Hope everyone enjoys this next installment, again thanks for the patience, I have been very busy lately.
I ran out of the door and called Alexis immediately. I filled her in during the cab ride. She called ahead and booked me on the next flight home, which was taking off in two hours. Even with the short wait, I wouldn’t get in until early the next morning.
I arrived at close to four in the morning, the airport was not very crowded. I made my way immediately to where the dispatch area was and hailed a taxi. He drove me directly to the hospital dropping me off at the front door. I went in, asked for some assistance at the help desk, they directed me to Courtney’s room. As I got out of the elevator, I looked down the hall one way, then the other. I saw Mrs. Timmons sitting on a chair in the hallway, her head in her hands. I slowly began the long walk down to her, my stomach was in knots. As I approached her, she looked up and saw me, jumped up and ran into my arms hysterically crying. She held on to me tightly as the emotion shook her body violently. I was still holding on to her when Mr. Timmons walked out of the room to see what was going on. I reached over with one hand and squeezed his, his wife still crying uncontrollably. He stepped around me, gently pulling his wife’s arms from me.
“Baby, it’s ok. Let Brian go see Courtney, he has come along way.”, he urged with a smile.
She reluctantly let me go, wrapping her arms around her husband instead. He motioned with a nod of his head for me to go into room. I took a deep breath, set my bag on the chair and walked into the room. Courtney was lying in the bed, tubes and wiring all over her. She appeared to be sleeping comfortably, a content look on her face. There was a chair sitting right next to the bed, apparently where her Dad had been sitting. I pulled it out slightly, sitting down and leaning over the bed. I reached out and took her small, fragile hand in mine, once again the tears running down my cheeks. Mr. Timmons stuck his head in the door, speaking very softly.
“Brian, we are going down to get something to eat, we have been here all night. We will be right back, the nurse will be checking in from time to time.”, he said.
I had been sitting there for maybe twenty minutes, just holding her hand, looking into her face. One of the nurses knocked on the door and let herself in quickly. She moved around to the opposite side of the bed, her eyes scanning all of the equipment to make sure it was still properly working.
“I’ll only be a minute.”, she said softly, a weak smile on her face.
I got up and moved over to the window, looking out over the city. I couldn’t help but think to myself, all of these people, all of these cars, it’s just a regular day for them. In here, my best friend was dying, out there, no one cared. The nurse finished up, then turned to me again, once again trying her best to smile.
“You have to be Brian, I have heard a lot about you.”, she said.
“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Timmons are good people.”, I answered.
“Well yes, some from them. But most of it from her.”, she said, motioning to Courtney, “You’re all she has talked about since she got here, she adores you.”
“We have been through a lot together. She is my best friend.”, I answered.
“Well she should be waking up in a little while, I backed off the medicine a little bit.”, she said, patting me on the shoulder as she walked out.
I sat back down in the chair, once again taking Courtney’s hand, leaned back and closed my eyes, it had been a long night. I sat there for a few minutes, the sounds of the hospital behind me, until I felt her hand move in mine. I quickly opened my eyes, leaned forward slightly looking into her face. She slowly opened her eyes, blinked several time, then slowly turned in my direction. It took several moments for her to realize I was there, but slowly a soft smile spread across her mouth.
“Hey baby, how do you feel ?”, I asked gently, my hand brushing the hair out of her face.
“I’m …. better …. now.”, she whispered, weakly squeezing my hand.
I leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips, my hand softly stroking her cheek. The tears were pouring from my eyes, I felt so hopeless. She slowly lifted her hand, extended one finger and placed it across my lips.
“Shhhhhhh.”, was all she whispered.
I looked into her eyes, realizing that for the second time in my life, I was losing my best friend. First my Father, now Courtney. Even though I could see she was weak, her body overwhelmed by this terrible disease, inside she was still strong.
“Why aren’t ….. you at…. your camp…. today.”, she asked.
“I have to be here with you.”, I replied softly.
“No, you need… to…be there.”, she replied.
“I’m not leaving you again, never again.”, I whispered to her.
Even though she was pretending to be protesting, I knew she wanted me there. She smiled again weakily, then slowly drifted off back to sleep. I had just gotten myself composed again, when Mrs. Timmons walked back in. She placed her hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently.
“Does she know you’re here ?”, she asked, softly.
“Yes mam. She was awake for a few minutes.”, I answered.
“Good.”, she replied.
For the next three days, I never left the hospital. We all took turns, eating, sleeping and praying, one of us always by her side. Sunday morning, the doctors told us, it was only a matter of hours. He told us, he could ease off the medication, allow her to wake up for short spells, let everyone say what they wanted, one last time. Her parents nodded to him, he told the nurse what to do. I decided to leave the room, let Courtney be with her parents, I knew they had so many things they wanted to tell her. I walked down the hall, caught the elevator down to the first floor. I went into the cafeteria and got a cup of coffee and sat down at one of the tables. I had been down there for maybe an hour, when Mr. Timmons came walking in, you could tell he had been crying.
“She just fell back asleep. You need to go up there shortly, make sure you’re there when she wakes up again. She was asking for you.”, he told me.
“Yes sir.”, I replied.
As I got back to the room, I told Mrs. Timmons that her husband was down in the cafeteria. She told me she would go down for a minute, grab some coffee, then be right back up. I sat down in the chair, once again taking Courtney’s hand in mine. I had been there for maybe fifteen minutes when the doctor came back in, checking on her. I could tell from the look on his face, he was concerned. He looked over at me and smiled, doing his best to ease my pain.
