Chapter13
“Everything is set, right?” Jared asked Rick over the phone.
“Sir, I need you to disconnect your call now.” The flight attendant, clearly losing her patience, stood over him, her plastic smile faltering.
“Yes, Jay, everything is set. We’ll see you at the game.” Rick’s voice crackled a little in the phone. “We’ll pick up the kids and then A.J. and Jaida. Ally confirmed with Jaida that A.J. is planning to be there so I think we’re all set. As far as I know, she has no clue what’s really happening.”
“Great. Thanks, Rick. I owe you,” Jared promised his friend. “I owe you big.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Jay. It’s what we do,” Rick assured him. Marie hollered something in the background. “Oh, and Marie says she’s proud of you for giving Glover hell. You should have heard her during that game. It was something else.”
“Sir! Your phone!” The flight attendant stomped her foot and glared at him.
He put his hand over the receiver., “Yeah, sorry. Just a sec.” Jared interrupted Rick’s praise. “Sorry, Rick, I have to go. We’re taking off soon and the lovely flight attendant needs me to hang up and turn my phone off.”
“Alright, Jay. See you soon!” Rick crowed into the phone.
Jared hung up on Rick and smiled up at the attendant. “I’m so sorry, it’s just that I’ve made these really important plans and a lot of people would be disappointed if it’s not handled before I get there.” He made a point of turning his phone off and promised to keep it off until they landed.
Jared should have flown with the team but Whitey gave him permission to take a day to visit his dad before heading to Nashville. Given his lights out play against Dallas and again in Jacksonville, Whitey caved to Ameryst’s pressure to give Jared some family time in light of his father’s health.
It sounded like he’d had a setback after getting a little too excited during the Dallas game. Despite his mother’s assurances, Jared desperately wanted to see for himself. He had less than twenty-four hours with his family before flying to Nashville and that didn’t leave a lot of time for error.
“You’re Jump Jackson, aren’t you?” The woman leaned across the aisle and tapped him on the shoulder until he answered.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jared said in a hushed tone. He really didn’t want to draw attention to himself on this flight. “But today I’m just a passenger on a flight home to see my family.”
“My son just loves you.” The woman, not much younger than his own mother, leaned closer until she was half out of her seat. “Do you think I could get an autograph for him?”
“Sure,” Jared agreed, “but only if you don’t tell anybody else on this flight who I am. I really just want to stay anonymous right now.”
The woman nodded vigorously. “I won’t say a word!” She handed him her magazine, the one with Jessica Klein’s story as a feature.
“Who should I make it out to?” Jared asked politely. He hated that article, it was such bullshit and a reminder of all the crap Derek had pulled.
“Just ‘B’ if you don’t mind,” she said.
Jared had a funny feeling that it wasn’t her son who wanted the autograph at all, but whatever it took to buy a little peace and quiet for the trip home.
Jared scrawled a message and signed it. He passed it back and the woman held his arm just a little too long.
“You know; I have a daughter who would be perfect for you. She’s just your type, blonde and tiny, she’s a public relations officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. I bet that would come in real handy for you and your teammates. Her name is Jennifer and she’s a Scorpio.
What’s your sign again, I’m sure I knew it at some point.”
The woman hardly took a breath as she force-fed Jared nearly every detail about her daughter without pausing for him to accept or decline. She had to be a saleswoman in some capacity – judging by the makeup, he guessed cosmetics of some sort. Gods, he just wanted some quiet so he could think for a bit.
“I’m flattered, really,” Jared began but they were interrupted by the flight attendant stepping between them to give the pre-flight instructions. He seized the opportunity to put his earbuds in and close his eyes.
**
“Your mother overreacted a little.”
Jared’s dad lounged in his recliner, his speech a little slurred secondary to the stroke. His right side seemed a little weak and Jared’s mom confirmed that his blood pressured continued to be an issue.
“I can see that.” Jared played along with his dad’s need to downplay his difficulties. “It’s what Mom always does. Remember when I sprained my wrist and she swore it was broken? Took me to two different doctors and a clinic before she was convinced?”
His Dad laughed, a throaty rasp that betrayed the depth of his deficits. “Yes, I remember. How many x-rays did you get that day?”
“I don’t know, like six or seven.” Jared smirked and then turned serious. “Are you following the doctor’s orders, though? I want you to get better, Dad.”
“Yes, yes, I’m following that repugnant little man’s instructions to the letter,” his dad said dismissively. “Well, almost. I refused to stop watching my son play football.”
“But isn’t that what gets your blood pressure up?” Jared pressed. “Maybe you shouldn’t watch for a bit, maybe you should take a break from football until you are a little more stable.”
“How can I not watch you play football?” His father tried to jump up but couldn’t manage and fell back into the recliner. He tried to cover but Jared had seen the right-sided weakness his mom told him about.
Jared frowned. “Dad, I need you to get better. I’m working on something big and I really want you to be around for it.”
“What are you up to?” His dad wheezed and his mom handed him an inhaler.
“I’ve been making a lot of changes because I’ve changed, Dad,” Jared explained. “I met somebody and I want to be with her. She’s not able to move to L.A. so I’m going to move to her. My new agent is working out a trade as we speak.”
