were in for a fight.
“You’re going to have to establish the run,” Bud said. “If you don’t, they’ll pin their ears back and blitz you right out of the game. I have some serious concerns about you having success passing. Their defensive backs are solid across the board. I want to show you three plays.”
He brought up the first one. It was against McNamara High, a solid school who was in Springfield’s conference. The play showed a wide-open receiver one moment, and a Springfield defender intercepting the ball the next.