by Xyla Turner
“I’m not pushing it, cuz. I’m just saying, you’re in a new place, atmosphere and even mental space. Your apartment is freaking amazing and you have a bomb job. I’m just saying, get out there,” she insisted.
“I’m not in a good mental space, I’m in a healing space. So, no. I’m trying to get this job down first, before I start trying to begin another relationship.”
“A relationship isn’t a job, Diamond,” Trudy insisted.
“Oh yes it is,” Bridget mused. “The only reason you are saying that, Trudy, is because you haven’t been in one. Diamond knows what’s she’s doing. Let the healing take place. What she just bounced back from ain’t no easy feat. It may take years.”
“Years?” Diamond shook her head at Bridget. “Really, Bridget.”
“Well, you never know.”
“All I’m saying is you are twenty-seven now and the next time you look up, you’ll be thirty. Just don’t let life pass you by,” Trudy concluded.
“Alright, Trudy. I hear you, cousin,” she replied as they continued to sip on margaritas on the rooftop of her apartment building.
When Diamond dropped off Trudy and Bridget at the airport, they all hugged and kissed with the promise of planning a vacation for next month. This was fine with her, because she was owed some vacation time. As she was walking back towards the metro station at DCA to go back home, she overheard a guy frantically saying that his phone was about to die and he needed to find a charger, so he could hear his nephew say his first words. Diamond reached into her bag and pulled out a USB power stick charger. “Here you go, sir.”
He looked at her with confusion and said, “Huh?”
“Here,” she gestured it towards him. “This charges phones faster.”
“What is it?” he asked as he took it along with his cord.
“It’s a charge stick. It has many names, but it charges anything with a USB input.”
“Wow, thanks,” he murmured into the phone as he adjusted it with his cheek and shoulder. “What’s your name? What can I do for you?”
“Oh nothing.” Diamond tried to leave.
“Wait, your charger,” he called.
“It’s cool, I have a bunch of them.”
“Can you hold on for just a minute?” he asked.
“Okay, sure. But it’s cool, really.”
The tall man charged his phone while smiling brightly on the phone. “Wow, sis. He’s a freaking genius.”
Diamond could hear laughing over the phone. Diamond smiled at the notion of the baby talking and it being a big moment to all parties involved. She did not want to intrude on his moment, but he seemed persistent. He was really tall, around six-foot, four inches and he was built. Those khaki shorts did very little to hide his thick muscular thighs, but that fitted shirt did everything to show his upper body strength. He was good looking; she would give him that.
When the muscular man clicked end call on his phone, he turned towards Diamond and said, “Thank you so much. What can I do for you? Would you like season’s tickets to the Wizard’s games?”
“Uh, wow. Thanks, that is an awesome gift, but I can get them for free. I’m a sport’s reporter. Well, a new one to the area, anyway.”
“Stop playing?” He tilted his head back.
“Not playing.” She smiled.
“Well, then this is your lucky day. Well, both of our days. I play for the Wizards, the name is Randall Jefferson and I’ve been contemplating doing an exclusive interview.”
“Oh wow, that’s amazing.” Diamond couldn’t believe her luck.
“What’s your name?” he asked as he typed something on his phone.
“My name is Diamond Reeves and I’m at WUSA.”
“Ahh, good station. Double bonus.” He smiled.
“Yeah, I like it,” she added.
“So, I’m going to have my agent get in contact with you to set up something. I’ll be in town for the next three weeks, so we can start as soon as possible. I want it to happen before I leave.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can hook you up with other reporters who have more experience than me.” She couldn’t believe she actually said that.
“Nope, I want you. You showed extreme kindness to a stranger and I want to do the same. Deal?” He held out his large hand.
Diamond shook his hand and said, “Deal.”
“Good, I’ll see you soon, Diamond Reeves.” He smiled, turned to leave then added, “Thanks.”
“Thank you,” she called after him.
Diamond could not believe what happened and she was extremely excited about the outcome. She even told Lindsey, one of the other reporters who had befriended her. Lindsey was equally excited for her and even gave her some pointers on what she should and should not do. Larry, the older guy overheard them talking and when Lindsey left he told Diamond, “You really aren’t going to last long here.”
“What? Why is everybody saying that?”
“Because, you don’t seem to be cut out for this. Everybody, including myself can be a backstabbing son of a gun. It’s how you survive here. And here you are gloating and telling everyone about your success. That doe-eyed innocence will not get you far here. You need to grow a pair, gather some tougher skin and two, think about yourself.” He was leaning on her cubicle, resting his face on his arms.
“I have tough skin and I do think about myself,” she objected.
“No, honey. You need tougher skin, because this place will eat you up and spit you out.” He stood up to his normal height, then added, “Believe me, I know.”
Diamond thought about this and acknowledged that he was probably right, but she was not sure exactly how to go about getting tough skin. She could think about herself, that was why she was in DC. So she knew that could be done.
The next day, LeAnne called her into the office, which scared Diamond at first. She had not messed anything up that she could recall, but then again, who knew. To her surprise, LeAnne had a smile on her face.
