by Phil Wohl
SEVENTEEN
Dave and Sarah were married the following year, but not in the Dolphins gymnasium. A new restaurant called The Ocean Grille opened up and Mayor McCheese knew someone, who knew someone, so they got the wedding for an insider’s price.
A few months after the Abrahams’ wedding, Tony D and Bianca were married in a small, family ceremony in Italy. Bianca’s father, a big olive oil importer from Italy, paid to fly the entire wedding party of ten people, including Dave and Sarah, to Italy. The 10-day trip occurred between the end of the school year and the start of the new Dolphin Summer Basketball Camp.
The improvement in the Bailey Woods boy’s and girls’ basketball teams continued to be steady and strong. Sarah’s team showed improvement, advancing to the second quarterfinal rounds of the playoffs in successive years. Pete’s team advanced to the quarterfinals and semi-finals in years two and three.
The real magic happened in year four, which was in line with Dave’s self-imposed, four-year plan. This also coincided with Matt Phillips’ first full year on the varsity team. He was moved up to the varsity squad near the end of his sophomore year, but saw only spotty minutes down the stretch before he “came out” during the team’s playoff run.
The team’s starting small forward, Jimmy Powers, was saddled with four fouls mid-way through the fourth quarter of the quarterfinal game. The team was having trouble scoring, so Dave looked down the bench and noticed the confident smirk of Matt Phillips sticking out like a pair of wing-tip shoes.
“Matt! Get Powers.”
The young apprentice struggled to get his warm-up top off but quickly ran to the scorer’s table. The buzzer sounded and Dave put his arm around Matt and said, “Get into the flow. Take your time.”
The team was down four points to East Wembley with three minutes to play. East Wembley committed a turnover and Matt ran down the court and took his place on the left wing. East Wembley sat back in a 2-3 zone defense that was as tightly packed as a pint of Baskin & Robbins ice cream – please insert your favorite flavor.
Matt had been busting zone defenses since he played for his dad as a ten year-old in a local league. He had always been able to channel a little Dave Abrahams when the situation called for it. The ball swung around to Matt after a few passes and the defender shouted, “Shoot it, rookie!” as he backed up, daring Matt to shoot the ball.
Matt didn’t need any incentive to take an open 22-footer, so he turned and took the shot without hesitation.
Dave’s eyebrows rose as he muttered, “That’s one way to get into the flow,” as the three-pointer found a home in the bottom of the net.
The team’s policy was always to feed the hot man, so junior point guard, Jake Flowers, did just that. Next time down – same spot, same result – Bailey Woods up two.
East Wembley missed again and Matt set up on the same side of the offense, but the defender was in his shirt this time. He instantly took what the defense gave him, and passed the ball under the basket to a wide open big man, Bobby Newton. Game over.
Dave thought long and hard about starting Matt the next game, but decided to reinsert Jimmy Powers, a senior swingman, back into the lineup. But, Matt wound up playing the entire second half, while Powers split time with three other players in the team’s heartbreaking three-point loss. Their new/old nemesis Central High heaved a desperation half-court shot at the buzzer and the Bailey Woods season was over.
Sarah’s team was fundamentally sound and refused to get rattled no matter what the circumstance. Their quarterfinal match-up against eventual champion, Grady, was the only game Grady was challenged the whole tournament. Grady’s margin of victory was 35 and 32 points before the Bailey Woods game, and 27 and 22 to close out the championship. Sarah’s team lost by only two points, and had a chance to tie the game with its last possession. The shot looked good out of the hands of Megan Grillo, but the ball clanked off the back rim and ended the year for the Lady Dolphins.
“Next year is our year,” Dave said to Sarah as he flipped some vegetable on the grill in their backyard.
Sarah sat under an umbrella in a chair of their patio set.
“Do you think we can beat Grady?”
Dave looked at his wife and smiled, “If that game was two minutes longer, it would have been the biggest upset in Long Island history. Next year there will be no surprises.”
Sarah took a sip of her lemonade in a tall, pink plastic cup. She nodded and softly stated, “I think it’s time.”
Dave turned off the barbeque and then arranged the colorful selection of peppers and mushrooms on an oval serving platter. He sat down on a chair across from his wife and poured a glass of lemonade.
“Yeah, I agree,” he said as he sat back in the chair. “Time for what?”
Just then, the peacefulness of the afternoon was broken by an onrush of chatter.
Dave couldn’t let it go, “What do you mean?”
Sarah waived him off as she greeted her neighbors, Tony Bianca, Steve Brady and his wife, Lindsay. Yes, Sarah’s friend Lindsay from basketball camp. The two woman remained friends and Sarah had introduced her to Steve Brady, who decided to live in of his houses next door and was a frequent guest at their house. He also made Tony D and Bianca an offer they couldn’t refuse on a house a few doors down.
The couples had a real nice thing going on – Brades handled the real estate, Dave invested their money, and Tony was the neighborhood handyman and also led the subdivision’s Neighborhood Watch program.
Later that night, Dave was lying in bed watching TV while Sarah was washing her face and removing her makeup.
“I can’t believe school is going to start again in a few weeks,” Dave said as he clicked through the channels.
Sarah walked out of the bathroom, wiping the water off her face with a hand towel. “I think we should have a baby,” and then she nonchalantly walked back into the bathroom.
Dave rolled his eyes back and forth, turned off the TV, and then set up.
“What? Is that what you meant by, ‘It’s time?’?”
She came to the doorway with a sheer, black negligee and replied, “It’s time.”
The lights dimmed and clothes were flying everywhere. Dave was so attracted to his wife that he didn’t need to be artificially excited, but the negligee did drive him wild.