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“Seems so unfair that you finally land your dream job and you still have to work.”
I snorted because it was true. But the NFL didn't give me a full-time contract. Since I was only traveling in a limited capacity and still in a probationary period, the money I made at games wasn't going to cut it year-round.
I had no choice but to keep my original job so that I could pay my bills. But being a trainer at the gym near my house was a good gig, and I had been there for years now. Leaving that job was never something I wanted to consider, and my boss was more than supportive of me pursuing officiating.
“I don't mind, Mom. You know Bobby is good to me down there.”
“Yeah well, he better be.”
“I will come by after work though, help you with the crafts for a bit,” I offered. I knew that would make mom happy even if I didn't want to spend my evenings twisting tulle.
“I’ll cook something, and we can make a night of it.”
“Ok Mom, sounds good,” I added before ending the call.
I held back my groan, already regretting my offer. I hated arts and crafts, but I loved spending time with my mom, so if she wanted to make a night of it, I would. I may have to spend some extra time at the gym to compensate, though.
I started going to Bobby’s gym as a way to work out my aggressions. Our little family had been dealt a shitty hand once my dad died, and sometimes I was angry that life for us couldn't have been easier.
Mom did her best as a single parent, working every job she could and selling her crafts at the local flea market on the weekends. I helped her and Jesse for a while, but eventually, Bobby offered me a job and I took it. He was about the age my dad would have been and ended up being like the dad I never had.
I was thankful for Bobby, not only for my job, but how he invited Jesse into the fold as well. Jesse had always had a harder time because he wasn't very social. He was diagnosed with autism in his teens and lived at home with Mom, but he would go to the gym with me where he felt safe.
Bobby had him in a boxing ring in no time and it became a coping mechanism that Jesse still used when he was feeling especially overwhelmed. He could put headphones on, focus on one person, and swing his arms until he was exhausted. It gave him confidence and even though he would probably always live with Mom, he was more fulfilled individually.
Whatever my future held with the NFL, I would always remain faithful to Bobby and the guys I worked with.
* * *
“Hey yo!” Bobby yelled as I walked into work the following morning.
“Hey, yo, yourself,” I yawned.
“I saw my girl making those calls yesterday. How did it feel? Tell me everything.”
I looked around the lobby of the gym that mostly consisted of old chairs and a ragged old wooden counter with marker and pen marks all over it. Bobby and two of the other guys that worked with me, Bond and Axton, sat in the old chairs looking at me.
“It was good. I mean, what do you want to know?”
“I want to know what you were thinking about when you blew that call,” Bond teased. “No wait. You didn't blow it; you didn't even see it.”
I had avoided the sports news because I knew that would be mentioned, but I should have been more prepared to face the neanderthal I worked with.
“Hey, lay off,” Bobby interjected. “You did good, kid.”
My heart warmed at how he called me “Kid,” even though I wasn't a kid. Bond and Axton were the kids–both twenty-seven but acted seventeen. “Thanks Bobby.”
I looked over at my coworkers who were still smirking at me while also biting their cheeks. I couldn’t help but laugh. They wanted to tease me so bad but knew Bobby would send them home early if they gave me too much shit. So, I smirked right back and headed into the women’s locker room to get ready for my day.
I pounded the ring hard, sparring with some clients and then helping a few on the machines in the other part of the gym. None of the clientele knew I had blown a call, none of them even cared because they didn’t know I was officiating. Most of the people that came to our gym were low-income folks that spent more time working than they did watching football.
By the time the day ended, I had almost forgotten about my other life. I was calmer, tired, and content. It was as if the drama of the day before hadn’t happened, and I was right back in the swing of normalcy.
Then I saw Coach Peyton at a press conference on the TV as I walked into the lobby to leave for the day and Bond turned the volume up so we could all hear.
“What are your feelings on the new referee? How did she call the game?”
He licked his lips and popped his back, tapping his fingers on the podium and trying to think of how he was going to answer. I was frozen, watching what he would say, almost expecting him to spill his disdain for me.
