Team Manager 1: SWISH!
Chapter 34
“IT’S NICE that our last game of the season is at home. It sucks, though, that it’s just three days before regionals start,” Dennis said, looking at the schedule. They’d picked up their lunches and were sitting at the table. “Lana, you won’t get much practice time in. We’ll be scrambling with games one after another for the next week.”
“How many games do we have to play?” she asked.
“After tonight’s season finale, we’ll play in the regional on Saturday, Wednesday, and Saturday next week, assuming we win every game. Then it’s State Tournament starting on Monday. I’ll have to figure out the dates and times, for those brackets. We need to play and win three games that week in Des Moines, in order to win the championship.”
“Let me get that straight in my head,” Natalie said. “After our last game tonight—which will be our tenth game of the season—we need to play and win six more games in two weeks?”
“Yeah. Half our season is in the last two weeks.”
“Holy cow.”
“And keep in mind,” Dennis said, “we had a short season because we got such a late start putting together a schedule. We only had ten games in our regular season. All the other schools we’ll be facing in the tourney will have played twenty to twenty-two games in regular season play.”
“I hope we get more games next year,” Judith said. “I feel like we just got started.”
“Don’t worry. Once we win the State Championship game, every school will want us on their schedule,” Dennis laughed.
“Angelines!” the girls shouted, rising up to high five each other.
“I don’t think the girls really mean to tease you,” Lana said as she sat in the locker room next to Dennis watching him tape Brenda’s ankle. Brenda had her uniform panties on but was sitting in front of him topless. She smiled at Lana’s comment. Most of the girls in the room were topless and a couple were just getting their panties on.
“Oh?” Dennis asked. He had Brenda flex her foot and then put the other one up for him.
“No. I think they’re desensitizing you,” Lana continued. “I’ll bet when you started the season you got turned on just standing outside the locker room door. Now, you sit in the locker room with most of the team running around naked and it doesn’t even faze you.”
“Um… That isn’t quite true,” Dennis said. “Now that you called it to my attention, I’m definitely being fazed.”
“Lana has a point, though,” Brenda said. “There was a time when even seeing my sports bra would leave you speechless. Now, you hardly notice I’m naked.”
“Um… Brenda, I can’t not notice you. You’re like right in front of me and you’re perfect,” Dennis said.
“That’s what I was thinking that might modify Lana’s theory slightly. When the girls started out, they did tease you. You and I had some nice evenings, um… relieving that tension. But the girls aren’t really trying to tease you anymore. Most of the time. We all just feel so comfortable around you that we act like we would if there were only girls in the room. And I don’t mean only Daniella. It might have been us who were being desensitized.” Dennis finished wrapping her ankle and Brenda leaned forward to give him a little kiss. She shook her boobs in front of his face. “We still tease a little, though.” She laughed and went to finish dressing.
“Hmm. Maybe I was wrong,” Lana guessed. “I can see Brenda’s point.”
“I could see both of them,” Dennis mumbled. “Don’t be mistaken. I notice the girls. I even lust for them. I’m just getting better at controlling my response to them. I try not to stare, but I love seeing them.”
“I suppose you want to see me, too.”
“Lana, don’t even think about doing something because you think I want it,” Dennis said. “You do what makes you comfortable. That’s what Brenda was talking about. I bet even if I hadn’t been in the room last week, you would still have slipped around the corner to dress in private. It’s okay. It’s part of what we mean when we say no pressure and no coercing. You do what you do, not what everyone else does.”
“It looks like fun, but I guess I don’t want people staring at my boobs. Boys or girls. I wish they hadn’t grown so big so soon.”
“Talk to Brenda about that. She developed young and it wasn’t easy on her,” Dennis said as he finished packing his kit. “Come on. We need to go meet the scorers and give them the starting lineup.”
“You know it already?”
