Chapter 13
Thirteen years later
“Look at these kids. I remember when I was their age. The excitement and thrill of the game. Man, we used to be out all night, running drills and plays. My mom used to be so pissed at me and my father because she thought we were putting too much hope into a dream that may never come true. My father believed in me, though, and he never stopped until I made it to the big leagues. I can look at these kids and tell they have what it takes. All they need is the right people to back them.” Dre rambled as we watched the kids run their drills.
We were invited to a football camp sponsored by my former teammate, Antwuan. He requested that I come as a surprise guest for the kids so I could motivate them and talk about my success as a professional football player. I didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation because I loved giving back to the kids, especially young black boys who looked like me.
“Yeah, I’m glad your old man was able to see you win a Super Bowl championship before he passed. I’m sure it was one of his proudest moments.” Dreis’s father died of prostate cancer, but he never stopped showing up for his games. I used to be jealous of their relationship when we were younger because his dad never missed a game or practice. When we both ended up drafted to the same team, his father kept the same energy. He moved his family with him, and they continued to show up for him. When he was diagnosed with cancer, the doctors advised him not to travel, but Mr. Knowles paid them no attention.
Every game, whether home or away, he would be in the stands, cheering his boy on. Their relationship reminded me of everything I missed out on because my parents were gone. I believed with all my heart that my mom and dad would be in those stands, cheering me on.
“Hell yeah. He used to get on those doctors’ nerves bragging about his famous son. My mom used to send me videos of him wearing my jersey to every appointment. He swore I was his good luck charm.” I heard his voice crack, and I understood his pain on many levels. The loss of a parent was the type of grief I didn’t believe anyone truly healed from. I checked on him as much as I could, but I understood the value of space during the healing process.
“Oh, shit! Look at number six over there. He’s one of the coldest wide receivers I’ve seen in a long time. Look at his form,” Antwuan called out.
All of us retired from the game, but we still kept in touch with one another and the coaches on the team. We were blessed to reach the level in our careers that allowed us to retire without all the physical and mental damage that most players faced. Now, that wasn’t to say we hadn’t been banged up over the years, but we were still in good shape.
“Damn, the defense can barely keep up with him.”
“You can tell that he studies them because he seems to anticipate their moves. Youngblood may be young, but he’s hungry, and you can see it in the way he moves.” We all stood there in amazement as we watched the young man zoom through the defense, play after play.
“Wait a minute. Who is the boy on defense? Number forty-six?” I watched as the two boys battled against one another. Their motions were fluid and seemed to be in step with one another, even though they were playing on opposite sides. Number six scored two touchdowns, but number forty-six sacked their quarterback three times. The two of them were dynamic in their own right.
“Those are the Royster twins. They are some of the top players at Culliver Middle School. I believe with the right coaching, they have what it takes to be the next Dinero Sutton or Jordan Lyndsay,” he boasted, referring to a defensive end legend.
“What’s their story?” Dreis inquired. You could tell by the aggression in number six that he held a lot of anger inside of him. He was a beast for sure, but I had a feeling his background played a major role in it.
“Academically, they are excelling in all of their classes and are on track to graduate early if they keep it up. Behavior-wise, Moolah has gotten into his fair share of fights, but we’re working through it. He has a lot of potential, but his anger can get in the way of it at times. That is one of the reasons I wanted you all here. I figured if he had some players who made it where he wanted to go, he’d see the importance of keeping his mind focused on the goal.”
“Understood.” I couldn’t wait to sit down and talk to the young men out there today. The hunger in their eyes reminded me of myself as a young man, and if I could give any tips to help further them along, I would.
The coaches blew their whistles to bring the boys in. The moment they spotted us, the majority of them took off running toward us. I noticed the two brothers standing back as they talked amongst each other. When they removed their helmets, I found it difficult to tear my eyes away from them. They resembled someone I hadn’t seen in a very long time. The coaches introduced us to the rest of the team, but my eyes remained trained on the boys.
A sinking feeling swept over me. I couldn’t shake it, and I wasn’t sure why. However, once Coach Adkins asked me to speak, I had to refocus my attention.
“How are you fellas doing? My name is Dinero Sutton, and I’m a retired wide receiver for the Cincinnati Hawks. I played in the NFL for ten years and recently retired. We’ve been watching you all play, and I’m impressed by the talent I have witnessed here. You all have the heart and drive to become legends in the game if you put your mind to it.” The boys hung onto my every word, which made me a little nervous. I wasn’t much of a public speaker, but I wanted to encourage them and speak life into them.
After we all spoke to the players and answered their questions, we decided to run a few drills with them.
