Team Manager 2: SPRINT!
Chapter 19
“IT’S NICE to meet you, Dennis. I’m Dr. Milton Sachs. Welcome to the University Hospital and Research Center.”
“Thank you, Dr. Sachs. May I introduce my mother, Dorothy Enders,” Dennis said.
“Mrs. Enders, thank you for bringing Dennis in today.”
“I’m just hoping this is the miracle I’ve been praying for, Doctor.”
“Let us all pray the same. Why don’t we go through what we expect to cover today and answer questions? Mrs. Enders, there are some forms for you to sign giving us permission to treat Dennis, but I want you to wait until you’ve both heard what the plan is and then go over the agreement. This is a teaching hospital and many of my colleagues in the Department of Ophthalmology will also be joining us. Dennis, after our introduction and plan presentation, we’ll want to spend most of the day today doing tests and evaluations. These will be considerably more involved than tests you may have had before. And so you both know, Mr. Drake Vining, your attorney, has delivered the necessary papers clearing you of all financial responsibility for the testing and procedures.”
The three of them entered a meeting room with about two dozen other people, all wearing white jackets, already present. Neither Dennis nor Dot knew precisely who was a doctor and who was a student. For the next hour, they watched slides, video of a procedure, and doctors explaining what the premise was. At the end, both Dot and Dennis were feeling overwhelmed.
“What do you think, Dennis?” she asked as they walked to the office where the papers were to be signed.
“Mom, I’ve studied up on what they were talking about, so it wasn’t quite all gibberish. The key thing is that they have to run all the tests and do a diagnosis to ascertain if the problem with my eyes can be fixed through their new procedure. They have agreed that they won’t advance beyond that point without another meeting to explain what their prognosis is. If we consider the odds of success to be too low, we don’t need to go beyond that point. That’s checkpoint one. Then if we proceed, they’ll do the operation on one eye. I need to heal for six weeks before they can proceed with the other eye. That’s checkpoint two. If the first operation was not completely successful or if I experience any complications, I don’t need to go through the next part of the procedure. If we proceed, I’ll have the second eye done and there will be another six-week healing period. At that point, they will evaluate everything again and if needed, prescribe and provide corrective lenses for after the operation. That’s checkpoint three. I know there is a risk of failure. But, Mom, this is what I really want. Without the donations, I’d put away every penny I could earn until I could afford to pay for it myself and then do it.”
“I guess that is the decision, then,” Dot said. “Let’s go in and sign the papers.”
The rest of the morning was spent in a battery of tests and eye examinations. Some were familiar to Dennis and had been conducted by his eye doctor in Des Moines. Eye pressure, peripheral vision, retinal scan. But others he’d never heard of, like confocal microscopy and corneal topography. He even had an MRI to model the exact shape of his eyes.
They had lunch and then the team of doctors went over the test results in detail with a classroom of students. They had a 3D construction of his eyes and the doctors pointed out exactly where they felt a thickening of the retina had occurred, identified through optical coherence tomography.
“Dennis and Mrs. Enders, we believe our microsurgery can correct ninety percent or more of your eyesight problem. You may still need glasses for driving, for example, but should have normal vision in the range of 20/30 when we are finished. We don’t take this lightly. Frankly, we don’t need eyes to cut open. We can get eyes from organ donors. We would not recommend proceeding with the operation without the full expectation that we can and will improve your eyesight,” Dr. Sachs concluded. He looked at the two of them and Dot nodded to Dennis.
“When can we schedule the procedure?” he asked. Before the doctor could answer, there was a round of applause from the doctors and students in the room.
They took the long drive home in relative silence. It was broken periodically by one or the other giggling. He wore a pair of dark glasses over his normal glasses and kept his eyes closed a good bit of the way back to Bartley because his pupils were still dilated. The doctors had acted as though the procedure had just been successfully completed. They had decided to do the first eye procedure the week following the end of classes. That also happened to be right after the state track and field meet. Dennis was happy that he’d be able to complete the season with the team.
“I suppose you want to go back to the school, even though you’re barely in time for practice,” Dot said.
“I really want to share the news with my team, Mom,” he answered. “And… um… my girlfriends.” Dot laughed at him again.
“Of course. Keep those dark glasses on and don’t go trying to do too much when you can’t see clearly.”
“I will, Mom.”
