Piper’s father pumped Jayson’s hand two more times than necessary and drifted back toward the bar, visibly proud ofhimself. Piper watched him go. He watched his mother from across the room.
When he looked back at Jayson, Jayson was still watching him.
“They drink a lot,” Piper said, before he knew he was going to say it.
“Yes,” Jayson said. “They do.”
Piper looked at the card in his hand.
“If you ever need to talk, give me a call,” Jayson said, very gently. “You can use it when you need it.”
***
Piper’s shoulder was injured three months later.
A defensive end had come through a gap that should have closed. Piper took the hit hard, felt the labrum go as he threw, and finished the throw anyways.
The ball was completed for twenty-seven yards. Piper was on the turf unable to get up due to the pain.
The news came from the orthopedic surgeon in a conference room two days later. Piper held back tears. Surgery required and the timeline was nine months minimum. The draft was in four months. The scouts had already been in the building.
His mother cried over the potential loss of her free ride in life and then reached for her phone.
“We need to make calls,” she said. “We need to call Alan at the firm. We need to call... Dan. Dan, are you listening? Fucking listen to me! We need to think. Piper is projected at one in the draft. This can’t be happening!”
His father was looking at the floor. He hadn’t said anything since the surgeon left the room. He pulled a flask out of the inside pocket of his jacket, a thing Piper had never seen him do in a medical office, and took a long pull.
“Dan,” his mother said.
“I am fucking listening, Donna.”
“Then say something, asshole.”
“Let me have a minute.”
His mother reached out to her best friend Kay who apparently knew “a surgeon in NYC who does the pros.” His father drank from his lucky flask. Piper sat across from both of them with his arm in a sling and his mind raced.
That night, Piper made the call when he remembered the card. Jayson answered on the second ring.
“Piper.”
“Hey Jayson, you told me to call if I needed anything and guess what, the shoulder is torn. Three places. They want to operate.”
“Which surgeon?”
Piper told him.
“He is fine, but there are better ones though and I know two offhand. I will have both of them call you in the morning. Is there anything else you need me to do?”
Piper hadn’t been asked that question in a very long time.
“No, that’s it. I really appreciate this Jayson, I don’t know how to thank you,” Piper said.
“You will find a way in time. I will call you in the morning.”
The line ended.
***
