My Blue Eyes

by Maxim Daniels

  Once we were done, we headed back to the house to clean up and get ready for a church function. When I agreed to go home with her for a week, I was expecting a relaxing lazy vacation, not doing something every minute of the day. I met more people this week then I met in my two and a half years of college so far.

  We finally made it to Christmas Eve, and this was when they usually exchanged presents. I had a special little gift picked out for Amy. She was difficult to buy for. It’s hard to get someone something when they already have everything. The gift I got her was a little expensive, but it came from the heart. I wanted to give her something that was truly special. Something that told her how much I loved her and appreciated everything she has done for me. Without her in my life, I didn't know where I would have been. Two years of intensive rehab and setbacks can drain a person. No matter how nasty I was, or however long it took me to fall in love with her, she stood by me. I gave her a ring. Not an engagement ring, but a promise ring. A ring that promised her no matter where life was going to take us, I wanted it to take us together. She loved it. She cried a lot of tears after opening it, and I think she spent the rest of the night staring at it. She got me the usual things girls get their boyfriends. Clothes, CD's, cologne and other useful items.

  When we got done opening presents, Amy’s dad wanted us all to go outside. I figured this was when he was planning on having the snow machine fired up. As we got outside, there was a brand spanking new jet black F-150 dual cab pickup truck with a big red bow tied around it. Seeing it made me miss my own truck that sat in my parent’s garage back home. There were plenty of times I had thought about going back home and driving it down. I looked at Amy in disbelief.

  “Oh my God Amy, your parents got you a brand new truck,” I whispered to her not wanting them to hear me. I never took her as being a truck person.

  “It’s not mine,” she responded under her breath. “You wouldn't catch me driving something that big.”

  “Your brothers can’t even drive yet, right?” I whispered again to Amy as her dad started to say something.

  Amy proceeded to give me a quiet shh and nodded for me to pay attention.

  “It’s just so freaking nice looking Amy,” I whispered again. “Your brothers are lucky little pricks.”

  She gave me another shh, “Darrel, will you just be quiet and listen to what my dad has to say.”

  Amy grabbed my arm as her mom came and did the same with my other. I wondered what she was doing. I wasn't going to say anything because it was nice to have a mother’s touch again. Her dad began:

  “This truck just arrived today. I had it specially delivered so I could show it to you all. I also want to thank Darrel for coming down and spending the holiday with us. I know the past few years have been rough on you. I couldn't imagine in a million years how you were able to manage it.”

  I gave Amy a strange look. I wasn't expecting her dad’s speech to be about me. It caught me a little off guard. Amy and her mom noticed as they squeezed my arms a little tighter.

  He continued, “I remember the first time we heard Amy had met someone. I’m probably going to embarrass her, but oh well.”

  I looked at Amy and she was beet red.

  “Well, she called her mom the next day Darrel. She talked to her for a good three hours. All about you. Beth hung up the phone and she looked at me and said, ‘Dave, our daughter done went and fell in love.’ Every time we spoke after that, she only talked about you. Thankfully, we finally got to meet you last school semester and I must say, Beth and I were both impressed. I've heard nothing but good things about you, how good you are to my baby girl. If my baby thinks the world of you, then you’re alright with me. Now, Amy told me you talk about your truck back home and how you wished it was here. So Darrel, Beth and I want you to have this truck. This is our families’ Christmas gift to you.”

  I looked at Amy and she had the biggest smile on her face, “I can’t take this Amy.”

  Overhearing me her dad chimed in, “Like hell you’re not taking it Darrel.”

  I shook my head in disbelief, “It’s, it’s too much Mr. Middleton.”

  “Hogwash Darrel,” he said grabbing my arm and holding the keys in front of me. “This is yours. Take it, and enjoy it. We want you to have it.”

  I started to get a little choked up as I continued to shake my head, “It’s really nice of you guys, but I can’t.”

  He placed the keys in my hand and led me and Amy to the truck, “It’s yours Darrel. There are no give backs here son. Now go take it for a spin.”

  I glanced over at Amy as she gleefully went to the passenger side and got in, “Come on Darrel.”

  I hopped in the driver side and her dad proceeded to show me where everything was and all of its latest technology. The truck was fully loaded. It was magnificent.

  We drove all over town. It was so nice. It barley felt like you were driving at all. It was so much smoother than my truck back home. Amy had me take this road which led to the outskirts of town and we parked in an old rundown church’s gravel parking lot. I turned music on low as she snuggled in next to me.

  “My daddy used to take us here when we were little kids,” Amy stated in her cute southern drawl. "We would sit here and wait for Santa. Anytime we saw a plane we would ask if it was him. Dad would tell us if we didn't see the red nose of Rudolph then it wasn't him. Every now and then, you would see a plane with a red light and we would get all excited. Dad would look up into the sky and say it was only a plane. Needless to say, we never saw the red nose. We would stay here until we fell asleep then Daddy would take us back home and carry us in and tuck us into bed. The next morning, Santa had come. Daddy always said he saw the sleigh once we fell asleep. Do you like your truck Darrel?”

