Homecourt Advantage

by Rita Ewing

  In a fit of anger, Trina kicked an empty popcorn box at one of the referees as Rick and Shaquille were reluctantly escorted off to their respective locker rooms, hollering back and forth at each other the entire time.

  “Trina, the refs are going to eject you if you keep it up,” Casey said, noticing one of the referees eyeing them. They were sitting together in Casey’s seats just one row behind Star Row. Robert DeNiro turned around to high-five Trina as Jack Nicholson glared across the court at them.

  “I don’t give a damn! Rick’s been gettin’ knocked around all night. Shit, half of the Lakers should’ve been ejected in the first quarter alone,” Trina spat out.

  “Come on, Trina, we don’t need two of you getting kicked outtonight,” Remy chimed in. “I could just see the headlines now. ‘Pregnant Flyers Wife Thrown out of the Mecca—Injured Referee Seeking Ten Million in Damages.’ “ Remy was clearly trying to make light of the media’s overzealous involvement in all of their lives.

  Casey glanced at Remy. She knew how difficult it was for her friend to even show her face at the Mecca. But when Collin had called begging her forgiveness and support, Remy had been unable to refuse him. Underneath the rawness of her hurt and anger, Remy loved Collin and wished the best for him, no matter what, and she was relieved to see him back in the starting lineup.

  “Well, it’s true,” Remy said sheepishly, lifting her shoulders and chuckling as she looked back up at Trina, who was quite a sight standing near the edge of the court with her protruding stomach. She looked like she was ready to attack one of the referees.

  Casey pulled at the back of Trina’s sweater in an attempt to coax her back down. “You want one of the players to knock you out when they get started again?”

  Trina looked over her shoulder at Casey. Finally settling down and sitting in her seat sandwiched between Lorraine and Casey, she crossed her arms over her stomach, a grimace on her face.

  Casey had invited the group of women to sit with her for the last game as one final act of camaraderie. They were not usually together since the players’ seats were scattered throughout the arena, with the most coveted locations given to the team’s franchise players, the rest by seniority on the team. Casey did not know what next season would hold for any of them, including their men. The ties these women and men shared were uncertain ones, determined by the seasons they experienced together. Casey knew how indefinite their relations were, thinking of the recent breakup of Michael and Dawn and the banishment of Kelly after her trumped-up charges against Steve. And she knew something more: no matter who comprised the Flyers next year and where they went, Coach Mitchell would not be with them. Brent had called her after he and Paul talked to Hal; his sense of betrayal and hurt had reached over the lines and touched her. She assumed Lorraine also knew the whole sordid story and how Hal had socked Mitchell, though they hadn’t discussed it. The lives of the men and women ofthe New York Flyers intersected over the course of a basketball season. One day they were thrown together with the expectation of behaving like a big, happy family and the next day they were parting ways, strewn about like dandelion fluff.

  The Flyers could be relocated to Albany, Paul could be traded, Brent could suffer a career-ending injury, Rick could be forced into retirement by the team’s unwillingness to sign an older player, and Collin, being a free agent, could end up playing ball just about anywhere in the world. They all lived an existence plagued by a tenuousness that not only pervaded their careers but trickled down into their relationships as well.

  Even though a breakup had been inevitable for Remy and Collin, Remy’s love for him as a friend rose above her broken heart and disappointment. Remy had put her raw feelings aside and decided to stand behind Collin in what could be his last game in a Flyers uniform, or in any team uniform for that matter. She had told Casey that she intended to give Collin her support, especially since so many of his alleged friends had turned their backs on him after the New York Post’s exposé article.

  Casey watched as the ball boys mopped up the wet floor and removed the debris littering the court. The announcement asking the crowd to refrain from throwing items onto the court was barely audible over the chants of “Bullshit” echoing throughout the arena. The fans were close to rioting, with Rick Belleville ejected and the Flyers down four points.

