“Jake... I’m not sure if the surgery worked. I can’t say for certain if you’ll be able to run and play like you used to.”
“I’m not sure if your knee can handle the stress you’d be putting on it. I’ve been reading the physical therapist’s report and it’s got me worried.”
Jake was stunned. No more football?
He’d been playing since he was six. He couldn’t imagine a life without football and that scared the hell out of him!
“So, Dr. Mayfed, when will we know for sure? It’s been six weeks since the injury and five weeks since the surgery. I’m doing PT three times a week here and all the exercises he recommends every day, plus pool work…”
“Well, if I don’t see some improvement in your range of motion in two weeks, I’ll schedule an MRI and see what it shows,” the doctor replied.
Jake just stared at him in disbelief and nodded.
He got up and limped to the door, still wearing the brace for support. He went to the receptionist’s desk to schedule his next appointments and then headed back down to the parking garage.
Thankful that the injury was to his left leg so he could still drive, he got into his black luxury SUV and just sat there, thinking about the past few weeks.
He’d been in the league for six years and had seen a lot of success. He was a first-round draft pick, named Rookie of the Year, and broke several team records.
He’d signed a great two-year deal and then landed a huge six-year contract after that first year, with over seventy million dollars guaranteed.
That contract was due to expire next year, but if he was injured, that would make negotiations tricky.
He was a big deal in the city he played for, and he liked it there: it wasn’t as cold as home and had great summer weather. He had good friends, awesome teammates, and a revolving door of beautiful women in his bed and condo.
And all of that could change.
All because of one play.
One play.
A defensive tackle hit Jake. The player was penalized for a hit on a defenseless player with a hefty fine and a three-game suspension next season.
It was a dirty play and everyone knew it. Jake had caught the game-winning touchdown with thirty-five seconds left in the game. And not just any game—the fucking Super Bowl, the Big Game!
They’d just won their second championship in three years and he was standing on crutches while confetti rained down on them.
The crowd was deafening as reporters tried to ask him questions. He’d scored the last two touchdowns, one to tie and the other to win, and was named MVP.
Between the pain meds, adrenaline, and champagne being sprayed everywhere, he was a wreck the next day when the team flew home and still had to attend the parade and victory rally.
He’d already had an X-ray and it showed damage. He would have the MRI after the victory parade. The meds weren’t helping and he just wanted to sleep. But he couldn’t get comfortable and he was on edge.
The parade and rally were amazing, but he couldn’t wait for them to be over. He was relieved when his best friend, Kevin Brucks, another player on the team, drove him to Dr. Mayfed’s office.
Since then, it had been MRIs, surgery, and physical therapy.
A car horn snapped him out of his thoughts, and he decided he should head home. He was tired and just wanted some lunch and a nap.
He pulled out of the parking spot, out of the garage, and into the bustling downtown traffic.
He got home and reheated some spicy Thai noodles from yesterday, ate them at his kitchen island, and then went to the couch for a nap. As he lay there, he decided he needed to make a plan.
If he couldn’t play football anymore, what was he going to do?
He took out his phone and scrolled through some photos, gently touching the screen, as if he could feel what was in the pictures and remember the smells that went with them.
He felt a tightness in his chest and his eyes started to water. He sighed, then let his eyes close as he drifted off.
“Sammy, thanks for coming in for this meeting today. We wanted to talk with you about Gracie and some things we’ve noticed,” Ms. Webson said.
Sammy was really nervous about this meeting.
To make matters worse, Sammy woke up feeling under the weather and wasn’t feeling good at all. She wished she’d asked Derek or Lynn to come with her, but she knew they were both busy all afternoon.
This was one of the downsides of being a single parent: there was no backup.
She sat up a little straighter, took a deep breath, and asked them to continue.
“Just to put your mind at ease, this isn’t anything bad. Gracie is an amazing child and that’s why we asked you here. Sammy, we think she’s gifted and needs to be tested,” Mrs. Patricia, the preschool director, stated.
“Gifted? Are you sure?” Sammy asked in shock.
“Yes, she’s reading at a very high level for a just-turned-five-year-old. Plus, she can do math way beyond what the average child her age can do,” Mrs. Webson said.
“Okay… I can get her tested and see what they say. I had no idea when she asked me to teach her to read that this would be the result.
“So, what happens after she gets tested? If they say she is gifted, what will happen when she starts kindergarten?”
“Well, that’s the thing, Sammy. If she scores like we think she will, regular elementary school won’t be a good fit for her.
“Gracie will be extremely bored, even in our Gifted and Talented Program; she would struggle to be challenged on a regular basis.
“We recommend that you consider private school, where she can get the academic guidance she needs. The Stevens School is excellent and I think Gracie would fit in very well there.
“I suggest that you take a tour there and talk with the administration and see what you think,” Mrs. Webson finished.
Sammy was in shock listening to the women talk about her child.
She was a well-mannered, sociable, and articulate five-year-old. She was just incredibly smart.
They gave her a stack of paperwork filled with names and numbers of people she needed to contact. Sammy thanked them both, then returned to her trusty jeep and started it up. She just sat there, letting the engine warm up.
She had a dream of living in Florida, right by the beach, and being warm all the time. She took Gracie on vacation there last year and they had a blast playing in the sand and water, not to mention visiting the happiest place on earth.
After that weeklong trip, Sammy was so tired of seeing princesses and singing their songs that she felt like throwing up. She really wanted to go back and have some grown-up fun: drinking, boating, snorkeling, and jet skiing.
Soon, she promised herself. And she was taking Kate, her best friend, with her. They would go and have a blast on the coast, leaving a trail of smitten men behind them.
She laughed out loud at that thought. What a joke!
Not many men would want more than a fling with a nearly twenty-seven-year-old single mom. Sammy was attractive; she had heard it plenty of times growing up.
With her long auburn hair, striking green eyes, and well-shaped body and curves, she had no trouble attracting men.
She had no idea why he would pop into her head when she was getting serious with someone, but he did, and it messed with her heart and mind. She knew she would always be in love with him and that would never change.
And she still couldn’t forget him. It didn’t help that her daughter looked exactly like him, except for the hair, which was hers.
Her brother always said she had no closure since he just left and hadn’t been back since.
Then she had to endure watching him on TV when games were on. They all loved football and watched a lot of it, so seeing Jake was inevitable.
He still made her heart skip a beat every time he smiled, and as much as he scored, there was a lot of smiling. She sighed and turned the radio up to drown out the dialogue in her head.
She cranked the heat up high and tried to warm up a little, but she was shivering. If she didn’t have a fever, she was close. After that meeting, she had to make one stop and talk about what had happened.
She pulled out of the parking spot and hit the road.