They pulled into the school parking lot and Dennis went through the gym doors to pick up his kit and go out to the field. On his way through the gym, he met the throwers from the boys’ team coming in to go to the weight room. That included Derek Johnson, the shot putter Dennis knocked out Saturday night. They both stopped about twenty feet away from each other. Dennis looked around him for a way out and was ready to run when Derek stepped away from the other team members and held up his hands toward Dennis.
“Truce, Brah,” Derek said. “I owe you an apology.”
“No problem here,” Dennis said, not entirely letting his guard down.
“I woke up, lying on the kitchen floor at Debbie’s house trying to figure out what happened to me. I was drunk and the guys shoveled me out of there and took me home. I didn’t know what had happened until this morning when they trapped me outside school and told me what an ass I’d been Saturday night. I thought I’d just passed out, but I couldn’t figure out why my jaw was so sore. One punch, man. I never even saw it coming. That’s wild. Anyway, I really want to apologize to you and if you can arrange it, I’ll apologize to your girlfriend, too. I think Lana’s a sweet girl, but she’s really way too young for me and I had no business trying to put the make on her.”
“I’ll… uh… Yeah. Lana’s really the one you need to apologize to, not me. I’ll ask her to meet in the hall outside the locker rooms after practice. Okay?” Dennis asked.
“Yeah. I’ll hang out and wait for you.” He held out his hand. “You’ve taught me a bunch of lessons this year. Friends?”
Dennis took his hand and the bruiser didn’t try to crush him. Derek continued on to the weight room and Dennis headed out to the track, breathing a sigh of relief.
Practice was nearly over by the time Dennis arrived on the track, but just being out there made him feel good. He walked up to Coach Graves as she was starting the girls on their long run before showers. The girls would all do two miles, except the throwing girls who would run only one mile. Dennis smiled as they took off.
“Eyes okay?” Ardith asked.
“Yeah. My pupils are still dilated some. That’s why the dark glasses.”
“I didn’t think it was a disguise. I recognized you right away,” she laughed as they watched the girls come around for the first lap. The guys were beginning to gather for the start of their long run.
“I’m going to start the procedure the Monday after State Finals,” Dennis said. “It’s going to work!”
“Congratulations!” Ardith said. “Selfishly, I’m glad I’ll have you for State Finals. We’ll do well this year. Oh. Here are the entries for Thursday’s Drake Relays. Not bad.”
“This is all who qualified to compete?” Dennis asked. “What about the guys?”
“None of the guys qualified. You have to remember that Drake doesn’t hold different competitions for the different classes of schools. Athletes from all 300 schools in Iowa can register to participate. Having people in four races is quite an accomplishment for a 2A school.”
“It’s too bad Laura didn’t make it with her 3000 last week.”
“It was close. She’ll do well in the State meets. I’ve left the announcement to the girls to you. They were all concerned about where you were this afternoon, so I told them if you got back in time, I’d let you tell them the Drake entries.”
“Gosh, coach. Thanks.” Dennis looked out at the track as the girls pelted by. As soon as most of them had passed, the boys came off the sideline to chase after them. A couple took off at a pretty good clip so they could run next to girls they were especially fond of. He noticed his special girls held together in a tight pack. It was funny to see Lana, Tori, Debbie, and Laura all running with the Angelines. A baker’s dozen.
“We’ll let you know when you can come into the locker room,” Natalie said. “You can make the announcements there. Everyone wants to know about your eyes, too.”
“Okay. Just make sure everyone is comfortable with me coming in.”
“I’d be comfortable with you coming in me,” she whispered. “Love you!” She ducked into the locker room while Dennis shook his head, thinking about making love to Natalie.
“We’re ready,” Corrine said at the door of the locker room. Dennis followed her in. Several girls were only partially dressed. The Angelines were all in just underwear and some of them were topless.
“I thought you said they were ready!” Dennis said, turning back toward the door. There were a lot of girls there he’d never seen partially dressed. Corrine grabbed his hand and pulled him around.
“They said they were ready for you to come in. Anything you see is willingly on display. I’d have been naked, but I didn’t want you to go completely blind.”
Dennis turned back toward the gathered girls. Standing on one side of Natalie, Tori was topless. Holy shit! That was a sight he hoped to see again. On the other side of Natalie, Lana was in her underwear and ignoring him while she pulled on her jeans.
