Chapter 3
Chapter Three
“Brian MUST be having car trouble.” Dave told a group of people after he got off the phone.
“That hardly seems likely. The man has four cars. What is it you’re trying to cover up? Is he sick? Or hurt?” one of the young reporters demanded.
No one was buying it. So much for his creativity when it came to making excuses, Dave thought. All he did was make people suspicious, especially the reporters who knew Brian.
For over an hour Dave was hounded by reporters, tournament officials and people from the hospital.
Even his teammates were asking him for the real reason why Brian was late.
He could think of nothing more to tell them than that Brian overslept.
This revelation, though true as far as Dave was concerned, was met with more skepticism.
After listening to his speech for the third time, one of the hospital public relations people approached him.
“Mr. McCall, I’m Laura Howard with Children’s Mercy Hospital. Perhaps you remember me. We met at the cocktail party the other night?”
“Yes I remember. Hello.” He gave her his customary friendly grin.
“Do you mind my asking if Brian mentioned Roxanne when you spoke with him?” She had a worried look, he thought.
“Who the hell is Roxanne? Oh, sorry. I have to learn to watch my language.” He felt embarrassed, and more than a little puzzled.
“No problem. I guess that answers my question.” She left it at that and walked away.
Brian Dennis simply did not oversleep for an important event, Dave thought. He didn’t even oversleep for unimportant things, much less this. Dave stood in the lobby holding his cell phone, debating whether to call again. It was ten thirty now.
“You are trying to hide something—I’ll bet he’s been injured and you’re trying to keep it hushed up until you know if he’ll be playing. What about it, Dave? How serious is the injury?” the reporter from the Boston Globe, Kevin Moroni, asked
“No. I’m serious. He really did oversleep, Kevin. Why would I lie about something as embarrassing as that?” They walked out to where the team’s coach was standing, in a corner of the clubhouse where refreshments were being served until the event would officially begin.
They joined the coach and he looked worried. “Dave, it’s all right. Tell us what happened to Brian. You can keep it off the record, can’t you, Kevin? Besides, it can’t be anything too serious or I would have heard about it,” Coach John Benson assured the reporter.
“Look, Coach, he should be here soon—at least that’s what he told me.
Let him explain it to you. All I know is what he told me.
” Dave shoved his hands through his mop of hair and turned away in exasperation.
He was starting to have his own doubts. He assumed that Brian was still in bed with a woman named Roxanne after Laura Howard’s question, but Brian hadn’t said so.
His assumption was based on Brian being a normal red-blooded male—not that he wasn’t—but sometimes Brian seemed to be more superhuman than most. Brian rarely—no never—succumbed to normal human distractions.
Nothing ever interfered with his professional life that Dave knew of.
The crowd of spectators grew as the start time for the tournament approached.
The men inside, the paying participants, celebrities from various sports, press people, and Children’s Mercy Hospital representatives alike began murmuring.
Dave had the uneasy feeling that they were spreading rumors about Brian Dennis’s mysterious absence.
After all, he was the star attraction of the event.
Finally, Dave spotted Brian’s black LandRover driving up to the curb like a sleek black alley cat trying to sneak by.
Dave rushed out to talk to him before any of the press did, but he was too late.
Kevin Moroni got to him first and took him into the pressroom.
Coach Benson and Dave followed them into the room arranged with chairs, tables, computers and printers. The door was closed after them.
“All right, let’s have it.” Kevin wasted no time. All three looked at Brian expectantly. Brian had no idea what to say to them and looked at Dave for help. Dave merely shrugged his massive shoulders with an apologetic look.
“Didn’t Dave tell you?” Brian stalled, suddenly finding the situation embarrassing. He looked at his watch and started to rise from the chair they had backed him into. “It’s late already. We better get started…”
“Not so fast. I’d like to hear it from you.” Kevin was relentless with his pencil poised. Brian looked at them all in disbelief. The coach had his arms crossed expectantly.
“I overslept. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it now except get out there and get on with it.” He rose again from his chair, and this time he was determined to get out of there.
