Page 19 of Fumble Into the End Zone
Me
Bad day?
Addison
Seen my ex.
Me
Seven.
Addison
I’ll be there.
“I hope you are talking to a man while you are ignoring me,” Mom said, and I smiled.
Marcus
I carried my daughter out of the airport while Ms. Renee pushed Granny in a wheelchair. We migrated toward the signs with ournames. The plane ride from Ohio to Houston was too much for Harley. As I carried her through the airport, I remembered the first time I held her in my arms. Those brown eyes focused on my voice as I made her promises to provide and protect. She gave me a run for my money those first six months. I would be at football practice, tired, because she wouldn’t sleep at night. When she learned to walk, Harley would follow me to the door and cry when I left for school.
With the rookie minicamp and OTAs scheduled to start, time wasn’t on my side. A moving company picked up my cars and personal things three days ago. I paid extra for them to unpack and set up our furniture. Ms. Renee stayed with Granny and Harley at a luxury hotel until I landed yesterday.
The management company I hired in Ohio already secured a renter for our old house. By morning, we were in the air.
Traffic alone took us an hour to pull into our rental. Harley’s head remained on my arm as she yawned from being restless. Hell, we both were. With Granny’s knee, I found a one level traditional style house. Ms. Renee agreed to come with us for the first year. I gave her the option to move in or I would pay the rent on an apartment of her choice. She opted for the apartment, because living separately gave her the ability to disconnect. Unbuckling the seat belt, Harley sat and waited for the adults to pile out. Instead of walking, I held her as she wrapped her hands around my neck.
“Are you ready to see your room?” I asked as we moved toward the front door.
“No, I want to go back to Ohio,” she said with her head facing the opposite direction.
I rubbed her back. “Princess, I know this last month has been hard on you. Can you at least give Texas a chance,” I said as I punched the code in the door.
She shrugged her shoulders. Before training camp started, I knew I had some work to do.
In my first team meeting, I sat one row down from Bryce. I wanted to watch his interaction with the veteran players, especially Vick. Before leaving his house, Bryce let me in on his game plan. It was simple: he was going to ice Vick out of the plays. Whether I preferred it or not; it was going to benefit me.
“The biggest change this year lives within the play book. We’re switching to a West Coast offense. Bryce will call shotgun plays, go no-huddle when needed, and pre-snap motion will be a must,” Coach said.
The team flipped through the play book and Vick’s eyes traveled up to Bryce.And it begins.For appearances, I flipped through the playbook, mirroring everyone else. The rookies knew these plays, but we all played along. We had no business at Bryce’s house, but we were hungry to make the 53-man roster. The offense would spread the ball to me, the tight end and running back. Vick’s production would be cut in half. Last year, they were a dynamic duo, but things had changed.
Exiting the team meeting, I tucked behind Danny keeping some distance between me and Bryce. There was no way I was missing this action. The more the coach broke down the new direction, Vick’s irritation became visible. I smelled the confrontation from my seat, but Bryce instructed me not to get involved. He wanted the pleasure of making Vick appear erratic and violent.
“Bryce, I need to rap to you for a second,” Vick said, and we all paused.
“What’s up?” Bryce said.
From my conversations I held with Bryce, this was deeper than Shaunie. A QB’s relationship with his wide receiver was similar to a marriage. Bryce and Vick were going through a divorce, and the asset they both wanted was the Armadillos.
“This is a contract year for me. I need the ball. Let’s keep our personal differences off the field,” Vick announced.
What he didn’t know was Bryce had already counted his pockets with the intention of emptying them as much as possible. I hope he saved some of his rookie deal.
“Vick, I don’t have any issues with you. It’s a new offense, and it comes with growing pains,” Bryce replied with a smirk.
Anybody with eyes could see Bryce had plans for Vick. They went back and forth with passive aggressive banter until Vick grabbed Bryce’s arm. I knew it was getting ready to go down until Ed pushed past me.
“Vick, man, let him go,” Ed demanded.
