Just Too Good to Be True (28 page)

For me, the game
was filled with firsts and finales. It was the first game I rushed for over 300 yards. I shredded the Georgia Tech defense for 322 of them, not only a school record but an SEC mark as well. I felt elevated by the crowd, and as I ran, I felt as though my feet never touched the ground. We crushed the Yellowjacks by a score of 28–7.

When I closed my locker, I knew it was for the final time and was painfully aware that some freshman would be calling the locker his next season. It would be the first and last game my father would see me play at Jaguar stadium. But we still had a game in Nashville and now a bowl game in Dallas, and I hoped he would come.

I walked out of the dressing room into a throng of well-wishers and autograph-seeking fans. When I spotted my mother, she was surrounded by three men. There was Lowell, my father, and a man I’d never seen. I walked over and hugged my mom and Lowell.

“I’m so proud of you, Brady, and I love you,” my mother whispered.

“I love you back,” I said.

“Great game,” Lowell said. “What a way to go out in Jaguar Stadium.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Brady, this is Mr. Sylvester Monroe,” Lowell said.

“Nice meeting you, Brady.”

“You, as well,” I said as I eyed Woodson, looking at me with what seemed to be pride.

The five of us made small talk while I signed a few more autographs. Finally, Woodson came closer and put his arms around my shoulders. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

“I asked your mother if it would be okay if the two of us went somewhere to grab a bite to eat. Would that be okay with you?”

I looked at him and studied his face, his eyes, his nose and lips. There was no denying how much they looked like my own. The day I had prayed for had finally come.

“Yeah, that’s whatsup,” I said.

“Great. We have a lot to catch up on,” he said.

As we walked away, I looked back at my mother and the men who surrounded her. Both Lowell and Mr. Monroe had their arms on her shoulders, and she held her hand over her mouth. She was crying, but she looked like I felt. Happy.

As I began my first walk with my father, I realized that magic happens so few times in life. As we reached my truck, I thought of the joy I felt when my mom had surprised me with the Navigator at the beginning of the season. Now she had gone out and given me the gift I’d always thought inconceivable. I guess when magic happens, dreams that once seemed impossible really can come true.

CHAPTER
47

The Jock Whisperer

Dear Diary;

Guess what? I’m about to become famous. I’m writing a book about my dealings with Nico and the famous and not-so-famous athletes I’ve dealt with over the last ten years. A publisher who read about me in the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
contacted me and then offered me a whole lot of money to tell my story. When I showed them all the entries I’d been writing, well, they increased the offer substantially. I got me an agent and a publicist, and I’m going to talk like a parrot.

I’m going to call my book
The Playbook: The Secret Diaries of a Jock Whisperer,
and I think it’s going to make me rich. Finally
I
will be calling the shots and making enough money to take care of Wade and live the life I’ve become accustomed to.

I guess I owe a lot to Mr. Phine-Ass John Basil Henderson. He told me about all the women and young men Nico had used. He convinced me to go to the authorities before Nico double-crossed me and I wound up in jail like some of the other women who had loved Nico and fallen prey to his schemes. He told me he knew a lawyer who could help me if I decided to go against Nico.

One of the first things I’m going to do is change my name back to Raquel, because it was the one thing Lita gave me that I liked. I think I’m going to move to Miami and maybe buy me a condo on the beach. It will be nice to be close to water, and I think that will be good for Wade. I guess Lita will keep her ass in New Orleans, but really that’s not my concern. She’s like a roach; nothing will kill her.

Brady came in third for the Heisman Trophy, and I even watched it on television. Some guy named Troy Smith from Ohio State won (I’m glad Nico didn’t send me to lovely Columbus, Ohio). The guy he wanted me to go after next, Darren McFadden of Arkansas, came in second.

Brady’s mom, who I still think is a bitch, was all smiles (but she was fly and looked good on television), and when they told the story in an interview about Brady finally meeting his father…well, it brought tears to my eyes. I’ve given up hope of ever meeting my father, since I’ve finally accepted the fact that he was just some trick my mother met on a day she forgot her birth control.

Brady looked handsome in a black suit, and when he spoke you could tell he wasn’t your ordinary jock. He was articulate and confident. He was humble, yet strong. He gave his mother all the credit for bringing him up right and said he looked forward to forming a relationship with his father after his Cotton Bowl game. Maybe if I were closer to his age I could have found true love. But I know true love is not promised to all—only a select few. His father is handsome, and I’m sure if they’d met even before I told Brady he was alive they would have still realized the connection. They look so much alike. I’m happy for Brady and hope that he’ll find a girl worthy of him.

I’m cooperating with the government and the Securities Exchange about Nico’s shady business deals and what he did with a lot of the money he stole from athletes. I told them about all the accounts he had in different names at banks here and abroad. His lawyer tried to threaten me by telling me all the money Nico had given me was income and therefore taxable, but my lawyer said that’s not true. What Nico gave me was a gift because I was his girlfriend, and I didn’t have to claim it. But that old low-down Nico said I was an employee and that I was never his girlfriend. I know better and so does he. So I guess we will let a judge decide. I’m just glad that I stashed away some money for days like this.

