Chapter 1

“Well! If that’s the way you feel about it ‘looks like you and me are quits’; to re-use an old cowboy phrase” Then I walked away. It was the third time my agent and I had a difference of opinion. ‘Three Strikes’ and you’re out ... wait a second, wrong sport, that’s in baseball.

‘Time for a better agent’ I thought to myself. I had not been offered a new contract by my last team since they knew I was leaving. That and my having only one year NFL experience, having started in zero games and not having been drafted gave my old agent the impression he could sign me up at the minimum again, $465,000 (I know this was back a ways, I also know NFL contracts are for 5 years normally for a rookie; just a story here you know; called FICTION). Not a bad figure but ... no chance of that being what I would take this year. I wanted to play but play for a team that wanted to go to the Super Bowl and for me to get paid for it.

I got myself a new agent. No magic with that and beggars can’t be particular as to whom I selected. I knew she was partial to only one or two teams. It was three days before training camp but ‘she’ did get me an offer sheet. ‘She’ told me, with a straight face, that “your lucky to even get this. You’re a newbie, with no real experience except keeping the bench warm and you do not have a ‘great rep’ so far even for that. However at 6’ 9” or so and 355 lbs you hold some interest for the owner of the Falcons. He is a new owner with a few bucks to spend so I got you ‘such a deal’. Here, sign this. You have a chance to start and one million dollars for one year so use that time to show ‘us’ your stuff then maybe I’ll make some real money on your next contract. More importantly, this team will be made up with mostly hungry new players and you should start on defensive as an end or a guard; little light as a tackle, because of that. I got you the chance now it’s up to you to make or break it from there ‘Pumpkin’. Oh, and by the way, the owner paid my percentage on top of your fee; I think ‘Daddy’ still likes me.”

I wanted to laugh in her face. She seemingly was very well connected, and with that kind of face she had, one did not laugh at it. Maybe it’s why I picked her. Then again, maybe, just maybe I saw something else in her. An ‘attitude adjustment’ might have been called for, mine; some new ‘priorities and a bit more humility too maybe. One million dollars clear (before taxes) was nothing to sneeze at and looked pretty good to me right now. More important was the expectation to start and play, that was worth more to me than just money. The weather in Atlanta also was not too shabby either. All-in-all, things could have been a lot worse; but then again, she had called me, a newbie.

“Ah, Heather, is there a good hotel near the Stadium or where practice would be? I don’t know my way around Atlanta that well. Another small concern is if I have to live in a decent Hotel might getting reservations be a problem and when and how will I be paid? I’ve gotten used to those ‘creature comforts’ like food, shelter and...”

“To get you started, Arthur has a ‘signing bonus’ for you plus your fee, $250,000 will be paid upon your signing in addition to the $1 million salary. He pays your million dollar fee in near-equal installments at the end of every game week so you won’t starve. God, you are a newbie aren’t you?”

“But, but, but...”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got your BUTT covered so be Happy darling. Home games are played in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium and training camp is at Flowery Branch. You will have a cute and excited assistant that can handle all those little details and take care of your ‘butt’ too. Her name is Tara and she needs her job almost as badly as you need yours, so be super nice to her. We care about you, you know’ it’s all part of the boss’s motto of ‘looking out’ for the team’s starters.”

Concern, no, rather worry and that sinking feeling that things were ‘going to go South’ came over me. Then I realized Atlanta already WAS in the South.

I’ll say one thing, when I saw Tara, tall, with long white-blond hair and built for endurance rather than speed; I lost any concerns I had envisioned about her. I hoped ‘Excited’ only did not describe the job to what ‘my assistant’ was willing to do for me. Like life, there is always a cloud behind the rainbow. This happened my first night at a hotel, the Mandarin Oriental in downtown Atlanta. I sort of got excited too. To be honest, I thought her invitation to dinner was too-good to be true.

Yep, it was; as she explained just how much this job meant to her; her and her Fiance’. They had not set a date yet, but as soon as he could leave the Navy they would be married. That news was not just raining on my parade, it was a downpour, a deluge even. It showed me not to count my chickens before they hatched, or something like an old saying went.

I had arrived in Atlanta one day before training camp would begin. I’ll say this, the greeters, signs and welcome gave me not only a confirmation that I had made the right choice in coming here, but hope that things would work out for me.

