Chapter 45
Chapter
Forty-Five
Bodi
Our new head coach is arriving today and there’s nervous energy in the arena conference room as we wait for him to get here.
Everything happened quickly while we were on the road trip.
Coaches Panzetti and Quinn were in charge for all three games and then an announcement was made: Coach Morrison resigned and a former player named Jamie Teller was coming to Atlanta as the new head coach for the Thunder.
He’s been an associate coach for the Las Vegas Sidewinders for a long time, and he was in the running the first time around but turned it down, saying he had a blended family and wasn’t in a position to move.
Obviously, something changed because he took the job and called a meeting first thing this morning, before practice.
“Gentlemen.” Mr. Carrier and Mr. Heywood walk in smiling. “We’d like you to meet Jamie Teller, your new head coach.”
There’s a lot of noise and movement as Jamie comes in and starts shaking hands with everyone, taking a minute to talk to each of us as he walks around the room.
Ironically, I know him. He played in a European tournament I participated in years ago, when I was eighteen or nineteen.
We aren’t super close, but we’ve stayed in touch, so this is great news as far as I’m concerned.
“Bodi.” He smiles when he gets to me, clapping me on the shoulder. “How’s it going? I hear it’s been a little tricky for you this season.”
“It has, but I hope we’re past all that.”
“I hope so too. Looking forward to working with you again.”
He finishes making the rounds and then moves to the front of the room. They brought breakfast in for us, so most of us are still eating.
“I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking,” Jamie says.
“You guys have had a rough start to your inaugural season, and I’m here to hopefully turn that around.
But there’s some housekeeping stuff we need to get out of the way.
First and foremost, we’re not going to be talking about Coach Morrison to the press.
If they ask you anything, refer them to me or Ralph.
Period.” He glances at Mr. Heywood, who nods.
“The reason this is pertinent is because Coach Morrison and his wife Lourdes are both being arrested today. For embezzlement and a bunch of other charges. It’s serious. So that’s why it’s imperative that we don’t discuss him with the press. We have a PR team for that, okay?”
There’s murmuring around the room as everyone nods, but I immediately grab my phone and text Jayne. This is something we’ve been concerned about.
BODI: Your dad and Lourdes are being arrested today. Is Lindy at school?
We’ve been worried about her since Jayne moved out, but she hasn’t been able to see her.
“Now, for a little about me,” Jamie continues, but I’m only half-listening.
“Most of you know I played for the Sidewinders and the Generals. I’ve been an associate coach for the Sidewinders for the last five years and my family was settled in Vegas.
I turned down this job the first time it was offered because I just couldn’t see moving my family, and it would mean disrupting the kids.
But it turns out, the family was ready to move. ”
He hesitates. “And for those that don’t know, I’m married to a man.
We have two children plus bonus children because we also co-parent my husband’s ex-wife’s kids.
I know, it’s a lot, and if you have questions about that, we can discuss it one on one.
Other than that, if there are questions, let’s hear them now.
If you have an issue playing for me—moral, religious, whatever it is—this is your chance to say something.
“Once we leave this room, we all have a job to do. We’ve had more than enough drama for a new team already.” He puts his hands down flat on the table in front of him. “Questions?”
The room is quiet.
Then West stands up. “I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Do you prefer Alfredo sauce or vodka sauce on your pasta?”
Jamie doesn’t even hesitate. “Vodka sauce.”
“Excellent. Italian night at my place at the end of November. I’ll be making everything from scratch. Spouses welcome, but no kids.”
Jamie laughs. “I’m in.”
The room is quiet again.
“Anyone else?”
Everyone shakes their heads.
“Great. Finish your breakfast—I’ll see you on the ice.”
The moment he’s gone, I call Jayne.
“Babe, any news about Lindy?”
“Believe it or not, I heard from Lourdes about ten minutes ago—she asked me if I could pick her up from school before it hits the news.”
“It must have taken a lot for her to call you.”
“She sounded very unlike herself, quiet and polite.”
“She must be scared.”
“That’s my thought too.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“Only to ask if I can keep her overnight if they’re not released on bail.” She hesitates. “Bodi, if they’re convicted…”
“You want to take Lindy.” I knew this was a possibility, and despite wanting to have Jayne all to myself, I’m well-aware of what it’s like for a child to lose her parents.
