Under Further Review

by Xyla Turner

  “Shane, just come with us, so she’ll be calm.”

  “No, Ms. Roundtree, I can’t do that.”

  “What?!” Vivian screeched. “It was all a game. Get off of me.”

  She tried to jerk out of their grasp and the lady pulled her back, while the guy gave her a needle in the arm. Vivian struggled for a bit more and eventually stopped as what he assumed was the sedative took effect. They lowered her to the stretcher, while her mom, started charging towards Shane, yelling, “You could have prevented this. You know she needs your help and you keep dragging her through the mud like she is nothing. She was your fiancée, you arrogant…”

  “Don’t you dare!” Beatrice was suddenly in front of Shane and in her mom’s face. “You dare talk to my son like that, when your gold-digging daughter has been playing a dangerous game just to get in his pockets. You think this is his fault, that your crazy offspring conjured up a plan to get rid of the competition. I’m almost inclined to think you were in on it. Shane has been nothing but gracious. Nothing but a gentleman to that crazy chick. Don’t you dare try to lay blame on him for your negligence. You should have already had her evaluated, because whether it was a game or not, that’s not healthy. That’s on you, not him.”

  Her mom gasped at Beatrice’s words, then huffed out murmuring under her breath. The paramedics had already strapped Vivian on the stretcher and had carried her out.

  Beatrice went to grab her bag and told Shane to give it to the paramedics. When he returned, he closed the door, then leaned on it for support.

  “You have a big game tomorrow. Try and get some rest. You are going to need your energy and not just for the game.”

  He nodded, but was very doubtful that he’d be able to fall asleep with his heart aching the way it was.

  “Good night Mom and thanks.”

  “I'll always have your back, son. You just need to get your front.” She delivered her parting words and disappeared down the long hallway.

  As the day came crashing before him, he banged on the door in frustration at the turn of events. He went through all of the motions to get ready for bed, including staying in the shower for an extended amount of time. He tried to call Diamond several times, but it went straight to voicemail. He sent a few texts with the hope that if she did turn on her phone, she might see the messages.

  Sleep would not come to him, but he closed his eyes and drifted away with the lyrics of the dreaded song.

  The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed

  But not a word was spoken

  The church bells all were broken

  …And they were singing

  Bye, bye Miss American Pie

  Gameday was here, but the normal anxiousness was no longer there. This time it was the intensified pain in his heart. It had been torn in two and the only one that could fix it he would see today. Shane checked his phone, but there was nothing from Diamond. He smelled food and found his mom in the kitchen.

  “Morning. You hungry.”

  “Not really, but I’ll eat now because I’ll regret it later.”

  “Still nothing from Diamond?”

  He shook his head.

  She nodded and loaded his plate with waffles, eggs and sausages. The two of them ate, talked and his mom tried to get him to laugh with stories of his father and her cooking. They were funny stories and he did laugh, as his mom did excellent impersonations of his dad. They were together for over thirty years, so she should have been the expert.

  After they cleaned up the kitchen and he was ready to leave for the stadium, she said, “You know, when I was going to leave your father, because of something so silly I won’t even repeat. He stood three feet from me and said, ‘Bea, you’ll never find another man like me. You’ll find a man, but not like me. You’ll have kids, but not our kids. You’ll have fun, but not our fun. You’ll have a life, but not our life.’” She laughed. “The man was an arrogant fool, but he was right. I knew it and so did he. But my point is, he made what we had more important than anything I planned to run away from. He just didn’t do that with words, Shane. He did that with his whole life. He made sure I had him as my man, our kids, our fun, our life. We were a team and at times,” she paused, “It’s hard to let him go and I almost want to pretend he’s still here.” Her voice broke. “That man, never, n-not one time, made me regret choosing him. We were a team and he made sure that I knew and there was never a doubt that he would always have my back.”

  A tear dropped from her eye.

  Shane cleared his throat and was about to say something, but she beat him to it.

  “You have got to show her that, son. She needs to know more than anything that you’ve got her. That she is safe with you. That another woman won’t come in and you turn your back on her. She’s got to believe that and then she’ll choose you. Your father did not force me, he didn’t cajole me. He just stated his truth and I picked. I’m standing here looking at you and I see your sisters and I know I picked well. I’ve got the best team any Mom could ever ask for. Darius Sinclair gave that to me.” She gave him a watery smile and left the kitchen.

  He cleared his throat again and wished his dad were here to tell him what to say to Diamond. He was in love with her, there was no doubt. He wanted her to be in a kitchen fifty years from now, giving their son that same speech about him. He wanted that legacy.

  There was no sign of Diamond before the game which was not weird, because she usually never came to the locker room. Most of the female reporters didn’t, because the men were usually naked or about to get there.

  Ralph came over to give Shane his helmet. “It’s all done.”

  He turned the helmet over and smiled.

  “Thanks, man. This is perfect.”

  “Anytime, man. Good luck.”

  “Yeah, I’m going to need it.” He mumbled.

  As they approached the field, Shane said a small prayer under his breath and none of it had anything to do with the game. He told Austin to make sure he was watching the game too, because he needed the moral support.