“Nice work today,” Dennis called out. He was thankful his voice didn’t break but knew he was starting a stiffy. The girls would certainly be able to tell. “So, we’re entering four events at the Drake Relays on Thursday. They’re all sprints. Don’t be discouraged. Remember Drake doesn’t divide high schools up by class. You’ll literally be competing against the best in the state, no matter how big a school they come from. That’s why our longer racers, field events, and hurdles didn’t qualify this year. Corrine, you just missed qualifying but the cut-off was at thirty-eight feet. You’ll definitely be in the competition during State Qualifiers if you keep progressing. On the bright side, Brenda’s last 100-meter sprint at 12:95 put her in competition. She’s our first qualifier.” Brenda had her shorts on, but was still in her bra as she raised her hands and greeted the cheers of her team. “Tori, your first place finish Saturday earned you a spot in the 400-meter sprint. The cutoff was 59.78 and you dropped your time to 59-flat. Congratulations!”
The girls cheered again and Tori raised her hands in the air like Brenda had done. That was apparently the first time some of the girls realized she was topless and there were some gasps. If anything, Tori just stood more proudly.
“Now, if we’re all finished admiring Tori, you need to know that she and Brenda will be participating in two relays as well. Our 4x100 relay team and our sprint medley relay team both qualified. The usual four runners on each team will be going, but there are two alternates in each event who will go, as well. If they run a preliminary heat in any of the races, we might need to replace a runner in another. Or, God forbid, if there’s an injury. The alts will be Natalie, Laura, Leah, and Rebecca. Congratulations, ladies!”
There was cheering as he read off the relay team members and then he turned to go.
“Wait, Dennis!” Judith called. “How did your appointment at the hospital go? We’re all dying to know!”
“I wouldn’t want that to happen!” he laughed. “It’s all good news. The doctors believe they can restore ninety percent or more of my sight. I’m going to have the first eye done on the Monday after State Finals. That’s also a week after commencement. So, I won’t miss any meets or miss seeing my girlfriend graduate.”
More cheers and a few slaps on the back ensued before Diane stepped up.
“We all want to celebrate with you and have a present for you. In addition to Tori’s boobs. Flasher!” Diane called at Tori. She was already in her bra now, but pulled it up for one more flash at Dennis. “We want to give you this. It isn’t a lot, but Coach helped us pick it out and stock it.” She handed the box to Dennis and he opened it.
“A red fanny-pack? Is that so you can spot the weird guy more easily?”
“Open it, goofus.”
“Oh! Wow! It’s got… Everything! Thank you!”
“It’s to make it easier for you to carry essential supplies on the field without lugging your whole first aid kit around. And now Tori will know it isn’t a roll of tape in your pocket; you’re just glad to see her.”
“Wow! Well… Uh… Yeah. I could have told you that. Gee! Thank you. Thank you all!”
The Drake Relays were exciting. Coach Andy rode the bus with Dennis, Ardith, and the twelve competitors. The Drake University stadium was incredible and even though there were only twelve competitors from Bartley, there were hundreds on the field. In addition to the high school fans who packed the stands, there were collegiate competitors who would begin after the high school events.
Most events were timed finals, meaning that even if there were multiple heats, there would be no qualifying for a run-off. No matter what your finish was, it was where you placed in the combined times that counted. The 4x100 relay, however ran prelims and the top eight teams would run finals in the afternoon. Ardith made the strategic decision to pull Brenda from the Medley Sprint, which was the first event of the day at 9:00. Natalie stepped in as her alternate. She’d run the 200-meter leg and Judith would move up to the first 100-meter leg. They didn’t come in last, but even the eleventh-place finish (of twenty-four) was a new team record of 1:59.49. The girls were pleased.
Dennis spent time working on Brenda’s legs to make sure she was loosened up before the preliminaries for the 4x100. This time, it would be a preliminary heat and the top eight teams of the forty-six entered would advance to the final in the afternoon. They ran their hearts out and when all the results were in, they’d qualified in eighth place. They had an hour and a half before Brenda’s next race and Tori would race right after her in the 400-meter race. Tori wanted her ankles taped after her first run in the medley. Dennis gladly found them a place on the grass to sit as he taped her up.
“You did great out there,” he said. “The split might have been your fastest time yet. We’ll have to wait for official results.”