“Have a seat,” LeAnne directed.
“Yes, is everything okay?” Diamond inquired.
“Yes. Well, yes and no, but mostly yes.” She smiled again. “I just got off the phone with Randall Jefferson’s agent, the starting small forward for the Wizards. He wants you to be the reporter for an exclusive interview to reveal his new camp for underprivileged youth.”
“Oh yeah, he told me.”
“Well, since he’s a native Washingtonian, it’s going to be aired on every station, so you my dear just landed a jackpot!”
“Oh, wow.”
“No, no. Don’t look so nervous. Listen, even if you are nervous, don’t look nervous. You must get better at hiding your emotions. Okay? This is a tough business and I’m telling you, because I’m in it. You are a woman and a woman of color, so you need to grow a pair.” LeAnne was very stern, yet sincere. “Look, I’ll have a few of the guys prep you, to go over the do’s and don’ts. Okay?”
“Yes, okay.” Diamond nodded, thinking it was interesting that both Larry and LeAnne used the same term.
“Good. Now the bad news and this is where you’re going to have to suck it up and find another layer of skin, okay?” Diamond nodded. “Lindsey went behind your back and contacted Randall’s agent herself, saying she knew he was looking for an exclusive. Luckily, Randall really likes you and would not let anyone else take this from you. He said you showed him an extreme amount of kindness, so he felt he owed you a debt.” LeAnne looked at Diamond as if to gauge her temperature. “I’m telling you this because, I hired you because I see a lot of myself in you, Diamond. When I was your age, I was just as wide-eyed and bushy tailed as you are and I learned quickly. If I wanted something I had to fight for it and once I had it, I had to fight to keep it. You would think there would be loyalty amongst the sisterhood in this place, but apparently there is none. I’m not sure how close you are with Lindsey and you can do whatever you want with this information, but I’m just letting you know. Keep your stuff to your
self. Got it?”
Diamond nodded again, as she was in complete shock over Lindsey’s betrayal. This is what Larry was talking about, he must have known Lindsey was a snake, but needed Diamond to learn for herself.
Wow.
After work, Diamond went to a secluded bar in the Northwest, The Pros. Regina had told her about it a while ago, but she never went. It was very ritzy with dimmed lights and dark marble countertops and tables. The waitresses dressed like professionals with tailored white blouses, and knee length black skirts, stocking and black two to three-inch heels. Their hair was pinned back into a bun and they had on minimal makeup. There were three bartenders, so the drinks were coming regularly. Diamond ordered a margarita to calm her anger and if that did not work, she planned to take a run later. She texted Eddie and Regina to meet her here, but she knew they probably had to work, because this was prime season for them. With everything happening in the news, sports, and presidential candidates.
Diamond was sitting at the bar, where the news was on and somebody mentioned Shane Sinclair. One guy yelled, “Change the channel, he’s not coming back to play football.”
She recognized that he was probably drunk, but she was also on her second margarita, so she replied, “Even if he didn’t, that would be understandable. His father died.”
“What?” The guy swiveled his stool around and looked her up and down. “His father and his career are two different things. He needs to learn that.”
Diamond felt her eye twitch. “Are you kidding me? His father passed, he didn’t know and some jerk-off reporter told him in the worst way anyone can say something like that. I’m not sure how much loyalty I’d have to the game either.”
“Well, you’re a woman, so there you go.”
The bartender raised his hand up at the guy and said, “Herbert, that’s enough. You will be asked to leave.”
“Alright, alright.” He swiveled back around with his back towards Diamond.
The bartender asked, “You want another?”
“No, I better get home, before I start a bar fight.” She laughed and handed him her credit card.
On her ride home, Diamond replayed what the man said about his family and career being two different things. How could someone excuse a tragedy and just say get over, Diamond mused. That’s what she felt like Trudy was doing. Telling her to get on with her life and not deal with the tragedy that life just took her through. She had to move to get away from everything. Did that make her a runner or just smart? If Shane Sinclair ever played football again or not, Diamond could understand why. It’s no easy feat to get over the curve balls that life sometimes throws at a person. There is no ‘get over it’ button that can be manually flipped. Some things just take time.
5
It’s Time
Shane spent two weeks in Atlanta after his father’s funeral with Austin. The first few days, his friend let him have his space and the remaining days, he dragged him around the city and country to get him out of the mood. They didn’t really talk about sports or if he was returning, but his father’s legacy and how to preserve it now that he was gone. They did not watch the news, check in via social media nor did he ever think he would. Life as he had known it, officially changed the day he received the news that his father passed.
Football was very much a game, a sport, but also a business and none of those things came before his family. His mom and dad supported his career from an early age, yet he also knew that he wanted to use that same career to support him. They would come to all of his home games and even brought along some of their friends. His sisters would come and they all had season passes, they still did. But he’d give it all back just to have another day with his dad. To tell him that football was not life, they were his life. The fact that his dad did not want to tell him on championship day, bothered Shane for two whole weeks.
