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On it –Ray
I received a text back from Ray about fifteen minutes later.
Tonight. 7pm. Lucy’s– Ray
I didn’t announce my meeting with Wesley to the group. I would let them know if something came of it.
* * *
I arrived atLucy’s,a local restaurant, ten minutes early. The hostess led me to a private dining room where Wesley was already seated.
“What up, El,” Wesley stood to embrace me.
“You got it, Wes.”
Wesley and I were introduced by a colleague of mine who represented him at the time. I was impressed by Wesley’s business acuity and of his plans after he finished playing baseball. We discussed investments and commercial property. He told me he grew up in construction because his Dad owned a construction company in his hometown of Ragston, Michigan. We had discussed partnering on some business ventures in the future.
“Can I bring you something to drink?” the waitress asked.
“What top shelf bourbons do you have?”
“We have a ten, sixteen or twenty-year aged bourbon.”
“Twenty-year?”
“Yes, some people like it, and some don’t. It’s about fifty-fifty as far as people who think it’s the best thing ever and those who say it’s too old, too bitter and lacks the tastes the younger bourbons have,” she explained.
“Humph, I guess it’s worth trying. Bring a glass for my friend and me, neat please.”
“How about I bring you a sample. If you like it, I will bring you a glass. If not the sixteen year is a favorite around here.”
“Thank you.”
The waitress left the room.
“How are Momma V and Torrey?”
“They both are well.”
“Tell them I said, hello.”
“I will let them know. I didn’t plan on seeing you while I was in town. I thought you would have been down in Florida preparing for the season.”
The waitress returned with our samples of the twenty-year whiskey. We both took the shot and agreed it was too old and bitter. She already had two glasses of the sixteen year on her tray. The sixteen year was much better.
“Would you like to order, or should I come back,” the waitress asked.
We both ordered the prime rib and the seasonal vegetables. She left the room, and we continued our conversation.
“I haven’t signed the contract yet, so I won’t go until the business is settled.”
“That’s what I wanted to discuss with you. What is going on with that? Is the amount being offered not fair?”
“It’s more than fair. Honestly, El, I think I have fallen out of love with baseball. At one point in my life, I ate, slept, and lived the game. Now, not so much. I think about all of the things I have given up or missed in pursuit of this career. I used to think it was worth it. Now, I don’t think so.”
“What brought about this change?”
“Age, I guess. I will be celebrating my fifteen-year high school reunion soon. I know to a lot of people, to most people, my life is a fairy tale but what do I have to show for it? Nothing. I mean nothing that will outlive me. I want a family, a wife, and kids but I can’t have that and still have this career. Not the way I would want to have it.”