“So you’re Brian Stevens huh ?”, he asked.
“Yes sir.”, I answered.
“How does it feel to be drafted in the first round ?”, he asked quietly.
“I would trade it all right now sir, to make her healthy.”, I answered.
He didn’t say a word, he patted my shoulder and walked out. As I looked back down at Courtney, I saw she was awake. She had this smile on her face, it was like the old Court, the smile I knew.
“I love you….Brian. And..I know…you meant that.”, she said in a whisper.
“I love you too Courtney, I always have.”, I admitted, between tears.
By now her parents had quietly walked back into the room, although I hadn’t realized it. I could see Courtney’s eyes begin to droop once more, I had so much more to say.
“Remember ….what I told you…the day..you left ?”, she asked, her eyes open wide again.
I nodded to her that I did, I saw a sudden cynical look cross her face. She weakly should her head back and forth.
“No…you don’t.”, she ribbed.
I closed my eyes for a second, just to make sure I had the words right, I had never really forgot them. I leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips, once again brushing her cheek. I looked directly into her eyes and I softly held her hand with both of mine.
“If you must go, then I wish you love. You’ll never walk alone.
Take care my love, I’ll miss you love.”, I answered, her eyes alive for the first time since I arrived.
I heard her mother begin to cry behind me, at that moment, I realized they had returned. They had been there the whole time, but it didn’t matter.
“You did……remember….. all this time……”, she replied.
“Yes, all this time.”, I responded.
“Brian, remember those words. Go, live your life…..but remember, you…will never walk….alone, I’ll be with you baby….I love you.”, she finished, exhausted.
She smiled weakly and pulled her hand from mine, wiping the tears from her face.
“Brian, I need….my Mom and ….my Dad now.”, she pleaded.
I got up from my chair and turned to her parents, both of them were in tears, the pain was unbearable. I walked past them and out to the hall, where I slumped down in the chair. I was out there for maybe twenty minutes, when I saw the nurses running down the hall in my direction. The pushed hard on the door and ran in, I knew, she was gone. Several minutes later, her parents walked out together, Mr Timmons supporting his wife. He stopped for second, looked down at me and smiled.
“We’re going to take her home now.”, he told me.
I went back down to the lobby of the hospital and called Coach Reed, it went through to voice mail. I left him a message, telling him what had happened. I hung up, just as Mr. and Mrs. Timmons were getting out of the elevator. They asked if I wanted to go back to the hotel with them, but I knew they needed to be alone. I thanked them, telling them I had to fly back to San Diego for practice tomorrow. I asked them to please call me and let me know when the funeral services would be, I wanted to be there. They agreed, they would do that, as soon as they could.
I arrived back on the west coast late that night, went straight home and fell asleep. When the alarm went off, it seemed as if I had only been asleep a few hours. I looked over at the clock, it was a little after eight in the morning. I got dressed and left for the practice facility, arriving a few minutes before nine. As soon as I opened the doors to the locker, a hush fell over the room. I walked in, past everyone to my locker, beginning to change for practice. Slowly everyone in the room began talking again, but at a much lower tone. No one said a word to me as we made our way out to practice. As soon as Coach Reed saw me, he pulled me to the side.
“Brian, I am so sorry for your loss. If there is anything we can do, please just ask.”, he offered.
“Thanks Coach.”, I answered.
I just went through the motions in practice for the next three days, my heart wasn’t in it. We were three weeks away from our first preseason game and I had taken a huge step backwards. As the days passed, my heartache turned to anger. Why had this happened, what was the purpose of following by all of the rules, only to have everyone you care about ripped from you. I was back at my hotel on Wednesday night when Alexis Clark called telling me she had my contracts in her possession, I needed to sign them as soon as possible. We set up an appointment for the following day at the practice facility.
I met her following practice on Thursday, signing all the documentation she had with her. She told me I needed to meet with both Cindy Taylor and herself later today after practice, concerning immediate investment and tax problems. I agreed to be at her office for four that afternoon. I went back into the locker room and got undressed, most of the team had already left the facility. As I came out of the shower, I noticed Josh sitting on the bench in front of my locker. As I walked over to him, he stood up, his arms folded in front of him.
“Hey Josh, what’s up ?”, I asked.
“Brian, I think we need to talk. Do you have a few minutes for me ?”, he asked.
“Sure.”, I replied.
“Look, I can’t begin to understand what you’re going through right now. I was thinking of you last night, about what you went through in high school losing your Dad. Now this with your girlfriend, I can’t even imagine how I could handle it.”, he started.
“What I do know is, you have spent your entire life to get to this moment in time. You are living a dream that every little boy in America thinks of in his lifetime. I know right now, you think it’s a nightmare, I would probably feel the same way.”, he continued.
“It seems that way.”, I answered.
“Brian, I watched you practice today, in fact a lot of people were watching you. Honestly, after what I saw today, if I had to make a snap judgement, I would cut you without hesitation.”, he said.
The last statement jolted me to reality, I had never been cut from a team, not once in my life.
“I can’t tell you how to handle what has happened. Honestly, I have no clue how I would react. I have been with my girlfriend Angie for close to eight years. I can’t imagine life without her.”, he added.
“Brian, you mentioned to me that your Dad and Courtney at different times in your life, were both your best friends. The only question I have to ask you is, if they were truly your best friends, would they want you to throw away everything you have worked for, to simply mourn them ?”, he asked.
“I don’t know Josh.”, I replied softly.
