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13 Years Later
We packed the kids in the car and made the seven-hour drive from Philadelphia to Canton, Ohio. Katy was a lot like me—calm, quiet, and able to entertain herself with a book for the drive even though she was just seven years old. But Dallas, at age five, was a lot more restless.
“Are wethereyet?” he asked when we were outside of Pittsburgh.
Luke gave me a look. I rolled my eyes with him and replied, “We’re still two hours away. Like we were when you asked five minutes ago.”
“I’mbored.”
“Did you watch all your cartoons yet? There were some new episodes when I set up your tablet.”
“Oh!” Dallas said, throwing on his headphones and retrieving his device.
“Maybe it was a mistake to bring the kids,” Luke told me.
“It’s important they come. Especially Dallas. He needs to see his namesake inducted.”
Luke gave me a sideways grin, the kind that said he knew I was right but didn’t want to admit it out loud. I admired the way he looked with the sunlight streaming through the side window. He was aging like fine wine, with a few wrinkles around the eyes but otherwise every bit as handsome as the day I met him. Maybe even more so.
The last thirteen years had flown by. We spent four years in Salt Lake City, where Ilovedmy job as the Director of Security. Within a week, I stopped thinking about the Berlin job altogether. We got married, honeymooned in Aruba, and moved out of his apartment and into a house. After his incredible first season on the team, Luke stopped being a rookie and became a veteran presence alongside Dallas Lockett, Brody Carter, and Steve Cooper. But when Luke became a free agent, it was important to him to live closer to his family. Especially since we were preparing to start a family of our own. So he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, we said goodbye to his teammates and friends, and moved east.
By then, my resume was so impressive that it was easy for me to get a job as head of security for IBM, in downtown Philadelphia. Katheryn Sharon August, named after both of Luke’s mothers, came along soon after that, with Dallas Kincaid August two years later.
And then, in the blink of an eye, Katy was seven and Dallas was five and Luke’s old teammates were being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
We checked in at our hotel in downtown Canton, then drove to the ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We were some of the last guests to arrive; all the men were already standing around in their suits, chatting.
“There’s the rookie wonder!” Kincaid called when we approached.
“Haven’t been a rookie for a long time,” Luke replied, hugging the man. Then he hugged Steve Cooper, and a smiling Dominic DeMarco. A skinny man I didn’t recognize embraced him next, until I heard his voice and realized it was Double-D. “Dallas said the same thing! His wife Kimmy got me hooked on intermittent fasting. Only two meals a day. Shitworks.” He saw my children and flinched. “Uh, pardon my language.”
Then Luke was hugging Dallas, the man who spent four years passing him the ball. They shared a private moment, speaking too low for the rest of us to hear, but I saw tears in my husband’s eyes. That mademestart to get choked up too, so I quickly grabbed Kincaid’s arm and pulled him over to my son.
“I want you to meet the man you’re named after,” I said.
My son frowned. “You’re Dallas? Mom said he washandsome.”
Kincaid and the other players roared with laughter, although I was blushing from embarrassment. After explaining that Kincaid was where my son got hismiddlename, I looked around. “Where’s Brody Carter?”
“At home, preparing for a football game,” Dallas replied. “He wanted to be here, but with me gone, someone had to coach the team.”
An usher appeared and pulled Dallas away. Then we were all instructed to take our seats on the lawn. Two other players I didn’t know were inducted into the Hall of Fame first, and then it was Dallas’s turn to give a speech. He talked about family, and teammates whofeltlike family, and the support of his wife. Kim, who was seated in the front row with their two daughters, was bawling her eyes out after that part. I squeezed Luke’s arm tighter.
Then a bronze bust of Dallas’s face was revealed. Photos were taken, and then there was a reception with food and drinks. After mingling with the crowd, the Stallions players all found their way into a tight circle.
“Do you ever regret working for the Stallions?” Dominic asked me. “You had some big competing job offer in Europe, right?”
“Berlin. And no, I don’t ever regret it. In fact, the Minister of Finance who I was going to be assigned to ended up getting stabbed by a deranged man while walking home from dinner one night. The bodyguard ended up getting fired over it. So I’m really glad I wasn’t the one to take the blame for it.”
“Oh?” Luke said. “Is that the only reason you’re glad you didn’t take the job?”
“Why?” I asked, feigning confusion. “What other reason would I have?”
When the laughter died down, Dallas turned to my husband and said, “It won’t be long before you’re here, getting your own bust revealed.”
Luke shrugged. “I’ve still got a few years left in the league. Then I’ll start thinking about whether or not I’ll be here someday.”
“Always humble,” Kincaid said. “Buddy, you’ve had the resume to belong here for a few years. Now you’re just padding your stats.”
