Junior Year Box Set

“If you decide you want to get married, just let me know. I seem to be good at matchmaking.”

People amaze me. You try to help, and they give you looks like that.

Once we were seated, Bo had something to make clear.

“Either you have to buy, or we need to split the check. I can’t buy your dinner,” Bo said.

“It’s on me. I also got you something,” I said and handed the cigars to Tanya and the rum to Bo. “A little something I picked up in Cuba.”

They switched gifts right in front of me. I introduced them to Fritz, and we ordered an appetizer. Another table had this mound of seafood, so I had to order the chilled seafood tower. It came with oysters, shrimp, stone crab claws, and Maine lobsters.

“I saw where Michigan got the okay to hold a camp at Lincoln High,” Bo complained.

“It’s too bad no one else is as good at recruiting as they are. When they do something like that, it makes you realize that they want you to go to their school. The only thing that might be better would be if someone would arrange for me to go see them play in a National Championship Game.”

“I can just see the NCAA on our doorstep the next day.”

“Please, you know I would pay for the tickets. Maybe I could catch a ride with a booster who has a private jet,” I suggested.

“Son, we’re not Ole Miss,” Bo said, getting his shots in.

“They don’t care about the NCAA. All they care about is they’ve beaten Alabama three times in the last twelve years.”

“One of those didn’t count because we had to vacate one of the victories as part of NCAA penalties.”

“Bo, you better quit while you’re ahead,” Tanya suggested.

I just smirked. He knew I would never do anything to jeopardize my eligibility. He was in the SEC, though, and I was sure he’d seen some questionable stuff, as he would at most every Power 5 school.

I decided to turn my wit towards Tanya.

“Did Bo pay for boarding school for Jordan?” I asked.

It was no secret that I thought her daughter was a little self-centered, to put it kindly.

“No, but there are days I wish he would. I invited her, but she didn’t have kind words to say about you. We thought it would be better that you two not have to suffer through dinner together.”

“For that, I am in your debt,” I said sincerely.

The waiter came and explained about the beef.

“We only use corn-fed beef from one source so we have strict quality control. We only select the highest-quality meat with just the right amount of marbling. This makes the meat very moist and flavorful when prepared properly. We dry age all our beef for at least 28 days. The moisture evaporates, but the beef stays tender and gets a nutty flavor. We think our meat is so good we only season it with kosher salt and cracked black pepper, and then finish it with butter.”

“What’s your best steak?” I asked.

“How hungry are you?” he asked.

“This boy could eat a side of beef by himself,” Bo said.

“We have an award-winning 32-ounce bone-in New York strip that’s normally for two. It’s carved tableside.”

“Bo, let’s get that. We can always take the leftovers home,” Tanya suggested.

Two pounds of meat sounded like it would be just about right. I doubt anyone was surprised when I decided to get one too. Fritz chose the regular-sized New York strip. Our waiter talked us into roasted wild mushrooms. He was right because steak goes with mushrooms. We also selected onion rings, steak fries, and creamed spinach.

The steak was better than advertised. You could cut it with your fork, and it almost melted in your mouth. I would be back for sure.

I almost passed on dessert, but they had a gooey pecan pie served warm with praline ice cream.

Even though the food was to die for, seeing Bo again and talking about weddings, football, and life was the highlight of the evening. We’d become friends over the two-plus years he’d worked to turn me into a quarterback. I owed him a lot. If Bo ever asked me to come to Alabama as a personal favor, I would do it without thinking. What made him such a good friend was he wanted me to go where it was best for me. I respected the hell out of that man.

◊◊◊ Tuesday July 12

Our hotel had a free breakfast, and eight seemed to be the time a lot of businesspeople decided to eat. Dave was sitting with M.E. and Kelly, so I walked up to say good morning.

“What’s good?” I asked.

“The bagel topper’s okay,” Dave said as he pointed at a premade bagel with egg, cheese, and mystery meat.

“I like the waffle,” M.E. said.

Kelly didn’t seem to be very talkative this morning.

“My sister says you’re meeting some girl you met at the pool yesterday,” Dave said.

I looked around but didn’t see Mercedes.

“I may have gotten stood up,” I admitted. “What’s the schedule for today?”

“Sign-in is eleven to one. At one-thirty, we have a team meeting, followed by practice and then a game tonight,” Dave supplied.