“Again, I don’t mean to come across as an asshole Brian, I really don’t. No one can tell you they understand what you’re going through, because they can’t. What I am asking you, is to turn it all to something else. Take the heartache, the sorrow, the tears, the lonliness and turn it into anger and passion.”, he asked.
“I just feel so empty Josh, almost as if I have nothing or no one to play for.”, I choked back.
“Play for your Father, because he would want you to. Play for Courtney because she would want you to. Play for yourself, because it’s what you have to do.”, he urged.
“I’ll try Josh.”, I answered.
He looked me square in the eyes, extended his hand and took mine, his grip firm and tight.
“That’s all anyone can ask of us Brian. That we try. Anything I can do for you, anytime, day or night, you call me.”, he offered.
“Thanks Josh, I appreciate it.”, I answered.
I left the facility a few minutes later and drove over to the agency’s main office where I had a meeting schedule with Alexis. I arrived thirty minutes early and was shown to the waiting room, where I sat down and tried to relax. I kept going over what Josh had told me, about what Courtney and my Dad would want me to do. I knew he was right, but it didn’t help. I just had this hole inside of me, one that I thought could never be filled. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Alexis came into the small lobby and asked me to her office. She was once gain, very professionally dressed in a beige dress with a matching high heels. She didn’t have a hair out of place. She asked me to sit down and she walked around her desk to her seat. She rearranged some papers on her desk, moving them aside, grabbing a folder with my name on the face. She reached over, pressed the intercom button on her phone, talking to her secretary.
“Would you please tell Ms. Taylor we are ready for her now ?”, she asked.
She sat down, opened my file and sorted out the documentation in front of her. Less than five minutes later, Cindy Taylor, who I had met during my first meeting with the agency came into the office. I stood up to greet her as she walked over.
“Hi Brian, it’s so nice to see you again. Congratulations on your new contract.”, she said, shaking my hand.
“Thank you Ms. Taylor, Alexis did a good job.”, I replied.
We sat down and Alexis began to give me my copies of my contract, a detailed description of my contractual obligations to the team, and finally the fee’s that the agency would receive for their management services. That was the most eye opening document of the group. If I played out my entire contract, the agency itself would take almost eight hundred fifty thousand dollars out in service fees. In addition, Alexis would be paid a one time, ninety four thousand dollar fee, immediately from my signing bonus.
What was intriguing though was the breakdown page of my contract. Their were numerous incentives built in to my contract, any of which, if I achieved could significantly raise my salary. I would receive a bonus if I started in over seventy five percent of games played in my first two years. If I was selected to the Pro Bowl, another bonus was achieved. If I ended the season leading the league in any category, another bonus would be paid. Although any of these goals were highly unlikely, they were there.
Lastly, but most importantly, was the financial breakdown on how the monies would be paid to me during the next few years. This is where Ms. Taylor came in, she was the expert on financial planning. She began to ask me a few questions, in order to see what needed to be done.
“Have you opened any bank accounts so far Brian ?”, she asked.
“No mam, nothing.”, I replied.
“Ok, we will get that done today, I will go with you.”, she started.
“In addition Brian, for now, I suggest we open an annuity, that way be can take a huge chunk of your signing bonus, invest it without paying the taxes now. You will be responsible for those taxes later, but after you retire and you’re in a much lower tax bracket.”, she continued.
“The annuity I have been using has out performed most stock portfolio’s over the last decade. For now it’s basic but it will work. As time passes, I will help you diversify your assets so your future is well planned. Too many players today, spend a decade in the business, they retire and they’re broke.”, she cautioned, “You have to watch your spending Brian.”
“I understand, I’m not one who spends much money anyway Ms. Cindy.”, I answered.
Alexis then handed me a check for two million dollars, it was staggering to look at a check with that many zero’s on it. Alexis then suggested I go with Cindy and begin the necessary arrangements I had to make. We stopped briefly at Cindy’s office, she grabbed her brief case and a few other items, we left the building and headed straight to the main branch of the largest bank in San Diego. Cindy was close friends with the bank president, who immediately welcomed us into his office. Cindy explained what she had recommended for me, he then began to prepare the right accounts. We opened a checking account depositing four hundred fifty thousand dollars as the initial deposit. The bank then wrote me thirty bank drafts in the amount of fifty thousand dollars each, which would be used to open the annuity later in the day. He also immediately issued me a credit card with a fifty thousand dollar limit. In addition, he gave me fifty thousand dollars worth of traveler’s checks to help me get settled with living expenses. I then endorsed the signing bonus over to him, business was concluded. We then drove over to the investment house Cindy had used for the past few years. They opened a one million dollar annuity immediately, making those funds non-taxable. We then placed the other five hundred thousand in a money market type account which could be moved around as needed, if and when the need came. Which that done Cindy drove me back to PSA and back to Alexis’ office.
“You guys are all done already ?”, she asked.
“Yep Alex, he’s squared away for now. Next is getting him into permanent housing, a vehicle and the basic necessities.”, she replied.
I thanked Cindy for all of her efforts, she gave me her card, telling me she would be in touch as soon as all of the paperwork became formal, giving me notarized copies. I sat back down with Alexis to go over a few more details. She informed me that my base salary would be roughly a little over three million dollars a year. I would get paid every two weeks during the season, my last check would come two weeks after the season was over. My two week paycheck would be roughly four hundred ten thousand dollars, I would receive eight of those per year. Any bonus money would be due after the end of the season or playoff’s, if we went that far. By this time of the day, my head was swimming in numbers, it was far too much for this small town boy to comprehend.
