by Phil Wohl
FIVE
Haley was one of the farthest things from Dave’s mind as he left work and visited his cousin, Ari, on the 47th Street Diamond District. Ari had made the ring and he would surely give him fair value for it in return.
Ari opened the negotiations, “What did I charge you for this?”
Dave replied, “I think it was about 15.”
Ari inspected the ring and said, “It’s in perfect condition. Almost looks like she didn’t wear it. What happened?”
“The glass slipper didn’t fit after all. I’m going home to coach the team.”
Ari looked up and smiled, “Ah! Mazel Tov! Finally something happens in New York that makes sense!” he paused for a minute and then continued. “You know I can’t give you back what you paid for it. How does nine sound?”
“How about 10?”
“Ninety-five hundred,” Ari countered.
“Done,” Dave stated.
Dave knew that his cousin had given him an insider’s price initially, and would probably resell the ring for $20,000. A few minutes later, Ari emerged from the back with a thick envelope filled with 95 crisp one-hundred dollar bills.
“You might want to run this over to the bank. You’re a big guy, but stranger things have happened,” Ari explained.
The two guys hugged and Dave was off to move some money around. His first stop was Citibank, where he withdrew half of the $20,000 in the joint account with Haley and removed his name from the record, as they had decided. He then walked down the block and opened a new account at Chase.
Dave’s city experience ended with his renting a small U-Haul truck and toting his possessions back to Bailey Woods. Although his dad had volunteered to pick him up, Dave knew he would have to go solo on this life-changing experience.
The 35-inch flat screen TV and the accompanying surround sound system was his; Dave brought up his old 27-inch TV from storage and put in the apartment in its place. He moved all of his stuff into the truck and then took a quick shower before leaving the apartment. Dave then dropped his key off at the front desk and then went over to Ray’s to get a few slices of pizza before hitting the road.
Dave picked up his phone and dialed.
“Good afternoon. Bailey Woods High School, how may I direct your call?”
Dave smiled, “Principal Doherty, please.”
“Who may I say is calling?” the receptionist asked.
“This is Dave Abrahams,” he proudly stated.
“Oh, Mr. Abrahams. He’s been expecting your call. Please hold,” she excitedly replied.
Dave folded a slice of pizza and took a huge bite.
A few seconds later, Principal Doherty picked up the phone, “Dave! What’s the good word?”
Dave drank some Sprite to wash down the pizza, “Hey, coach! The truck is backed up and I’m heading home!”
“That’s great news!” Doherty exclaimed.
“Yeah, I’m excited about the opportunity!”
“So, when can you start?” Doherty asked.
“Well, I wanted to find a place first. I love my parents but they turned my room into a workout room,” Dave explained.
“A friend of the program has a brand new town home you can rent,” Doherty said with a smirk on his face.
“A friend of the program? You really planned all of this stuff out. Impressive. I’ll be there with the moving truck in a few hours.”
“I’ll make sure he’s there with the key at five o’clock. Can I expect you at work tomorrow at seven a.m.?”
Dave smiled, “It’s Coach D’s famous full-court press. I’ll tell you what – I’ll stop at IKEA on the way home and pick up a bed, a couch, and some other furniture. Why don’t you have your friend meet me at six-thirty? Where is the town home?”
Doherty explained, “It’s just off Main Street, a few blocks from O’Malley’s. The address, believe it or not, is 44 Dolphin Drive.”
“That’s freaky. Thanks, coach. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The New York real estate market had cooled, but it was still hotter than most markets on their best day. Steven Brady, the twelfth man on Dave’s team, had become a small-time real estate developer in Bailey Woods.
Steve began his career as a realtor and worked his way up the real estate chain right after college. His first investments were in houses he bought, fixed up, and then flipped for a sizeable profit. In recent years, he had turned to real estate development. When Coach Doherty called to fill him in on the details, Brades felt that he could finally make a real impact on the team. He loved Dave and his teammates and would do anything he could for his coach and his team.