  After the game, one reporter ran straight to him. He had never seen him before, but noticed he had a similar gleam in his eyes. He loved the sport, the thrill, the excitement, like he was in the action. Like Diamond. He was also new, because none of the reporters even bothered to deal with him, besides in the press room. They were still on the field when he approached.

  “Shane Sinclair, you played one hell of a game.” The reporter’s cameraman caught up. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. You were like a machine. What was going through your mind during the game?”

  He moved the microphone in front of him and without thinking, Shane replied, “I was in the zone, man. I don’t know what happened, exactly. I had a mission and everything fell in line.”

  “I’ll say, you had three touchdowns and ran over two-hundred yards. You were on fire. I’ve watched you your entire career and I’ve never seen you like that. Does it have anything to do with what’s on your helmet?”

  Shane laughed, “Maybe, man.”

  “So what did she say?”

  “I don’t know yet.” Shane smiled.

  “Well, if she is a football fan, today would not be the day to deny you. You were a major asset to your team today, helping you pull out a win against the Patriots. That’s amazing.”

  The other reporters must have seen him being interviewed and they made a bee-line towards them.

  “Hey Shane, great game. Best game I’ve seen you play in the past five years.” A familiar reporter put the mic in front of him.

  Shane nodded.

  “When you caught that interception in the air, did you think you would get it?”

  “Naw, I knew I was going to get it, the question was would I get hit when I came down?” Shane replied, and they all laughed.

  “It was getting tight on that last touchdown. I wasn’t sure if you would get up from that. We counted seven guys that were on top of you.”

  “Yeah, but
I’m tough. You all should know that by now.”

  “Thanks for taking the time to talk with us,” one reporter said.

  Shane turned to leave, but twisted his head around and said, “Yeah, no problem guys. Thank you.”

  All of the reporters looked dumb-founded at his response. He smiled and walked to the locker room to get ready for the press conference. His coach saw him on the way to the shower, patted him on the back and said, “That’s the man I like to see. Leading his team, setting a great example and being the man I know him to be.”

  Shane turned towards his coach and patted him on the back, then pulled him in for a hug. Coach Mills did not hesitate to return the hug and they embraced for a quiet moment.

  “Thanks Coach.”

  “Anytime, son.”

  Shane smiled at the term and attempted to be calm about getting ready for the press conference. Even though he felt feverish, his heart was racing a mile a minute and his palms were clammy, he would see her and then he could say his peace.

  Shane was the first one there and he requested a microphone be placed in front of him. The guy shrugged his shoulders and grabbed an extra microphone. Matt and Keith joined him at the table, all smiles as they nodded.

  “You lead this one,” Matt said to Shane, while patting him on the back.

  He nodded his once in acknowledgments and cleared his throat into the microphone.

  The commentator announced that they would get started and gave it to the players to pick people. Shane scanned the area, but there was no sign of Diamond. He pointed to a guy in the middle.

  “Shane, you played a damn good, awesome game today and now you are talking to the press, what’s happening now?”

  “Just growing up, I guess. We all have our growing pains when trying to figure out life, but having a three-year tantrum is a bit old, don’t you think?”

  They laughed, then he called on the next reporter.

  “So, assuming the Diamond that was drawn on your helmet today represented Diamond the reporter, was that your grand gesture to ask her to marry you?”

  “Bob, it read, Marry Me on the other side of the helmet. Of course it was.”

  The room chuckled, then Bob followed up and said, “What did she say?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her yet to find out.”

  “So this is serious?”

  Shane smiled, then said, “It’s very serious. Diamond Reeves is my friend, my lover, my number one. She’s my priority. Nobody holds a candle to her. She has my heart and that’s as serious as it gets. Next question.”

  He pointed to someone in the back.

  “How are you taking the loss of your father, Shane?”

  He scoffed. “I’m not. I lost the most important man in my life and all anyone cares to think about is the next game. I know that is your job, even though you need quotes and press to hype up the game, but I’m not taking the loss. I have no choice. He’s gone and all that people will remember is the clip when some reporter blasted that over the air. He was a great man and I can only wish to be a quarter of the man he was. This,” he swirled his finger around the room, “is temporary. But Darius Sinclair is forever. He was an original. Best damn father a son could ever have. A husband who kept his word and made his wife’s life easy. And a man who fought for those that couldn’t fight for themselves. Had a vision and worked it until it worked for him. We all miss him, deeply. He can never be replaced. So to answer your question, I’m not taking the loss. I’m continuing his legacy and building my own.”

  Shane put his head down and said, “Okay, enough about my personal life. My other teammates have personal lives too. Ask away.”

  He gestured for Matt to take over. He smiled and gave him the nod, “Next question.”

  The conference was over within fifteen minutes and there was still no sign of Diamond. When he went to leave, he saw her friend Eddie, Trudy and a woman who looked just like Diamond.

  “Hey Shane,” Trudy called and waved.

  “Trudy,” he smiled. “Who let you loose on the streets of DC?”

  She laughed, then held out her hand, “This is Deidra Reeves, Diamond’s mom.”