“Coach slipped it to me when I came in. She’s going to come in to talk to the team right about now.” True to his words, as he reached for the door, it opened and Ardith stepped in. Dennis and Lana went into the gym to meet the scorers, timekeeper, and officials. They were all cordial and welcomed Lana as a new assistant manager.
“You look good in your warmups, Lana,” Ardith said. “I’m glad Dennis got you taken care of.”
“Yes, Coach. He was really nice to get me these. I feel like a part of the team now.”
“Well, follow the warmups and learn them. By next season, I’ll expect you to take your turn at leading them.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lana jumped up from the bench and ran onto the floor to join the team in warming up. Ardith smiled at the girl. Something told her that there was an ulterior motive to Lana wanting to become an assistant manager. She just hadn’t picked it out yet.
There wasn’t time to consider it further. The buzzer sounded and the girls came in for the last-minute pep talk. She pointed at Lana to lead the cheer, much to the amazement of the girl. Dennis leaned over to whisper to her.
“Who are we?” she squeaked.
“Angelines!” the huddle answered. Introduction of the teams was made, the national anthem played, and the starters went onto the floor for the opening of the game.
It was a good game. Almost as good as the game at Temple had started out to be. Through the first quarter the score seesawed back and forth. In the second quarter, Bartley opened up a small lead and was able to hold it until near the end of the half when the Jamestown Wildcats managed to tie the game at the buzzer.
The girls all stripped off their jerseys as soon as they were in the locker room and started waving them around to dry some of the sweat from them. Dennis went through the locker room handing out bottles of water and giving words of encouragement as Lana watched. Occasionally, he paused long enough to rub a girl’s shoulders or to examine her ankle. He pulled out his kit and had Daniella sit on the bench as he taped her right ankle.
“I don’t think it’s bad, but you definitely stressed it a bit on that one jump. We’ll be sure to ice it after the game,” he said.
“You take such good care of us, Dennis,” she said. “Thank you, boyfriend.”
They headed out to the gym again and the second half began. That was where the difference began to show. The Wildcats were slowing down. The Angelines’ conditioning left them ready to run some more. They continued their run-and-gun style of play and soon pulled away from the Wildcats. They won the game by ten, 61-51.
Dennis began working on Brenda’s tape immediately when the girls got back to the locker room after the game. They were noisy and celebrating and were all shocked to silence when Coach blew her whistle. Dennis quickly looked around and saw that clothing had already started flying. Amy was standing naked in the doorway of the shower room. Coach never said a word about it.
“Just a couple of notes for you,” Ardith said. She specifically ignored the state of undress the girls were in. If they were comfortable, she wasn’t going to say a word about it. “First off, I heard from the IGHSAU today. The complaint against the ref last week was registered and the committee found in favor of us. They sent a disciplinary letter to the ref.”
“Woohoo!” the girls cheered.
“They also reminded us that proper sportsmanship and behavior on the court would have been to take the shots, finish the game, and then file the complaint, not to protest it and refuse to play until there was an apology. Note that, girls. We take what comes during a game and file protests afterward. Now there was one other bit of news that came with that. Temple graciously conceded the game to us stating that it was definitely out of their reach to win. Any of you who exchanged numbers with them last week should give them a call and thank them for their great sportsmanship and support.” The girls clapped and Dennis noticed a couple more bras had come off, including Brenda’s, right in front of him.
“The last bit of news is our playing schedule. We will be playing at one o’clock Saturday afternoon. That means be here at eleven to get into uniforms and get taped up. We will travel there and back in uniform. Make sure you have a good coat you can wear over the top. I’m told a typical winter cold front is headed our way.”
“Where do we play, Coach?” Natalie asked.
“As luck would have it, we’ll be facing the same team you just played on their home court. And believe me, they will be very motivated to get a little payback in front of their hometown fans. It’s about forty minutes over to Jamestown, so there won’t be time to be fooling around. We will be in visitors’ uniforms. Got that, Dennis?”
