A Deal With God: The Power of One (18 page)

As far as Luke was concerned, he was the one who chose Deana last November in church when he went over to Deana and sat on her knee. Deana was Luke’s choice to be his mommy. As long as Deana was there every morning to take care of him, he couldn’t care less about DNA or who his father was dating.

As Thanksgiving approached, Deana figured out a way to make the most of the few days off she’d have with Leon while the boys were at the Johnson’s. Like last year, she’d have the Friday after Thanksgiving off. She would have one–on–one time with Leon until her Saturday night shift began.

For a few extra bucks a month, she upgraded her storage facility. She found a man in Morrison who was selling his fourteen foot johnboat, trailer and hitch at a great price. She even got the man to deliver it to her new storage facility for no extra cost. She couldn’t wait for next Friday.

Thanksgiving went smoothly. Lester, Claire and even Julie were starting to accept Deana. Deana assumed the biggest reason they were being nice to her was because she was the only person in the family who could cook well. Also, Claire wasn’t so jealous of Deana anymore because she was now five months pregnant and she’d found out Deana couldn’t have children.

Deana wanted to wait until the boys were dropped off at the Johnson’s before she told Leon her plan.

As Deana and Leon left Macon, she told Leon about the johnboat. “I want to use the Christmas present I bought for the four of you this weekend,” Deana explained. “Because you and I have so few days alone together, I want to fish with you as much as we can this weekend. Before the boys get back, we can put the boat in storage until Christmas. Then I will officially give it to you guys as a gift.”

Friday was a beautiful day and they had a wonderful time on the lake trying out their new boat. It rained Saturday so they had to recreate inside back at their home.

On Christmas day Leon went to the storage facility and brought home the boat to the boys. They were thrilled. The Samuels’ family spent most of Christmas break “dropping a line” in a beautiful Georgia lake. The time they spent together was a wonderful family experience.

As 2014 rolled in, Matthew and Mark studied for mid–term exams. Their grades so far had been excellent. They completed their soccer season without further incident, so Deana would be signing them up for football soon. She was really looking forward to it. She loved watching the boys excel. Luke was one of the best players in his soccer league and Deana had a feeling Matthew and especially Mark, were going to be really good football players.

One spring Sunday morning, before church, Deana made an extra big breakfast with eggs, sausage, grits and her chocolate chip pancakes. Leon anticipated there was going to be some kind of discussion with Deana later that afternoon. He had now figured out some of Deana’s tricks.

“All right, Deana,” Leon asked. “When is the part coming that you tell me we need to have a talk this afternoon?”

“Am I that obvious?” Deana asked laughing. “Yes, we need to talk.”

When they got back from church, Leon and Deana sat in the living room and talked.

“Matthew and Mark would rather play football than soccer,” Deana began. “Their grades are good and they certainly seem to have the aptitude especially Mark. Luke, however, wants to keep playing soccer. He is a really good soccer player and he loves the game. To make all three boys happy will require a lot of work and driving for both of us. I came up with a plan, I need to make sure you’re all right with it.”

“Matthew and Mark will have practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights,” Deana continued. “They will have practice or games Saturday afternoon. Luke’s practices will be Tuesday and Thursday nights with most games Saturday morning.”

“Mondays won’t be a problem,” Deana concluded. “I can drive the boys to Athens and stay with them from beginning of practice at 6pm to the end of practice a couple of hours later. Tuesdays will be more difficult. I will have to bring the boys to you in Athens. You’ll have to take them to practice and drive them home. I will leave Athens with Luke and take him to practice in Claybon. I will bring him home when he’s done. Thursday will be even tougher. You’ll have to do the same as Tuesday. For Matthew and Mark, I’ll drive them to you again. You’ll have to take them to and from practice. I will have to take Luke to Mrs. Richard’s house and Luke will have to go with Mike to practice at six on Thursdays. I will have to ask if I can be a little late on Thursdays. Dinners will be ready for you when you get home. On Saturdays, it should work out that we will be able to go to everyone’s games.”

“It sounds like you have it all planned out,” Leon said. “It should work.”