  “Wow,” he smiled, “It’s so nice to meet you. You and your daughter favor each other.”

  “Don’t I know it? It’s a blessing.” She laughed as he took her hand and pulled her in for a hug.

  “Whew,” Deidre held on and rubbed his chest. “No wonder my daughter is smitten with you.”

  Shane let her go and asked Eddie, “Where is Diamond?”

  “She had a last minute thing, so she couldn’t make it today,” Trudy answered for him.

  However,” Eddie chimed in, “Deidra here, was looking forward to going out and catching up on some pertinent things.”

  “Right,” Deidra nodded.

  “Okay, is anyone else going? I usually have a movie night at my house, but you all are welcome to come.”

  “No, no. Trudy and I have another engagement,” Eddie said quickly.

  “We do?” Trudy turned around.

  “Yes, we do,” Eddie’s eyebrows rose as his head bent for her to catch on.

  “Oh yeah, that’s r-right,” she nodded. “So, you guys have fun.”

  “Sure thing.” Shane raised an eyebrow at Eddie, “I’ll make sure Ms. Reeves gets back to Diamond’s house tonight, then.”

  “Yes, do that. Do that.” Eddie was pulling Trudy away from them.

  “So, lead the way, lover boy.”

  Shane smiled and said, “I see you are going to be a trip.”

  “You can count on that, chocolate.”

  Dinner with Diamond’s mom was beyond enlightening. She talked about her childhood, her deadbeat father and the past few years. There was not a lot of details, but enough to glean that Diamond had not told him a lot. Specifically, anything about her prior marriage and divorce in a year. It started to make sense about her behavior, the limits and why she moved across the state so abruptly. Deidra realized that the news she was sharing was new to him, so she stopped.

  “I’m sorry, I thought you knew this.” She took a sip of wine.

  “No, seems I was not privy to this information.”

  “I’m not surprised,” she nodded. “Diamond thinks all of this was her fault. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that man was a fraud, which is why I wanted to meet you and find out if you were. Because I was going to tell her, no matter what I planned to tell her. She was so caught up in his life, where he was going, and what he was going to be, that she let him lead her around, until he led her over a cliff. When my girl fell, she fell hard. He belittled her, berated her and made her feel this,” she held up her index finger and thumb with centimeters between the two and continued, “small. I won’t allow it to happen again and although you guys beat my Ravens and you are the famous Shane Sinclair, I don’t give a rat’s ass. If you don’t have good intentions for Diamond Reeves, you leave her the hell alone. These grand gestures are nice, but Cliff was a Senator and made grand gestures too, but behind closed doors would ignore her like she was not even human. So those,” she pointed to Shane, “mean nothing to me.”

  He nodded his head. “Deidra, you don’t know me, but I’d bet you everything I have, Diamond Reeves is safe with me. I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt her. She’s mad at me now, but I’ll fight tooth and nail for her to forgive me. For her to give me a chance to make her happy. She’s it for me. This is no celebrity stunt, this is my life and I want her as a part of that. I want her on my team.” He sighed. “I’d do anything for that to happen.”

  “Well, good luck to you, because you must have made her really mad if she called out of work. She loves her job, loves being in the mix of the game, so for her to miss that.” She shook her head, “You better do some serious begging. I am rooting for you though. I believe you. I hope she does too.”

  “Yeah, me too,” he murmured.

  The rest of dinner went off pleasantly, as Deidra shared her adventures of
tailing sports events around the world. She was definitely a vibrant woman who was fiercely protective of her only child, yet not overly involved in her affairs.

  Shane walked her mom to the door, hoping that Diamond was there. Instead he saw Eddie and Trudy in the living room. Eddie, immediately walked to him and whispered, “Diamond’s in her room. You guys need to talk, so I’m going to take the ladies out for a DC tour ride.”

  He patted her friend on the back and whispered, “I owe you big.”

  “No, man. You owe me real big.”

  “You got it.”

  As they left, Deidra pulled me in for a hug and whispered, “Good luck, I hope to see you soon.”

  Shane smiled at her and said, “Yeah, me too.”

  When the door closed, Shane slowly walked to her room and peeked in since it was ajar. Her back was to the door as she was watching the end of the game, as he just made his last touchdown. The camera zoomed in on his helmet and the commentator said, “He played one helluva game, I hope she says yes.”

  The screen flashed his interview on the field and then it went to the conference room. Shane stayed there and watched her watch him on screen. She was not moving, she almost looked numb. There were a few sniffles, but it was allergy season, so he could not be sure what happened. Her name was mentioned, so she turned it up and the screen flashed to him saying, “Diamond Reeves is my friend, my lover…”

  “My number one,” he said as he stepped into the room, and Diamond gasped. “She’s my priority. Nobody holds a candle to her. She has my heart and that’s as serious as it gets.”

  Her eyes were bloodshot and her face had wet tears streaming down as her bottom lip trembled. Shane grabbed the remote to switch off the television and went down on both knees in front of her.

  “Love,” he exhaled. “Don’t cry.”

  She shook her head, but said nothing. He gathered her hands in his and brought them to his mouth and kissed each one. More tears rolled down her face.