I had practice the following day, so I thanked Alexis and left her office, heading back to the hotel. I grabbed a quick bite to eat, cleaned up and went to bed about eight that evening. I slept right through until the alarm went off the next morning. I got up quickly, dressed and drove over to our training facility. As I drove there, I thought about what Josh had said to me the day before, I was determined to try and remain positive. I dressed quickly, and made my way out on the field, stretching with the rest of the team during warm ups.
For the first time, since I had been here, the starting offense went against the starting defense in one on one situations. As was customary Billy Huber started with the first group on offense. The drills were maybe twenty minutes in, when Coach Reed gave me the nod to take Huber’s place. As I entered the huddle and tapped Billy on the shoulder to leave, he gave me one of his patented nasty looks and growled.
“Watch that safety when you drag the middle rookie, they will take your head off.”, he said, pointing to the strong safety on the other side of the line.
The safety nodded to Billy and pointed to him as he jogged off the field. Now this was full contact drills, however with that said, no one was hitting all out this early in camp. I basically paid him no attention as I bent over into the huddle. Josh called several running plays, all away from me, so I had little responsibility other than to look for a “hot” read . A hot read was simply a blitzing linebacker, safety or corner on my side, that could come free untouched and run the play down from the back side.
I was maybe ten plays into my set when Josh called my number in the huddle.
“Ok guys, here we go. Strong left, shift right, Jet twenty post, X overload, on three.” he barked.
The play he called had three options available. I was the primary target. I would line up on the left side of the line, run twenty yards down the field, then break to an open spot in the middle. If I was covered, we had a running back circling out of the backfield on the right for a swing pass. We also had our left wide out running a streak or line pattern straight down the sideline. As we broke formation, I trotted to the line, I glanced into the secondary. They looked to be in a
two deep, or over and under package. What this basically meant was the two corners matched up man with the outside recievers, the safeties would cover anything middle level, with the linebackers picking up the swing routes.
Josh came to the line, he began his progression of cadence. If at anytime, he saw something he didn’t like, or a coverage shift, he could change the play by calling out “Kill, Kill, Kill”, then call an audible. Josh was well experienced, he was considered one of the top players in the league. He stuck with the called play, I came off the line well, no one made any contact. At fifteen yards up the field, the free safety crept up, noticing the back swing out. The strong safety stayed deep holding his ground. That left a ten yard cushion right in the middle of the field, which is where I cut and broke hard for. Josh saw it open at the same time I did, as I snapped my head back to the line of scrimmage, the ball was already airborne. Josh had thrown me open, I extended my hands, the ball was right on target. I snapped the ball from the air, pulling it quickly to my body, that was the last thing I remember. Seconds later, I was laying on the ground, my head spinning, a sharp pain in my jaw. Apparently someone had leveled me, I was completely unaware of who had hit me. As the fog began to clear, I heard player’s shouting at each other. The trainer’s were out there checking me, everyone standing around looking down or talking. I shook off the trainers and got up, getting my feet back under me. Josh was still jaw jacking with the safety who had leveled me.
“Chris, that’s chicken shit man. We ain’t three deep yet. You pull that shit again, we gonna have problems.”, he yelled.
“Fuck you Josh. I’m just letting the rookie know this is the big time. He can’t hack, let him watch from over there.”, he snapped back, pointing to the bench.
“Bullshit, you’re trying to help your boy Billy, because you know he can’t hack motherfucker.”, Josh screamed.
I stepped in between Josh put my hands on his shoulders and gently starting walking him backwards.
“It’s ok Josh, I’m fine man. He just taught me a valuable lesson. I will be ready next time, sorry I dropped it.”, I told him.
“Fuck him, Brian. That was cheap and he knows it.”, he answered.
We went back to the huddle and ran another succession of plays, none of which called on me to catch the ball. Finally we came to the red zone part of practice, where the offense was on the twenty and had three plays to score. We lined up for the third play, which was scheduled to be a double out to the left side, the running back on the five yard line, the wide out at the back of the end zone. I was lined up on the right side, my job was to take the free safety and try to get him to bite on me in the middle of the field. As Josh barked out the cadence, the defense suddenly shifted. The free safety moved to our left showing blitz, the strong safety, who had just leveled me came up and matched me one on one. Josh immediately recognized the mismatch.
“Kill, Kill, Kill. Double Slot Right, X Fade Right, Jet Left, 62 Combo on same.”, he shouted.
He had just changed the play. I would now take the strong safety hard to the corner, Josh would hang the ball up on one of my shoulders, whichever was opposite the coverage. Josh was still pissed about Chris laying me out.
The ball was snapped, the wide out posted in front of me at the five, I cut hard off his shoulder for the corner. I had the safety right off the cut, he was beat. Josh lofted the ball high for the rear pylon, I timed it perfectly went up and pulled it down getting both feet in bounds with no problem. I think Josh was more excited than I was after the score.
Josh ran into the end zone, slapping me on the helmet in excitement. He turned and laughed at Chris, who just moments before had taken a cheap shot at me.
“Hey Chris, next time you try to play at that height, maybe you better get some oxygen. But then again, if you can’t hack, the bench is over there.”, he laughed and pointed.
Three plays later, I beat Chris again, this time on the back end line dragging across. By now the veteran was livid, he was being embarrassed by a rookie. Coach Reed now yelled out to Billy Huber, who had been standing on the sidelines now for a good half hour.