Deana talked to Mr. Vito and he was okay with her being a little late on Thursdays. She talked with Mrs. Richards; she was fine with helping on Thursdays. She then got sat down with Matthew and Mark and gave them the good news.

“For me to do all this for you, though, I’m going to ask something in return.” Deana stated.

“Anything,” Matthew and Mark agreed.

“My first request is obvious,” Deana began. “You have to keep your grades up. My second request is you have to respect your coaches. Football coaches can be very hard on you. There’s a lot of conditioning and discipline involved. My third request may sound strange, but it’s very important to me. I want to do a small version of Special Night once a week.”

“I loved doing a large version of Special Night last fall and we will do that again this year,” Deana continued. “But as you boys get older you will spend more time with your friends and away from home. I want a way to stay close to you. I’d like each of you to pick one of my nights off and spend two hours with me. We can play board games or walk to the little beach up at the park. For Matthew’s birthday in April, I’m going to buy a weight set we can put up in the carport. If you want, we can hang out and lift weights and talk. I want a way for us to stay connected and to stay part of your lives.”

“One night a week sounds good,” Mark replied. “I’ll take Monday night as long as we don’t have practice.”

“Yeah, that should work out,” Matthew followed. I’ll take Tuesday night. Maybe you can spend Sunday afternoon with Luke.”

“There’s no need to rush this,” Deana finished. “We don’t have to begin until football season is over; but either late November or early December I want two hours a week with you. Also, after football registration and the end of school, we need to have a few weeks to train together before practices start. Some of the boys out there have been playing since they were seven years old. I don’t want you to be behind. I’ll get you ready like we did for school last year.”

“How are you going to train us Deana?” Mark asked. “I thought you only played soccer growing up?”

“There was a man that came to our orphanage every once in a while named Regan Upshaw. He played professional football in Tampa. He was a first round draft pick and really knew the game. He was a defensive end, but he also knew about all of the other positions. He’d come to the orphanage to help my foster brothers who played youth football,” Deana said. “Mr. Upshaw would coach my foster brothers and teach them all of the pass rush moves.”

“Mr. Wilson asked me to take notes so that in between Mr. Upshaw’s visits we could work on all the things he taught the boys. I still have all my notes and I can go online to refresh my memory. I will help you like we did for my foster brothers.”

The boys agreed to all of Deana’s conditions. She then registered them to play football.

CHAPTER 15
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

The Samuels’ were enjoying the new johnboat and going out on the lake as often as possible. Valentine’s Day was a Friday this year and the restaurant was very busy. It wasn’t until 11pm that Deana got off from work. Leon still took her to the lake again and gave her flowers. Being newlyweds, they enjoyed even more physicality and romance than the year before.

On March 16th, Claire gave birth to a baby boy; she and Lester were thrilled. It seemed to make them easier to deal with.

Matthew’s birthday party in Macon was fun, but Leon’s was even more fun. His birthday was on a Tuesday. He took off work like the previous year. This year, however, Matthew and Mark had exams so they couldn’t miss any school and needed to be home Monday night to study. Deana, Leon and Luke took the johnboat out during the day and fished until they had to be home to meet the boys when they got back from school.

Deana was learning how to filet fish. It was something she’d never learned growing up in Tampa. Leon was patient with Deana and soon she was making some pretty amazing fish dinners.

Deana and the boys enjoyed their first “official” Mother’s Day together as the school year was finishing. This would be the last few weeks of Deana and Luke being alone together during the day. Soon, Matthew and Mark would be off for the summer. At the end of August, Luke would start Kindergarten. Luke and Deana had grown extremely attached to each other; it was going to be a tough transition.

As promised, Deana and Leon bought a weight set for Matthew for his birthday. Deana, Matthew, and Mark would lift weights together weekend afternoons, Monday nights and most Tuesday nights.

When school ended, Deana took out the lawnmower and mowed as deep into the brush in the backyard as possible. Their lot was not very big. Deana, however, tried to maximize it. She even cut into the next door neighbor’s yard a little to help create extra space to train the boys.