Then he realized how his father had gone about his business. Like a professional. He did what he said he was going to do. For over a decade, his father raised money for the LULA Foundation and even went door to door and collected money. This was on top of his full-time job as a carpenter. His father was skilled with his hands, but when he had a passion, he set about learning how to be the best at it. He was always there for the family, but there were times when his mother would get upset with him, because of all the work he started doing with the foundation. She wanted him to slow down, but his response was, ‘cancer slows down for nobody’. His mom could not say anything to that, so she just murmured and nagged her kids to nag him. That never worked, because he would end up giving all of them a lecture on work ethic.
During the third week, Shane left his friend Austin and went to London. He wasn’t sure how long he would stay there, but he was sure it felt good being away from the hustle and bustle of the states. Shane spent some time looking at nature trying to feel his father with him. He thought, maybe he has watched too many movies when he could never get in touch with his father’s presence. However, as he went to sit down at a small restaurant in South London, an older man came up to him and touched his face. Shane wasn’t alarmed, but internally laughed at the fact that this old white man, was laying his hands on a six-foot, three-inch black man in London. The man had a thick native accent, but he understood every word.
“You’ll be alright.” The old man smiled a toothless grin and walked towards the back of the kitchen.
At that moment, Shane wondered if the old man was crazy and planned to touch everybody’s face in the restaurant and deliver that message. Since he did not do that, Shane let one tear drop from his eye. In a restaurant where no one knew him, had no idea what the deal was, and thousands of miles away - a special message was sent to him. More than that, it was a timely message, because Shane had put many things aside and did not take on the full responsibility of being the man he knew he should have been. He felt he had time. He felt like his father would be there to lead and guide him, but he did not realize that he’d been doing that the entire time.
It was time.
Time to step up, Shane thought as another tear fell down his face. A grown man or not, his father had passed, as in he would never grace this earth again. A man that had been here his entire life, until three weeks ago. He was allowed to cry. He wished it hadn’t been in a public setting, but he did not care. As he wiped each tear away, he noticed the old man coming back. Tears started to come rapidly, but the man just stood over him and patted him on the shoulder. It was like he was standing guard, from what Shane did not know, but he did put both elbows on the table, covered his face with his hands and let out a shoulder-jerking cry. The old man stayed the entire time with his hand on his shoulder.
The next week Shane came to a decision about his future. So he made some calls to his family, Austin, lawyers, agents, coach and Matt. Everyone was quite understanding, even his sisters and mother. His coach even shared that when his father passed early in his career, he faced a similar crossroads and even took off a year. This shocked him, because Jeffrey Mills was all about cracking heads. He had three kids of his own and he was on them like white on rice. The man did not play when it came to anything, so to hear he had been at a broken place, reminded him of something his father used to say. ‘A broken man can be blessed or cursed, it all depends on what he does in that broken state’.
Coach Mills repeated something he once told him before he hung up. “I’ve always told you that you’re an upcoming leader on this young team and I’ve always told you to use that wisely. You have a place here, Shane. You’re one of my most loyal and talented players. More importantly, your leadership is needed. It’s time.”
The Coach hung up, while Shane stared at the phone. He felt like there were all these signs reinforcing his decision to come back and play. His mom was happy and said his father wanted him to live his dream. Not his father’s dream, but his. Austin said he wasn’t surprised because when you’re born to do something, it won’t let you go, until you do it. Matt was equally excited, because he said tha
t he was terribly missed, but not by him. He claimed that he told everybody that Shane was coming back, just taking a break. Shane laughed at this and made the arrangements to get a flight. He was happy and that would need to sustain him, because he had no idea what he was about to come against.
This was Shane’s fourth press conference of the pre-season. He was a little upset that he had to attend, but there would be no more antics, just silence from him. His journey to find himself, did not include the intrusive ways of the reporters or a transformation about his position. He no longer would play jokes, but he would remain silent. For the most part, they were all sympathetic. He even heard that Wiggins was jumped by them, because of what he did. Shane did not pretend to be upset about that. That was not below the belt, it was sinister. Shane still had not processed how he would handle Wiggins, if he saw him again. He was sure, it wouldn’t be good.
Another change was that there was another star running back brought on the team. People were speculating how Shane and he would get along. He tried his hardest not to watch the news, but in the press conferences, the reporters took to asking other players about things that only Shane could answer. Or asking questions about Shane’s perception as he sat in the room. They were a crafty bunch, he thought, but he never took the bait.
After this particular press conference, the questions ended, so they were allowed to leave. A woman press reporter caught his eye, causing him to slow his motions as he walked to the door, but had to pass her. It was the same woman he had seen before. Shane did not know if she stood out because she was one of the few women Press reporters or if it was because she was breathtakingly beautiful. As he passed her, she made eye contact with him and her mouth moved. He honed in on her lips and heard as well as saw her say, “I’m sorry about your father.”
What?
Shane immediately stopped. He saw her visibly tense, but he was blown away by her words. No reporter had ever shown their remorse or said anything about his loss. Especially not to him. It was talked about as a throwaway comment, but they were always trying to fire questions about the game, his attitude, and the new running back. Nobody said a word about what was on his mind almost all the time. His father.