“Huber, you better get in there now. Obviously Williams can’t cover Stevens. Let’s see if he can stay with your old ass.”, he growled.
Although Coach Reed had said nothing about the cheap shot earlier, this was his way of saying he knew what the two of them were up to, and he didn’t like it. I spent the rest of practice on the sidelines watching about a dozen more plays. Coach dismissed us, some players headed for the locker room, others began walking to the fans. I followed the latter, Josh was walking right next to me. He put his hand on my shoulder, almost like a big brother would do.
“It’s good to have you back Brian. You made some big league catches out there today.”, he said.
“Thanks buddy.”, I answered.
We reached the fench area as hundreds of fans were holding out items ranging from footballs, jerseys, pictures, and posters, all screaming for autographs. Josh was no doubt the fan favorite, everyone wanted his signature. Several people did hand me various items to sign, which I did so with a smile. Several people welcomed me to town, telling me they were excited watching me play. I thanked each of them individually, staying there until no one else had anything for me to sign. I looked around and the only two left out on the field were Josh and I. I tapped him on the shoulder, told him I had his pads, and began walking back to the locker room.
I showered and had began to dress by the time Josh came back in from the field. He walked past me and winked at me, pausing for just a second.
“You’re a class act kid. Never walk away and leave a fan unhappy. They pay your salary, without them, none of this is possible. Always be the last to leave, if you can. Good job, Brian.”, he said, softly.
The rest of the week passed quickly, after Saturday’s practice I decided to call Mrs Timmons, certainly by now, they had to have made final arrangements for Courtney’s funeral. I was driving back to my hotel when I called, her Dad answered the phone quickly.
“Hey Mr. Timmons, it’s Brian. I was just calling to see…uh, what are the arrangements… and when ?”, I asked.
“Brian, I was going to call you later today. I’m glad you called.”, he said.
“Remember that last time in the room, when Courtney told you she needed us, when you walked out ?’, he asked.
“Yes sir, I do.”, I answered.
“Well her last wish was…….”, he began, I could tell he was getting emotional.
“She asked that we not put her in the cold ground alone……she asked that we cremate her, that way she could always be with us, here at home.”, he choked out.
Once again, I felt the tears stinging my eyes, but I knew Courtney, and that made perfect sense.
“I understand Mr. Timmons.”, I replied, softly.
We should receive her ashes tomorrow or the day after. You’re welcome to come by here the next time you’re in town, if you feel like doing so.”, he offered.
“I will sir.”, I promised, hanging up.
I was torn about how I felt at that moment. I had wanted to say goodbye to Courtney, one last time. Even though seeing her in a coffin was not that last image of her I wanted in my mind, somehow I felt cheated. But if that was Courtney’s last wish I had to respect it.
We were off Sunday, had a morning practice only on Monday, we were done by noon. I placed a call to Alexis , but she was out to lunch. She called me back about an hour later, she had just received my message.
“Brian, what can I do for you ?”, she asked, pleasantly.
“Alexis, I was wondering if you knew anyone in real estate ? I was debating on what to do , but now since Courtney is gone, I doubt I will spend much time back home. Sooooo….. I guess I will need a permanent place here.”, I said.
“Brian, once again, I am so sorry about Courtney. I can’t imagine how you must feel.”, she said, sincerely.
“Thanks Alexis.”, I replied.
“Actually I do know someone out here who is in real estate. He got me my condo, I like him a lot, he is a no nonsense guy.”, she informed me, “You want me to call him for you ?”
“Yes, if you don’t mind.”, I asked.
“Not at all. By the way, how is camp going ?”, she asked.
“It’s going fine. I still have a lot to learn though.”, I answered
I had no sooner hung up with Alexis, when I received a call from Cindy Taylor telling me all of my paperwork was back and ready to be picked up. I swung by her office, picked up all of my papers and permanent checks. I drove down to the bank, rented a safety deposit box, placing all of the documents inside. On the drive back home, I once again decided to stop in and look for a new car. As I past the dealership, I happen to see a very nice Cadillac Escalade parked out front in the display area. I pulled into the dealership and parked, making my way to where a dozen or so of them were parked.
As I was peering into the windows of the different vehicles, a well dressed salesman approached me from behind.
“Nice aren’t they ?”, he asked.
“Yes, they really are.”, I answered.
The vehicles were absolutely gorgeous, but so was the sticker price, some of them coming close to eighty thousand dollars. No way I was going to pay that much for a vehicle. I had just gotten to the second row when I noticed an all black version, beautiful chrome trim, with a saddle colored, wood grain trimmed interior. He must have noticed my reaction to the vehicle, he quickly moved over to me.
“Go ahead, get inside, have a look.”, he offered.
I opened the driver’s door, and slid into the driver’s seat. It was a little tight, I began to reach under the seat for the adjustment bar.
“No, no. Right here, these buttons control the seats.”, he stated pointing to the side of the seat.
“This model has fourteen position front seats, with memory settings, all leather, French stitching. It has a ten speaker premium sound system with 5.1 surround sound. It has DVD monitors in the rear of both front seats. Built in GPS, phone and media center standard. Seats as well as the steering wheel are heated in this model.”, he started.
“This has a 403 HP, 6.2 Liter engine, with Magnetic Ride Control, which adapts to rode conditions. It’s quite a vehicle, none like it out there.”, he ended, “I could make you a great deal on this one.”
“I don’t know, that’s a lot of money.”, I said, pointing to the sticker.
“I could do much better than that, if you’re really interested.”, he answered.
