“You okay?” Jim asked.
“Yeah, they just made the mistake of pissing me off.”
They all had big smiles on their faces because they knew what that meant. I called the read option again.
“Down, Set ... Hut, HUT!”
I faked the handoff to Bert and made my read. The defensive end was crashing down on me again. I gave him a stiff-arm that Jim Brown would have admired. I continued around the end, and the cornerback was caught in no-mans-land. He decided to come for me, so I pitched to Mike. The outside linebacker wrapped Mike up, but he fought through the tackle and broke free. The safety made a shoestring tackle or Mike would have scored. I think he was as fired up as I was because I had never seen him run so hard.
Our next play, Coach Diamond called for the trap up the middle. I watched as Mike took on two defenders and put them on their backs. We huddled up.
“Damn Mike, leave some for me,” I teased him.
“They just piss me off so much.”
The two of us were determined to run Mt. Carmel off the field. We were leading 21–14 at the end of the first quarter. Mt. Carmel was moving the ball again when I finally talked Moose into letting me play defense.
We had worked on a blitz package where Tim and I would fill the guard-center gap and move Jim and Wolf a little wider. Most of the time we’d just drop back into coverage, but not this time.
“Z98! Z98!” their quarterback called.
He was pointing at us as we got ready to blitz.
“Ready, Set ... Hut!”
On the snap, the guard let Wolf go to block me. As a quarterback, I would rather have faced me than Wolf, because he’s a load. Wolf is also very fast for a big guy. Give Wolf a running start at you, and you’re going to have a bad day. Their quarterback had made the right pass call. He was going to pass to the slotback on a slant route. Wolf hit him just as he was bringing the ball back. I got free of my blocker and dove for the ball. Just before I got it, Tim scooped it up and ran it in for the score.
We were now up 28–14, and their starting quarterback was limping. By halftime, we had sacked him four more times, all without a penalty, and pushed the score to 35–14.
During halftime, I was stuck in the training room because they wanted to check out my chin. As I was being looked at, my dad came in. Doc Hasting, Coach Hope and my dad all had a discussion I couldn’t overhear. Dad came over to talk to me.
“They tell me they’d rather pull you from the game, but I told them not to,” Dad reassured me. “I know how much this means to you. Just don’t get hurt any worse, or you have to tell your mom.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
He left and Doc Hasting re-bandaged me.
Mt. Carmel came out the second half and got the ball. Moose pulled me when we didn’t see their starting quarterback. Their new kid was in over his head and promptly threw a pick-six, and we were up 42–14. That did it for Mt. Carmel. I never saw the field the second half, Mike put up two more scores, and we won 56–21.
DAD WAS WAITING FOR me when I got to the locker room. I took off my pads and he took me to the hospital. The plastic surgeon who had fixed my eye was waiting. Tom and Dad had arranged to have her put in the stitches. Cleaning the wound was the most painful part. She put eleven stitches in, four inside the wound and the rest closed closing the skin.
When I got home, after spending what seemed like forever at the hospital, I was able to take a shower and rest. I got a text from Tim telling me Mona was having a party tonight and had wanted to be sure I was there. I was still on edge, so seeing Mona sounded like a good plan to me.
GREG, ANGIE AND KYLE were at the house, so I went down to see them. Mom was making a celebratory dinner. Greg and Dad were in charge of grilling the steaks. Angie was making a big salad and baked potatoes. Mom had bread going in the bread machine and was doctoring up baked beans. That left Kyle and me to hang out.
I was sitting down in the living room when I saw him grab ahold of the coffee table and stand up.
“Mom, you might want to get in here,” I called out.
Kyle awkwardly teetered and then did this Frankenstein-like walk to me. His outstretched arms seemed to be helping him balance. He took three steps and tripped, and would have done a face-plant if I hadn’t been watching. I swept him up as he giggled.
“He just started this week. He was jealous because Mac’s been walking,” Angie told me.
For Mom and me it was the first time we saw the little bugger on two feet. Mom was in full grandma mode, and I was sent to finish dinner. I went and got Dad so he could see Kyle show off. Greg and I ended up cooking dinner. When it was ready, we all sat down at the kitchen table. It was great having everybody here.
“Kyle is growing like a weed. I miss him being around,” I said.
“Speaking of growing, how big are you now?” Angie asked me.
I looked scandalized. Mom caught on and scolded her.
“That is not appropriate dinnertime conversation, young lady.”
“I just wanted to know how tall ... you guys! That’s so bad,” Angie complained.
“I got measured this week. Did you want to know how round or long?” I asked.
“Please, tell us both,” Mom suggested.
“I’m six-four with a 32-inch waist and weigh 203 pounds,” I told them.
“I think Mom must have dated the milkman. You’re such a freak,” my brother teased me.
“Speaking of scandals, did you know Dad dropped me on my head when I was a baby?” I mentioned.
Dad gave me a look.
“If I’d known how he was going to turn out, I’d have dropped him a few more times,” Dad grumbled.
“See, he admits it. You need to be careful when he’s around Kyle,” I suggested.
“That’s nothing. Greg left Kyle at the park,” Angie told us.
“I went like 30 feet. He was never in any danger,” Greg complained. “What about when you tried to drown him in the tub?”
“I was teaching him to swim,” Angie shot back indignantly.
“It looks like we’re the only responsible ones, Mom,” I said.
“Not so fast, your mother got stopped for shoplifting when Greg was about Kyle’s age,” Dad said.
“It was actually pretty funny. I had one of those backpack carriers to haul him around in. I had a gift card for Macy’s and was shopping for baby clothes. As we were leaving the store, the alarm went off. The store’s security guard seemed to take his job seriously. He was getting ready to haul me off when we found Greg clutching a bunny. I must have bent down and he snatched it. They made me buy it because he had drooled all over it.”
“Don’t tell me that was Bop Bop?” I asked.
“Yep, that was the bunny you sacrificed to the baseball gods,” Dad said.
“I have to hear this one,” Angie said.
“David’s a die-hard Cubs fan. When he heard about the Billy Goat Curse, he asked Uncle John how he could lift it. Uncle John told him to get his favorite stuffed animal, and they would sacrifice it to the baseball gods. I came home to find Uncle John and David dancing around the grill with my bunny in flames,” Greg said.
“Remember Mom ruined the ceremony by turning the hose on us?” I said as I snorted.
“I was just trying to put out the fire,” Mom reasoned.
We needed to always remember the importance of spending time together. This evening was a great reminder of why I loved my family.
I DIDN’T GET TO MONA’S until about ten. I had availed myself of my brother’s professional services. My neck had tightened up from when they ripped my helmet off. I don’t know what all he did, but when he was done I felt almost human again. He had magic hands.
Mona was having her usual blowout. When I got there, everyone was feeling no pain, and the music was pumping throughout the house. A very drunk Pam greeted me.
“David!” she shouted, and then tried to have her way with me in the foyer.