“That’s it? You sure you’re not trying to hide anything?” Kevin questioned.
Brian concentrated a stare at the reporter, wordlessly telling him he was out of line. It was Coach Benson who responded.
“Now you know better than that, Kevin. If Brian says he overslept, then that’s it. Everyone’s entitled once in a while.” Coach Benson slammed his fist on the table.
“I guess so. Brian Dennis is human after all,” Kevin observed and everyone laughed except Brian.
“No, I’m not. This was just a test to see how much you all really cared.” Brian laughed at his own joke along with the rest of them. As they all started outside the room to get on with the tournament, Kevin pulled Brian aside.
“You know we really thought you were hurt or ill or something—you sure everything is okay? I’m not trying to question you or anything—it’s just not like you to make such a simple mistake as oversleeping.”
Brian responded to the concern in Kevin’s voice and because he had known him since he first came to Boston to be a fair reporter.
“I did oversleep, plain and simple. But I can tell you—no I can promise you—I will never make that mistake again.” Brian didn’t realize he’d said it with such vehemence until he noted Kevin’s reaction; Dave heard him too.
They both looked mollified; convinced that this was a freak incident in the basketball-dedicated life of the legendary Brian Dennis.
But Brian wasn’t so sure. They went out to the first tee and any questions about the delay were brushed off with statements about interviews running late.
Brian took center stage and he did his job, playing host to the large audience from beginning to end.
All the while, whenever he stood alone to concentrate quietly on a putt, or looked off into the distance to follow a drive, he saw her image.
He saw her flirtatious eyes and seductive smile, her chestnut hair billowing out around her face against the pillows, her voluptuous body lounging invitingly, calling to him. This had to stop.
“Brian, wait a minute. Stay and have something to eat with me,” Dave invited, catching up with Brian just as he was about to have his car brought around. The tournament and autograph signing were over.
“Great idea. It’ll give me a chance to tell you about Roxanne.” Brian needed to talk with someone about it. He walked back into the country club to the restaurant with Dave.
“Roxanne again? Who the hell is she anyway? This is the second time her name came up today,” Dave told him.
Brian smiled at his friend’s puzzlement.
It wasn’t a wise thing to tell Dave any secrets, but he felt a strong compulsion to tell someone about her.
He didn’t know why. It wasn’t a matter of bragging.
In fact, he was definitely not proud of having spent the weekend with another woman.
He thought of Susan. She would be crushed if she knew.
They were in the process of breaking up, but he should have done it cleanly.
He felt guilty now and figured that must be why he needed to talk to someone about it.
That and something else. Even though he knew it wasn’t fair to Susan, he had no regrets about the weekend he spent with Roxanne. She excited him. He thought of the possibility of spending more time with her. Then he caught himself and shook his head.
When they took their seats at their table and the hostess disappeared, he answered his friend’s question.
“I was with her Friday night.”
“The woman in the car? I didn’t figure she was someone you knew. Want to hear something funny? I thought you two just met Friday night and you were picking her up. I should have known better.” Dave was grinning again.
“She’s the reason I overslept this morning,” Brian admitted.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I mean we spent the weekend together at my house.” He thought he was getting through now, but no.
“She spent the weekend at your house? Poor woman must have been bored stiff. What did she do—watch you work out, play hoops and eat?” Dave laughed.
“I didn’t work out—or play hoops.” Brian made the statement as if he realized it that moment himself.
“What? You didn’t work out or play hoops? Are you kidding? What the hell did you do…” Dave stopped himself short. His mouth dropped and Brian could swear he turned a shade of pink.
Was it so incredible? Yes, Brian thought, it was. He wasn’t exactly known to be an impulsive person. He was more the compulsive type by far. But not this weekend.
“You got it,” Brian said.
“But…”
“Don’t worry. It won’t happen again. Just one of those things.” He didn’t sound convincing to himself either. Dave laughed at him.
“So, the great Brian Dennis has clay feet big time. You cheat on your girl, miss an entire weekend of working out and then oversleep for an important event—she must have been some woman.” The teasing smile on his friend’s face creased in lines around his eyes and mouth.