CHAPTER 73

For the next two weeks , I reported everyday, lifting weights , then working out with the quarterbacks and a few of the receivers. With only a handful of players in camp, I got my share of one on one instruction, which really proved helpful. By the end of the extra work, I really felt I had a good grasp of the position, even though I knew I had much more to learn. Coach Reed thanked me for the extra dedication I had given, despite I was still not under contract.

I booked a flight and flew home the next day, arriving home on Thursday night. I knew Ashley had school the following day, so I arranged a car to take me home from the airport. I arrived at my house sometime just before ten that night, I saw the kitchen light was on. I knocked on the kitchen door, Ashley opened it quickly, jumping out to greet me, she was completely surprised.

"Why didn't you call me, I would have come to pick you up.", she complained.

"I know you have school tomorrow, it's no big deal, I got a car.", I replied.

I stepped into the familiar confines of home, went to my room and threw my bags on the bed. I went back to the kitchen where Ashley was sitting and grabbed some iced tea from the fridge. I sat down across from her, she was all smiles.

"Have you lost weight ? I mean you look more muscular, but also thinner ?", she asked.

"Yes, they have me down to 260 lbs, trying to get my speed up. My diet is unreal, my body fat is like, next to nothing.", I answered.

"I see that.", she responded.

We talked for about an hour, before we decided to turn in for the night. I have to admit, it was not as awkward as I thought it would be considering what we had shared the night before I left. It was good to see Ashley, it was good to be home. I slept extremely well that night, in fact by the time I had gotten up, Ashley had already left for school.

I got dressed, went into town to the diner to get something to eat. As soon as I walked in, Miss Margie squealed in delight and ran from behind the counter to hug and kiss me. She ushered me to my seat and took my order, she was all smiles. I finished my breakfast, then decided to drive over to the school to see Coach Mike for a few minutes.

I parked near the back of the lot, quietly making my way to his office. He was surprised to see me, we spent about an hour talking, then I excused myself so he could go back to work. I looked at my watch, it was close to noon, so I decided to drive over to Courtney's work, maybe take her out to lunch.

As I pulled into the large lot of Mr. Timmons business, I was happy to see both Courtney's car and his car, parked side by side in the lot. I entered the office and met the receptionist at the front cubicle. I had been there once or twice, so she remembered me right away.

"Hi Brian, it's good to see you. When did you get back ?", she asked.

"Last night, late. I thought maybe if Courtney wasn't too busy, we could go to lunch.", I asked.

"Oh, let me buzz her, I know she will be right down.", she squealed, grabbing the phone.

"No wait.", I interrupted, "Tell her you have an extremely upset client, whose order was screwed up. Tell her I want to close my account."

"Oh, you're bad Brian.", she laughed, "But it sounds like so much fun."

She dialed Courtney's extension, it was on speakerphone, Courtney answered quickly. She repeated the message to her, you could tell from Courtney's reaction, she had no idea what was happening. She told the receptionist she would be down immediately. I made my way over to the small coffee room right off the lobby, and sat down behind one of the walls so she couldn't see me. A few moments later, I heard high heels clicking across the floor. I heard her ask the receptionist what was going on. The receptionist played it out perfectly, raising her voice in my direction.

"Sir, I have Ms. Timmons here, she wants to see you.", she shouted in my direction.

I paused for several seconds, then stepped out into the doorway. Courtney's face went from that of extreme concern, to extreme excitement in seconds. She screamed out loud, her hands covering her mouth and ran over to me, jumping into my arms. She squeezed me with all of her might, kissing me on the cheek, tears in her eyes. I set her back down, just as Mr. Timmons made his way down the stairs into the lobby.

"Brian, great to see you, how's life in the pro's ?', he asked, smiling.

"Ok sir, just trying to understand the system, learn a new position plus play on special teams.", I replied.

We talked for several minutes then he told Courtney to take the rest of the day off and take me out to eat at the company. He promised he would cover for her, they could catch up later that night. She followed me to my house, we dropped off my car, then took hers across town to the restaurant. It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at the restaurant, It was still half full, mostly business men and women having a late lunch. Our hostess sat us down telling us our waitress would be with us shortly. Our waitress appeared within minutes and took our order for drinks. As we sat there catching up, I noticed Courtney kept looking around the restaurant.

"What's wrong with the Court ?", I asked.

"Everyone keeps staring at us. Um, I mean you.", she said softly.

"Oh, I guess I am getting somewhat immune to it.", I replied.

Our waitress came back and brought our drinks, we ordered our food. We continued talking as we waited for our lunch, both of us catching up on each other's lives since we had parted. Just before our waitress brought our food, two older men walked up to the table slowly, somewhat sheepishly.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt you. You're Brian Stevens aren't you ?", he asked.

"Yes sir, I am.", I responded, shaking his hand.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck this year with San Diego. I followed your career in high school and college, I know your grandfather quite well.", he stated.

"Thank you sir, I appreciate it.", I answered.

Just as he walked away, our waitress brought our lunch, and we settled in to eat. It was a nice meal, I enjoyed Courtney's company, it was good to see her again. About an hour and a half later we finished up, paid the check and left the restaurant. Courtney dropped me off back at home and I promised to call her later that evening. I was sitting in the family room watching TV when my cell phone rang, it was Dave Phillips, my agent.

"Hello Brian, how are you ?", he asked.

"Doing well sir, good to be home.", I answered.

"Well don't get comfortable, you may have to fly back out here in a few days, I am close to wrapping up your contract.", he stated.

"Oh, ok. Well I was hoping to stay two weeks, but let me know when you need me back there.", I answered.