We talked for a while longer, I asked him what time he was getting off. He replied that he would be there until eight that evening. I thanked him and told him I might be back. He gave me his card, his office and cell phone numbers on it. As I drove off the lot, I called Alexis again, this time she was available.
“Alexis, I don’t mean to be a pain in the ass.”, I started.
“Brian, that’s why I am here. What’s up ?’”, she answered.
“Well I just left the dealership, I was looking at a vehicle, but I’m not sure, it’s a great deal of money.”, I told her.
“Brian, you have agreat deal of money.”, she replied, laughing, “But I understand what you’re saying.”
“I have never bought a vehicle alone, I guess that sounds sad huh ?”, I stated, trying to hide the embarrassment in my voice.
“Look, I am leaving here in a few minutes, I don’t mind going with you, at least I can give you a second opinion.”, he offered.
“You don’t mind ?”, I asked, somewhat surprised.
“Brian, you just paid me almost one hundred thousand dollars, no I don’t mind.”, she replied.
She agreed to pick me up at my hotel in less than an hour. I drove back to the hotel, cleaned up a bit and was waiting for her as she pulled up at the front entrance. I climbed in the front seat, closing the door, thanking her once again for her time. As usual she was impeccably dressed in an all maroon business suit, stockings and heels. We drove over to the dealership, pulled in the parking lot and got out. The salesman from earlier recognized me from inside the showroom, he came out and made his way over to me quickly.
“Hi, this is my friend and agent Alexis, I hope you don’t mind , I asked for her opinion.”, I told him.
“Uh, no….that’s fine.”, he answered nervously, looking her up and down, then glancing at the new BMW we had drove up in.
“Show me the vehicle you’re talking about Brian.”, she asked.
We walked over across the lot to where the Escalade’s were lined up. I led her down the aisle to where the one I had looked at earlier was parked. I opened the door and she eased her way into the vehicle. She looked it over carefully, then turned to me with a smile.
“This is really nice Brian. Have you drove it yet ?”, she asked.
“No, not yet.”, I replied.
“Well, let’s drive it. See if it rides as well as it should.”, she stated.
“I’ll be right back with the keys.”, the salesman told us.
He hurried off in the direction of the showroom to get the keys. Alexis got out of the vehicle and stood next to me.
“If you like it after we test drive it, give me a wink. Let’s see how well I can negoiate another deal for you.”, she said, smiling.
The salesman returned, handing me the keys. I got in the driver’s side, Alexis climbed into the front as well, the salesman got into the back. As I followed the salesman’s predetermined route, he constantly pointed out the extra features this vehicle had in it. It had the Platinum Package, as he called it, which upgrade the interior by close to ten thousand dollars. I had to admit, this was a gorgeous vehicle, the seats were softer than most sofas I had sat on. The instrumentation package was so technical, it was overwhelming at first. The sound system was incredible, it had a total of fourteen speakers located around the cabin. I was just about hooked as we pulled back into the lot. The salesman got out, I handed him the keys back, he asked us to follow him back to his office. On the way back, he made a fatal mistake, one that I never noticed, but Alexis sure did, right away.
“You know, someone ordered this vehicle with just about every option available, but when it arrived it had the wrong color interior, it was our fault. So we had to order them another vehicle, you’re really getting deal.”, he stated.
Alexis tapped me on the shoulder and winked, at the time, I just didn’t get it. We moved inside to the salesman’s office, we were quickly joined by another man who was introduced to us as the general manager. He shook both of our hands, then turned to me sitting on the end of the salesman desk.
“So what do we have to do to get you into that vehicle today ?”, he asked, with a sly smile.
I hesitated trying to appear to be business savy, which was a joke, I was far from it. Alexis however, reveled in negotiating, it was her world.
“What you have to do is make us an offer we can’t refuse.”, she said to him calmly, with no hesitation in her voice.
“Well you know, this is not your ordinary Escalade on the lot, this has just about every option imaginable. You can’t walk on any other lot in town and find this car.”, he replied, smiling smugly.
“Yes, I know. It’s a special order vehicle you got stuck with. In addition, you’re not going to find many people walk onto this lot willing to pay eighty grand for an SUV.”, Ashley countered.
“Oh we will move it, sooner or later.”, he shot back.
“Well price it right and it will move tonight.”, she countered.
The two jawed back and forth for close to fifteen minutes. Alexis wanted him to throw out an opening price, he kept asking what we were willing to pay. Finally he saw he was getting no where with Alexis, he decided to play along.
“Tell you what, I’ll let you drive it off right now, tax, title and license for seventy eight, five.”, he offered.
“I bet you will.”, laughed Alexis, “But that isn’t about to happen.”
“Well then, where do you see the price coming in at.”, he said, sarcastically.
“More like sixty five.”, she said, no expression on her face.
“Sixty five ?”, he huffed, “I have more than that in the car.”
“Look, I tell you what, I bend a little. I’ll go seventy five even, but that’s my bottom line. I am breaking even at that number.”, he offered.
As I was sitting back watching these two negoiate, with my money, none the less, you could definitely see who had the upper hand. Alexis reached across and tapped me on the shoulder, I turned to her.
“Brian, at seventy five plus, I can get you into a BMW 7 Series, loaded. Let’s call the guy who sold me my 550.”, she offered.
I shrugged my shoulders, she pulled out her cell phone, scanned a few numbers then pressed dial. It took several minutes, but she finally was able to talk to the salesman she had dealt with.