“Got it. We’re ready.”
“Good. Now get your showers and get out of here. Tomorrow’s another school day.”
“It’s so cool that Coach didn’t bat an eye about the nudity in the locker room,” Lana said as they rode home. Roberta was driving with Daniella in the passenger seat. Dennis had been moved to the center of the back with Lana on one side and Natalie on the other. Natalie, of course, was holding Dennis’s hand.
“She’s seen it before,” Daniella said. “She’s cool as long as everyone is comfortable. We operate by the same rules as at Dennis’s house. No means no. No pressure and no coercion.”
“You really all go over to Dennis’s house?” Lana asked.
“Sometimes all of us and sometimes just a few. You know Dennis’s dad is in the hospital and we try to help out a little if we can,” Natalie explained.
“Natalie’s a good cook,” Dennis added.
“That’s my one saving grace in my mother’s eyes. I’m the fifth girl, but at least I can cook.”
“I don’t know if my dad would go for that. I bet he wouldn’t let me stay overnight, even if I got to go over after practice,” Lana sighed.
“No pressure, Lana,” Dennis said, reaching out to pat her hand. He pulled his back right away when she looked at him.
Lana’s house was about two miles out in the country south of town, just half a mile from where Dennis had lived when his dad was farming. He didn’t really remember the Browns that well. They weren’t in the same grade and only rode the same bus for a year before the Enders family moved into town. When they got out to the farm, all five kids piled out of the car to walk Lana to her door. Lana opened the door and called to her parents.
“Mom? I’m home. Can my friends come in for a minute?”
Elsa Brown was shocked. Not one of the cheerleaders had come home with Lana and here were three girls and a boy with her.
“Hello, Mrs. Brown,” Natalie said. Randolph walked in from the kitchen as well. “Mr. Brown. We wanted to thank you both for allowing Lana to join the Angelines as our assistant manager. And we wanted to assure you that we’ll all look out for her. She’s the fourth freshman on our team and we who are a little older try to make sure they are always made a part of the team and that we’re all safe.”
“Well, that’s very nice of you,” Randolph said. “And this young man? If I’m not mistaken, you must be Will Enders’ son.”
“Yes, sir,” Dennis said. “I have the privilege of being the Angelines’ team manager. I have to say, I’ve been really busy with the team lately. It’s nice to have an assistant as we move into the tourney this weekend.”
“Yes, I see. I didn’t know the girls’ team had a boy for a team manager. I don’t suppose that had anything to do with your decision to become the assistant, did it?” he looked at his daughter. She might have blushed a little.
“No, Daddy. I really like all the girls on the team and Dennis has been helpful in teaching me what a manager is responsible for,” Lana said.
“I know it seems unusual to have a boy as our team manager,” Natalie said. “But he’s so much a part of our team that we sometimes forget he’s a boy. He’s just our team manager and he’s really good at it.”
“Well, I’m not making any objections,” Elsa broke in, taking the conversation away from her husband. “Dennis, how is your mother doing? Does she need any help with your father in the hospital?”
“Thank you for asking, Mrs. Brown. It’s been pretty rough the past few weeks, but we’re getting along. The police say we can have our car back now, but Mom sent it to be cleaned thoroughly by a company they recommended before we get it. The team has been really helpful, too. It makes me really proud to be one of the Angelines,” Dennis said.
“That’s wonderful. Now who are each of you lovely young ladies who have come to introduce yourselves. It seems we missed a step here.”
The girls introduced themselves and chatted for a few minutes then they took off. Randolph was puzzled at the interactions, but he didn’t detect any bad signs from the kids. He guessed his daughter would be safe if they were bringing her home each night.
When they got to Dennis’s house, Natalie got out of the car with him.
“Nat? Um… Are you staying tonight?” Dennis asked.
