Under Further Review

by Xyla Turner

  Keith muttered, “Oh shit.”

  Ralph who either did not care or even get the offense in what he said, repeated himself. “Man, all I’m saying is that these chicks are all gold diggers. You dodged one bullet to go and swallow another. I mean, look at the red signs. Her damn name is Diamond for God’s sake!”

  The few feet that Shane was in proximity to Ralph was shortened in two strides. All he saw was red when he threw the first punch landing Ralph directly on his right cheek. After that, all he saw was brown, because big boy Keith and Hamselt had literally picked him up and moved him away from his victim.

  Shane had never been a violent person, but he would not stand by and let someone disrespect Diamond. Nobody. The woman was amazing and if he didn’t think he’d see her again after the game, he was going to her place, because he missed her. Then a man who saw a picture decided to comment to him about what he thought she was. That would not be tolerated, Shane concluded with no regrets. Even as he sat in his coach’s office.

  Coach Mills looked beyond disappointed at him. It reminded him of his father, but his next words really hit home.

  “Son, I just put in the paperwork to make you co-captain. Several people asked me if I was sane, to make a non-talking mummer, who has been aggressive more than once and doesn’t really have a squeaky clean attitude a captain of this team. I looked at all of those sons of bitches in the face and said, Damn right. The boys got heart, guts and irreplaceable loyalty. That’s the type of leadership we need on this team. I stood flat foot and went to bat for you, because I believe all of that with my whole being. Would bet my career on it? Shit, I might have just done that. And you go and hit your teammate for talking about your girlfriend. Do you see the irony?”

  Damn, Shane thought.

  “Don’t even answer that question, because the only one I really have is you better give me one good damn reason why I shouldn’t bench my new co-captain?” Mills sunken eyes were dead set on Shane.

  He was his coach, but he was also fair and best running back or not, he would bench him. They always had Raymond. Shane nodded his head and said, “Coach, you can bench me. I get it, but he nor anyone else will disrespect her like that. They might do it behind their cameras and they can do that to me, but they won’t do that in front of me. Not her. She doesn’t deserve that shit and I won’t allow it.”

  Mills shook his head at Shane. “Boy, you planning to fight the whole world?”

  “If I have to.” He looked solemnly back at his coach.

  “Guess you’re in love huh?” The old man smiled, “Shit, I know the feeling. I’ve clocked plenty of men in my day for my Kathy. But I’ll tell ya, they are going to try to get to her to get to you. You need to be prepared for that and you need to prepare her for that. This is the big leagues. It gets no bigger than this, so you need to protect her and your fist cannot be the only way you do that. Especially on game day or where there is the potential that someone is recording.”

  Shane nodded since the man did make sense.

  “Hurry and get dressed and make that shit right with Ralph. You know he’s on a woman hating spree. That ex of his took him for half of his salary. Half and she don’t even have a child or hips enough to bear one. Talking about gold digging.” Mills stood up and added, “Cut the man some slack. He probably saw that picture and thought of his days like that and was jealous. That’s his bag to carry, don’t let it be yours. Now go.”

  Shane stood up and nodded at the coach. He really did remind him of his father, who would have given him a similar speech. One that let him know that he was disappointed, but that whatever happened, he could move on from it. He was redeemable, no matter what. As he walked back to the locker to grab his bag, all the guys were in there at that point. Keith asked, “You sacked for today?”

  “Naw,” he replied and turned around to see a flying fist come in his direction.

  It was too late to move, so he braced for impact. His neck went to the right and when he turned to see who, Ralph was standing in a fighting stance ready for the brawl. The entire team had come to the center to see what would happen. Keith had stood up and Shane knew he would intervene. Matt heard the commotion and was making his way to the center. Shane thought about what the coach had said and what he had done so he simply smiled and then nodded to Ralph, and said “Touché.”

