“Whatever you do, do not miss Fitzy’s mom’s turkey,” Tarvi said over his shoulder as he led us into the line. “Best damn turkey you’ll ever eat.” To punctuate the point, he smacked his full lips while rubbing his washboard belly.
Behind me Callahan chuckled and added, “Tarvi’s not wrong. Make sure to get some of Mama Fitzgerald’s deep-fried turkey.”
With a sage nod I said, “The two of you will make sure I know which of the women serving us is Fitz’s mom, right?”
“You’ll know,” Callahan said.
When it was our turn to grab plates and utensils, I hid my shock that we’d be eating off platters. Then my stomach rolled in on itself, and I decided a platter rather than a plate might be exactly the right size for dinner.
Tarvi turned to me and nodded to a tall, square-built Black lady about three turkeys down from the start of the food. She laughed at something one of the players in front of her said, and I couldn’t miss the resemblance to her son.
“Fitz’s mom?”
“Oh yeah.” He went up on his toes again to check out the serving dishes in front of her. “I think someone must have told the freshmen about her bird. Good thing we didn’t waste time getting over here.”
To be polite, I took a slice of turkey from the alums handing them out as we shuffled along to the prize. When we reached Mrs.Fitzgerald, her face lit up.
“There you are, Tarvarius! You’d better have some of this.”
She forked at least three slabs of turkey onto Tarvi’s platter, and he grinned back at her. “I look forward to this every year, Mrs.Fitz. Best damn bird in the world.”
She beamed at him again then her gaze slid to me. “I don’t believe I’ve met you, young man.”
“Danny Chambers. These guys”—I nodded to Tarvi and Callahan—“have been singing your praises for weeks because of your food.” My stomach chose that moment to rumble again—loudly. Laughing, I said, “Been looking forward to meeting you for a while.”
“Are you one of our transfer players?” she asked.
“No, ma’am. I’m a freshman.” When her eyes widened, I hastily added, “Nontraditional. I did four years in the Air Force before walking onto the team.”
“You’re a veteran? Bless you, boy. Thank you for your service.” She piled at least four slabs of bird onto my platter. “Nice to meet you.”
“Thank you. Nice to meet you too.”
The woman had an air of warmth and authority—something she’d passed on to her son. After meeting his mom, it was easy to see where Fitz’s confidence came from. Their resemblance went beyond looks.
After we filled our platters with all the trimmings, we found a spot at a table with Mick Patterson and Dallas Cousins. Though our coaches encouraged players from both sides of the line and special teams to live together, we still often gravitated to guys who played on our side of the ball. Mick was saying something about what he’d seen of our opponents’ nose tackle on film while Dally merely nodded and gave the occasional grunt of acknowledgment as he shoveled food into his mouth.
“I was telling Dally we have to watch their front three. Usually, we handle a three-four defense just fine, but their nose tackle is a one-man wrecking crew.” He ducked his head, his eyes darting to each of us. “I’d rather not get wrecked, at least not until the last play of the championship game.” Then he grinned and shoveled a forkful of cheesy broccoli into his mouth.
“No worries, Patty. Ain’t no candy-ass Southern boy gonna roll over me to get to you.” Catching my eye, Dally winked. “After what went down in practice today, they’re gonna have some trouble with our new starter too, I think.” He reached his massive fist across the table for me to bump before turning his attention to Tarvi. “Now you got two guys who can take the pressure off you or open holes like doors in their linebacking corps—let you see nothing but daylight after Patty hands you the rock.”
With those pronouncements, Dally returned to shoving mashed potatoes and gravy into his mouth as if they were trying to escape his plate.
Tarvi let loose a signature Tarvi grin. “Any of you give me even a sliver of daylight, and Katie bar the door, ’cause I’m gonna take advantage and run all the way to the promised land.”
“Amen,” Patty said with a smirk at the same time as Callahan matched him with, “Hallelujah!”
I chuckled at all their nonsense. Having dreaded yet another holiday dinner with a bunch of guys in a mess hall, surprisingly, I was enjoying myself. Then I cut into Mrs.Fitzgerald’s famed deep-fried turkey, and my eyes rolled back in my head. While I lived for Mrs.Hamilton’s food, the guys were right about Fitzy’s mom’s turkey. Absolutely the most succulent slice of bird that had ever crossed my lips. When I moaned, each of my buddies at the table burst out laughing.
“Guess you tried a bite of the best Thanksgiving turkey ever cooked,” Callahan said with a grin.
“Fuuuck, you guys. This shit’s to die for.” My knife cut through a slice of bird like shearing a thin piece of paper. Closing my eyes, I savored another bite and heard the click of someone’s phone.
Blinking my eyes open, I stared at Tarvi, who had his phone up for another shot.
“What the fuck? Is that for your food-porn spank bank?” I asked.
His eyes danced. “You wish.” He pocketed his phone and picked up his utensils, cutting into his own slices of delectable poultry. “Just sent it to Mrs.Fitz. She’ll appreciate how much you love her food.”