  Steve Tucker ripped off his sweats and began jumping up and down in an effort to loosen up as he prepared to take Rick’s place on the court. Casey watched across the court as the acting head coach, Bob Stillman, whispered in Steve’s ear. Casey imagined Steve had to be grateful that Shaquille had been ejected as well. When Steve had initially entered the game in the first half, he had struggled trying to hold on to the ball. The same had been true for Collin as he unsuccessfully tried to get one three-pointer after another to sink. Yet somehow the Flyers had managed to stay in the game, despite Steve and Collin having a difficult time trying to get back into their grooves.

  When a few of the wives had questioned why Coach and Alexiswere absent, Casey had made up something about a death in the family, crossing her fingers so God wouldn’t punish her for the lie. No one seemed to mind much, including the fans, since Mitchell’s strategy had been the object of much talk and speculation in the media. During the last game, Walt Frazier had wondered aloud over the air whether Mitchell had lost his sanity. The fans had been ecstatic when Stillman put Steve and Collin back into the rotation. Postgame stories would no doubt probe into this detail, but as for now, Walt Frazier just kept mentioning his absence, playing speculative games when there was nothing else to say, telling the fans the media had to improvise. Tomorrow would be feeding-frenzy time for the sports press.

  As Collin inbounded the ball to Paul, Casey’s mind wandered. She felt a tug at her heart. She had rushed in and out of her apartment to change from her work attire before the game tonight. As had become her routine, Nikki had been waiting at the door. She had begged to accompany Casey, but Casey had refused her, not wanting Nikki to stay up past her weekday eight-o’clock bedtime. When Nikki had finally relented, she made Casey promise to kiss her when she got home, no matter how late; and oh yeah, Daddy too. As much as she had been fighting it, Casey had to admit to herself that she had fallen in love with the little girl.

  “Yes, Collin! Hit another one, baby!” Remy uncharacteristically screamed as she jumped out of her seat when Collin hit his first three-pointer of the night, putting the Flyers within one point of the Lakers.

  Casey noticed that the people sitting around them were staring at Remy with looks of confusion on their faces. Since Collin and Remy were such a well-known couple, the general public was engaged in a mission to figure out if the New York Post article was really true or if Collin was straight and he and Remy were still an item.

  As Kobe Bryant of the Lakers attempted to inbound to Rick Fox, Paul Thomas stole the ball out of Jones’s hand and made an easy layup, putting the Flyers up by one point. The entire Mecca was on its feet. Trina seemed to have forgotten that she was angry about Rick’s ejection as she frantically jumped up and down, waving a purple and black Flyers towel in the air.

  With forty-six seconds left in the game, the Lakers called a timeout, probably hoping to diminish the Flyers’ momentum after Paul’s steal and easy basket. As Paul ran to the sidelines, the guys were bumping chests and slapping each other on the butts in frenzied excitement.

  When the guys left the huddle and resumed their positions on the court, Brent quickly winked at Casey and mouthed the two words “Thank you.”

  As Brent stayed glued to his man on the court, guarding his every move, Paul followed suit and shut down his man as well. The twenty-four-second clock expired without the Lakers ever getting a shot off. The Flyers regained possession with twenty-two seconds remaining in the game and a one-point lead.

  The tension and excitement was so thick in the Mecca, it made the hairs on Casey’s neck rise. Michael Brown inbounded the ball, passing it to Paul, who guarded it as he was double-teamed wit
h intense full-court pressure. He dribbled down the court as if his life depended on it; the seconds took an eternity to pass.

  Brent was open and waved his hands in the air for Paul to pass him the ball. Casey could see the burning desire to win in Brent’s eyes. She could not recall seeing such a fervent expression on his face except on one previous occasion—when he had asked her to marry him.

  Casey felt a sudden surge of forgiveness toward her husband. For the first time in three years she felt a freeness in her love for him. She was not encumbered by the weight of his past wrongs. Instead, she felt a receptiveness to his love descend upon her.

  As Brent caught the pass from Paul with four seconds remaining in the game, he went up for a ten-foot jumper. Just as the ball was released from Brent’s hands, Casey tightly shut her eyes and hoped for the best outcome of the game and their marriage.