“Sort of. Not really. Mom said I could come over to take my turn cooking. The sisters are coming back to pick me up at ten. Mom kind of came down on me and said staying the night was a little too much like dating and I was absolutely not to spend the night without another girl here. Only two weeks until I’m sixteen and then part of that objection will be gone. We can really date and not just pretend. I mean, if you want to.”
“Oh, geez, Natalie. Of course I want to!”
“Want to what?” Dot asked as she looked up at the two of them coming inside.
“Um, I want to date Natalie when she turns sixteen,” Dennis said. “That would be okay, wouldn’t it?”
“I thought you were dating.”
“Not exactly. You told me I couldn’t date until I was sixteen and Natalie had the same rules. She’s my girlfriend, but we aren’t dating yet.”
“I see. I think. Very well. Make it so, Number One. You have my permission to date my son.” Dot tilted her head wondering what they called spending the night and sleeping together. Natalie and Dennis headed for the kitchen. Peg came running down the hall to give them each a big hug.
“My brother. My sister,” she said. “When is dinner? I’m hungry.”
“Well, we had a game this afternoon, so I’m a little late getting started. Do you like noodles?”
“’Sketti?”
“This is sort of like spaghetti, but it has gravy instead of pasta sauce.”
“Okay. Can we play a game, Den?”
“Sure. Why don’t we play here at the kitchen table and keep Natalie company?”
They played Sorry at the table and Natalie sent them to wash their hands and come to dinner. Dot smiled as she looked at her family at the table.
“Do you want to come and live here, Natalie? This is delicious.”
“Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Enders. I know my mother said sixteen before I could date, but I think she’d insist on eighteen before I could move in with Dennis. There’s so much legal stuff involved, you know?”
“Mom, are you trying to drive us apart by suggesting things like that?” Dennis asked.
“Oh, no! I was just thinking about having to go back to cooking and cleaning when the basketball season is over. Your girlfriends have been such a wonderful help to us. What do you call this lovely dish, Number One?” Dot asked.
“It’s a really simple beef stroganoff sort of thing. I just cooked all the ingredients up in a sauce pan and spooned it over noodles. I thought we should have some vegetables so I chose broccoli. Mom always says broccoli goes with everything,” Natalie said.
“It’s certainly colorful. What do you think of the meal, Peg?”
“More please,” she said, holding out her plate.
All this time Johnny Chuck had sat very still, watching Reddy Fox try to catch Peter Rabbit. And when he saw Peter Rabbit pop into the house of Jimmy Skunk and Reddy Fox trot away home, Johnny Chuck stood up and brushed his little coat very clean and then he trotted back up the Lone Little Path through the wood to his own dear little path through the Green Meadows where the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind were still playing, till he was safe in his own snug little house once more.
Dennis finished Peg’s bedtime story and she went to brush her teeth and go to bed. Dennis and Natalie got out their books and sat at the kitchen table to do their homework. Teachers didn’t consider basketball games to be an adequate excuse for late homework.
The doorbell rang and Dennis jumped up to answer it, but his mother was there first.
“Lily! How nice of you to come and visit,” Dot said. Natalie’s eyes popped open as Dennis turned to look at her. She shrugged. “Have you come to collect your daughter already?”
“Well, yes, but I thought if I came a few minutes early we could sit and chat for a bit. Would you like some company, Dot?” Natalie’s mother asked.
“Oh, how nice of you! It does get a bit lonely in the evening. I love my children and all the girls, but I really miss Will. Let me get some tea.”
“I’ll get it, Mom,” Dennis called. “Just sit and relax with Mrs. Armor.”
“He’s such a good boy,” Dot whispered to Lily. “And Number One… I mean Natalie, is a wonderful cook. Thank you for loaning her to us. I’m afraid we’d be living on peanut butter sandwiches if it wasn’t for the girls coming over to help out. I’ve just felt so exhausted and listless.”
“Dot, that’s a typical sign of depression,” Lily said. “And I know I would be depressed if something like that happened to John. Have you seen a doctor?”