“Hi Gary, this is Alexis Clarke, how are you ?”, she asked, “Good listen, I am here with a client, we are looking at a vehicle. What I am wondering is, what would it take to get him into a BMW 7 Series, basically loaded, and what do you have?”
She listened intently for a few minutes, no expression on her face. The salesman and the general manager were hanging on her every word. She finally wrapped up her conversation, tossing her phone back into her purse.
“Brian, for what they are asking here, you can get a Series 7, loaded for a few thousand more.”, she informed me.
“You’re talking two completely different vehicles Brian.”, the salesman chimed in.
I looked back at Alexis, I was not sure what I wanted to do. I think she sensed it right away.
“Look, let’s go over and look at the BMW, drive it, if you would rather the Escalade, we can come back tomorrow.”, she offered.
“Sounds good.”, I said.
Both of the men made one last pitch to sell us the Escalade, stating that they could probably go down a little more on the price. I thanked them, promising them I would keep it in mind. We climbed back in Alexis’ car, drove across town to the dealership she had bought her vehicle from. She quickly found her salesman, they greeted each other with a quick hug. She then introduced me to Gary, asking him to show me what he had available. I followed Gary down the aisles of vehicles, until we came to several 750 Li Models. My eyes immediately went to the Sapphire Metalic Black Model, with the low profile performance tires and the gorgeous chrome recessed wheels. I walked over to the driver’s door, opened it to find a champagne interior, trimmed in wood grain. As I slid into the driver’s seat, I was surprised to find how comfortable the seat was once I adjusted it back.
We took a quick test ride, I knew within the first block, this was one fine machine. By the time, I made it back to the lot, I wanted this car. We went into the office and Alexis helped me negoiate a really nice deal considering the stocker price on the car. I asked Gary if I could return tomorrow with a check, he agreed saying he would have the vehicle cleaned and ready to go.
Alexis dropped me off at my hotel, I thanked her for all of her help. I woke early the next morning, went straight to early morning practice, finished up then headed to the hotel. I called Gary at the dealership, he informed me they had completely detailed the vehicle it was ready to go. I told him I still had a rental, so there was no way I could pick up the car right then. He quickly offered to drive to my hotel and pick me up.
About two hours later, I pulled out of the dealership in my first new car. I went back to the hotel, called the rental service, telling them they could pick up their SUV at anytime. They promised to have someone over by five, which they did. That night as I laid in bed, I shifted gears and started thinking about a permanent place to live.
We started practicing twice a day the week before our first preseason game. I was getting my fair share of repetitions, but it was clear so far, Billy Huber was still the starter, but it was closer than he wanted it to be. One thing that greatly helped me, everyday after practice Josh would spend time with me explaining various coverages that were being used, showing me how to exploit them. He was basically showing me what he looked for when he scanned the field, if he could get me in the same frame of mind, it would make things a lot easier. Every day after practice, we spent at least an hour to an hour and a half, working on everything from basic route running, to knowing when to break off a route and adjust to the ball. One thing we practiced religiously was the back shoulder throw. Josh was good at it, add my height and jumping ability, it was next to impossible to defend. Several times during our extra sessions, I noticed Coach Reed watching from the large glass window in his office over looking the field. I’m not sure what he actually thought about what we were doing, he never mentioned a word to me.
We had our first preseason game at home in our stadium against Chicago, it was a sloppy game on both sides. I was in the lineup for a total of eleven plays, I had one reception for eight yards. I missed at least four blocking assignments, and missed a blitz pickup that resulted in a sack. I came out of the game learning one thing for certain. To play at this level, with the speed and size of the players, you had no time to think. If you weren’t prepared to instantly react, the opportunity was over.
The following day at practice, we watched the game film from the day before, then met with our position coaches and coordinators. I received my fair share of criticism, but it was well deserved, I had an awful game. We practiced hard the rest of the week, then flew to Miami on Thursday for our game that weekend.
We played somewhat better than week one, I felt I had improved somewhat on my blocking, I had three catches for a total of thirty four yards. I was still having problems adapting to the unbelievable speed of the game at this level. Several times after a catch I turned up field, it appeared I would have room to run. Just that quickly a defensive player would close the gap and make the tackle. I had a total of eighteen plays in all, but we still had lost two in a row. I knew it was only preseason, but I could tell no one was happy.
We arrived back home early Sunday morning, we had the rest of the day off. I got back to the hotel, took a short nap, then called home and talked to Ashley for close to an hour. It was during my talks with Ashley I would miss being home, sometimes I felt so alone here. I then walked down the block to the small restaurant , grabbed a quick bite to eat, then walked back to my hotel. I had just walked back in the door when my cell phone rang, I answered it right away.
“Brian, this is Alexis, are you busy ?”, she asked.
“No, I just got back from lunch.”, I replied.
“Something has come up, I thought maybe you might be interested. A girl who lives in the building has accepted a temporary job in Spain. She will be gone for two years, but she is coming back. She wants to keep her condo, she is looking for someone to sublet it until then.”, she started.
“She is very nervous about letting a real estate agent find someone, it’s a really nice place. She mentioned it to me, I told her about you, if you’re interested she would be willing to talk to you.”, she continued.
“It’s basically furnished, you wouldn’t need much, other than your personal belongings, maybe a few dishes or so. Anyway, that’s it, just thought I would throw it out there to you.”, she ended.
“Sounds interesting, I have even started to think about finding a place yet and honestly this hotel room is getting old. How much is the rent, do you know ?”, I replied.
“She is asking thirty five hundred a month, but I think you could get it for less if you’re really interested.”, she answered.