Poor Nico. I heard his wife left him and is getting more than half of his money (I guess his team of lawyers will use the other half to keep his ass out of jail), which is estimated at almost seventy-five million dollars. She is one lucky bitch, but I think if I tell everything I know and go on a book tour, I will sell as many books and maybe more than that Video Vixen girl, who by the way I really like. I think she’s very pretty and smart. Maybe one day I can meet her and we can swap stories about how we used our female powers for good.

Well, Diary, I don’t know how much I’ll get to write to you anymore, since I’ll be writing this book, but I’ll visit you often and think of the comfort you’ve brought me so many nights. At first I thought keeping a diary was silly, but I’ve learned that you were the only one I could trust, so I’ll miss you. But I’ll put you in a safe place just in case I need you, if only to see how far I’ve come.

CHAPTER
48

Message to Mama

Spartanburg, SC
August 9, 2007

Dear Mom:

Since PCs are banned the first couple of days of training camp I thought you’d like a real letter better. When was the last time I’ve handwritten you a letter? Was it in the third grade when you told me to write you and tell you what I wanted for Christmas? That was the year you told me there wasn’t a Santa Claus. What did I ask for? Most likely what I asked for every year: a daddy and a dog.

That’s why I’m writing you, because I now have them both and I have you to thank for that. I want to thank you for being the most wonderful mother any son could ask for. One of the things I’ve learned during my two years of playing professional football from some of my new teammates is how good I had it, even though I spent most of my life with one parent. I share that with a lot of my teammates. But what makes me different and so blessed is that I had you, a woman who was willing to give up her entire life to love and protect me. I thank you for that.

Although my experience with Barrett damaged me for a while, recently I have been on some dates with some pretty nice young ladies. Because of you, Mom, I still have a heart that is willing to hold love. I’m just a little careful about which girl is worthy of meeting my mom and dad.

When I think how you went against your own parents demands, my body shudders at what you gave up for me. How difficult that must have been for you. That’s real love, Mom. And even though you say your parents are old-school black people and will never budge on their stubbornness, I still hold out hope that one day I can meet them. And that we can complete our family. You deserve to be loved and cherised by them and I will keep praying the prayer of forgiveness will come to us all.

How are Shelby and her beautiful baby, Rhianna? Has she heard from Torian or is he still refusing to pay child support? I’m so happy the NCAA allowed me to donate the money Nico put into my account to Brandon’s Room to help young ladies like Shelby. I just don’t get dudes like Torian.

Almost every day there is a new teammate getting served with child support or divorce papers. My generation of men take having babies so lightly, and that disappoints me. They talk about it in terms of how much the new baby is going to cost them and how the numbers of their babies’ mamas have increased. But that’s not why I’m writing. I decided I wanted to write you because I want to thank you for my gift. I love Saban, he is the perfect dog, and he protects me like you have all of my life.

I just got off the phone with Woodson, and although the first year of our relationship was challenging, I think every time we see each other and speak to each other we become more like father and son. We are so much alike in the way we look and feel about the world. We spent an entire night talking about the plight of black men and how recent incidents involving wealthy black men show us how quickly it can all be taken away. Can you believe all the trouble Michael Vick got himself into? Mom, that was my dude, and I always admired his skills on the field. I sure hope he can redeem himself and do something positive with his life. I know it would have been tough, but I wish the Texans would have drafted me and I could see my dad and new sisters more. Still, I love being a Carolina Panther and it keeps me close to home and you. I guess what I’m trying to say you already know, but it bears repeating. I love you and I thank you for loving me. Thank you for setting the bar for my life so high. I’m sorry that there was ever a day when I doubted your love and knowing what’s best for me. I always thought you wanted me to be perfect, and that was very tough to live up to. Nobody is perfect. Thanks for teaching me that one bad decision doesn’t have to ruin a life well lived. That the honor comes not from living a perfect life but from living a good life, imperfections and all. I love you and I can’t wait to escort you down the aisle as you start another chapter in your life with your soul mate Sylvester. I know you two will continue to make each other happy.

Your Not So Perfect Son,

Brady Jamal Bledsoe

All-Pro Running Back for the Carolina Panthers

ALSO BY E. LYNN HARRIS

INVISIBLE LIFE

JUST AS I AM

AND THIS TOO SHALL PASS

IF THIS WORLD WERE MINE

ABIDE WITH ME

NOT A DAY GOES BY

ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS

A LOVE OF MY OWN

WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKENHEARTED

I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER

Copyright © 2008 by E. Lynn Harris

All Rights Reserved

Published in the United States by Doubleday, an imprint of The Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.doubleday.com

DOUBLEDAY
is a registered trademark and the DD colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harris, E. Lynn.
Just too good to be true / by E. Lynn Harris. —1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Mothers and sons—Fiction. 2. African American college athletes—Fiction. 3. Family secrets—Fiction. 4. Celibacy—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3558.A64438J88 2008
813'.54—dc22
2007045760

eISBN: 978-0-385-51412-5

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