Junior Year Box Set

When I arrived at school, I made sure to congratulate all the players who were on the list.

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Coach Hope canceled practice so everyone could begin their Thanksgiving celebration early. I stayed with Coach Diamond as we talked to Coach Mason on video chat. He walked us through my reads for Unity and pointed out some of the schemes they ran out of different defensive sets. They were quick, athletic, and swarmed to the ball. Coach Mason suggested that we use that against them and run counter plays with the hope that they overran the ball.

Other plays that had a real chance for success were draws and trick plays where we enticed them in one direction and then went another. This is where we missed Mike. We could have tossed him the ball and had him run right, and I would fake left, but he could throw me the ball. Defenses rarely account for the quarterback once he has handed the ball off.

The only problem, as I saw it, was that film showed other teams doing precisely what we planned to do, and Unity seemed to beat all of them. I pointed that out. Coach Mason seemed to consider what I said, and then he told me he needed to review the films again. I trusted he would figure out what would work best.

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When I came home, Uncle John and Aunt Bonnie were in the kitchen talking to Grandma Dawson. I was surprised when I saw Uncle John and my grandma drinking scotch.

“David! Come here and give me a hug,” Grandma Dawson said.

“I’m her favorite,” I teased Uncle John.

“Don’t tell your dad. He seems to believe he’s the chosen one,” Uncle John said.

“So, is David really your favorite?” Aunt Bonnie asked.

“Sure, why not,” Grandma Dawson said.

I knew that would last until Greg showed up with babies for her to fuss over. I’d have my own soon to compete with my brother’s brood. We caught up on each other’s lives and were interrupted periodically as people came to get their smoked turkeys from our turkey hunt. Uncle John had picked them up from the butcher and brought them down.

Uncle John and Grandma told me about their talk with Caryn. Mom had taken them to look at the farm down the road from the Pearsons’. She’d told them about her research into its economic viability. The professor from State had said he thought egg prices wouldn’t decline to what they were prior to the bird flu epidemic. That disease had killed a lot of the laying chickens, driving up egg prices. This farm was an example of what happened around the country where the smaller farmers hadn’t been able to survive the loss of their chickens. The farm also had apple, cherry, and walnut trees that were cash crops before the farm failed. It had enough land for corn that could be used as chicken feed, and they also planted vegetables and melons.

“So, what do you think?” I asked.

“I don’t see how you can run something like this without help. Having animals to care for is a full-time job. Most of what’s done on a farm like this is labor-intensive. You’d need a manager who’s familiar with all the different aspects of the farm and is good at managing people,” Grandma Dawson said.

“I agree with Mom,” Uncle John said. “I expect you could do it cheap enough that it would be profitable, but it needs some TLC. When you’re talking about a farm, it can get expensive in a hurry. Your mom said the bank is considering auctioning the farm off. If that happens, they may break it up. Without all the parts, it wouldn’t be nearly as profitable.”

“If I did this, would you help me get it running?” I asked.

Grandma Dawson and Uncle John looked at each other.

“Don’t answer me now. Think about it,” I said and then smiled. “It would be nice to have my grandma closer.”

“You’re a manipulative little shit,” Uncle John said.

“Great-

grandbabies,” I whispered.

Mom came in the house and had the grandbabies with her. She’d agreed to watch Kyle, Mac, and Nate while Greg and Angie threw their party. Aunt Bonnie barked out a laugh when I took little Nate from Mom’s arms and handed him to Grandma Dawson. My mom gave me a look that sent Duke and me to the living room to entertain Kyle and Mac while she made dinner.

They wanted me to play the DVD with me dancing on it. It only took me about five minutes to get them all wound up. Even Duke thought he could dance. Grandma Dawson brought Nate in and bounced him on her hip to the beat of the tunes.

I was teaching them the baby twerk when my dad came home. Little Mac was a natural at shaking her booty. I felt sorry for Greg because she would be a handful when she started to date.

“Come on, Grandpa, dance with us,” I urged.

I convinced Aunt Bonnie to video four generations of Dawsons dancing. I was sure Frank could use it somehow. Plus, I wanted to capture the moment.