  He turned and walked towards the sauna away from Ralph. It looked and sounded like the entire team exhaled with relief. Keith slapped Ralph on the back and asked, “Feel better. I hope so man, because if his eye is swollen and he can’t see to catch the ball. You’re going to have two eyes just like his.”

  After the game, Shane was met by his agent who stated he would be attending anger management classes starting next week. He nodded and knew his coach was more concerned about his mental stability than his football performance. Although he performed very well in the game, they lost by three points. There were many reasons for this, but Shane could not help but feel like his behavior in the locker room with Ralph had fractured the team’s morale. He’d never been in a physical altercation with any of his teammates before, so this must have been a concern. Now he had responsibilities that required him to think about more than himself and a few others. Now he had to think of all thirty men. His team.

  During the press conference, Diamond was there with her hair down, in a red blouse and a black skirt with heels. She was engaged, raising her hand and one-time Matt called on her. She asked, “What do you feel the team can do better so when faced with a team like the Steelers who are riddled with division amongst the players and strife in the entire organization to come together and beat you?”

  “I think we as a team need to come together and address what happened, deal with it and heal from it. Like any family, we have our ups and downs. We win some and we lose some, but we do both of those together and the only way we will come back from a loss like this is doing that together.”

  Shane internally smiled at Matt’s remarks and thought this was why he was a captain. He had no idea what the coach saw in him.

  Diamond nodded at his answer, then he called on another guy who said, “Is it true that there was a brawl in the locker room before the game with Shane Sinclair and Ralph Murphy? Do you think this was the reason for this loss?”

  Shane came alert and so did everyone else in the room. If the reporters had not been tuned in, they were now as cameras were being raised and microphones were in the air. Shane could not help but think of them like vultures. He found that Diamond had a look of discontent on her face, but she did not look at him.

  Matt answered, “No there was not a brawl and if the two did have a disagreement, it would be just like any other disagreement that is had when over thirty men are in a sweaty, smelly and sticky room with half-naked guys walking around thinking about how they are going to tackle anyone in sight.”

  The room laughed collectively and Matt being the class act he was, just diverted additional drama.

  As Shane was leaving he met up with his mom and Mindy who were in the box seats, but had been escorted down. His mom immediately saw the puffy eye and tried to make a fuss.

  “Mom, it’s nothing.”

  “It’s nothing? It is something. You need to get some ice on that before it swells more.”

  As she was talking in the downstairs corridor, he felt a tap on his back. He turned to see Vivian behind him and she looked twenty pounds lighter and her face was sunken in. She did not look healthy. The woman had on a designer’s outfit that fit her small body, but she looked sickly in the face. Eyes were red, dents in her cheeks, exposing the high cheek bones in a crypt keeper way and the contours of her body were very sharp and not round.

  “Vivian, what are you doing here? Are you alright?” Shane asked.

  “Uh, yeah. I was in town and thought I’d stop by your game like usual. Great by the way.” She swung her head around him to see his mom and sister and said in a loud voice. “Oh Mom, so good to see you.”

  She
stepped around him to give his mom a hug, who barely returned the gesture. Then Vivian looked like she wanted to do the same with Mindy, but she nipped that in the bud when she said, “Vivian.”

  “Hey Mindy,” Vivian replied and turned to speak with Shane in lowered tones. “You got a minute?”

  “Yeah, what’s up?” He stepped to the side.

  “I was wondering if we could go somewhere and talk. I, uh, have been seeing someone about my depression over our breakup and he has given me a list of things to do and discuss with you and I was wondering when we could do that?”

  “Well, I’m going out with my family right now, but maybe on Friday?” Shane tried to find a way to get out of the issue.

  “Well, uh. Okay.” She put her finger to her mouth in thought. “Sure, yeah. That will work. I’ll be in town all week.”

  “Okay, Friday. I’ll text you with the details.”

  “Okay,” she smiled, then rubbed up against him on her tiptoes to kiss his lips.

