Clearly, trust was an issue, and Dean understood that all too well.
He held the guitar firm in his outstretched arm until Aiden slowly took the instrument and cradled it like a precious treasure.
"Can I show you how to hold it?" Dean asked cautiously. The last thing he wanted was to move too quickly and spook him. Aiden nodded with a wary look and Dean slowly slid his chair forward to help him hold the guitar properly. "Good, now just run your fingers across the strings."
As the first notes rang through the air, Aiden's eyes widened with excitement…ever so slightly and just for a second. But itwas enough for Dean to see that this kid was worth the effort. They sat silent as Aiden experimented and strummed.
"Are you gonna come back?" Aiden asked quietly with a nervous glance.
"I am. I will be here every Wednesday." Dean peered cautiously at him. "Would you like that?"
Aiden's eyes quickly darted around the room before answering with a curt nod of his head.
"Great. Well I'm gonna check on the others. I'll see you next week, okay?" And with that, Dean stood and left Aiden to his strumming.
Each week, Aiden opened up a bit more with Dean and, after a couple of months, became a comfortable, smiling, overly-chatty teenage boy. He also gained proficiency on the guitar in the process.
Music had saved Aiden's life and Dean was proud to have had some small part in it. Working with Aiden and the rest of the kids at the center also kept the loneliness Dean sometimes felt at bay.
Colton patted him on the knee. “You’re a good guy, Dean. That kid is lucky to have you in his life. And you are just full of surprises, aren’t you?”
Dean smiled and wiped away a tear. “Anyway, let’s get back to our song.”
Chapter 8
Dean
Dean: Hey! I’ve always wanted to know what kind of workouts NFL players do each week. Do you think you can take me through a real football workout one day?
Colton: Hey Dean! Sure! I’d love to kick your ass! [smile emoji] I can meet you at the training facility any day. Just let me know what is best for you.
They met up a couple of days later.
“Thanks for doing this, Colton. Are you sure it’s Okay for me to be here? Isn’t the training facility for the team only?”
“Not a problem. Hope you can keep up.” Colton teased as he elbowed Dean in the ribs. “And yes, the training facility is for the team only, but after your music video, you’re considered part of the team now. You can come and go as you please aroundhere. And that comes straight from Mr. Lynch.” Colton winked. “Ready to go?”
Colton started them off with some light calisthenics—high knees, light jogs, side to side triple steps—before moving them into deep stretching for the hamstrings, quadriceps, and hips.
For the first drill, Colton set up a row of twelve parallel hurdles, the type used in Track and Field.
“Okay, this is an agility training drill,” he explained. “You’re gonna high knee up and over each hurdle, all the way down the line.”
Colton slowly demonstrated the drill, lifting his left knee over the hurdle and down on the other side, straddling the hurdle. Then the right knee over the hurdle and down, clearing one hurdle and moving on to the next one.
“See?”
Dean nodded.
Colton then demonstrated at full speed, flying down the hurdles in just a few seconds.
Wow!Dean thought, awestruck at Colton’s speed and precision.
“The idea is to get through the hurdles as fast as possible, without knocking any down,” Colton said. “Give it a try.”
Dean tried it slowly. The hurdles were a little taller than he thought. It was challenging to get his foot high enough to get over it.
“When you go faster, you’ll have some momentum and bounce, so it will be easier to get over them,” Colton instructed.
