She laughed, took the cash and said, “Go girl, I’ll take it from here.”
I waved goodbye and made my way through the crowd. I walked out of Mercury Wild and through the parking lot. As I got back in my car I whipped out my phone and called Amy.
“Amy?” I called out as soon as she answered. “How’s Jeremy?”
“Huh? Oh, hi there Emilia!” she replied. “Yes, he’s right here, actually. We’re looking at the lions now. We just passed by the zebra exhibit.”
“Can you guys drive back home?” I asked. “I need to take Jeremy with me.”
She paused and then asked, “Wait, what? Where are you guys going?”
“This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done but I’ve got to give a try, Amy,” I explained. “I need to take Jeremy and go to London. I need to be there for Damon. We need to be there for him.”
“What? Why? What’s going on?”
“Damon is Jeremy’s father, Amy,” I told her. “It’s time we spend time together as a family.”
11
Damon
The half-time show for the exhibition game was weird beyond a doubt – pop singers, movie trailers, video game presentations and more were showcased but there were politicians dancing, celebrities trying to be funny and even a skit making fun of heavily criticized world leaders. It was cringe-worthy but fun all the same.
When it was all done, however, it was time to get back into the game. Even with the rest, we were all very tired. We had a big lead ahead of our opponents but at the cost of three injuries and multiple replacements on the field, particularly for our defensive lineup. We had to maintain our lead or help it grow otherwise the opposing team could take advantage of our weakened state and turn the table around. We might lose this game if I didn’t think of something fast.
As soon as the whistle blew and the first play launched into action we knew we were in trouble. We lost several yards despite having the ball. We got pushed back a good thirty yards and in one more round, we’d lose possession.
I looked around, hoping I could think of something radical that way we could gain the advantage. That was when I saw the close-up video of the crowd on the big plasma screen.
There were Emilia and Jeremy, seated up there, cheering me on.
What the heck were they doing all the way here in London? Since when did they get here? My mind was so muddled with so many questions but none of them really mattered. What did matter was the fact that they were here.
That could only mean that Emilia was willing to talk to me about Jeremy. She was so adamant last time about me taking responsibility. I wasn’t sure I could handle it. The sudden shift in my life and career was scary, to say the least.
Smack!
“What the fuck?” I cursed as I turned to see my teammate had thrown the football at me.
“Dude, you were spacing out,” he told me as he ran up to his position. “Focus, man, you’re the one who’s got to think of a way to win.”
I shook my head, hoping to shake off the dizziness, and then clapped my hands to get a plan going. I huddled my teammates and told them, “Look. We need to get one more touchdown to seal the deal here. We’ve got the lead but they can take over if we don’t push our lead a little further.”
“Yeah, but they’ve shifted their team to really bolster their defense,” my running back, Rory, answered. “It’s not going to be easy to find an opening and pass me the ball. Even if you do, I don’t think I can get very far with the tacklers they have in place.”
I nodded in agreement, “I know, that’s why we’re going to do something very different. We’re going to do a false run.”
My teammates looked at me with expressions of confusion. They knew what I meant but they didn’t see how it would work in our favor.
“We’re not going to do a one-turn false pass,” I elaborated. “We’re going to do it twice.”
Everyone in the huddle voiced out their concerns simultaneously.
“We can’t do that,” my running back said. “One pass is already hard enough to get through, how much more to do two?”
“Trust me,” I said. I then pointed to my left flank runner, “I’ll pretend to pass the ball to you but then make a dash at the last second. I’ll then pass it to Rory and he’ll pass it to you once you’re clear. Make a run for it and just pass the ball back to me the moment you’re close to the field goal.”
Rory still didn’t seem to like that idea, “That’s too risky, man. When did you ever see a play like that? There’s a reason a quarterback only passes the ball once or runs with it.”