We had dinner. Not bad but it would take getting used to this style of cooking. At least the scenery was pleasant, I could at least ‘look’ at her; look but not touch I guess. We talked, listening to someone else; someone who had things a lot worse than you can open your eyes. They say you got to take the good with the bad. From what she was saying the last year for her was all bad. She had lost both parents and the bills were piling up. Her hope, and mine too, was for a better year. These jobs would surely help both of us to that end.

Everything seemed first class. They had cars with drivers to take us to a hotel. Reservations at the hotel were already made (for one week, paid for by the team) and a ‘welcome event’ with dinner where they gave us a schedule, advised that a team bus would be there at 9:00 am and provided info on areas to locate once we made the team also with a listing of short-term housing and residences near training camp for rental until then. I later found out at least a dozen or so starters last year were not going to be back and on defense all but two linebackers were going to be new.

The hotel was super-deluxe, at least my room was. On the next day, no Tara showed and I took the bus to camp where it was only more testing, drug, mental and physicals. We got to meet the new coaches and pretty much were split into teams. We were done by mid-day, hit the showers and then got the biggest surprise we might expect. Walking back to where the bus was supposed to be we saw a bevy of beauties, Tara came up to me, took my arm and ordered me to ‘Walk this way’. I could not help it, I just had to reply, “If I walked the way you do people would talk!”

That got me a hit on the arm and a big smile. ‘She was taken’, I told myself as I followed her to a new Mercedes-Benz SUV. “Nice huh? Each of us assistants got a lease car for a year. We have enough room for bags and luggage and whatever when you need to fly out.”

She told me a number of new assistants like her had been hired, in addition, each cheerleader got a monthly cash bonus, it was a way to create a feeling that things were going to be different. She clarified that for me. “They are already talking about the Super Bowl!”

That kind of talk got me thinking even more often that ‘I had made the right decision’. Heather was getting a small gift in appreciation. If Tara was not already spoken for it might have been two gifts. She seemed over the top already with the SUV though.

“Dinner is a surprise, I wanted you to see more of the city, even visit a few places where you might live. The word is you will make the team so we need to get you out of that hotel this week. With taxes and fees, even with the team rates it would cost at least $4,500 or more a week at the Mandarin Oriental. I know you make a lot more money than I do but that is a ridiculously huge cost.”

She gave some kind of gesture and moved her head and eyebrows in a manner that made it clear how she felt about that. “Some of the girls and I made a list of good places for ‘our’ guys to rent. I don’t know what you are used to but we broke the places up by cost. They range from $2,500 to $10,000 per month. Here, you pick, we’ll go wherever you choose.”

‘Now were had this girl been all my life?’ I thought. ‘Maybe it was just life in the South but here she was wanting to listen to what I wanted. Man!’ As part of my attitude adjustment I began to view Tara in a new light. This would get even better later. I suspect money was not the prime motivator for the new team owner; but winning the Super Bowl was. My hat, if I wore one, would be off to him for having the same goal as me.

Lunch was another surprise as we drove for a bit then pulled into what must have been an old Southern Mansion. She said: “How long has it been since you had a good, wholesome, home-cooked meal Nick?”

“Tara, it was only ... Argh! I don’t remember.”

“Well, today dinner is at my house; I hope you can stand my sisters cooking! It has been...” She scrunched up her face, then lowered her head and now was tearing some.

“Tara, what’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “Nothing,,, nothing really it’s just...”

Two white-haired balls of fluff ran out from the house. When they saw Tara with her head down and crying, the probable cause, in their mind, could only be the guy in the car. When I saw them, time stopped. I knew I had died and was seeing angels coming for me.

“What did you do to our sister?” came to my ears in stereo. Poor little (not) me could only sit there and stare, mouth wide open and starting to drool. Seeing them I had visions of being in the ‘Light Brigade’ (cannon to the right of them, cannon to the left of them... ), one sister on my right, another on the left. Tara lifted up her head, held up her left hand and said; “Stop, I’m all right, things just got to me. Nick, my sisters, Jenna and Jamie, our cooks for today. Ladies, Nick De Luca, my boss and a new Atlanta Falcon.”

If I thought Tara was tall, these girls were even taller. Guessing their age, it was difficult to tell, 16 was only a guess. They were not wearing a lot of clothes. Bare feet and crumbs near their mouths like from taste-testing whatever they were making. They were not trying to be something they were not and that was very refreshing for me to see.

Each stuck her head in through the rolled down windows. Ample cleavage was on display but all I could do was stare at both of them and drool some more.

