A Deal With God: The Power of One

by Haden, Michael

  Deana could not help but laugh, “Absolutely classic.”

  In April, the week before Matthews’s birthday, Mark wanted Deana to take him to a professional baseball game in Atlanta for his special night. The game was to be played at the historic Ted Turner Field. The field was built in 1997. Turner field combines the nostalgia and atmosphere of old time baseball with a state of the art environment unlike any other park.

  Deana had been to a pro baseball game one time when she was a teenager. It was played in a dome in south St. Petersburg Florida. Both games were fun to attend, but Turner Field had a lot better atmosphere. There were over 30,000 people in attendance and there was a feeling of electricity in the air. Atlanta won the game 5–3 and the home fans went home happy.

  “We definitely have to do this again,” Mark exclaimed.

  Deana agreed. It was a great experience.

  Monday April 13th, 2015 was Matthew’s 13th birthday. Two weeks before, Deana had signed Matthew and Mark up for football again so one of his birthday wishes was already granted. They all went out for pizza and a movie together. Deana and Leon bought Matthew the new college football video game which made Matthew very happy.

  Leon’s birthday was on a Wednesday. Leon could not get the day off from work but Deana got the night off. When Leon got home, the five of them went fishing at the lake. Deana had made a picnic basket full of butter basted fried chicken, corn bread, and fried okra. Deana had also baked a cosmopolitan cake. It was a two layer cake; the bottom layer was chocolate, the top was strawberry. She also made her own vanilla icing. It was a beautiful night and everyone had fun.

  On Mother’s Day, Deana was treated to breakfast in bed again. After church, Leon and the boys took her out to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants in the area. Unfortunately, she had to be at work early for what would be a very busy shift.

  School was finishing up for the boys. Both Matthew and Mark made the Honor Roll. Luke’s teachers were impressed with how well he could read. He also had an excellent vocabulary and was surprisingly articulate for being only five years old.

  Deana was happy to have the boys at home with her during the day over their summer vacation. She’d missed having Luke with her once he’d started Kindergarten.

  Deana trained Matthew and Mark for the upcoming football season. She also helped Luke prepare for his upcoming soccer season. Each boy worked out diligently every morning and afternoon.

  When football season came around this year, things were a little different. At the level the boys were playing on, most of the quarterbacks were the sons of the head coaches. Mark’s pass rushing skills and prowess had not gone unnoticed. Coaches were concerned when they saw or heard what Mark was capable of. His vicious hits made other teams try to maximize their pass protection schemes toward Mark’s side. Many teams were leaving a tight end and running back to the side of the offensive tackle that was trying to block Mark.

  This strategy was effective in stopping Mark most of the time, but it really made life easy for Matthew who was pass rushing from the other side. He saw exclusive, one on one, man blocking. He was notching one to two sacks every game. He had twelve sacks in nine games. Mark only had eight sacks, but even with all the triple teaming it was almost impossible to run the ball at Mark’s side.

  The last game of the season was a big one. Matthew and Mark’s team was now 7–2. The East Atlanta team they were playing was 8–1. If they could beat East Atlanta they would win the division. Even though both teams would have the same record, the tie breaker would be head to head competition. In essence, this game would also be the tie breaker.

  The East Atlanta team had very good offensive tackles on the outside, but were not very strong inside at offensive guard or center. Matthew and Mark’s coach changed defenses to capitalize on this. He kept Matthew at right outside linebacker/rush end but brought Mark over to right defensive tackle next to his brother.

  At the end of three quarters, the game was tied 7–7. They knew East Atlanta would now try to open up the offense in the fourth quarter by using their passing game more. On one East Atlanta offensive series the offensive guard jumped off sides. East Atlanta ended up with a third down still needing nine yards to get a first down. It was a definite passing down. Matthew and Mark decided to use the TEX maneuver they had learned from Deana. Matthew ran in fast and occupied East Atlanta’s left guard and center. Mark went uncontested through the gap. Mark hit the quarterback so hard he fumbled the ball. Matthew picked up the ball and ran it in for a touchdown.

  East Atlanta got the ball back but could not convert on a key fourth down. Matthew and Mark’s team ran out the clock and won 14–7.

  After the game, Mark expressed his disappointment that he didn’t have big statistics like the year before. Deana made him feel better when she told him stats did not always indicate a player’s value to the team. She also brought up the fact that the other team’s coaches respected him because they were coming up with special game plans to use against him.

  During the football season Matthew had started eighth grade, Mark had started seventh grade and Luke began first grade.

  Matthew was excited about the upcoming eighth grade dance. It was a celebration of their last year of middle school. He was going to take a girl named Cherie Hopkins to the dance. Matthew was very fond of Cherie. They had known each other since the first grade. She was one of the prettiest and most popular girls in Matthew’s class.

  As Matthew looked through his closet, he complained to Deana. “I don’t have anything nice enough to wear to a dance like this.”

  “Don’t worry, on Sunday afternoon we can go shopping and buy a suit for you. If you don’t want to wear the jacket, you can just wear the slacks, dress shirt and shoes.”