“Oh, I see them every day when I go to visit with Will. We don’t speak much, though. The nurses are very nice and I keep telling Will how lucky he is to have all those pretty women to take care of him.”
“Here’s your tea, Mom. Hi, Mrs. Armor. I brought out some of the cookies Amy and Rosie baked this weekend. They’re really good.”
“Thank you, Dennis. Don’t rush Natalie. We’ll just sit and talk a while,” Dot said.
“I was at the dentist this morning and there was a new girl at the reception desk. Did you quit?” Lily asked.
“No. I can’t do that. We need the money. Dr. Strait was kind enough to give me a couple of weeks off so I can go see Will while Peg is at work. I suppose I need to go back to work next week. I’ve rather lost track of time.”
“How is Will doing?” Lily asked. There was a long silence as Dot just stared into her teacup. A tear trickled from her eye.
“Oh, Lily, I don’t think he’s going to make it. They’re doing everything they can, but he’s still unresponsive.” The silent tears fell more rapidly. Lily moved to the end of the sofa where she could reach out and touch Dot in her chair.
“Dot, some of us have been talking. Well, you know it’s a small town. Elsa Brown brought up something at our women’s group and I guess I get to talk to you about it. You know, there are several of us who are stay-at-home moms. Some are farm wives and you know how that goes. There’s always something that needs to be done. But, in one way or another, when a friend is in need, we find time to help. Randolph Brown started a men’s prayer group and they are always coming up with a project to help a neighbor. It’s too bad he hadn’t started that group before the terrible storm that ruined everyone’s crops that year. Perfect hindsight,” Lily said.
“Oh, I suppose I should join the group,” Dot said. “We haven’t been very regular at church since we moved into town.”
“I’m not suggesting you need to do any such thing. I’m just saying that there are those of us who could stay with Peg for a couple of hours a day if you need to go back to work in the morning but want to visit Will in the afternoon. We all understand the situation as well as we can. I just want you to know we’re all willing to help.”
“You’d do that? I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say thank you and let us share your burden,” Lily said.
“That was so sweet of you, Mom!” Natalie cried when they got in the car to head home. Tears had been running from her eyes as Dennis held her at the kitchen table. They didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but couldn’t help hearing some of the conversation from the living room. They were so busy holding and comforting each other that they almost forgot to kiss before Lily called her to go home.
“Sweetheart, you girls have been doing more than your part these past two weeks. It’s high time the women do theirs. Not everyone will, of course, but even Renda Long offered to come into town from out at White Center. Add Rosie’s mother, Leanne’s mother, and Elsa Brown. We’ll have enough volunteers to cover most of the time. I didn’t ask Rita Unger. With her son in the hospital and charged with possession and distribution of controlled substances, we didn’t think she’d have time.”
“Not that she’d ever lift a finger to help the Enders,” Natalie said. “It’s really too bad they didn’t treat Amy with more respect. They’ve made it almost impossible for her to come and see Dennis. And she loves him so much!” Natalie couldn’t figure out how the parents had missed being able to tell that their son was dealing and planning to rape and sell his sister.
“I thought you were Dennis’s girlfriend,” Lily said. “Are you stepping aside so he can be with Amy?”
“There’s no reason to, Mom. There’s enough love to go around. I’m Number One, Amy’s Number Two, Leanne’s Number Three, Brenda’s Number Four.”
“How long does this list get?” Lily asked, skeptically.
“Um… Nine,” Natalie said quietly.
“The whole team?”
“Yes.”
“Your sisters?”
“Yeah. It’s okay, Mom. Really.”
“That’s a little much to take in. Thank God there are only nine of you on the team.”
“Um… I think he’ll have number ten by the time the State Tournament is over. At least if we win.”
“Who would Number Ten be?”
“That cute little Lana Brown. She’s our assistant team manager now.”
“Oh, my!”
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