A Game of Inches – Part Fourteen

Before I could reply my cell phone rang , once again, it was Amanda.

“Brian, the house is yours, congratulations.”, she said excitedly.

“Thank you, I think.”, I laughed.


“I need a check for five hundred thousand as a deposit before close of day on Tuesday. The balance is due at act of sale.”, she informed me.

“Ok, I will get it to you.”, I answered.

Thankfully, I had been relatively frugal since the signing of my contract. Other than the rent on the condo, the two vehicles I had purchased and several small purchases, I had banked quite a large sum of money. I had also this past year reached four of six incentive clauses in my contract earning me an extra six hundred seventy five thousand dollars. Plus we had the extra paychecks from each game in the playoff’s, the Conference Championship’s and the Superbowl. Even though this was a significant amount of money, it wouldn’t effect me seriously, I had ample reserves.

The weekend was a blur, I had so many things to do. I had to move what few things I had out of my unit, then spent half a day cleaning up everything so it was really nice for when my landlord came home. She had been very good to me, it was the least I could do. I decided as a good will gesture, I would leave the TV behind, Alexis had one in her unit.

On Tuesday morning, I went to the bank and picked up the certified check and dropped it off to Amanda at ERT Realty. She gave me a copy of the key, I had promised to pickup Alexis for lunch, take her to see it. I was at Alexis’ office for noon, she was right on time. We drove straight over to the house, her reaction being the same as mind as we first drove up to the front door.

“Oh my God Brian, this is beautiful.”, she exclaimed.

“Wait until you see the inside.”, I answered.

I quickly ran around the car opening her door, taking her hand as she got out. We walked up to the door hand in hand, I pulled the key from my pocket and opened the front door. Alexis was overwhelmed, it seemed each room we walked into took her breath away. The pool, spa and backyard fire pit took her over the edge. She turned and buried her face in my chest sobbing uncontrollably.

“Geez, if you hate it that bad, I won’t buy it.”, I laughed.

She squeezed me tighter, then lifted her head to mine, tears running down her cheeks.

“It’s absolutely amazing, I can’t even imagine living here.”, she whispered.

“Well get used to it baby, this is your new home.”, I answered, kissing her softly on the lips.

The next few weeks were incredibly busy, we both had numerous things to do. Alexis decided to try and sublet her condo for the time being, rushing to sell it could cost her money. I went to act of sale on the house, then contracted several companies to make the necessary repairs needed before we moved in. We also had to prepare for the team ring ceremony which was only about a week away. We would be presented with our Super Bowl rings, team and individual awards would be given out as well. We had been told when we were measured that we would each receive a Superbowl ring, designed exclusively for us, as well as a smaller version of the same ring, that would be placed on a gold chain, that would be given to the main woman in each of our lives, either wife, girlfriend or mother. I had long debated on what to do with mine, in my heart I wanted it to go to Alexis, but I knew I owed Ashley so much. The problem was solved when I learned that I could receive another one by paying the jeweler what it cost to make one.

I happened to be having lunch with Josh about that same time, we were cutting up and having a good time, both of us excited about the upcoming ring ceremony.

“So tell me Brian, how’s things with you and Alexis ?”, he asked.

“Really good, Josh.”, I answered.

“You love her ?”, he asked.

“Absolutely, more than I ever imagined I would.”, I answered.

He leaned across the table from me, like he was about to spill a huge secret.

“Then marry her, don’t let her get away. She’s an incredible woman.”, he urged.

I was sitting in Alexis’ condo that night, those words kept running through my mind. Alexis had just went to soak in the tub, I knew she was going to be at least an hour. I picked up her cell phone and quickly scanned her contacts, finding the number I wanted. I entered the number into my phone, I would make the phone call the following day when I knew I wouldn’t be over heard.

After Alexis left the following morning, I opened my cell phone and made the call, it was answered quickly.

“Mai, how are you, this is Brian.”, I said.

“Oh Brian, good, good, how are you ?”, she answered.

“Really good Mai, thank you.”, I replied.

“I hear you buy really big house, very nice.”, she told me.

“Yes ma’am, in fact that’s one of the reasons I am calling you.”, I told her.

“Why you call me Brian ?’, she asked, obviously confused.

“Would it be ok, if I came out to see you tomorrow ? I need to talk to you.”, I asked.

“Brian, what’s wrong, Alexis ok ?”, she asked, suddenly tense.

“Oh yes ma’am, Alexis is fine, everything’s really good, I just want to talk with you.”, I said, calming her fears.

“Ok, you bring Alexis ?”, she said happily.

“No, I don’t want her to know I am going to see you.”, I replied.

“Oh, no tell her ?’, she responded.

“No ma’am, please don’t tell her.”, I asked.

I told Alexis, I had to leave early the next morning, I told her I had some foundation business to attend to. Even though what I was going to do was perfectly legitimate, I felt bad, it was the first time I had ever lied to Alexis. Three hours later, I was pulling off of the freeway, I was only minutes from my destination. I found the house without any difficulty, pulling into the driveway minutes before ten o’clock in the morning. Mai apparently heard me pull up, she was waiting at the front door. She greeted me warmly with a hug, then invited me in. I followed her into the kitchen, where she poured me a glass of lemonade, then sat at the table with her.