“I would like to see it, when would be a good time ?”, I inquired.
“I’ll go talk to her, then call you back.”, she responded, hanging up.
Thirty minutes later Alexis called me, telling me that I could meet with her neighbor today, she seemed very receptive. She also added that she would be leaving the country in less than two weeks, so she was going to have to turn it over to a realtor soon. I took down the address, cleaned up, dressed and drove over to the complex. It was a very nice area, all upscale units, mostly young professionals it appeared. The condominium complex was gated, and very private. It had it’s own large pool, spa and weight room. Every unit had two private parking spots, both were covered. I called from the parking lot to let Alexis know I was there, she told me to hang on she would be right down. I got out of my car, leaning against the side, looking around. Two young women were leaving the pool area walking towards me, both very attractive. They were both talking back and forth quietly, both looking my way. I heard a my name being called over my shoulder, I turned to see Alexis walking towards me. She was dressed in tight black shorts, a white tank top, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. This was the first time I had been around her in anything other than a business environment. I know I had to appear to be staring, but she was absolutely mind boggling. You could definitely tell she had been an athlete her entire life, the training showed. She had a small waist, strong shoulders and muscled arms. But her lower body was even more incredible. She had the best set of thighs I have ever seen on a woman. The definition and symmetry of her legs were amazing.
“Hey Brian, glad you could make it. Come on I will take you up to Jessica’s place.”, she said, waving her hand for me to follow her.
She turned and headed back in her original direction, I was right behind her. She looked as good walking away from you as she did coming towards you. She had a great ass, high and firm. I could tell she spent a lot of hours in the gym, this was a body that had to be maintained. I followed her up to the second floor of building two, made a sharp turn then down an open breezeway. As we passed unit number 204, she tapped on the door quickly and turned her head in my direction.
“This is me here.”, she stated.
I continued to follow her two more doors down until we reached unit number 208, the last on the corner of the building. She lightly tapped on the door, it opened quickly. A very small framed woman, who appeared to be in her early forties, stood in the doorway.
“Hey Jess, this is Brian Stevens, the guy I told you about.”, Alexis told her neighbor.
“Hello Brian, why don’t you guys come in ?”, replied the woman.
I followed Alexis into the condo, I closed the door behind me. The small entry hall led to a very large, open floor plan. There was a large main room, which was separated from the kitchen by a large bar area that had four stools on one side. The kitchen was extremely spacious, all the appliances were stainless steel.
“So Brian, Alexis tells me your new to San Diego. You play football here ?”, she started.
“Yes mam, I do. It’s my first year.”, I replied.
“How do you like it out here so far ?”, she inquired.
“I’m not sure really, I think I’m still homesick.”, I laughed.
She began to basically tell me everything that Alexis had told me about her situation. She worked for a large corporate giant, she was being sent to Spain to open a new office, staff and train the workers. She would be gone at least twenty four months, possibly a bit longer. She loved her condo, didn’t want to sell it, but basically she was in a tough spot. The condo board would not allow her to leave it vacant, but they would also have to approved any tenant she sublet to.
“Before we go any further, let me show you the rest of the unit.”, she said.
I followed her to the master bedroom which was huge and beautifully decorated, with an incredible master bath adjoining it. There were two other smaller bedrooms, one she had as a guest room, the other was an office. The unit was close to twenty five hundred square feet, it was extremely clean and well maintained.
“So what do you think ?”, she asked, as we made our way back into the main room.
“It’s very nice Ms. Jessica, I really like it.”, I answered.
“Please, no need to be so formal, call me Jess.”, she asked.
“Forget it Jess, this boy was raised old school, he is not like these young guys today.”, she laughed.
“Well if you want it, it yours, provided the condo board accepts you. I’ll need you to sign an agreement that if any of my furniture or appliances get damaged or destroyed, you will be responsible for them. The rent was going to be thirty five hundred, but I am fine with three thousand even, if you agree to stay until I return.”, she stated.
“That’s fine with me mam.”, I said, shaking her hand.
“Oh, I’m not sure you noticed but theres no TV here. I don’t own one, I never watch it. I do have the cable hookup right here, you will have to buy your own.”, she laughed.
“That’s fine Ms. Jessica.”, I replied.
“By the way, just how big are you ?’, Jessica asked
“Almost six foot seven, about two hundred sixty five pounds.”, I replied.
“Oh baby, the girls around here are gonna go crazy over you.”, she laughed.
We all went down to the main office for the complex and even though it was Sunday, there was someone taking care of the office. Jessica secured the necessary paperwork to present to the board on my behalf, we then walked back out to my car. I promised her I would drop the papers off the following day after practice, so she could get everything going.
“Wow, that’s a beautiful car Brian.”, she said, admiring my new purchase.
“Thanks Ms. Jessica, Alexis knew the dealer, she’s a big help.”, I replied.
The following day, we returned to practice, once again watching film and having our individual meetings. The days were becoming regimented, much like they were in college. We had one day a week off, we practiced every day, then three hours in the weight room. The trainers had changed some of my routines, some changes I liked, some I did not. During that week of practice, after our day was over, I would see Josh head up the stairs while everyone else left the facility. Finally after the second day, I had to ask.
“Where you headed to Josh ?”, I asked.
“Study hall, wanna come ?”, he smiled.
His answer got the better of me, I was intrigued by the mystery.
“Sure, I’m in.”, I replied.
I followed Josh up the stairs to the second floor, down another long hallway to a door marked private. He unlocked the
