Personal Possessions by Tracy Lee Page A

were focused on the end zone. Bear got to the ten yard
line, as I was just crossing the twenty. I sped up, as I watched
the other player near the twelve, Bear’s eyes still never looking
back.
    I came at the player from
the side, hitting him dead on the side of his helmet, with the
front of my own. I don’t even remember hitting the ground. All the
sudden I could hear Elle calling my name, as my nose was assaulted
with the smell akin to someone pouring bleach in my nostrils. I
tried to turn my head away from the smell, to escape it but
couldn’t.
    “Don’t move, son.” Opening
my eyes, Coach was over me, along with all the team. Curt was
holding Elle back, her face covered in mascara stained
tears.
    “Wh… wha…”
    “Don’t talk, Trevor. Doc’s
on his way to come check you out.”
    Elle’s dad had gone to his
car to retrieve his medical bag, while one of the assistants went
to go grab a neck brace out of the locker room.
    “You did good, son.” Coach
made an attempt, trying to take my mind off of what was going on.
“If it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have won the game!” My eyes went
to the side, just to see Bear walk off of the field.
    “Mr. McHale?”
    I dropped my feet from my
desk to see Sara standing there.
    “ I have you marked down
this afternoon for a one o’clock appointment with Mr.
Fordham.”
    “Thank you, Sara. Oh, did
Lana already make my reservations for Atlanta?”
    She looked at her paper
and then her eyes flashed back at me, wide as quarters.
“Ummm…ummm…”
    I smirked, humored by her
being flustered, “You don’t know?” She stared back at me looking
lost and terrified. “It’s ok. If you don’t know, then you don’t
know. I will buzz out and speak with Lana myself.” She sighed and
smiled a small smile, before turning to walk out.
    I got up, walking over to
my window to look out into a plain parking lot.
    “Is that what he meant
when he said I was big shit in high school?” I asked
myself.
    There was never a time
that I thought I was better than anyone, especially Bear. We had
practically grown up together. He was correct when it came to
living different lives financially, but we were kids for Christ
sake, it wasn’t about money with us.
    I heard the buzz of my
phone, “Mr. McHale…” It was Lana. I was just about to ask her about
my reservation when she spoke again, “Mr. McHale, you have a phone
call.”
    “Take a message,
Lana.”
    “She said you would want
to take this call.”
    She? My interest was
piqued, it could be anyone on the other end. A pissed off lover,
pissed off employee…I really didn’t want to deal with pissed off
attitudes right now.
    “She did, huh? Who is it?”
    “Yes, it’s a Lauren
Edwards.”
    I dropped my guard a bit.
I don’t remember sleeping with a Lauren. Hell, I don’t think I even
know a Lauren Edwards.
    “ Just take a message, I
will call her back.” I went to grab a file off of the small
conference table that was in the corner of my office. As I was
heading back to my desk, I heard my phone buzz again.
    “Ummm, sir?” It was Lana
again, this time her voice sounded strange.
    “Yes, Lana,” I made my
voice stern so she’d know she was disturbing me, what didn’t she
understand about take a fucking message.
    “She said she will
continue calling until you take this call.”
    It had to be a pissed off
lover if she was going to continue to call, and she was really mad.
My mind began to wander through the endless amount of women that I
knew here and in Boston, no woman named Lauren came to
mind.
    “Lauren Edwards you say?”
I asked just to be sure I had the correct name.
    “Yes sir. She says her
name is, Lauren Abbott Edwards”
    I stopped everything,
unable to believe what I was hearing. Never in my life would I ever
think I would hear that name mentioned to me again, and yet, here
she was calling me. She must have tracked me down, and that was not
an easy task.
“Mother Fucker!” I shouted.
“Ummm, sir… do