Page 20 of Autumn Skies & Pumpkin Pies

Keefer gets an unusual look in on his face, one I can’t read before he shrugs. “It’s good.”

I keep waiting for him to say more, I can feel it hanging in the air between us, but he’s fallen silent, so I ask, “But?”

“I don’t know man. I’m kind of over the big city.” When he admits that I notice the dark circles of exhaustion under his eyes.

I nod my head. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s definitely not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s nothing like you expect when you’re growing up. The big city holds so much potential when you’re young, but then when you get there everything is different. It’s hustle and bustle and you strive to keep up with everything going on around you that you never get to actually enjoy anything.” Keefer stares off across the football field like he’s lost in thought. A wistful smile comes over his face and turns back to face me. “It’s funny Teaganne and I always wanted to get out of here. It was like our driving force then there was Warbee, who was the genius and fine with being right here. It’s almost like she knew this is exactly where we would all end up again.”

“Are you thinking of coming back?” I ask.

Keefer shrugs. “I don’t know for sure. I do know I’m ready for a change, so it’s definitely on the plate.”

I smile at him. “Good, so what do you have planned for today?”

“Nothing really.”

“Then why don’t you hang around here with me. Help me go over some plays and what not? You were always great at spotting things that no one else did,” I offer.

Keefer smiles. “I’d like that.”

The rest of the morning Keefer and I go through game tape. Just like I suspected, he catches things that none of us noticed before. If he comes back to Blue Ridge, I’ll definitely have to see if I can talk him into being an assistant coach. He’s made for this. Around lunch Warbee shows up in my office. When she sees Keefer, she squeals and runs straight to him, throwing herself in his arms. “I didn’t know you were here!” Her voice is excited.

“I wanted to surprise you guys. I also didn’t want to miss the first game Rocker coaches,” he says.

Warbee steps back and bites her lip, her excitement traded for nervousness. I’m not sure what she’s nervous about. “I have a surprise of my own.”

Just as she opens her mouth to explain, Teaganne Voss steps into the doorway with sacks from the local deli in her hands and a large smile on her face. She dressed like she’s still in New York, but Teaganne was always about fashion. Her smile doesn’t falter until she notices Keefer. It’s a brief fall, but I catch it. “Well, looks like the gangs all together again after all.”

The rest of lunch goes by quickly with only a few awkward silences. For the most part, Warbee and I keep things light and friendly. I’m not sure what happened between Keefer and Teaganne but obviously there are some unresolved issues. After lunch, the girls leave Keefer and I to finish going over the playbook.

Hours later, I’m standing on the field before heading into the field house to give my team a pep talk. Once more, I’m talking to whatever football gods can hear me. I’m so lost in thought; I don’t hear her approach. It’s not until she wraps her arms around my waist from behind me that I realize she’s here. She presses a kiss on my spine. “How are you doing?”

“Honestly, I’m nervous as hell. The town expects a win, but what if I can’t make that happen?” I ask.

She walks around to stand in front of me. Warbee is decked out in school spirit with ribbons in her ponytail and paint on her face, as well as a t-shirt showing support for the local high school. She smiles at me. “Then it doesn’t happen. All you can do is coach these boys and all they can do is their best, and if that’s not enough to win, then it isn’t. But you can teach them there’s also more than just winning in this game. You can teach them there is life outside this game. Life lessons can be taught on this field just like everywhere else, win or lose.”

Her words are exactly what I needed to hear. I step forward and pull her into my arms. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, tip of her nose and then her lips which taste like vanilla. I hum in appreciation. “You're amazing.”

Warbee blushes and shrugs. “I try. I also brought you something for good luck.” She pulls out a brand-new silver whistle attached to a midnight blue and white lanyard.

“Thank you. It’s perfect.”

She steps forward, her hands frame my face, making me meet her eyes. “You’re perfect. Now, go teach those boys.” She kisses me softly and quickly on the lips before turning and walking away. I watch as she meets Teaganne who smiles and waves before I turn around and head to my field house. The cars are already starting to show up in the parking lot.

When I enter my boys turn to look at me. Keefer gives me an encouraging smile. With Warbee’s words fresh in my mind I give my first pep talk as a coach. “I know that for a lot of you this is your last year of football. Some of you will go on to play in college and some won’t and trust me when I say this, that both outcomes are okay. I know the town expects a win since I’m your coach now, but I want you to know that I don’t expect that of you. It’s not because you can’t win because you can, but if you don’t it’s okay. The only thing I want is for you guys to go out there and give it your all. Leave it all out on the field so when the game is over you can feel proud of what you did, win or lose. Nobody knows better than me how much football can mean to a person but it’s also important to remember that it is just a game. It’s a small portion of your life overall. It’s okay to love it, but never base your life around it because someday it will end and if you never learn how to live outside of it, then you’ll have nothing. Now, every game has two possible outcomes and when we step onto the field, you’ll have a fifty/fifty chance of winning or losing. Take what you get, but play your hearts out, not for me, not for the town but for yourself. Go out there and have fun, make memories and remember it’s just one game and I’m proud of you all, win or lose.”

The guys stand up and clap then turn to form a circle and do their chant to get hyped up. Keefer steps up beside me. “Damn man, that was an awesome pep talk.”

I smile as Warbee comes to mind. “I had some help,” I tell him, just as we line up to head out onto the field. The energy from the crowd can be felt the moment we exit the field house. The stands are full of people in school spirit. The high school band plays our fight song while the cheerleaders keep the energy up. My boys start to run for the paper banner, determined to bust through it. My nerves morph into anticipation. This is the same feeling I got every time I stepped onto this field to play. It’s a feeling I never thought I’d have again. This feeling is why autumn has always been my favorite season.

The game was rough, like I expected but these boys played their hearts out and in the last few minutes they managed to intercept the ball and run over seventy yards for a touchdown that ended up winning the game. Behind me the crowd goes insanely wild. Keefer jumps up and down with the team while I turn and find the only person, I care about celebrating with. Warbee is on the front row with Teaganne, my parents and hers. Her smile is one of pride and it makes me feel like I didn’t lose so much of myself after all.

TWENTY

Warbee

Last night was crazy. I couldn’t be happier for Rocker and the football team though. How they managed to squeeze in that win I’ll never know. Seeing Rocker’s face light up with such excitement was the best part of it all. Afterwards, I left Rocker with Keefer and the rest of the guys to celebrate while Teaganne and I headed back to my house.

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