“Too bad Brenda didn’t run the Medley,” Tori sighed. “We might have placed.”
“These races are always close. It was just a huge field.”
“Do you like my boobs?” Dennis was caught completely off guard by that comment.
“Um… Tori… I’m a guy. I like all boobs.”
“But mine…?”
“Yours are exceptionally nice. You didn’t have to flash me, but thank you.”
“I hope it’s not the last time you see them. But you have to kiss me before I show you again.”
“I… um… It’s…”
“Thanks. I’m going to win this next one.”
First, they had the 100-meter dash and Brenda was bouncing on her toes as she waited for her heat to begin. She was in the second heat, but this was a timed finish, so she had all the girls from all four heats to beat. She glanced to the sideline as she approached the starting blocks and Dennis clenched a fist and drove it forward as he nodded at her. A brief smile flashed at him and then Brenda settled into the blocks and focused on her race. She was at a decided disadvantage as the shortest sprinter at the track meet. But she certainly had speed. She hit her take-off at the gun and had a step on the rest of the field by the third step. Where many of the sprinters drove forward with their heads, Ardith had taught her sprinters to lead with their hands and in 12.73 seconds, Brenda pumped across the finish line in first place.
When all four heats had been run, Brenda finished in fifth. She was disappointed as she found Dennis and leaned against his shoulder. The boys’ 1600-meter medley was next, so they had nearly half an hour to wait before Tori was called to the blocks for the 400. This event was still fairly new for girls in Iowa and there were only two heats for a total of fifteen runners. Tori’s seed position put her in the first heat and she took off like a flash. She, too, ran the race with head back and arms leading as she took the lead and kept running flat out for the entire 400 meters. Her time of 58.28 left her nearest competitor three steps behind her at the finish line. She found her team and buried her head against Dennis’s chest as they waited for the results of the second heat. Five of the top seeded girls ran faster in the second heat than Tori had in the first. The winning time was a full two seconds faster than hers and the rest of the field had done their best to keep up. She heaved a huge sigh as she pushed away from Dennis.
“Look, Tori,” he said as he pointed to the leader board with the results being displayed. “All five of those girls are from class 4A schools. In fact, you were the only runner from a 2A school in the race. None of those girls will be competing with you at the qualifiers. You just turned in another school record and you’ve got four weeks left to beat it again.”
“You are so good, Dennis. Thank you! I needed to hear that. I knew I wasn’t the fastest runner in the state, but knowing I might be the fastest in our division really helps. Let’s go get lunch.” The final race, the 4x100 finals, wasn’t until 2:30. The girls all stretched out on a blanket on the grass and napped in the sun. They were all glad it was a decent day. Stormy weather was predicted for Friday.
The time finally came. At the appropriately-named Drake Relays, the final two high school events were the 4x100 and the 4x400 relays. Teams who had long-since been eliminated or finished their events stuck around to watch these events. Becky toed up to the starting blocks in the eighth lane with the baton gripped in her right hand. A hundred meters ahead, Amy waited to receive it on the run. Judith would take the baton from Amy and at the far curve, Brenda waited to bring it home. The hardest part about this race was that you never really knew how close to your competitors you were. The race had a staggered start and a full two turn stagger. It was raced in the assigned lane all the way around the track. Being on the outside lane, it looked like Bartley had a huge head start on the other teams. But by the third exchange, it would feel like even the slower teams had gained on them.
Which, as it turned out, they had. When Brenda took the baton from Judith, three other runners were already even with her. As hard as she could run, she soon discovered all the other teams had a lead on her. She was only two-tenths of a second behind her nearest competitor, but that still left the team in eighth place. The girls crossed the infield from their exchange zones to huddle with their teammates.
“That’s a new school record!” Ardith exclaimed excitedly. “You girls are so awesome!”
“What?”
“50.95 seconds. You are the fastest girls in our school, by a longshot!” Coach Andy said.
“I thought we’d just lost,” Brenda said.
“You were competing way above your class. What do we do?”
“Run, run, run!”
“Who are we?”
“Angelines!”
The team gathered their bags and warmups and headed for the bus exhausted but joyful. Dennis and Natalie slid into a seat together, but Tori paused next to them looking mournful. Natalie wiggled her way onto Dennis’s lap and Tori sat next to him. Dennis rode home with Natalie’s welcome weight on his lap and Tori snuggled under his left arm.
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