“It’s not ideal but…”
“It’s fine, babe. We’re not going to let her go to foster care. I wouldn’t let it happen to Billie and we’re certainly not going to let it happen to Lindy.”
“I love you, Bodi.”
“I love you too, baby. Don’t worry about anything. Go get Lindy and we’ll figure out the rest.”
“I’ll call you later. I’m going to bring her to the library with me.”
“I’ll come by and get her after practice.”
“You’re the best. See you later.”
We disconnect and I can’t help but chuckle.
It’s like everything has come full circle.
I started out my adult life as a parent to my sister and my gut tells me that now I’m probably to be one to Jayne’s too.
There’s no way to know if the cases against Coach and his wife will go to trial or what will happen if they do, but I love Jayne and she would never forgive herself—or me—if Lindy wound up in the foster care system.
So, I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Because I love Jayne and if she loves Lindy, well, then I do too.
“Everything okay?” West comes over to me as I dump my plate in the trash.
I tell him what’s going on.
He meets my gaze and smiles. “You’re jumping in with both feet, eh?”
“Yeah.” I meet his eyes. “You think I’m nuts?”
“Nah. I almost married a woman with a kid. If you love the mom, or in this case the big sister, the kids are part of the deal. It’s all part of the master plan of life.”
“I don’t know where we’re going to put her,” I say, “but she may be on your couch for a few weeks until we can make other arrangements. Is that going to be a problem?”
“Not at all.” He shakes his head. “In fact, let me think about making a little space of her own for her. It won’t be a real bedroom—I can’t ask the boys to give up their rooms—but maybe we can give her the den.
At least it has French doors that close so she won’t be in the middle of everything.
We can put an air mattress in there or something. ”
“You’re a good man,” I say quietly. “I owe you.”
“Nah. That’s what friends—and family—do.” He claps me on the shoulder and heads for the door.
Finally, it feels like things are falling into place.
And I’ve been playing my ass off.
I’ve had at least a point in all three games since I got back in the lineup.
I’m excited to be playing for Jamie—I’m going to have to remember to call him Coach Teller—and if Jayne and I need to start looking for a place of our own, that’s just the next step for us anyway.
Living with the guys is fun, and really inexpensive, but we’re going to want a bit more privacy at some point. Especially if Lindy is with us.
“You look like a happy man,” Blaze says as we walk toward the dressing room.
“I am.” I glance over at him.
He’s been different since everything went down. Quiet. Withdrawn. Almost thoughtful. I’m still pissed at him but less so since he’s the one who told us what Coach was up to. Otherwise, something really bad might have happened to Jayne.
“I don’t know if I said it,” he says as we walk. “But I want to apologize.”
“Okay.” I’m definitely not going to let him off easy.
“I’m sorry I told Coach about you and Jayne. I thought…” He pauses. “He made me a lot of promises. Told me a lot of lies and I believed them all. I didn’t know…I didn’t realize he was trying to groom me into becoming nothing but his spy so no one would figure out he was stealing money.”
I hadn’t realized the depth of Coach’s machinations.
Blaze is really just a kid.
I probably would have made the same mistake at eighteen, trusting someone in a position of power like that.
“Apology accepted,” I say after a moment. “I appreciate you clearing that up. He’s manipulative and sneaky. Apparently, in more ways than one.”
“It wasn’t until I saw him hit Jayne that I kind of snapped out of the trance I was in.
It was like he hypnotized me or something.
He’s this big-time coach—everyone wanted to play for him in college, you know?
And then he took an interest in me.” He shakes his head.
“Anyway, I’ve got my head on straight now. Or, at least, straighter.”
I chuckle. “You’ll be okay. Just remember, loyalty is everything. If you go around stabbing your teammates in the back, no one can protect you. Not your coach, not anyone.”
“I know that now. By the way, if you know of anyone looking for a roommate, I’m pretty sure I’m going to need a place to live, sooner rather than later. I don’t think I’ll be able to stay at the house much longer. And I don’t want to anyway.”
“I’ll get back to you. Depending on what happens, Jayne and I are probably going to want to move into our own place. If that happens, there may be an opening at the house. But you’ll probably have to apologize to them too.”
He grimaces. “Yeah, but that’s okay. I’m a big enough person to admit I made a mistake. I’m going to do better going forward.”
“Good to know, kid.” I grin and make my way into the dressing room to start putting on my gear.
The first day of the next phase of my life.