  When she came back down, she reached her hand to wipe the lipstick off. She walked away, well sashayed away with her hips swinging with a deliberate motion from left to right. Shane turned to see his mother glaring at him.

  “You better be careful of that trollop.” Beatrice Sinclair shook her head. “She’s up to something. That one ain’t going out without a fight.”

  Mindy nodded her head and said, “Yup. That’s what diggers do.”

  “Simmer down ladies. I’m not interested in Vivian Roundtree. She does nothing for me, but I am concerned about her. She doesn’t look good.”

  “And that, my dear boy, is a part of the ploy. She’s a conniving something. Just be careful.”

  Shane ordered pizza for him and Mindy and had some brie, crackers and grapes for his mom. They wanted to see The Best Man Too, which was a tear jerker and he wished they would pick a different movie since Diamond was coming over. However, he was outnumbered and his father taught him to pick his battles and two Sinclair women was not a battle he would ever win.

  While he was in the kitchen setting up, Mindy joined him. She was unusually quiet, but Shane knew her enough to know there was something wrong.

  “What’s up Min?” Shane inquired.

  “You know, same ole’, same ole’.”

  “Elaborate?”

  She walked over to him and whispered, “Don’t think I’m crazy, but I don’t think Mom isn’t taking Dad leaving too well.”

  “What do you mean?” Shane came alert.

  “Well, uh.” She paused. “Well, she uh. She’s talking to Dad, like he’s here. You know, I caught her the other day asking Dad if he wanted his coffee now or after lunch. Then one night, I heard talking in her room and she was chatting about her day like she normally does with Dad, but there was no one in there. I walked in there to see and she just smiled and said goodnight.”

  “Shit,” Shane muttered under his breath.

  “Do you think she’s going senile?” He stopped and looked at Mindy to get the full truth.

  “Honestly, Shane. I don’t know. I just know this is not good, something needs to be done and soon. I think it’s the house. You know. She’s been there for thirty years with him by her side. I mean, it’s crazy, but it could be just the routine of it and maybe she needs to move.”

  “She can stay with me. I have plenty of space.”

  Mindy shook her head and said, “She would never go for that.”

  “So, we make her go for it. I know just the thing too,” Shane confirmed.

  “If you say so big brother. I trust your judgment.”

  A little while later, Keith knocked on the door with his lady friend who looked of age or at least his age. Quincy was next and then Raymond, who Shane had come to like, even though he was brought on to be his backup. He was just about to text Diamond when she knocked.

  His entire body lit with fire at the sight of her. She was dressed in jeans, short heels and a flirty blouse that tied around her thin waist. Her hair was still down from earlier and she had on earrings that dangled.

  “Hey,” she called and looked past him to see who was inside.

  “Hey.” he said and pulled her in by the waist as he devoured her lips right in the front door.

  Shane did not care, even when he heard the whistling and kissy noises from his teammates in the background. When he finally let her go, she was breathing heavy but said, “Well hello to you too.”

  He smiled at her, then closed the door. When he turned, all eyes were on them with his mom and Mindy smiling from ear to ear. He felt Diamond’s body stiffen, so he introduced everyone.

  “Everyone this is Diamond Reeves and this is Keith, Katy, Quincy, Kamal, my sister Mindy and my mom Beatrice,” Shane announced.

  “But you can call me Bee,” his mom added.

  Shane pulled her into the room, but she redirected him to the kitchen.

  “A word,” she murmured.

  “Yeah,” he followed.

  When the door closed, she said, “You did not tell me your mom and sister were going to be here. Shane, I wasn’t prepared for that. I thought it’d be just some of your teammates and their wives or significant others.”

  “Love.” He pulled her closer into his body. “Calm down. It’s fine. They are cool, I promise.”

  “Shane, that’s not the point.” She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. “I just wanted to be warned. You know. Just…”

  “Hey,” Mindy called as she walked in. “I’ve seen so much of you in the tabloids and on tv, but wow. So glad to finally meet you.”