  The suit was expensive, but it looked very sharp on Matthew and Deana wanted him to look nice. Matthew was very grateful for the new addition to his wardrobe.

  The Tuesday night after the weekend of the dance, Deana and Matthew discussed all that had happened on his big night. Cherie and Matthew really hit it off. Matthew was confident Cherie liked him enough to continue going out on an exclusive basis. Deana was thrilled to see how well Matthew was maturing.

  Luke’s Under Six soccer team went undefeated again. Next year though, he would have to play in the U8 league, which means every player has to be under eight years old to play. It was going to be a big step up in competition.

  One Saturday night at Vito’s, a couple came in and sat in Deana’s station. The boy looked 21 years old; the girl looked about 17. Vito’s served beer and wine, but no hard alcohol. The boy and girl both wanted beer so Deana carded them. The boy had a Georgia driver’s license which indicated he was 21. The girl had a West Virginia license showing her age to be 22. Deana knew the girl lived in Dothan and was almost positive she was still in high school.

  “I’ll gladly get your boyfriend a beer,” Deana told the girl. “But I will not get you one. I won’t tell anyone, but I believe your license is fake. I’ll get you any non–alcoholic drink you want and I’ll even pay for it. You don’t even have to leave me a tip. If I were to give you alcohol and something bad happened, I’d never forgive myself.”

  The girl glared at Deana. “Fine, just get me an iced tea.”

  “My pleasure,” Deana replied with a smile.

  This year, Deana’s birthday fell on a Saturday. Saturday morning they all went to Luke’s soccer game. In the afternoon they went to Matthew and Mark’s football game. Mr. Vito asked Deana if he could please give her off Sunday night instead of Saturday night. Saturday nights had been extremely busy at the restaurant lately. Luke and the boys threw Deana a big party and picnic at the lake after church on Sunday. It was also Luke’s birthday so the day was even more special.

  Deana and Leon’s anniversary was on a Monday. Usually the Monday closest to their anniversary was Labor Day and everyone was off from school and work. This year Labor Day was the following Monday, September 7th. Deana was disappointed; they�
��d only have Sunday to celebrate. Mr. Vito gave her Sunday night off so it wasn’t too bad. They had a wonderful picnic lunch at the lake, got a little fishing in, and went home to get cleaned up. At night, all five of them went to the movies and had a late dinner at a nice restaurant. It was a great time had by all.

  Leon promised Thanksgiving weekend they would do something extra special to make up for the abbreviated anniversary celebration. September, October and most of November flew by quickly. The next thing Deana knew she was preparing Thanksgiving dinner. This year there would be eleven Samuels’ gathering together. Claire had recently given birth to a baby boy; they named him Lester Jr.

  After dinner, Leon drove the boys to the Johnson’s as Deana slept. From the Johnson’s Leon drove Deana to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to spend a day and a half in a cabin in the woods. The cabin Leon rented had a fireplace with chopped wood inside. All Leon had to do was light a match and they were soon sitting in front of a roaring fire. It was absolutely beautiful. They stayed up late into the evening and enjoyed a romantic night together.

  The cabin had its own kitchenette. Leon had put some of the Thanksgiving leftovers in a cooler. Friday they went into town and bought more groceries. Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is deep in the Smoky Mountains. These mountain ranges are visually stunning, especially in the fall. Autumn in Tennessee is a gorgeous time of year.

  The cabin they were staying in had a hot tub inside a screened in porch overlooking the mountains. Deana and Leon enjoyed the hot tub, each other’s company and a breathtaking view.

  After the hot tub, they spent the rest of Friday in front of the fireplace. Deana was sad she had to get back to Dothan on Saturday for work. It was a short, but memorable time with her husband.

  Monday, December 7th, 2015, was a rainy, dreary day. The next day, however, was forecast to be nice, especially at night.

  “Mark, would you mind moving our night together to tomorrow night?” Deana asked. “I’d like to talk about something very important with you and your brother.”

  Mark replied that it would not be a problem.

  Deana asked Matthew the same question and got the same answer.

  Tuesday night, 7pm, Deana, Matthew and Mark started their walk.

  “There is something very important I need to talk to both of you about,” Deana said. “I don’t want to preach to you, but I do want us to discuss the topic of drugs. Matthew you are already a teenager and Mark you are about to become one.”

  Both boys swore to Deana that they’d never do drugs.

  “That’s great,” Deana replied. “But there has to be a deep seeded reason why you won’t. It needs to be more than they’re bad for you or drugs are anti–life.”

  “What exactly do you mean?” Matthew asked.

  “I want to ask you boys a favor, this is something you don’t have to do tomorrow. It’s something I want you to do over time. I want you to compare the lives of a few young adults you suspect did drugs when they were in high school to a few young adults you know avoided them.”

  “Why?” The boys asked.

  “Mr. Wilson had me do this exercise when I was starting high school. This is what I found; the kids who did drugs, sometimes did not finish high school. Very rarely did they finish college. Some of them ended up in jail. If they weren’t in jail they were living with their parents or leaching off friends. Some of them ended up homeless or they’d have to stay on the couches of family members. One of my subjects even died.”

