“Later.”
My brother left my office, and I leaned back in my office chair, putting my feet up on the corner of my desk. I still couldn’t believe I’d been hired as the head football coach at my alma mater.Black Elm Universityheld a special place in my heart, and being asked to come back and lead the football team meant a lot.
I was blessed to be drafted by the Chicago Coyotes, my hometown team, and I played tight end for them for ten years, retiring eight years ago. Although I’d only been back to Black Elm to visit a few times after I graduated, it always felt like a second home, and it felt good to be back.
There was a lot of work to do before the team reported for camp at the end of July. I still had to hire the rest of my coaching staff, which would take up most of my time over the next month. Once that was done, we could hit the ground running.
I had no plans for tonight, so I ordered food fromSoulful Dinerfor pickup and headed out. The restaurant was abouttwenty minutes away, so I called my mother to see what she was up to on the way.
“Hey, Son,” she answered.
“Wassup, Ma. You good?”
“I’m great, now that I’ve heard from you. How you doing way out there in Cali?”
I chuckled. My mother, Mareen, hated that I was so far away, and she felt the same way when I was in college. Sometimes, I thought she held it against me that I chose a school so far away. When I was drafted to Chicago, I thought it was God’s way of healing a part of my mother’s heart that she’d closed off when I left.
“I’m good. Once I get settled, I want you and Dad to come out for a visit.”
“We’d like that, Son.”
“What’s Dad up to?”
“He’s out cutting the grass.”
I chuckled again. “He’s the only millionaire I know who refuses to hire somebody to do that.”
My father, Kyle St. Patrick, also played professional football, so money was no issue. He retired when my younger brother, Knox, and I were ten and eight. We lived in a mini mansion with an impressively large yard, and taking care of it was one of our many chores once we were old enough. After my brother and I left for school, he took over and still never hired anyone.
“He thinks it’s a waste of money when he can do it himself.”
“He’s been telling me and Knox that our whole lives, but he’s getting up there in age, and?—”
“Don’t you let him hear you say that. He’ll be trying to square up with you to prove you wrong, and I don’t have time to be nursing him back to health.”
This time, I belted out a laugh, and my mother joined me.
“You know I wouldn’t hurt my old man,” I teased.
“You’d better not, because then I’d have to hurt you. Where’s my baby boy?”
“He went to meet the moving truck at his condo.”
“It’s bad enough you left me, but you just had to take your brother with you,” she fussed.
Knox attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Although it was about five hours south of Chicago, he was much closer to home than I was. He played football as well but suffered a career-ending injury in his senior year.
Instead of letting it break his spirit, he graduated school and worked as a graduate assistant coach for the football team. His skills and knowledge landed him a position on the staff once he graduated, and he’d gained quite a bit of coaching experience over the years.
“Ma, gimme a break. You know I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, and bringing my brother with me was a no-brainer. He’s the best receiver coach out there.”
“I know, Son, and I’m glad you two are together. I just miss my boys, that’s all. You haven’t been gone long, but it seems like it’s been months. I miss seeing your handsome faces at least a few times a week, and I’m not talking about on FaceTime.”
“I know, Ma. We miss you too.”
“Have y’all at least been out with any women who can give us some grandkids before we go on to be with the Lord?”
“Ma, please. You know I hate it when you talk like that. You’re not even seventy.”