I was excited to play on the field since it had been nine months since I’d had a ball in my hands. I didn’t regret my decision, but I would always love the game.
“Alright, Moolah, Jay ‘Cub, Davion, and Roberto, I’m gonna put you with Dinero and Shepard. I want y’all to show these men what you can do, and don’t hold back on them. They will assess your skills and give you some tips on how to strengthen them.” The coach laid out the expectations as we headed onto the field. Josiah, aka Shepard, picked his two players, leaving me with Moolah and Davion. Davion shook my hand and got in formation as we worked on passes.
The energy between Moolah and me seemed off, and even when I gave him instructions, he brushed me off. We continued playing until I got tired of Moolah doing the opposite of what I told him.
“Aye, you could be more effective if you?—”
“I don’t care about any of that. My form is excellent, and I know everything I need to know about running the ball. You can save that lame ass advice for a mothafucka who needs it. I don’t,” he spat. The aggression in his tone caught me off guard, and it pissed me the fuck off. The little boy was nothing more than twelve years old and cussing at me like I wasn’t a grown-ass man. My fists clenched because I wanted to yank his ass up, but it wasn’t my place.
“You’ve got a lot of mouth, little bro, but can you back the shit up? Since you know so fucking much, let’s prove it.”
“You don’t intimidate me. You’re nothing more than a washed-up has-been. If you want to pull a muscle out here and embarrass yourself, be my guest.” My nostrils flared, and I counted to ten in order to keep myself from cussing his little tail out. I didn’t know who his parents were, but they were doing a terrible job.
“Shep!” I called my boy over for reinforcement because I needed to prove a point to this kid.
“What’s up, Nero?” I passed him the ball and told him what I needed from him. His eyes peered between Moolah and me, and he smirked.
“Let’s show these young bucks how it’s done!” Shep played quarterback while I played running back. Moolah and his homeboys thought we were slow because of our ages and size, but they clearly had lost their minds. I didn’t have these championship rings for no reason. Halfway through, I switched positions and allowed Moolah to run the ball. If he knew anything about my “washed-up” game, he would have known that I was just as much of a beast on defense as I was on offense.
The other teams stopped what they were doing to watch us, along with the coaches. I’d give Moolah credit because his speed was impressive, but like the coach mentioned before, he allowed his emotions to hinder him, which would only hurt him in the end. The moment he thought he was about to cross the line for a touchdown, I caught his flag. He should have been glad I chose flag football because, otherwise, I would have laid his ass out.
The coaches blew the whistle to end the camp for the day, so we all gathered for the last words before dismissal. Sweat dripped down my body, and I removed my shirt to cool down.
“Thank you so much for coming out, fellas. Day one was a success, and the boys were on fire. Remember to be here at eight in the morning. We’ll have refreshments and a debriefing before the players get here in the morning.” After dismissal, the players began to walk home or hop in the cars of their awaiting parents.
I noticed the brothers talking to a few of the other players, so I decided to walk over to speak with Moolah. We had gotten off on the wrong foot, and I wanted to make sure he knew how impressed I was by his skills. As I got closer, I noticed the shift in his demeanor.
“You did your thing out there today.” I reached my hand out for him to shake, and you would have thought it was covered in shit from the way he glared at it.
“I know.” He scoffed, turning his back to me as he resumed his conversation with his friends. I stood there, confused by his reaction. I wouldn’t have taken it so personally had he not dapped up Shep and Dreis a few moments ago. Clearly, he had some kind of issue with me; I just wasn’t sure what it was.
“Am I missing something? Do we have beef that I don’t know about?” Moolah kept his back toward me as his twin nudged him. Reluctantly, he turned around to face me with an angry expression on his face.
“Naw, we don’t have any beef. You would have to mean something to me in order for there to be any beef. You’re nobody to me, and I want to keep it that way, so do me a favor and stay far away from me. Everyone else may think you’re some kind of legend, but to me, you’re a b?—”
“Moo, chill out. He isn’t worth it. Let’s just go.” Now, I was really confused because although his brother attempted to calm him down, his words struck me as odd. I had never seen these kids a day in my life, so why did it seem like they both hated me?
“Aye, is everything cool over here?” Dreis must have noticed our tense interaction and decided to come over.
“Yeah, we’re straight as long as you keep this man away from me. I’m here to play football and that’s it. You can keep your lame-ass tips and advice to yourself.”
“I’m letting you slide because it’s clear you don’t have real parents in your life. I’m gonna assume your father is either dead or in jail and your mama—” Wham! I held my jaw as Moolah punched the shit out of me. If I wasn’t so pissed off, I would have been impressed with his form. However, Dreis had to hold me back from beating a minor’s ass. The taste of copper filled my mouth. This little mothafucka really rocked my shit.