Practice was going to start in a few weeks so they went and got fitted for their practice uniforms. They were both given used shoulder pads, used helmets, used pants with built in pads and used jerseys. The new uniforms and helmets were saved for game days only.

“I don’t want you to get discouraged with football like you did with soccer. I want you to know how to play well by the time practice starts in a few weeks,” Deana said. “The two most important parts of football are blocking and tackling. I can help you with both, especially tackling.”

She gave Mark the football. He had all his pads on. She told him to run in the same direction as the property line and she would show him how to tackle. Mark easily jogged with the ball in his hands as Deana came across the lawn at him with no pads on. She got low by bending her knees like Mr. Upshaw had shown. She hit Mark sideways and low. Mark’s helmet went one way, the ball went another way and Mark went straight down hard.

“Deana, what the heck are you doing?” Mark asked.

Matthew was laughing hysterically.

“That’s how you have to tackle, Mark,” Deana said. If your technique is proper, you won’t get hurt, even without pads. I got lower than you did by bending my knees. When I tackled you I used my body, arms, hands and fingers. You have to use everything to do it right.”

Over the next few weeks, Deana continued to teach Matthew and Mark how to tackle, block and rush the passer.

She taught them the ‘Club’ move, the ‘Rip’ move, the ‘Hump’ move and the ‘Spin’ move; all are effective pass rush techniques. The best move of all is called ‘Tex.’ Tex Stands for ‘T’ackle and ‘E’nd crossing. The crossing or stunt is the ‘X’. Basically, one defensive lineman is picking off one of the offensive lineman and the second defensive lineman shoots through a now open gap. Quarterbacks and running backs hate this.

Teaching blocking is mostly about teaching positioning. ‘Mirror and Slide’ and ‘Walling Off’ are the best pass blocking techniques. Deana brushed up online and then spent the next day instructing the boys. Matthew and Mark worked hard and were motivated to learn from Deana. The Samuels’ Brothers demolition crew would soon be unleashed on the football field.

One hot, Wednesday night in the middle of summer, a neighbor that lived on the same street as Deana and Leon came into the restaurant and sat in Deana’s station.

“Deana, I’m not sure what you did to Leon, but it really is amazing,” Mrs. Brantley stated.

“Ma’am, what do you mean?” Deana asked.

“I moved to Dothan with my husband three years ago,” Mrs. Brantley said. “When we first moved in I would always wave or nod to Leon and most times he never even responded. His eyes would be toward the ground and he would just drive past us.”

“I know he was going through a rough stretch back then,” Deana tried to explain.”

“Well that rough stretch is obviously over,” Mrs. Brantley continued. “He’s a different person. He waves to us, he smiles and most importantly he looks happy.”

“I pray every day he is happy,” Deana stated.

“It looks like your prayers are answered,” Mrs. Brantley replied. “I know you two are still newlyweds and things are probably a lot of fun in the romance department right now, but there must be more to it than that.”

“Absolutely, Mrs. Brantley,” Deana answered. “The physical aspect of the relationship is extremely important. Sex is the glue that keeps a man and a woman together during their marriage. But, there are other very important elements to factor in.”

“I think spirituality has to be very high on the list, Leon and I go to church together every Sunday. We pray together during the week. I always remind Leon how grateful I am to God for finding him. I know Leon thanks God for finding me.”

“The very most important thing is raising the children,” Deana stated. “Leon has the peace of mind we are bringing up the boys in a competent, caring, and Christian manner. Each of our boys is really doing well.”

“Little things are very important also,” Deana concluded. “Providing a clean house and clean clothes. Preparing good dinners and weekend breakfasts can’t be overlooked. Leon knows if he has a problem I will stand shoulder to shoulder with him with my sleeves rolled up ready to jump in.”

“Pretty much any woman can be a wife and mother. It is very difficult to be a great wife and great mother. I hope Leon is now so happy because he found a great wife and great mother to his children.”

Mrs. Brantley adamantly agreed.

Just before Mark’s birthday in July, football practice began. The boys were put on the same team. In youth football weight is more important than age when they group the boys into teams, divisions and classes. Fortunately, even though Matthew was older and taller, Mark weighed the same as he did.