“We really have not had much in the way of good food ourselves. When I got this job it allowed us to live like normal people again. It has been rough since our parents were killed. The bills keep piling up. Until we can settle with the insurance and the driver who hit them we used any cash up pretty much to bury them and keep the house bills up. We have the house and a lot of land but it has been in our family like forever. None of us want to sell any of it but...”

One of those angels opened my door, the other got Tara’s and somehow we were walking into the house. I must have been a foot taller than her and two-hundred pounds heavier but she seemed able to hold me up, or maybe I just held onto her. Inside, letting go was hard to do. She did not seem to be in much of a hurry to do that either. A look from her sister motivated her some.

“You and Tara just sit and rest up a bit. We almost have dinner ready.” Dinner? Yep I was in the South, it was called dinner here not lunch. That should have given me a big clue to what these girls would eventually put me through. Like anything they did would matter though?

“Dinner is served!” That call woke us up. Tara had fallen asleep on the sofa too, we were both exhausted. Her head and long hair resting on my chest and shoulder gave me pause. She seemed to just shrug it off. Our food was superb, consisting of pan-fried chicken, black-eyed peas, greens, mashed potatoes, cornbread, sweet tea, and both sweet potato and pecan pie.

I ate like there was no tomorrow. “Tara said you were a ‘Big Boy’ so we made extra food.”

So much for good first impressions! Strangely I seemed to fit right in. Afterward, it was like the Old South. Tara and I were treated to a song or two, first from Jenna then Jamie. I got through a few bars of Tara playing the piano before I fell under Morpheus’ spell.

I almost fit on the sofa. When I woke, no shoes, shirt, pants or socks were seen. A pillow under my head and a soft blanket was on me and the smell of food got my attention immediately. A red-faced Tara peeked her head in.

“I guess we did not find any place for you yet. I’m sorry Nick, I really am, you seemed so...”

I saw two more heads peering at me. “Last night, was, it was like, the best night of my life. I would pay anything to stay near you angels.”

From the looks I was getting from them that did not seem to be a problem for them either.

Jamie continued: “Yeah, and Nick would be right here so picking him up and getting him back would be easier on you.”

There did not seem to be any hesitation about a single, twenty-three year old man in the house. To Jenna and Jamie it would be an adventure. I’m not too certain how Tara’s fiance’ would take it though. I demurred a bit.

“Tara can we leave a bit early this morning so I can stop at the hotel. Maybe you and the girls later could open me a local bank account and deposit my bonus check in it, I’ll give you some money; then you can do some shopping for ‘us’ too.”

Jenna and Jamie thought that was a great idea. It looked like they already were already spending the money. “If you have time could you also set me up with a cell phone and pick out some clothes, size extra, extra large maybe. When we go to the hotel I’ll give you some of my old clothes to match the sizes. I’ll also give you extra money for ‘our’ stuff, if I or ‘we’ need things in the future, OK?”

I was not exactly poor and that signing bonus was not expected; neither was having Heather’s percentage paid for. Whatever I spent on rent and the girls was ‘found’ money to me.

I’m not certain if Tara was talking to me or not; she just grunted. The girls were jumping for joy though. Finally they could see an end to their personal misery and not feel they were a burden on Tara. If their greeting was any indication they had made me feel a part of a family.

We piled into the SUV. One of the girls yelled ‘shotgun’ and I stuffed myself into the back seat. When we got to the hotel, Tara waited in front with the SUV and my two bookends linked to me. We walked arm in arm inside. I had them pack my things while I made a call to Heather.

“Hey beautiful, I need a favor.”

“What, you got booted already. Does Daddy know?”

“Not yet but I found a place to stay and Tara is getting me a cell phone so you can reach me on that too. Speaking of Tara, can you find a good legal firm to help the family. I think they are getting the run-around from an insurance firm. Their parents were killed months ago yet no word from the insurance company I’ll pay for attorneys to help them. Tara and her sisters are great and I want the best legal help for them.”

“Probably doesn’t hurt they are not bad looking either, right? When I saw them I told Tara they could be models, but at that age they want to finish school first. Sure, I’ll help. You know ‘Mr. Softy’ things like this might make you seem human, even.”

‘You too!’ I thought as I hung up. I took out some checks, signed them then handed them to Jenna and Jamie when they came out of the bedroom, dragging my grips behind them.

“Here, let’s exchange.” I handed them my signing bonus check and some others.