Meanwhile, Dave was flying around IKEA in Hicksville like Superman on an interior decorating spree. Couch, bed, dining table, small entertainment center, bathroom rug, towels, an anything else that wasn’t nailed down and could fit into the truck. He then raced across town and was motoring past O’Malley’s Pub when he saw a grounded sign that read, “WELCOME HOME, D.A.!” Bailey Woods was a large Long Island town with a small-town feel. News traveled fast as fast as e-mail, and it always felt like the gossip-mill present in high school was alive and kicking in the adult world.
Dave turned left on Dolphin Drive and drove all the way down the block until he located the last unit on the left, number 44. He peeled himself out of the U-Haul and walked up the concrete path toward the front of the door. Dave knocked on the door and it opened slightly – he stepped inside and yelled, “Hello?”
“Up here!” a muffled voice exclaimed from the bedroom floor.
Dave walked up the stairs and stopped short of the top stair, as he was greeted by a familiar face.
“Brades!” Dave said excitedly.
Steve stepped forward and shook Dave’s hand, “David, welcome home!”
Steve Brady was one of the few people that used the name “David,” being that the two guys had grown up a block from each other and went all through school together. Steve was always by Dave’s side and it was known that the two guys were a package deal – if Dave was picked for a team, then Steve would also be on that team.
The same held true for the Bailey Woods Varsity Basketball Team – wherever Dave went, his friend Steve would probably be a few steps behind.
“I saw you on CNBC a few weeks ago,” Steve said. “I thought there would be no way we could bring you back.”
“Is this your place?” Dave asked.
“Yeah, I won units 40 through 44.”
Dave walked around, “Stainless appliances, cherry cabinets, quality tile floors and carpets. You really did this place right.” He then pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Steve. “Here. This should cover rent for a while.” Dave kept walking and Steve looked inside the envelope, which housed $7,500.
“I was going to charge you $750 per month, with the first month on the house. Let’s just call this the first year’s rent and the security deposit, which will be applied as a down payment if you want to buy it.”
“Thanks, Brades. So, it’s a two bedroom with two bathrooms?”
“Yes, it also has an attached two-car garage,” Steve added. “You also get a complimentary membership to the clubhouse, which includes pool and workout room access.”
Dave came back into the living room area and looked his old friend in the eye, “We have to get to work tomorrow.”
“I know.”
Dave put on his game face, “Unstoppable.”
The diminutive, bespectacled Brady replied, “Hard work,” and the two old friends hugged.
Steve hadn’t seen much of Dave since the big guy was the best man at his wedding two years earlier. That was about the time that Dave met Haley, who had effectively cut him off from his friends.
“Did your girlfriend make the trip?” Steve asked.
“We were engaged. That envelope I gave you was most of her engagement ring.”
“Sorry to hear it,” Steve politely said.
“I’m not,” Dave stated.
Steve nervously smiled, “Yeah, me neither.” He then flipped Dave the keys and asked, “You need some help unloading your stuff?”
“I might just take the bed out, put it together and call it a night,” An exhausted Brad said.
Steve put two fingers from each hand in his mouth and whistled. The front door opened and ex-teammates and other townspeople carried Dave’s stuff in like a well-organized pack of ants. Within ten minutes all of his stuff unloaded and a guy named Chris James walked in with another set of keys.
“Is the truck’s going back to the rental place on Harris Road?”
“Yeah,” a pleasantly surprised Dave answered.
James continued, “All right. I’ll take care of that and you can drive this until you come into James Ford and get another car.” He flipped Dave a set of keys and then said, “We’ll be sure to give you a good deal. Good luck,” he said and then shook Dave’s hand before leaving.
Dave read the plastic tag on the keychain that identified the car as a Ford Mustang GT Convertible. “Good choice.” He looked around the room, “Thank you, everyone! How can I repay you all?”
The room was quiet until Dave said, “Let’s go get a few rounds at O’Malley’s on me!” There was a widespread roar throughout the town house as Dave’s furniture and clothing quickly founds its place.
Dave was home again but this time, he felt the weight of the town was going to be shared by all. He had missed his friends… he had missed his town… he was home again.