  Epilogue

  “Come on, Mommy! Daddy said they gonna have a merry-go-round!”

  “Yeah, Casey. What are you doing in there? You drown in the tub or something?” Brent said as he banged on the bathroom door.

  “Can a woman get a moment’s peace around here?”

  “Hurry up, Mommy,” Nikki begged.

  Listening to Nikki on the other side of the door, Casey knew without a doubt that she’d created a wonderful little monster despite her initial apprehension. She’d indulged her to the point that she could coo and whine and not irritate Casey in the least bit (unless she was waking her up at six o’clock on a Saturday morning). That night on her doorstep several months before, it had not occurred to Casey that Nikki would turn into a surprise package that she could never fathom returning.

  “Five minutes, I’ll be out in five minutes. You two act like you haven’t seen me in years.” She laughed thinking about the father-daughter duo.

  The directions written in bold letters on the back of the box stated that it should only take a couple of minutes for the results, but itseemed as if hours had passed. Casey’s two big babies impatiently hovering at the door didn’t help matters. They seemed to have forgotten that she’d spent the whole morning romping around Central Park with them. Sometimes Brent acted like more of a kid than Nikki, but Casey suppose’d she was the one to blame for that since she’d been incessantly spoiling both of them over the last five months.

  After the final game of the play-offs, a welcome calm had begun to descend upon their lives. A calm that Casey allowed to enter into her marriage. She had been fighting it for so long—to the point of mental exhaustion. The seesawing had not done either of them any good, especially their marriage. The truth of the matter was that she loved Brent and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Although he had made a huge mistake, Casey felt he was trying to rectify his wrong. He was genuinely trying to make amends. She wanted to give him another chance—really give him another chance this time, not just pay lip service to trying to make their marriage work. Casey knew the infidelity was inexcusable but it was time to move on. She not only believed, but she knew in her gut that Brent had totally re-committed himself to their marriage. It had become her turn to decide whether or not she wanted to be committed again. And she had decided—for better or for worse, Brent was her man. Finally, she truly believed the worst had passed for them.

  In July, they’d gone on a vacation with Nikki and Brent, Jr., to a family resort in Hawaii. In August Brent and Casey had driven around the coast of the Italian Riviera. She could not quite pinpoint when the transition occurred, but everything had begun to fall into place for them as a couple and as parents about the same time they got settled back in their Virginia home. Casey was actually a parent—not only a stepmother to Brent, Jr., but a mommy to Nikki. She’d officially adopted her two months ago.

  Apparently, ever since Nikki was born, her mother had been shuffling her between various relatives’ homes until they got tired of caring for her or the money she gave them ran out. She’d never had any interest in being a mother in the first place and had readily relinquished all of her parental rights, claiming that Nikki cramped her style. The child support she’d been receiving from Brent had beensquandered on exotic vacations for her and her string of boyfriends. Brent’s money fit into her plans, but Nikki did not.

  Brent had been worried about Casey’s reaction to Nikki moving in with them permanently; he’d assumed that Casey wanted more than anything for Nikki’s mother to change her mind somewhere down the line and take her back. When Casey had not only agreed but suggested adopting her, Brent had been floored. With Trina’s voice in her head, she’d known she wanted her marriage to work above all else. The picture for them was almost complete, personally and professionally. Casey wanted Nikki in their lives as much as Brent wanted her, and she knew he understood her final forgiveness.

  Oddly enough, the Flyers beating the Lakers in the last game had been almost anticlimactic for Brent with all the controversy surrounding the whole series. Which was not to say that he wasn’t excited to finally win an NBA championship. He strutted around wearing his championship ring, flashing it like a woman with a new huge diamond engagement ring. But still, the fallout after the win cast a shadow over the Flyers’ success for him.

  When Hal, along with Commissioner McDeavitt, had told the entire Flyers/Coach/Hightower saga, the fans had been great—though the vote wasn’t in on whether Stillman would coach. New York was glad to have their team, swept clean.

