Hometown Favorite: A Novel (48 page)

Colby roared, Dewayne howled, two beasts bellowing dominance. A safety arrived, then another, but it was too late. Dewayne
had fallen over the goal line, and the official raised both arms in
the air. Dewayne rolled onto his side and held the ball for all to see. The stadium burst in a rupture of ecstatic pandemonium.
A horde of Stars converged on Dewayne and lifted their resurrected leader into the air. Startled by this sudden launch into
space, Dewayne let the ball fly out of his hand. It landed right
beside Colby stretched prone on the ground.

Dewayne hugged his teammates before making his way over
to his foe. Colby had not moved nor the ball been knocked away,
even though the euphoria around them was out of control.
Dewayne put his hands on Colby's shoulders, pulled him to his
feet, and brought their facemasks together. Colby was still too
dazed and out of breath, or he might have thought Dewayne
was about to harm him and would not have been so docile.

"You played a great game," Dewayne said.

Colby's only reaction after hot, panting breaths blown into
Dewayne's face through the grid of the facemasks was to knock
off Dewayne's hands resting on Colby's shoulder pads.

"Colby, I know what misery feels like;" Dewayne shouted.
"There's real peace out there, and I know who can give it to
you. I'm here for you anytime, anywhere"

Colby said nothing. He snatched the ball from the ground
and ran off the field.

Jake and Dewayne looked at the large box containing the baby
bed leaning against the wall of the spare bedroom as if they
were staring at something that had fallen from outer space.

"Come on, you two. This is not like putting Humpty Dumpty
back together;" she said. "It's just a baby bed."

The birth of their baby was still several months away, but they
wanted to get everything in order. The choice to have another
child had been difficult. After visiting the graves of their son, and
Bruce and Sabrina who became like their own children, it was
easier to keep the prospect of having more children in the realm
of discussion, not action. They were afraid of getting pregnant.
They were afraid of being happy again with new offspring. They
were afraid such action was an attempt to replace Robert Dewayne
who was irreplaceable. The emotional risks were great.

Franklin and Joella encouraged them without applying any
pressure. They knew well the pain of loss, the guilt and fear of
risking another child, so they understood their turmoil and
told them they would support any decision.

They asked Jake's opinion and his terse response helped them
turn a corner. "I'd make an excellent grandfather," he said.

When it came right down to it, passion made the decision;
a night when making a run to the local pharmacy was the last
thing on their minds.

"Don't we have to go to practice, Jake?" Dewayne asked.

"Yeah, I think they called a special practice today;" Jake
said.

Once Dewayne had reestablished himself with the team, he
kept singing Jake's praises to Coach Gyra-how he had gotten
him through his ordeal. Impressed by Jake's willingness to step
up, the Stars' management added Jake to the Player Development Department. It was a perfect arrangement for young
players to be the beneficiaries of wise counsel.

"You two;" Rosella said, shaking her head. "Intimidated by
a baby bed"

"We're not intimidated;" Dewayne said.

"No, no, not intimidated;" Jake said. "We're just ... just
busy."

"Yeah, we're busy." Dewayne looked at Jake, each man appreciative of the other's backing.

"I've read your schedule;" Rosella said. "You're both off
today."

The doorbell rang, and both men started to exit, thankful for
the diversion from the chore of assembling the baby bed.

"It doesn't take two grown men to answer the front door,"
Rosella said. "Dewayne Jobe, you get back here:'

Jake shrugged his shoulders, pretending to be sorry for this
summons.

"If it's another neighbor wanting tickets to the championship, tell him he'll have to watch it on television like the rest
of America;" Dewayne said.

Jake slapped Dewayne's shoulder before he skipped out,
and Dewayne trudged across the room to the box and began
to place the individual pieces of the crib onto the carpet while
Rosella read the instructions. There had been a huge number
of requests for tickets to the big game, but Dewayne had declined them all. He had leased a skybox in the stadium and
invited a select group: Franklin and Joella; Dr. Macy, his wife,
and select members of his medical team; Winston Garfield of
the Springdale Leader; special women who had worked with
Cherie; Jesse Webb's parents; and Detective John Hathaway.

"You prophesied, Detective," Dewayne told him when he
called to invite him on an all-expense-paid trip to watch him
play in the biggest game of his life.

"Prophesied? I don't remember;" Hathaway said.

"You said you wanted to see me play in a Stars' game. You
gave me my `get out of jail free' card, and I'm fulfilling your
prophecy."

And, of course, Sly would make an appearance in the suite
when he wasn't providing analysis and commentary for the
All Sports Network coverage of the game. He would not be
playing against his best friend this year.

By the time Rosella got to step three with the instructions,
she began to weep.

"I can't do this, baby. I can't," she said, dropping the instructions on the floor.

Dewayne wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her
close.

"All we have in life is each other;" he said. "We have survived
so much together. We will do this and it will be painful, but I
hope God will someday make our joy complete, and it may be
soon. It maybe soon."

Jake reentered the room as Dewayne was wiping the tears
from Rosella's eyes.

"Sorry, but you need to go to the door," Jake said, his face
pale, his eyes darting.

"What's up?" Dewayne asked.

"Just go to the door"

Jake stopped Rosella from following her husband.

"He needs to face this one alone;" he said, and he diverted
her curiosity by rolling up his sleeves and tackling the baby
bed assembly line.

