27The Letter
“How do you think this'll go, Coach?” said Marcus, looking at the front door.
“It'll be up to him, kid,” replied Brian.
“There he is,” said Marcus, as Sam walked into Trackside. “I guess we'll find out.”
Sam saw Brian's classic double-arm wave. As Sam approached, he wondered why Marcus and Brian were seated on one side of the table, but dismissed the notion and sat across from them.
“Hey guys!” said Sam.
Brian and Marcus just smiled and didn't respond.
“Before I forget,” said Sam, “Congrats on the bowl bid, Coach.”
Marcus replied, “Thanks Sam. We're all so happy. Couldn't have done it without your help.”
“I couldn't have gotten another meeting with the university without your help either. We pitched them last week and nailed it. I'm confident we're getting a shot.”
“That's great,” replied Marcus.
Sam gave a box to Brian and said, “Hello to you too, Coach. Here's your present from the party. You left early and I wanted you to have it.”
“Thanks Sam. Should I open it?”
“Sure,” said Sam.
Brian unwrapped it and found a Stamina basketball jersey inside. “Wow,” said Brian. “This is first-class.”
“It's for the upcoming basketball league. Check out the back.”
There were five embroidered letters spelling “Coach.”
“The team voted you coach. Hope you don't mind,” said Sam.
“Not at all, Sam.” Brian smiled as he looked over at Marcus.
Marcus nodded at Brian and said, “This is as good time as any.”
Both men looked back at Sam, but neither spoke.
“Okay, what's up, guys?” asked ...
Get High Ten now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