  Soon the NBA investigation had exposed Mitchell’s and Jake’s activities and they were both banned from working with the league. Jake’s agency license had been revoked and he’d been disbarred by the State of New York from practicing law. The last Casey had heard, Jake had tried to negotiate a deal with a publishing house for the rights to his story, portraying him as a victim in the entire debacle. Jake claimed to have been framed as the fall guy by the good ol’ powers that be. Who are these powers, anyhow? Casey wondered. As far as she knew, Jake’s proposed story had not been bought by a publishing house (even publishers like basketball) or the public, so he’d decided to publish and distribute the book himself.

  Mitchell had had better luck than Jake. He’d signed a contract to coach a basketball team in Turkey, and reportedly he would be the highest-paid person associated with basketball in all of Europe and the Mideast. From what Casey understood, Alexis and their daughters had chosen to remain in the United States and had relocated to Palm Beach, which was probably a wise decision on Alexis’s part. With the language barriers and all, teaching the wives of Turkish players about proper etiquette would probably have proved too challenging a task even for her.

  Now, in the aftermath of the scandal that had rocked the Flyers, the threat of the team being relocated to Albany was gone. Just last month the city had made good on its promise to absorb a substantial amount of the operating costs for the team and the necessary financial bonds were issued, enabling Hal and his family to keep the Flyers in their rightful home.

  Casey was happy that everything had worked out for Brent and the team, but she couldn’t help but be saddened that Trina and Remy weren’t going to be back when the season began. Even though Rick had contributed to the Flyers reaching and winning the championship, management still decided that he was too old to re-sign. From what Trina had told Casey, Rick wasn’t very disappointed. Actually she said he’d spent the summer going to Gambler’s Anonymous meetings every week, and so far it was helping. Since Trina had given birth to their little boy last month in North Carolina, Rick had taken over the parenting responsibilities of all three kids and had become a regular Mr. Mom. His new domesticated role gave Trina free reign to concentrate on her growing baking business. She’d just landed a national distribution contract for her miniature peach pound cakes, with plans to open her own bakery in order to accommodate the growing demand for her culinary delights.

  Even though Remy and Collin had committed to being friends forever, the hounding paparazzi constantly trying to figure out the status of their relationship had taken their to
ll on her. She’d just signed on a yearlong concert tour of Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.

  True to public speculation, Collin had not re-signed with the Flyers. Instead, he’d inked a lucrative four-year deal with the Golden State Warriors. Phil had also signed a contract with an ABC affiliate in San Francisco as a sports commentator. The two men had moved in together and bought a Great Dane puppy, and Collin was now the firstopenly gay player in the NBA. Ironically, according to the latest media accounts, Collin was quickly becoming the darling of the Warriors’ fans.

  As for the hot young rookie Michael Brown, he was only getting hotter. He’d ended up winning Rookie of the Year, had landed a starring role as an action hero opposite Will Smith, and had been named one of People magazine’s “Fifty Most Beautiful People.” But all this had come at a steep price. He’d lost Dawn. In a recent interview, he swore to remain a bachelor until he retired from the NBA unless he could win back his college sweetheart. Judging from Casey’s most recent lunch with Dawn, it seemed that Michael was going to remain a bachelor for a while. She was dating a gorgeous young resident who treated her as if she were a star.

  Dawn wasn’t the only one being treated well by her man. When Brent and Casey had attended Alonzo Mourning’s celebrity basketball tournament over the summer, they’d bumped into Kelly. She’d obviously recovered from her very public, very scandalous breakup with Steve and had managed to hook another young NBA player. Her latest victim was a rookie with the New Jersey Nets who barely looked legal. When Casey had seen them together at the Hotel Nikko in Seattle, he’d been carrying Diamond around and following behind Kelly as if he were her personal valet. But Kelly, thank goodness, was staying sober. Steve was just relieved that he had been able to work things out with her so he and Stephanie could pursue their relationship … undisturbed. Casey kind of felt bad for the new young buck, but he was bound to learn the hard way; they all did, most later rather than sooner.