Other plays that had a real chance for success were draws and trick plays where we enticed them in one direction and then went another. This is where we missed Mike. We could have tossed him the ball and had him run right, and I would fake left, but he could throw me the ball. Defenses rarely account for the quarterback once he has handed the ball off.
The only problem, as I saw it, was that film showed other teams doing precisely what we planned to do, and Unity seemed to beat all of them. I pointed that out. Coach Mason seemed to consider what I said, and then he told me he needed to review the films again. I trusted he would figure out what would work best.
◊◊◊
When I came home, Uncle John and Aunt Bonnie were in the kitchen talking to Grandma Dawson. I was surprised when I saw Uncle John and my grandma drinking scotch.
“David! Come here and give me a hug,” Grandma Dawson said.
“I’m her favorite,” I teased Uncle John.
“Don’t tell your dad. He seems to believe he’s the chosen one,” Uncle John said.
“So, is David really your favorite?” Aunt Bonnie asked.
“Sure, why not,” Grandma Dawson said.
I knew that would last until Greg showed up with babies for her to fuss over. I’d have my own soon to compete with my brother’s brood. We caught up on each other’s lives and were interrupted periodically as people came to get their smoked turkeys from our turkey hunt. Uncle John had picked them up from the butcher and brought them down.
Uncle John and Grandma told me about their talk with Caryn. Mom had taken them to look at the farm down the road from the Pearsons’. She’d told them about her research into its economic viability. The professor from State had said he thought egg prices wouldn’t decline to what they were prior to the bird flu epidemic. That disease had killed a lot of the laying chickens, driving up egg prices. This farm was an example of what happened around the country where the smaller farmers hadn’t been able to survive the loss of their chickens. The farm also had apple, cherry, and walnut trees that were cash crops before the farm failed. It had enough land for corn that could be used as chicken feed, and they also planted vegetables and melons.
“So, what do you think?” I asked.
“I don’t see how you can run something like this without help. Having animals to care for is a full-time job. Most of what’s done on a farm like this is labor-intensive. You’d need a manager who’s familiar with all the different aspects of the farm and is good at managing people,” Grandma Dawson said.
“I agree with Mom,” Uncle John said. “I expect you could do it cheap enough that it would be profitable, but it needs some TLC. When you’re talking about a farm, it can get expensive in a hurry. Your mom said the bank is considering auctioning the farm off. If that happens, they may break it up. Without all the parts, it wouldn’t be nearly as profitable.”
“If I did this, would you help me get it running?” I asked.
Grandma Dawson and Uncle John looked at each other.
“Don’t answer me now. Think about it,” I said and then smiled. “It would be nice to have my grandma closer.”
“You’re a manipulative little shit,” Uncle John said.
“Great-grandbabies,” I whispered.
Mom came in the house and had the grandbabies with her. She’d agreed to watch Kyle, Mac, and Nate while Greg and Angie threw their party. Aunt Bonnie barked out a laugh when I took little Nate from Mom’s arms and handed him to Grandma Dawson. My mom gave me a look that sent Duke and me to the living room to entertain Kyle and Mac while she made dinner.
They wanted me to play the DVD with me dancing on it. It only took me about five minutes to get them all wound up. Even Duke thought he could dance. Grandma Dawson brought Nate in and bounced him on her hip to the beat of the tunes.
I was teaching them the baby twerk when my dad came home. Little Mac was a natural at shaking her booty. I felt sorry for Greg because she would be a handful when she started to date.
“Come on, Grandpa, dance with us,” I urged.
I convinced Aunt Bonnie to video four generations of Dawsons dancing. I was sure Frank could use it somehow. Plus, I wanted to capture the moment.
Mom ended our fun when she called us to dinner. Grandma Dawson handed me Nate, and I gave her a one-armed hug. Mom had made mac and cheese—the homemade kind, not the stuff in the box. I liked it better when she baked it and put breadcrumbs on the top, but she didn’t have time to do it that way. I didn’t get it often on my diet, but I loved its creamy goodness. Mom had also made chicken nuggets and green beans. Looked like this meal was geared to the little ones.
◊◊◊
I drove the Jeep to State. Caryn had caught a shuttle bus at one of the hotels, and it took her to the airport. I would have to remember they did that twice a day. I would prefer not to leave my car at the airport. This time it was easy to find parking because most everyone had gone somewhere for the holiday.
The first person I saw when I entered Greg and Angie’s apartment was Luke Herndon.
“Hey, David. Congrats on being the Player of the Year.”
“Thanks, Luke,” I said as I looked around to see who else was here.
“I also wanted to thank you for making the call for my little brother. He was able to get accepted to Wesleyan for the spring. We had Damion Roth visit, and he’s a heck of a receiver. Mike said they’d picked up a running back and more linemen. It sounds like they’ll be good next year. You might have to watch out,” Luke said.
“How is everything for you, Magic, and Kevin?” I asked.
The three of them led our team my freshman year, and now all attended State on football scholarships.
“Magic got a lot of playing time at corner, and Kevin’s marked down as the starting middle linebacker. I’ll be in the mix at running back,” he said.
Their starting tailback was graduating. Magic’s opinion was that Luke hadn’t shown what he was capable of. He felt that Luke might simply be satisfied with the status of being on the football team and everything that entailed. My guess was he was chasing tail instead of focusing on football. I wondered if that was his little brother’s issue as well.
My brother rescued me.
“Some people want to talk to you,” he said.
“I’ll talk to you later,” I told Luke, not really meaning it.
Greg took me to the kitchen where we found Angie, Cindy, Suzanne, Beth, and some random dude. Beth had her back to me, so I snuck up, wrapped my arms around her, and kissed her neck.
“Hey … oh … David!” she cried out until she figured out it was me.
I spun her around and planted a serious kiss on her.
“Hey, that’s my girlfriend!” the random dude said.
“Dude, not cool,” Greg said.
I quickly let Beth go.
“David, this is Carl,” Beth said.
“This is the David you told me about?” Carl asked.
“Yes, this is the David I told you about,” Beth confirmed.
He gave me a hard look, and I just held up my hands. I’d only kissed her; it wasn’t like I’d bent her over the kitchen table and had my way with her. Everyone in the kitchen waited to see what would happen. Carl pushed past me and left the room.
“Carl,” Beth said with some concern in her voice, and then chased after him.
Everyone watched her leave and then turned to look at me.
“What did I do?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Suzanne said. “They did the whole ‘sexual history’ bit, which I believe is a major mistake.”