Page 90 of In the Safety's Zone
“Facts, but apparently there’s a house that has been a part of his holdings since the player got transferred. Him being the do-gooder he is didn’t want the cat to be stuck in the house so he took over the mortgage payments.”
I nodded cause all this sounded good but what did this have to do with me?
“That’s cool. Nice bump in the last few years.”
“He’s giving you the same chance.”
“Chance for what?”
“To assume the mortgage.”
Parker walked up dressed just as casually as Coach Stew and added the additional information that had been missing but still cleared nothing up.
I sat down on the bench in front of my locker because I didn’t understand what he was saying. “I’m not following.”
“I’m not one to fuck up my capital so I invest a lot. Taking the mortgage for one player that left meant I didn’t have to lay out all the money at once and dude had a crazy low interest rate. I mean he was a pro athlete and it was the last of the Obama years when those shits were in the single digits.”
“So how much is left on the loan?”
“Not a lot.” Parker wasn’t giving specifics, which gave me pause.
“This feels like some type of setup. Or charity. Neither is sitting well with me.”
They glanced at each other before looking at me. I wasn’t trying to be offensive but I told them I didn’t want handouts with my position with the team. This was one thing I would always stand behind.
“Would you buy a house that was a foreclosure?”
“Of course.”
Stew pushed it further by taking up the argument. “You looking for something that’s brand new?”
“No.”
“Then look at the house, Anthony. Nobody is trying to give you shit. I’m making you pay for the house because I no longer need it. For the last few years, I’ve let players who’ve needed emergency housing rent the place out during the season. Other times it’s been a short-term corporate rental. I’d rather not be the asshole who’s keeping a single-family home off the market just because it’s in his portfolio. The people on the team have places to stay. You’re the one who is in need and I’m not saying you have to take the place. At least go look at it. You might hate it.” Parker was making sense but this still felt like getting something for nothing.
I hesitated because my pride was warring with me. There had already been talks of moving me up from the practice squad based on my performance during camp. That meant I would be competing for an active roster spot against veterans on the team. There was a small part of me that felt like things were happening too fast and were still too good to be true but looking at their faces this wasn’t it. They had a solution to the problem I had and I knew it would be stupid for me to turn it down just because of my pride.
“Do you have any information on the house?” If nothing else, I could share the information with Aphrodite and get her opinion on what we should do.
“I do. It’s about six miles from Stew’s place.”
“It’s not really in a neighborhood but almost like a network of homes on large plots. I don’t know what type of property you were looking for. The houses are all spread out and the house is on a good bit of land.” These two were giving me the information like they’d rehearsed this before coming to talk to me about it.
“It ain’t something crazy big is it? I like space but I don’t need a farm.”
I didn’t want something that was like Antwan’s place. As beautiful as it was, I had a very different style than my brother.He was flashier and his taste was far more expensive than mine. I wanted a nice house, even a big one, but it didn’t need to have granite columns and extra flashy features.
“Nah. It’s a pretty nice place. About seven thousand square feet. A few things have been updated inside but some still need it. Maintenance has been done regularly of course. There’s enough for you to move in now and do what you want to whenever you get a chance. Ain’t no pressure. Like I said, the price is good cause I ain’t looking to make a crazy amount of money on it—”
“Damn, you looking for a come up?” I was just joking with him but Parker shot me a pointed look back.
He smirked before sliding his hand in his pocket. “You said no special favors right?”
I had to give him that one because he was only using my words against me. “Missed out on my blessing with that.”
“You did. I won’t knock your head off too bad with it. I know you've got somebody else that you need to consult with about this. I’ll send you the address and you can look at it.”
“Just like that?” I looked between him and Coach Stew and both seemed unfazed by this entire interaction.