  “The non–drug users,” Deana continued, “almost always finished high school and many went to and finished college. Most of them ended up with good jobs. They had better relationships with their families and better lives.”

  “That’s kind of the way it is in Dothan,” Mark replied. “The kids that did drugs a few years ago are losers now. They are always in trouble and looking to get high.”

  “What about the kids that steered clear of the drugs?” Deana asked.

  “Most of them went to college,” Matthew answered, “or they got decent jobs or both.”

  “Are you kind of getting a feel for the point I’m making?”

  Both boys nodded their heads.

  “Over the next couple of years, I’m going to ask you to continue doing this observation for me. I’ll follow up with you again in the future.”

  CHAPTER 17

  DEANA AND LEON GO TO NASHVILLE

  With Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on Fridays this year, Deana’s schedule was really chopped up. She’d be off Monday and Tuesday; she’d work Wednesday and be off Thursday and Friday. She would then have to work both Saturdays and Sundays. She’d also have two church services to practice for. The first would be the Christmas service on Friday morning; the second would be the regular Sunday service.

  Nonetheless, she wanted to have fun with the boys over Christmas break and spend time with them. Together they enjoyed fishing at the lake; Christmas shopping and watching some new movies at the theater. Like Deana had told Luke, you have to make the most of your time off.

  The following Monday night, Deana and Mark went for a walk and a chat session. Deana told Mark about Matthew sharing the old man McCarthy story. Mark replied that his friends had pulled an even bigger prank at school three and a half weeks ago.

  “There’s a 7th grader named Myron who is in three of my classes. He’s a real goober. Very few of my friends can stand him. For some reason, he always puts his cell phone in his locker during classes. We figure his mother tells him to do this so he won’t be tempted to text during class and get his phone taken away.”

  “Mark, I hope you never pick on this boy.”

  “I always ignore him, but two boys who really dislike Myron played the ultimate prank on him and our Math teacher. One boy looked over Myron’s shoulder when he was opening his lock on his locker. They got his combination code and got into his locker after he had walked away to his next class. They took his cell phone and lock, and then went to an old part of the building where no one goes anymore. There were a couple of lockers in this abandoned room. They activated the record function on the cell phone and utilized a twenty five minute stagger. They banged on the lockers and yelled, “Help me, let me out. You’ve got to help me. I’m stuck in here and I can’t get out. Please! I’m claustrophobic!”

  Mark glanced at Deana to make sure he had her attention before continuing his story.

  “They took the cell phone to Math class. The one boy distracted the teacher while the second boy put Myron’s cell phone into an empty locker and put Myron’s lock on the locker. About twenty minutes into the class everyone hears a banging from the back lockers. Then they heard: “Help me, let me out. You’ve got to help me. I’m stuck in here and I can’t get out. Please! I’m claustrophobic!”

  “The teacher went to get the maintenance man while all the students laughed hysterically. He brought big bolt cutters and busted Myron’s lock. The Math teacher was furious and confiscated Myron’s cell phone.”

  Mark grinned triumphantly as tears of laughter streamed down Deana’s face.

  “I told you my prank story was funnier than Matthew’s.”

  After completing their Holiday musical performances at church, Mrs. Jarvis, Deana and Gary all admitted they didn’t sound as good as they would have liked. They hadn’t practiced enough. The three agreed, as a New Year’s resolution, to work harder during the new year.

  Every Monday and Tuesday at 10am they’d meet at church to rehearse. Both Gary and Mrs. Jarvis were retired; and, with all three boys in school Deana now had the time to practice with them. Gary loved Classic Rock and Blues music and he taught Deana some intricate guitar licks. Deana enjoyed expanding her musical horizons. Gary joked she would be less of a yahoo now.

  Deana did the extra Special Night again with the boys in the spring. Like last year Deana attended concerts with Matthew and Luke. She then went to Turner Field again with Mark to see another pro baseball game. On Mother’s Day, Leon and the boys had a surprise for Dean
a. Leon purchased five tickets to a Memorial Day bash featuring four of the most popular country bands on tour. Deana was ecstatic. It ended up being her favorite concert. It was also the first concert she ever attended with Leon.

  It was now the end of another school year and Matthew was graduating from Middle School. Next fall he would start High School. The boys’ summer vacation was Deana’s favorite three months of the year. She enjoyed helping Matthew and Mark with their football training and getting Luke ready for soccer season. She loved having the boys at home and not being alone during the day.

  Tuesday June 7th, 2016 Matthew was looking forward to talking with Deana on their walk. They left the house earlier than they usually did.

  “Matthew, what’s wrong?”

  “Cherie told me she wants to go in a different direction; she wants some kind of change. I have no idea what she’s talking about, I was hoping you might know.”

  “I have a feeling I may know what she’s thinking, but I’d hate myself if I gave you my opinion and then found out I was wrong.”

  “Deana, even if you’re wrong, I’d still like to know what you think.”

  “OK, here it goes. You and Cherie will both be starting High School next fall. Lots of guys will probably be interested in going out with her. She may feel if she comes into High School with a boyfriend she’ll be limiting her options. I hope I’m wrong.”

  “To be honest, I kind of get the feeling you’re right.”