Dewayne opened the door and stared at Colby Stewart, his
feet shuffling over the stones of the path in front of the condo,
hands behind his back, eyes cast down like a timid boy.

"How did you get in?" was all Dewayne could think to say
in his state of amazement.

"An autograph and a sob story." Colby revealed the football
hidden behind his back underneath his coat. "Told the guard
I came all the way from Baltimore to return this"

Colby tossed the ball to Dewayne, and he bobbled it a couple
of times before he secured the pass.

"You gotta do better than that next week in San Diego;"
Colby said, a shy grin forming on his lips.

"I'll have a quarterback who knows how to throw the ball,
not a linebacker"

Both men chuckled. Colby continued to perform his agitated
shuffle over the stones in Dewayne's tiny front yard.

"This a bad time?" Colby asked.

"No, it's cool," Dewayne said. "You want to come inside?"

"No thanks, I don't feel comfortable."

"How'd you know I wasn't at practice?"

"I have a mole buried in the Stars' organization. I used to
work there, you know."

This time a mutual chuckle turned into a real laugh for both
of them.

"You must be tired traveling all the way from Baltimore
just to bring me this;" Dewayne said, shaking the football in
his hand.

"That day after the game you said you knew what it was
like to feel miserable;" Colby blurted, his face pinched tight
as though a pair of invisible hands were pressing against his
cheeks.

"I do," Dewayne said.

"You said you knew where I could find peace"

"I do"

"What you went through, it was hell, huh?"

"Every kind of hell"

"But you got through it"

"By God's grace I got through it, but I'm not over it. I'll never
be over it" Dewayne reached inside the front door and pulled a
jacket off the coatrack. "There's a footpath behind the complex.
You feel like a walk?"

Colby nodded in approval.

Dewayne threw Colby the ball and put on his coat. The
two men started down the stone pathway in the center of the
courtyard, their only communication, the pitching of the ball
back and forth to each other.

First of all, I would like to thank God for the inspiration of this
story and putting all the pieces into place for it to come together.
Also, for giving me the sense to know that I cannot write-and
without that skill, books usually don't get written.

Without Ron Cook, who became a good friend in the process, this story would still be just traveling around in my head,
getting revised with each road trip and going nowhere. For all
your prayers, hard work, and introductions-thank you.

Chris Sanders not only contributed the foreword and generously shared his life as a pro-football player, but he was also a
great encourager. Whenever it seemed easier to give up, Chris
would call with an encouraging word.

Our agent, Esther Fedorkevich, believed in this project from
the beginning and never gave up. Her advice and counsel have
been valued more than words can express.

Things really began to come together when Esther introduced me to Beverly Mansfield. She got the concept and the story and, through her insight and guidance, felt it was time
to make the crucial introduction to Henry 0.

Despite telling me that my version of the story was bad and
my writing horrible, Henry 0. quickly became not only a good
writing partner but a friend as well.

Before turning over the writing to Henry 0., the two of us
met in the good offices of the accounting firm of Jennings and
Clouse and the missionary team of Mission Discovery, where
we hammered out the action of the story. They didn't seem to
mind two wild and crazy guys conducting a healthy exchange
of ideas in the next room.

Jennifer, Cat, and all the team at Revell have been wonderful to work with, and their enthusiasm for this book has been
refreshing. A special note of gratitude goes to Barb Barnes,
whose editorial insights raised the quality of this novel to a
much higher level. She was a delight to work with, and her
literary suggestions never felt like work.

We could not eat dinner at home without thanking our wives
for putting up with us through this creative process.

Finally, thank you for reading this book. We hope you enjoyed it.

Henry 0. adds his thanks for the generous support of those
already mentioned, and would like to offer a special thanks to
Bill for sharing his story with him and entrusting him with a
dream he has carried for a long time. That took great courage
on his part-courage few demonstrate-and thus a team was
born ... a team that promises more compelling stories in the
future.

Bill Barton travels the world as a business partner with three
companies that develop and sell products to nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and large retailers. He received
his MBA from Baylor University. A sought-after speaker, he
combines his business experience and passion for the spiritual
life to motivate and inspire others.

Bill lives in Hendersonville, TN, with his wife and two sons
(who keep him very busy). Even in light of his busy work schedule and passionate commitment to his family and church, he
makes time to satisfy the adventure junkie inside-whether it's
hiking, mountain biking, or taking frequent family camping
trips to the nearby lakes and mountains. He is an avid football fan and can be found at the stadium anytime the lights
are on.

Henry 0. Arnold has been a professional actor and writer in
theatre and film since 1970. He graduated from Pepperdine
University with his BA in acting and completed his Master of
Fine Arts degree at UNC Chapel Hill. His original film trilogy The Word Made Flesh, three one-man shows, received two
first-place awards at the Houston International Film Festival
and the Columbus International Film Festival. He co-wrote
and produced the film The Second Chance, starring Michael
W. Smith. He wrote the screenplay for the first authorized film documentary on evangelist Billy Graham, God's Ambassador.
He co-wrote and produced the forthcoming documentary
Kabul-24 for Seabourne Pictures, based on the story of the
capture and escape of eight Western aid workers held as hostages by the Taliban in 2001. He is the narrator for the two-CD
recording of Jesus in His Own Words, released by Total Content.
Henry and his wife, Kay, have two beautiful daughters married
to two handsome men. He lives in Portland, TN.