"I will, we are really close to finalizing the paperwork, we are ironing out the incentives now. It's not quite what I wanted, but considering they drafted you out of position, it's not bad. If you reach some of the incentives, it gets really lucrative on the back end. All in all, we are looking at nineteen million dollars for four years, nine of that guaranteed. You will get a four million dollar signing bonus, and you're looking at possibly another six million in incentives if you pan out.", he told me, rattling off the numbers.

I kind of sat there for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what he had told me. I guess he knew he went a bit too quickly.

"Take a deep breath and relax Brian. What it basically means is that you will get a check for four million the day we sign. Then you will make a little over three million a year in base pay over the next four years. The incentives are based on if you play, how much you play and how well you play.", he finished.

"Never in my life did I think this was possible.", I answered.

"You're going to be a wealthy young man Brian. I just hope you think wisely before spending the money. Don't be foolish, invest it wisely, make it last a lifetime. I represent too many veteran players who after ten years in the league are broke.", he cautioned.

"Trust me sir, I will.", I answered.

He promised to call me as soon as he finalized the deal. I hung up the phone excitedly, but disappointed I may have to cut my break short.

A few hours later, Ashley arrived home, I filled her in on the details of my phone call with Mr. Phillips.

"I'm just overwhelmed you're going to have that kind of money Brian.", she said, shaking her head, "Your signing bonus is more than I will make in my lifetime."

"I know Ash, it's crazy. I can't believe it myself.", I answered.

"Well if I ever need a loan, I know where to go.", she laughed.

"Ashley, seriously, I want you to know that if you ever need anything, you just ask. I would not be here in this position if not for you. You stood by me after Dad died, you never asked for a thing for yourself. You have been more of a mother to me, than my own.", I told her.

"Brian, thank you so much. But I could never take money from you.", she replied quickly.

I let the subject drop, I didn't want to hurt her feelings, money is always a sensitive subject. We spent the rest of the night talking, catching up, basically just relaxing. Since it was Thursday night, Ashley turned in around ten o'clock, she had school the next day. I went to my room, called Courtney on the phone and we talked until well after midnight. We made plans to go out the following night before we hung up.

The following morning, I got up early, ate some breakfast then went into town to do a bit of shopping. Since I was renting a car in San Diego, I decided to just look at a few different vehicles to try and get some ideas on what I would buy when I signed my contract. After several hours of looking, I really still had no idea what I liked so I called it a day and went to my truck. After getting in I decided to call my grandfather, just to see how he was doing. After all, he had made the first attempt to reach out to me, I owed him that much. The phone rang several times before he answered, he sounded somewhat tired.

"Grandpa, this is Brian, how are you ?", I asked.

"Oh Brian, I'm a fine son, it's good to hear your voice. Are you in San Diego ?", he asked.

"No sir, I'm in town. I have a two week break before training camp begins.", I answered.

"Oh , well I would love to see you before you go back, if that's something you're ok with.", he said cautiously.

"Of course, I am ok with it, how about now ?", I asked.

"Oh well…. Sure why not ?", he answered.

Ok great, where would you like to meet ?", I asked.

"Oh damn, I forgot, I am here alone, your mother has my car.", he replied in a sad tone, "I don't guess you would want to come here ?"

"Sure Grandpa, why not ?", I responded, "I'll be there in about fifteen minutes.

I hung up and drove across town, then ten minutes north to my grandparents home, one that I had not seen in over a decade. I pulled up to the worn, white weather beaten home, my grandfather was sitting on the front porch. I parked near the walk, then joined him quickly on the porch.

We were talking for maybe fifteen minutes when a large car turned down the road heading in our direction. I could tell from the look on his face, he became immediately concerned. He looked at me strangely, then back at the car which was now pulling into the drive. I realized quickly before the car even came to a dead stop, it was my Mother and Richard. I reached across and gently tapped the top of my grandfather's hand telling him it would be alright. I cannot adequately describe the look on their faces when they exited the vehicle and saw me sitting on the porch. My mother walked slowly up the steps, her husband in tow. I stood up out of respect, no matter what had occurred in the past, it was not of my doing.

"Hello Mom, it's nice to see you again.", I said, as politely as I could.

"Brian.", she replied, "What are you doing here ?"

"I came to see grandpa.", I answered.

I could tell she was extremely upset, standing right behind her was Richard, he was white as a ghost. Instead of the little, frail boy he used to push around like a tough guy, here was a six foot seven, two hundred sixty pound athlete. I sat back down next to my grandfather, without acknowledging her husband at all. She disappeared in the house with her husband in town, slamming the door behind them. My grandfather tried to make some lame excuse for them, but I shrugged him off.

"It's her problem, grandpa, not yours. There is nothing she can do to me now, I am a grown man.", I assured him.

The old man looked back at me, tears swelling in his eyes. He reached over and took my hand in his soft spoken voice.

"Brian, I am so proud of the man you have become. Your father, God rest his soul, did a wonderful job raising you. I wish I could change the past, but I can't. It breaks my heart to know what you have gone through.", he said, tears streaming down his face.

"Grandpa, it's ok. Don't worry about the past, it's over. We have started over, let's look to the future.", I answered.

We resumed our conversation, maybe fifteen minutes past, I knew he was on edge thinking that they may come back out on the porch. I decided to cut the visit short, so I could always see him again. He wished me good luck, gave me a gentle hug, and walked me to my truck. I promised him I would keep in touch, calling him regularly. As I looked up at the front porch, I saw my mother peeking out of the drapes. I pulled out of the yard and drove away wondering what had happened to my mother, how could she be this way ?