“Hey! Hey! What the hell is going on?” I heard a familiar voice that left me frozen in place. The moment our eyes locked, it seemed like the whole world stopped. Years flew by, but she still held the same youthful glow as she did when we were younger. Her grown-woman frame filled in nicely, and her subtle curves only added to her sex appeal. Charae was runway model gorgeous, and she always had been.
“Rae, is that you?” Dre asked as she stepped forward to greet us. I noticed her hesitation before she finally accepted his advances and gave him a hug. The wheels in my mind began to turn as I glanced between her and the brothers. They were like copy-and-paste versions of her, but I guess I’d been in denial since I hadn’t seen her in so long.
The last I’d heard, she transferred schools and moved out of state. I had no idea we lived in the same city again. After our breakup, I fell into a dark place. My grades slipped, and my spot on the team became jeopardized because I lost myself. I had never experienced heartbreak until the night our relationship ended for good.
In order to get her out of my system, I began partying and drinking my sorrows away. That led to a domino effect of consequences. When the head coach sat me on the bench and gave me an ultimatum, I made the decision to put her and my past in the rearview so I could focus on my future.
“Hey. Long time no see. How have you been?” Charae attempted to have small talk with Dre, making sure to ignore me in the process. Maybe I should have expected this reaction from her; however, it still stung. While I could admit that I fucked up my second year on campus, I meant what I said when I told her it was a mistake. I would never regret my daughter, but I still had no memory of that night with Harper.
All I recalled was getting drunk and Harper asking if I needed to lie down. Everything about that night was a blur, even after all these years. After it happened, I panicked and tried to brush it off as if it didn’t happen. When Harper showed up at my dorm with a positive pregnancy test, it blew my mind. I had been fucking since I was fifteen and never had as much as a pregnancy scare. In fact, Charae was the only woman I ever made love to with no protection.
One night cost me the love of my life, and I didn’t think I’d truly recovered from that shit. When Drake confessed about the two of them sleeping together, my whole world fell apart. Those were some of the worst months of my life, and seeing her again reminded me of the pain losing her caused me.
“Ma, can we get out of here?” Moolah pressed. Her eyebrows furrowed as the two of them communicated with their eyes.
“What happened? You promised me you were gonna be on your best behavior.” Moolah sucked his teeth as he glared at me.
“This wasn’t on me. Coach teamed me up with this wack ass?—”
“Language, Moo. Don’t play with me,” Rae warned. He instantly shifted his body and corrected himself for his mother.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I wasn’t happy with the person the coach chose to lead us, so I reacted. I apologize.”
“It’s all good. Everyone has a bad day, so there are no hard feelings on my end,” I voiced.
“Naw, you misunderstood, my guy. I apologized to my mama, not you. You’re still lame, and I don’t want you anywhere near me.” With that, he walked off with his brother trailing behind him. This time, I looked to Sunny for assistance.
“Do you want to tell me what that’s about? I’m used to people hating me, but I’ve never had a child look at me like that.”
“I-I… This really isn’t the place for this conversation. I’m really sorry about Moolah’s behavior. He’s a good kid.”
“Where is their father? If you don’t mind me asking. I’ve been around a lot of young boys, and it seems like he may need a mentor to help him work through his feelings,” Dre asked. When I glanced back at Sunny, she appeared shaken by his question, which sparked concern. I hadn’t seen Charae in thirteen years, and she wasn’t pregnant back then, so I assumed she must have met someone shortly after our breakup. There were a lot of questions lingering in my mind, and I could feel myself getting upset.
“I need to get my boys home and fed before I head back to work. Can we talk tomorrow? I can meet you here when I drop the boys off in the morning.” This time, she looked directly at me. I wanted to say no and demand that she talked to me right here and now, but I had to respect her time. She might have a man or something, and I would hate to fuck him up in front of his family if he came at me crazy.
“Yeah, I’ll be here at seven.”
“Okay. Ummm I guess I’ll see you then. I’m sorry about whatever took place today. I’m gonna have a talk with him when we get home.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. Nothing else was said as she got into her car and drove away.
“What do you think all that was about?” I asked Dreis. Usually, he was my sounding board when I needed advice on certain things.
“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but if I were you, I would prepare for anything. I have a feeling whatever she’s about to tell you is gonna shake some shit up.” I stood there with my hands in my pockets. Things were about to change, and I could feel it. The only thing I wasn’t sure about was whether it would be for the better or worse.