“No one person can win a football game. Our team made a commitment to winning, and we’ve been working hard to get to this point. When we win, it will justify all our effort and the dedication my teammates put into the season,” I answered.
“Being the unquestioned star, it must be personally gratifying.”
I almost laughed. Bill had been named ‘Player of the Year.’
“If you haven’t noticed, our jerseys all say ‘TEAM.’ There’s a reason for that. If I shine, it’s because every guy on our team is working together to make it happen.”
On the bus ride home, I got a lot of ribbing about being the star of the team. Before we got off the bus, Coach Hope stopped us.
“I know it’s a Friday night. Remember you have a big day tomorrow, so get to bed early.”
WHEN I GOT HOME, IT was obvious Mom and Angie had been shopping. There were bags everywhere, and Dad and Greg were hauling more of them in from the car. I went up to my apartment to take a shower. I was surprised to find Piper and Emma there.
That brought me up short. While I was okay with what had happened this week, I didn’t have any plans beyond that. I was dating Peggy and had a date with Pam for tomorrow night. Plus, Tracy was showing up most Tuesday nights to relieve some of my built-up frustrations, so I had no real desire to date Piper. I still felt the freshmen were too young if I was being honest with myself. That was even after they made it evident they were growing up when they paraded around in lingerie just two days ago.
“Hey,” I said, as a teenage boy and a brilliant conversationalist.
“This isn’t an ambush. We’re babysitting tonight,” Emma told me.
They could both see I relaxed, and Piper seemed a little disappointed. I could live with that.
“You’re supposed to wear something nice since you’re going to your dad’s country club for dinner,” Emma said.
It sounded like a nice family dinner. I couldn’t think of the last time all of us had gone to a sit-down dinner together where it was just us. I walked into my bedroom and found Angie had picked out what I was wearing tonight. It was a suit and tie.
I went downstairs with Piper and Emma in tow. Angie wanted to show us what all she’d bought her family. She thanked me for the money to buy everything. This was news to me, but I saw my mom’s hand in this, so I was fine with it, in fact. I had told Mom to use her best judgment and just use my debit card during the holiday season. It took some convincing, but I explained they’d raised me for all these years, and what was mine was theirs. Mom was getting more comfortable spending my money. She never did anything I would question. If asked, I’d have said ‘yes.’
Angie then thanked me for the outfit she had on. I guess I’d bought her a sweater and skirt as an early Christmas present. I also had bought Mom the outfit she was wearing, and both Dad and Greg got shirts and ties. I was on a roll. How much damage had Mom and Angie done to my debit card?
Piper and Emma were feeding Kyle and Mac so the babies didn’t miss us as we snuck out the front door. We took Mom’s car and Greg, the jerk, called shotgun. I was forced to sit between my mom and sister-in-law in the back seat. Angie was in a playful mood and kept sliding her hand over and squeezing my knee. I would then have to remove it.
Dad led us to the banquet room, and I was surprised when all my teammates and their parents were there. The Booster Club was putting on a dinner-dance for us. I was happy to see the varsity cheerleaders were invited, as well as many of the support people. Alan and Gina were sitting with Jeff and his family. Lily was there and was looking a little out of place, so I went over to her.
“What, no date?” I asked.
“No. No one’s interested in me,” she scowled.
“How would you like to be my date tonight?” I asked.
Lily latched onto my arm. Dad and Greg were working the room, so I took Lily around to meet everyone. We finally made it to our table, and we had the waitstaff add an extra seat for Lily. Before the meal started, Mrs. Sullivan got up to speak.
“Thank you all for coming. The Booster Club would like to start an annual tradition, which is to have a dinner-dance the night before the State Football Championship game. I would like to introduce you to the Boosters ...”
She had each one stand and be recognized. Dad and Tom were the last two introduced.
“I would ask Mr. Dawson, Mr. Dole and Coach Hope to come up front,” Mr. Sullivan announced.
Once they were up front, Mrs. Sullivan went to an easel that was covered. I noticed that Jeff, my favorite reporter, was there with a photographer. The photographer got into position for Mrs. Sullivan to make her announcement.
“Last spring, I was approached by these three fine gentlemen with an idea to set Lincoln High apart. I told them if they could make the football program a success, I would help make their idea come true. With a lot of help from the community and the Booster Club, we’ve raised the funds necessary for the next phase of the project,” she said.
Mrs. Sullivan pulled down the cloth, and an artist’s rendering of the proposed Lincoln High Field House was uncovered.
“I met with the school board in special session today, and they approved to start building this spring. It is scheduled to be opened next August in time for two-a-days.”
Everyone stood and clapped. I thought back to the phone call I’d made to Coach Hope when I saw what Wesleyan’s facilities looked like. It was amazing that that had inspired so many to get us to this point. All my teammates’ faces had smiles. When they were done with the photos, I went up and hugged everyone on stage as I thanked them. I was happy to see my team followed my example. We made a point to personally thank each and every booster.
I don’t remember what we had for dinner, but the dance was a lot of fun. Lily was a good dancer. I pulled Mrs. Sullivan out to dance a swing number. After our number, several of Mom’s cronies snagged me to dance.
I was seriously thinking about taking ballroom dancing next semester. The dance girls had tracked me down; they wanted to make sure at least one boy was taking it. I had talked to Jeff and Alan. They weren’t supportive. I had Gina working on them, and she agreed to take the class with me.
Mom took me aside. She had a plan for something fun, and when she told me, I was on board. She sent me to execute my part of the plan, so I went and talked to the DJ. When the song stopped, I took the mic to address the crowd.
“I wanted to say a few words. Could I get the guys on the football team to come out on the dance floor?” I asked.
They knew me too well and were hesitant, but I soon had them all out on the floor.
“Since Mrs. Sullivan suggested we start new traditions, I thought I would start one myself. I think we need to have a mother-son dance. Could I get all the moms to join their sons?”
Once they were all on the dance floor, I continued, with my mom standing next to me.
“We’re a bunch of lucky guys to have such good-looking mothers. I think it would be a little awkward dancing with my mom, though. So, ladies, find a guy you’d like to dance with OTHER than your son.”
Mom made a beeline for Mike. His mom returned the favor and she was standing by me. We took the dance floor and the music started. It was the old classic, Me and Mrs. Jones.
We all laughed, and the moms all started hamming it up. I could tell my mom had clued them in. I thought a few of the guys were going to have a stroke.
I sang along for Mike’s mom’s benefit, making sure to direct the words to her.
She smacked me, so I just did the high school sway with her. When the song ended, the crowd clapped, causing the boys to blush even more. I took Mike’s mom back to him. I watched as my mom kissed his cheek. The poor guy was about to run off the floor when his mom grabbed him and made him dance the next song with her, so I danced with my mom.