  “I love it, but you know I can’t take it. If my parents were alive, they would be so ashamed of me if I accepted it.”

  “Why would they be ashamed?”

  “I don’t know. My dad just never liked to accept handouts.”

  “This is not a handout Darrel. They wanted you to have it. Heck, I don’t know how you survived down here for so long without one.”

  “A lot of my friends have cars. I guess I never thought about needing one. It would be nice, if I was going to accept it.”

  “Darrel, if you honestly think my dad is going to let you give this back, then you better think again. My daddy didn't become the number one dealership in this area from not being persuasive. My parents really like you. Just accept it.”

  “I don’t know, Amy.” I needed to come up with a good reason why and this was the only thing I could think of. “What if you get tired of me and start dating the quarterback of the football team?”

  She laughed as she grabbed my chin, holding it as she looked in my eyes, “I’m not going anywhere Darrel. With you is right is where I want to be. I love you.” She started shaking her head, “You’re stuck with me until you get sick of me. Well, then I might start stalking you or something if you leave me.”

  We laughed as I pulled her in for a kiss. “I’m not going anywhere either Amy.”

  “I do have one question for you Darrel,” she said as she leaned back in the seat. “Why did it take you so long to fall in love with me?”

  I did not want to answer this question.

  “I don’t know. With everything I had happen in my life the past few years I was just drained. It’s not like I was ever with anyone else since the first night we were together. Maybe I was afraid of falling in love and losing you. I honestly can’t give you a certain answer. I love you so much now though. I’m surprised you stayed with me for so long knowing how I felt.”

  She laughed, “Darrel I would have stayed with you for as long as it took. The first time I saw you across the room at that party, I knew I was going to love you. It took you long enough to come talk to me.”

  I chuckled, “I thought you were too hot and way out of my league.”

  She blushed, “Whatever. I do think a girl has
broken your heart. It must have happened just before you came to school here. Who was she?”

  “I don’t want to talk about that.”

  “Oh come on Darrel. I’m a big girl. I know you love me. I promise I won’t be jealous.”

  I proceeded to tell her about Mary. Truth is, I hadn't even thought about her for quite some time. Usually when I started talking about her, I got the queasiest feeling in my stomach. It didn't happen this time. I told her everything about her. I told her about how much I couldn't stand her when we first got paired up and how she grew on me over time. How I fell in love with her and how special she was. I talked about all the times she broke down and having to leave for weeks at a time. How she moved to Minnesota for treatment. When she came back for my mom’s funeral and that being the first time we ever slept together. And how she promised me not to try and contact her. I told Amy I never attempted to since I left.

  “Do you still love her?” she asked.

  “I mean, there will always be a part of me that loves her.” I looked over at Amy as I placed my hand on the side of her face. “There is a big difference between loving someone and being in love with them. I’m in love with you. She is my past and you’re my future and there is no other place I want to be.”

  I pulled her in for a kiss and then one thing led to another. Yes, we did break in the truck that night. There in that silent parking lot of what used to be a church.

  We finally arrived back at her house. As we pulled up the drive, her dad had the crew kick the snow machine into high gear. It reminded me of back home as the snow hit my windshield. It was beautiful. Amy and I proceeded to throw snow balls at each other as I chased her around, tackling her in the wet snow. As I got up I slipped and heard that dreadful pop in my knee. I grimaced in pain as Amy noticed.

  “Oh no Darrel. Did you hurt your knee again?”

  I shook my head pretending to hide the pain, “I’m fine Amy. It was just a little twinge.”

  We walked inside as I tried to conceal my limp with every step. The rest of the time spent at her house was uncomfortable. I tried my best to hide it. I always had a high pain tolerance, but this hurt.

  The drive back to Tuscaloosa was a pain in the ass. I accepted the truck, and we both drove our own cars back. Once back, I met with our head trainer and told him what happened. We had it looked at and I screwed it up again. All the rehab I done to be ready for the season was for not. I would have to start over.

  I went back to my dorm where Matt and Carly were watching a movie. They knew something was wrong as I laid on my bed and covered my head with my blanket. They tried to talk to me but I told them I just wanted to sleep. It was four in the afternoon and I slept the rest of the day and night. Sleeping was the only thing which could keep my mind off the thought of not being able to play this year or ever again. Rehab was hard, and I didn't want to do it again.

  Chapter 42

  I spent the next few weeks holed up in my room feeling sorry for myself. Amy was pretty torn up about my setback and took responsibility. I tried to tell her it wasn't her fault. She was there with me every day. Thanks to Amy’s encouragement, I reluctantly took to the grueling schedule of rehabbing my knee.

  I think coach knew what my outcome would be. I had so much promise before the injury. This was my third surgery in such a short period of time. The only thing I wanted to do, was make it back in time for the conference championships and possibly a berth in the College World Series. Our team had high expectations this year and anything but the series would be a disappointment.