  Diamond plastered on a smile and said, “Yes, likewise.”

  “She didn’t know we would be here, did she?” Mindy asked Shane.

  He shook his head in the negative and Mindy slapped his arm. “Why do you do that to people? That’s not cool. Come on, I got you.”

  She grabbed her hand and led her out of the kitchen. Shane followed and kept a close watch on Diamond. He wasn’t sure if she was ready to pounce on him or leave. The first one wasn’t pleasant, but he would take it, but the latter he couldn’t do. While his mom finished watching the HGTV show that was on the screen, Mindy talked to Diamond the entire time. When it was time for the movie to come on, Shane went over to her and pulled her from her seat and guided her back to the love seat he was on.

  “Hey,” Mindy shouted. “I was talking to her.”

  “You’ll have to talk to her later,” Shane snapped back as he sat down and pulled Diamond down on his lap.

  Mindy was sitting there with her mouth opened, then asked, “Diamond, you going to let him just do that to you?”

  His mom chimed in with, “Mindy, stay outta grown folk’s business. You don’t have a man, so you don’t know nothing about that. He’s a Sinclair, she needs to learn that now and forever hold her peace.”

  Keith laughed along with Quincy. Shane had no idea what either of them was talking about, so he just enjoyed having Diamond on his lap.

  Mindy shook her head and said, “I’ll never get it. No man is going to just boss me around and get all cave man and I just comply. That is sooo weak. I mean no offense you guys, but really, it can’t be that good.”

  “Oh honey.” Beatrice shook her head in pity. “You are saying that because the right man hasn’t come your way that’s worthy of you. When the right one comes, you won’t have to worry about nothing, because he’ll take care of any and everything. Believe me, when you find a man like that, you’ll never look back and you’ll eat all those words.”

  Quincy’s date added, “Yeah, she’s right.”

  Quincy raised an eyebrow and said, “How you know?”

  “Oh, I’ve run into my share of good guys.” She patted him on the chest.

  He shook his head and said, “Well, you can’t be talking about me, because I just met you yesterday.”

  Mindy snickered at the back and forth, while the two continued to bicker in their corner. Shane turned on the movie to silence everyone and as the credits roll
ed, he asked, “You feel better now?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” She smiled.

  Then she looked at him again and asked, “What happened to your eye?”

  Kamal said, “He knocked the shit out of Ralph for talking about you and then Ralph tagged him back.”

  “What?” Diamond and his mom gasped.

  Shane threw a pillow at Kamal. He could not believe the man.

  “Is this true?” Diamond looked at him and moved her hand over his eye.

  “Yeah,” he confirmed.

  “Are you guys cool now?”

  “Yeah, we talked. It’s all good.”

  “Okay, good.” She rubbed his eye again and then turned back around.

  Shane was shocked at how she played that. She was not a mother hen, nor was she mad because he was fighting and even over her or she just wouldn’t do that in front of his family and friends. Either way, he liked it all. He caught movement in his right peripheral vision and saw his mom give Mindy a thumbs up, while she was doing the same thing. She had their approval.

  Towards the end of the movie, Diamond started to shift in his lap. Although he didn’t want to watch it because there were some sad elements, he also really liked the movie. When the character passed away, Diamond tried to get up, but Shane held on to her.

  “What’s wrong?” he whispered.

  She shook her head and although the lights were off, the glare from the television reflected on her face and he saw she was crying.

  “Love,” he pulled her closer, so she buried her head in his chest.

  His tough little cookie was crying during the movie. Though he wanted to make fun of this, he actually loved that she could be vulnerable. He held her until she wiped all her tears on his shirt and returned to watching the movie. When It was over, everybody got up to leave, including Diamond. He held her back for a little while, but she started yawning, so he told her he’d take her home. She insisted that she was fine, but he explained how he had to take his mom and Mindy home as well. He failed to tell her that Mindy drove, but he wanted to spend a little more time with her.