“One is for you to deposit for me in a new account you open. Another for rent and bills for you and one for you all and Tara to buy things, and keep the rest for things you need and deposit the $250,000 into the new account for me and I’ll sign cards later.” Tears now.

“Hey we better get going, Tara will be upset, she might think I stole you away.”

Checkout at the hotel was simple. However with two tall blonds clinging to each side of me we got a few looks; envious looks I think.

I lost my two escorts as we reached the SUV. They raced to Tara, bouncing nicely as they ran, holding out the checks to her. She looked at them, teared up a bit and gave me ‘The Look’. I stood holding the bags until she composed herself some and popped open the trunk.

The ride to training camp saw Tara silent while Jenna and Jamie were bouncing up and down and talking a mile a minute. Me, I just watched the fine show. I made my first mistake when we got to camp. “Bye girls, love you!” I got a look again. They must not have watched ‘Father knows best’ much.

Unlike yesterday we had an almost full practice. Almost I said, no pads or contact but a lot of wind-sprints and timed runs. Lunch. I mean dinner left a lot to be desired, I missed the girls already. We did have plenty of water and ‘Gatorade’. It was hot, hot, hot. Near 4:30 pm I spotted the girls. We had finished practice and I showered and went outside to meet the girls. They were not alone, it seemed every rookie decided they deserved an assistant of their own. ‘Fat chance rookies.’ I thought to myself. Rather than beat them to within an inch of their life, all I said was: “Hi love; missed you all!”

Jenna and Jamie lunged at me, jumped up and were replicating the greeting a soldier might get coming home from the war. Who was I to complain. Tara was a bit more subdued. She walked up and put her arms around me whispering, “MEN”. For those that did not get the subtle hint that these fillies were taken, the look on my face should have left them no doubt. At this point Tara, fiance’ or not was taken too, as far as I was concerned. I found out later that no Rookie got an assistant and very few, if any, would make the team. I got a better appreciation to the job Heather had done for me now.

By the third day at camp, there was another split, this time into four groups. Offense, defense, special teams and everyone else. All the high draft choices for that year had been traded away. Any viable Rookie might only hope to be put on the ‘taxi squad’. Full pads and a scrimmage like atmosphere took hold by day four.

It was about that time for ‘Preseason’ play time. Our first game was away, against Green Bay, my old team. It also was another inkling that this new owner was cut from a different mold than the rest. He got the biggest jet possible, told the assistants and cheerleaders that they could go too. It was something that continued all season. As I said money never seemed the motivator for this guy and it jelled us into a team in short-order unlike anything else could of.

My surprise came when I asked if Tara, Jenna and Jamie could go too. Arthur looked at me and said: “Heather already asked me that, I told her certainly.” OK Fine! I always felt there was something special about Heather. I would need a bigger gift for her now.

At the hotel in Green Bay, Clay joined ‘us’ for a bit. ‘Us’, right, Tara, Jenna, Jamie and, Ta-Da, Heather; no doubt, me, not so sure now. All four of them had the same effect on him that Jenna and Jamie had on me.

“Whoa, down boy, you can look but don’t touch.” Mistake number two. I got four looks this time, hungry looks like a lioness before a kill was made. A shiver went up my back. It was like I was the prey that was being stalked. Clay and I talked, Heather and the girls did too. From the little I just happened to overhear they were discussing having a legal team appointed. It seemed the insurance company told them ‘not to worry’ they would represent them too. Ole Heather could now have any gift she wanted. Class showed, and like her Old Man, this girl had a lot of class.

We had a Thursday Night game. It was televised back home. For a bunch of hungry guys we did OK. We won, 6 to 0 missing the extra points. That got me four hugs and kisses and it seemed on the plane four of us only occupied two seats; something Arthur noted.

Preseason Game 2 was also away. It was a Friday night thing in New York. I lost the girls to the shopping craze. Heather was with them and Daddy made certain they were never alone, bodyguards all over it seemed. Things were pretty much the same. ‘We’, the entire line tipped like 7 balls that last quarter alone. Again, we won 3-0 on only a field goal margin. Like, we won, right!

Preseason Game 3 was at home against The Colts, our opener. Going into the fourth quarter it was 0-0. Somebody said something, usually there is somebody talking trash. This time he just said the wrong thing as our Fullback got nailed really badly trying to make a first-down. They got a penalty but ... the ‘word’ came down that it was payback time.