“That was rude,” Sarah said after they had left.
I was more than a little pissed-off. If Harper didn’t want to be seen with me, I wasn’t sure what it meant for us as a couple. I would never have been so rude as to leave my friend and girlfriend to fend for themselves. I sure as hell would have made introductions.
“I need to take a walk,” I told Sarah.
“Do you want me to go with you?” she asked.
“Will you be okay if I don’t?” I asked. I didn’t want to leave her there on her own if she felt uncomfortable.
“No, I’m a big girl. If I get lonely I’ll text you,” she assured me.
I shook my head and got up and went to the pro shop. I was sure Dad would want me to look around for ideas they could use at his golf and tennis club. One thing I liked was they had a locker room manager. The locker room itself was very old-fashioned, but they had attendants to make sure everything was picked up and there were plenty of towels. Dad had shared with me that the women’s locker room constantly needed to be straightened up. I would bet that if they had an attendant, it would stay neater.
I’d had time to calm down, so I went to the President’s Room. A guy about our age had Harper’s full attention, so I figured she didn’t want me to interrupt. I did my usual introduction tour and went around and met everyone. Jack’s employees seemed to be nice people. Most of them had brought their families. I made a point not to identify myself as Harper’s boyfriend, just a friend visiting for Spring Break.
I was happy to see Ray, Harper’s best friend, was there with a date. I was surprised it was a girl.
“Hey buddy, how’s it going?” he asked me.
“Good, how about for you?” I asked.
“I’ve been better. David, this is Gail, a friend of mine. Gail, this is the David I was telling you about.”
I decided I really didn’t want to know Ray’s problems.
“Ray tells me you’re a great guy. Did you really do a movie?” Gail asked.
“Yeah, they tell me it’ll be released either late fall or early winter. I had a great time doing it.”
“Ray’s jealous,” she shared, to his discomfort.
Ray was into acting and I could see where he would like to do a movie himself. Dinner was announced and I let them go to their seats. Harper and her family led everyone through the buffet line. Bev, Harper’s mom, gave me a probing look when I wasn’t in line with Harper. I just gave her a blank stare and turned around to leave. Sarah headed me off.
“Don’t do something you’ll regret. Give Harper a chance to explain,” Sarah advised.
All I could do was think of Jenny Wesleyan and how she had treated me. Everything had been fine when it was just Jenny and me, but as soon as people in her circle came around, bad things happened. Was I being oversensitive? I had to admit, until I talked to Harper I would never know. I ended up eating with Sarah, and the guy Harper had been talking to was seated next to her. They seemed to be getting along very well—too well, in my opinion.
When dinner was over, Sarah went up to the main table and told Bev we would wait in the lobby. Harper was still in a deep conversation with her guy friend. Fortunately, Sarah left me to my own thoughts as we waited. Twenty minutes later, Jack, Bev and Harper found us.
“Where were you all night?” Harper asked me.
“I didn’t want to interfere with you catching up with your friends.”
“You’re so thoughtful. I’m lucky to have you,” Harper said.
I didn’t know how to answer, so I just let her lead me to the car. I was appalled that Harper hadn’t even bothered to track either Sarah or me down all night. I would have at the very least checked to make sure my friends were doing okay. Bev noticed my not being happy, and Sarah shook her head. When we got home, I begged off, saying I needed to get some sleep for tomorrow. I left everyone talking in the kitchen.
I went downstairs and called my Uncle John. I explained to him what happened.
“Let me summarize,” Uncle John started. “This was the first time you have gone to Harper’s home and the first time meeting her friends. You told me how the Wesleyans treated you. Will you let me offer an alternate possibility?”
“If it keeps me from wanting to break up with Harper, I’m all ears.”
“What kind of vibe did you get off the girl who approached Harper?”
“My gut reaction was I didn’t like her, but ...” I started.
“Stop doubting yourself. One of the things people need to do is pay attention to their gut more. A good example is if you feel you’re in danger, you need to pay attention. Too many victims talk themselves out of what their gut warned them about. It’s the same with not liking someone, or better yet, liking someone. How many times have you heard someone make excuses why a friendship or relationship won’t work? Anyways, enough of me getting on my soapbox. If your gut told you the girl was trouble, doesn’t it make sense Harper would try to protect you? Has she ever not introduced you to someone before?”
“Well, no, but what about the guy?” I said.
“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”
“Uncle John, help me out, please,” I almost begged.
“Could he have been a friend? Is it beyond the realm of possibility that Harper might have a male friend? Oh wait, wasn’t her best friend a guy? Who else do we know where they’re best friends and they’re a guy and girl? Hmmm ...”
“You weren’t here,” I protested.
“I’ll give you that one. Tell me, David, did it look like they were more than friends?”
I hate my uncle sometimes. If I had to make a quick decision, I would say there was a spark there. Would either of them ever do anything about it? I had no idea.
“So I was the best, most understanding, and perfect boyfriend after all,” I joked.
“Whatever gets you to sleep at night,” Uncle John shot back.
I decided it was best to hang up on him before I told him my true feelings about his advice.
Monday April 20
I HAD A NINE O’CLOCK appointment at the Sports Training Institute of Chicago, or STIC. Bo had had to pull some strings to get me in. All the Chicago-based professional sports teams had players who used STIC. They specialized in helping top athletes become even better. I was surprised when my dad showed up right before I had my appointment.
“You keep forgetting you’re a minor and you need one of us to sign contracts,” Dad reminded me.
I normally had Kendal with me. She had a power of attorney to be able to make decisions on my behalf. Since this involved medical-type matters, either Mom or Dad had final say. Dad and I went in and met the lady in charge of setting everything up.
“Here at STIC we use a Performance Training approach. It’s a scientifically based training program which is customized for each athlete. We plan to evaluate you this morning and then design a training program to help you be healthy, lean, and strong, so you’re able to perform at the highest level possible for your sport.
“What we plan on doing this morning is identify how we can best help you. I’ve read your medical chart, and you’ve been injured several times in the side and back area. Repeated trauma of the kind you’ve sustained can cause you to have those spots become problem areas in your overall development. We have a therapy which can show immediate improvement. I suspect this will help with your throwing motions for both baseball and football.”
“You’re right. My sides and back sometimes stiffen up. If you have something that’ll help, sign me up.”
“I think you’ll be impressed with the results. We’ll also be looking at your overall health and any medications or supplements you might be taking. Our goal is to make sure everything’s in balance, with the goal of making you the best athlete you can be.”
Dad stayed for my initial evaluation. I was taken through a variety of tests to assess any flexibility deficits, muscle imbalances, and explore underlying issues which might predispose me to potential injury. They then did an assessment of my body fat and the correlation to any possible hormone issues.