“What?” His dad’s eyes bulged. “L.A. was your dream, you’ve got everything you wanted. You’ve got the entire city wrapped around your finger. Why would you throw that away?”
“Francis,” Jared’s mom pressed a hand on his father’s shoulder, “hear him out.”
“Dad, I really want you to support me in this. I want a wife and someday a family. Don’t you want grandkids? Don’t you want me to build a life after football?” Jared pled for his father to see what became so clear over the past several months.
“Francis,” his mom said again, “think about how we were once, and think about what we wanted for our kids when they were young. Think about what comes after football, when Jared can’t play anymore.”
His dad exhaled loudly. “How can I argue with both of you?”
“I don’t want to argue, Dad,” Jared said softly. “I want your support. I want you to be happy for me.”
“Where are you going?” his dad asked.
“Nashville. If Ameryst can pull it off, Trent Roberts and I will be traded for Wilson and a pick in next year’s draft,” Jared answered, relieved to be able to tell his dad the whole story. “She flew out yesterday to meet with Nashville’s front office and I should know something by the time I land there tomorrow.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it all sorted out,” his dad replied quietly. He seemed disappointed. “I never thought you’d give up the life you worked so hard for.”
“Dad, it wasn’t a good life. It wasn’t real,” Jared explained. “Those people didn’t know me, they didn’t care about me at all. They still don’t. Besides, look at how I’ve acted the past few years? Look how I treated you and Mom? Were you proud of me when I was club-hopping and taking home a different girl every night? Is that the life you think I should lead?
“What happens when my career is over, do you think it will still look like that? Where were all of those people when I was hurt? They practically wrote me off and then, when I fought back against all odds, they put me on display and manipulated me. Dad, they didn’t even tell me you were sick. What kind of life is that?”
“Francis, Jared is here asking us to support him and I think we should.” His mom crossed the room and slipped an arm around his waist. She looked up to Jared with a face full of pride. “When I visited him in L.A., I was able to see first-hand how poorly they treated him. What do you think they will do when he’s no longer an asset? That man, Derek, manipulated our son, and I, for one, am glad that Jared finally saw through it and found a way out.”
“Like I said, I can’t fight you both. If this is what you think is right, then you have to do what you have to do.” Francis Jackson shook his head.
“I just want you to support me, Dad,” Jared said. “Can you do that?”
His Dad studied him for a moment before answering. “Yeah, Jared, I think I can.”
“Good. Thanks, Dad.” Jared sat back down, opposite his dad. “I wish I had longer to spend here, but I have to be in Nashville early tomorrow morning.”
“You’re not missing much since it seems I’ll just be laying around doing crossword puzzles for the foreseeable future,” his dad grumbled.
“It’s not that bad. You can do some Sudoku puzzles, too,” his mom teased. “And what about all of those TV shows you have saved on the DVR?”
“Bleh,” his dad growled dismissively.
“C’mon, Dad, it won’t be that bad,” Jared encouraged him. “The sooner you get a clean bill of health, the sooner you can visit me and attend a live game!”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” his dad promised.
Jared’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the name. “It’s Ameryst, I have to take this.” He stepped out of the room and answered. “Hey, Ameryst, give me some good news.”
“Nashville is game,” Ameryst began, “but the Panthers are being difficult. They want more than they’re being offered.”
“What options do we have?” Jared asked. “I will do whatever it takes to make this work and I know Trent will, too.”
“Well, if you manage to have another big game this week it might be enough to bump Nashville from a second round pick to a first rounder. But I still don’t know if that will be enough. The Panthers are claiming that you are their franchise player.”
“So they’re pissed I want to be traded.” Jared read between the lines. He had a feeling this may be an issue.
“It seems that way,” Ameryst agreed. “This is a business though. You’ll have to approach it that way.”
“I know. It sounds like I need to have a big day tomorrow,” Jared said.
“Unless you come up with something else soon. I’m pressing where I can and calling in favors, but I need a little more time.” Ameryst sounded tired.
“Thanks, Ameryst.” Jared meant it. He could tell she was working hard. “Let me see what I can do on my end, okay?”
“Sure, Jared.” Ameryst sighed into the phone.
“You’re going to be at the game, right?” Jared asked.
“Of course, this is a big weekend for you. And I would love to see Alex again.”
Ameryst remained one of the few aware of his entire plan. She’d been only too happy to help when she learned the real reason Jared wanted to be traded to Nashville.
“Me, too. I just hope she’ll hear me out,” Jared said.
“Alex is stubborn and proud, Jared,” Ameryst started, “but she’s always been fair. I can’t believe she’d ignore everything you two shared after all that you’re doing to get back to her.”
“I hope you’re right, Ameryst.” Jared frowned into the phone. “I’ve done a lot of shitty things over the past few years and the way I left Amherst is near the top.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Jared,” Ameryst reminded him. At least she believed him.
“Thanks again, Ameryst. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jared disconnected the call and headed back in to enjoy a little more time with his family. He only had a few more hours of peace and quiet before the performance of his life.