  Once the season had started, Matt was supplanted as the everyday second baseman by a junior college transfer. He wasn't too disappointed. He knew he wasn't going to play after college and just enjoyed being part of the team. He went from a walk-on to the starting second baseman for a big time division one school. He had a lot to be proud of.

  Sitting out my junior year during the spring was so much harder than sitting out the fall. Coach allowed me to attend all the away games. I guess you could have considered me a part of the coaching staff. I think I helped out quite a bit. Coach always told me how appreciative he was with me helping out, even though I was injured. My main expertise was hitting, so I stuck with that. I could tell there was an improvement with the younger guys. Most of them came into the season with the same bad mechanics they had in high school. As I found out my first year, division one ball is a lot tougher than high school ball. If you failed to make the necessary adjustments, you were doomed. Like I said in previous chapters, every pitcher you faced was the best pitcher for their high school team. And you faced this day in, and day out.

  This was the one thing Matt never made the adjustment on. God given talent will only take you so far. If you fail to put in the necessary work, you are doomed. I made it a point to increase my bat speed so I could catch up with the pitchers. I taught this to the younger guys and they really grasped the concept. Matt never tried, and now he had a place comfortably on the bench next to me. He would play from time to time. Usually as a late inning defensive replacement. Even though his bat speed was poor, he made up for it with his stellar defensive skills.

  My rehab progressed pretty well this time. By the last week in April, I was given clearance to start some light work. I continued to feel a twinge in my knee from time to time and compensated by putting more work on my good knee. After a week or so, I started getting swelling in my right knee. The doctor told me it was common and put me on an ice regimen. By the beginning of May, I talked the medical staff and coach into letting me give it a try. Everyone knew it was too much of a risk. I begged coach. I asked him to just let me play in the conference tournament and this would be it. We all knew my baseball career was coming to an end. He reluctantly agreed.

  I was allowed to pinch hit in the very first game. We had a substantial lead, so he felt it was no big deal if I got on and clogged up the bases. My first at-bat back, I hit a double to right center field. I labored around first and made it into second standing up. I later scored on a double off the wall. It felt good to be back.

  The second game I had a more substantial role. Coach liked the at-bat I took pinch hitting and put me in the six hole as the designated hitter. I promptly went three for four with five runs batted in. We won this game rather easily as well. This would place us into the semifinals with a shot at going to the championship and increasing our chances of making the series.

  Amy’s parents heard my first full game went well, so they made the three hour trip to Hoover, Alabama where the tournament was being held. It was good to see them. I had only seen them a handful of times since I spent the week with them. They would come to see Amy and we would all go out for a family dinner. I enjoyed spending time with them. Not just because they gave me the truck, because they felt like family.

  Coach had me penciled in the number six hole again as the designated hitter. It was a nail biter against Florida. They were the number two seed and we were the number one. If we lost this game, we still had a chance to come back and win the tournament since it was double elimination. The pitcher they threw against us was a top twenty draft pick from that year’s major league draft. He threw in the mid-nineties with a terrific change up. He had us off balance the whole game. There is no better pitch to have in your arsenal then an outstanding change up. I was able to get to him a couple of times for weak singles up the middle. Each time, I was stranded on first. If my knee was one hundred percent, there is no doubt in my mind I could have stolen second and third off him. The flood gates finally opened in their favor in the seventh inning when they scored all seven of their runs. The next two innings we managed to score three runs, but wound up losing the game by four. This put us in the loser’s bracket set to face Kentucky.

  Kentucky was the six seed. We played them the first game and beat them rather easily. This game was much the same. We jumped on them early and never let them get back into the game. Matt started this game and was actually the offensive most valuable player goin
g five for five with six runs batted in. I didn't have one of my better games, going one for three with a pair of walks. This would set us up to play Florida again, and a chance at advancing to the College World Series. We would need to beat them twice to win it all.

  You could say the first game we played them was a “give me” game. Their pitcher was definitely not a regular in their rotation. We jumped on him early like the previous game we had played against Kentucky. We wound up winning by eight. I had my best game of the tournament to date. I went three for five with two home runs and five runs batted in. My knee was holding up for the most part, even though after every game I had them covered in ice. This had become part of my normal routine. We had set ourselves up nicely for the championship game.

  The training staff evaluated my knee and strongly recommended I not play the next game. As I arrived in the dugout for the game, coach had someone else penciled in as the designated hitter. I begged and I pleaded to play, but he wasn't budging. He told me if the game was close, he would possibly put me in as a pinch hitter. I wanted to cry right there. I had worked so hard to get back, even going against the advice of the medical staff. Coach said it was too risky and he wanted me coming back strong after we win and make the series. I tried to reason with him. He knew this was the game we needed to win to even make it. He just shook his head no and said he was not going to jeopardize my health at the advice of the medical staff. I was heartbroken to say the least.