“What you want to talk about Brian ?”, she asked, some concern on her face.

“Mai, I have fallen in love with Alexis, I want to know if you think she would marry me ?”, I asked.

“Oh Brian, you make me so happy.”, she cried, jumping up from her chair, running around the table and hugging me.

“So when you ask her ?”, Mai asked.

“That’s what I am working on right now. But really, I wanted to ask your permission first, since she doesn’t have a father.”, I replied.

I could see Mai was over come by emotion, tears quickly filling her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. She reached over the table and took my hand in hers.

“Alexis tell me before you visit, she love you very much. You ask her marry you, she will say yes. Alexis is very smart girl, if she love you, then you good man. Now I will have a son too.”, she said between tears.

“Thank you Mai, that means alot to me. But you have to promise not to tell her anything until I ask, it’s going to be a surprise.”, I requested.

“Me no say anything, I promise.”, she responded.

“I want you there that night, I want you to be with us.”, I asked.

“Oh I love to be there, yes…yes.”, she answered.

I explained just what I had in mine to Mai, she loved the idea. I promised to get back with her, on the details, I had a ton of things to do in a very short amount of time. The awards ceremony was just six days away, this coming Saturday night. I left Mai’s house and drove directly back to San Diego, arriving in town about two thirty. I drove over to the team facility and met with one of the assistant media directors, Ms. Linda Kelley whom I had dealt with before. After laying out what I had in mind, I think she was more excited than I was. She assured me she would do everything she could to help me make this happen. I left her office and drove straight to back to the condos arriving an hour before Alexis did. As soon as she walked into the condo, I could tell she had a rough day.

“How about I take you out to eat tonight ?”, I asked.

“I’m way too tired to go out honey, I had a really long day.”, she said, falling on the sofa.

“Well, how about I go get some take out then. You go soak in the tub until I get back.”, I told her.

“Thanks baby, I appreciate it.”, she replied.

I drove across town to Alexis’ favorite Chinese restaurant and ordered two meals and a few appetizers. It took them close to forty five minutes to get everything ready, but I was in no rush. By the time I got back to the condo, Alexis was laying on the sofa relaxing.
She started to get up, but I told her to relax, I would wait on her tonight. I fixed two large plates with the meals, using a third for the appetizers. I brought the plates to the living room, setting them on the coffee table. I went back to the kitchen and poured me a glass of iced tea, then grabbed Alexis a water. I sat down next to her, she had the TV on, a sitcom was playing. She reached over and squeezed my hand tightly, a warm smile on her face.

“I just can’t believe how caring you are. You make me feel like I’m the most important woman in the world.”, she said softly.

“You are.”, I answered, leaning over kissing her briefly.

Alexis went to bed an hour or so before I did, I could tell she was exhausted, I sat up watching TV for a while longer. The following morning after she left for work, I quickly dressed and left the condo. I drove downtown to one of the largest jewelery stores in town, I was there when they opened. I was greeted by a very beautiful, elegantly dressed sales woman as soon as I opened the door. I told her I was looking for an engagement ring, but time was limited, I needed it for Friday afternoon at the latest. She assured me that they had hundreds of rings in stock now, that would be no problem.

She led me over to the back wall where there was an enormous case that was filled wall to wall with bridal sets. She started asking me questions about carat weight, type of setting I might like, things of that nature. I admitted that I had no idea what any of those things meant. She laughed softly, telling me that was common, she would help me with the process. She asked me if I had a price range in mind, that way we could move to the rings that would fall in that category. I told her it had to be special, the money was not all that important. She led me down to the end of the last case, where I have to admit, the rings were stunning. She began to show me several, telling me the total carat weight of the diamonds, which type of setting it was, things of that nature. Each set she showed me was somewhere in the five to seven thousand dollar range, I was having a hard time making up my mind. I did like one particular ring that she had showed me, the diamond was pear shaped, it was quite unusual. The only problem was the diamond was relatively small compared to some of the other settings I had seen.

“I notice you keep going back to this one.”, the sales woman commented, pointing to my favorite.

“Yes ma’am, I like that style, I just think the diamond is too small.”, I answered.

“Wait right here.”, she instructed.

She went through the door in the rear of the store, she was gone for several minutes. She reappeared carrying a dark blue velvet box which looked like it might hold a watch. She set the box down in front of me, slowly opening it up. Inside the box was a pear shaped diamond ring, similar to the style I liked, only much larger.

“So what do you think ?”, she asked.


“It’s beautiful.”, I answered.


“That is a 4.44 carat pear shaped diamond in the center setting. It’s surrounded by twelve four quarter carat tapered baguettes, the mount is eighteen carat white gold. Total diamond weight is 7.44 carats.”, she explained.


“I really like it, how much is it ?”, I asked.


“Well if you’re serious about it, I can go talk to the owner, see what we can do. It was actually designed for a very good customer of ours, but she didn’t really like it, so we have had it for a couple of months. It was originally six eighty thousand, but we collected a deposit on it.”, she informed me.

She left me again, walking over to the large glass office to my left. I saw her talking with an older man in a black suit. He got up and followed her over to where I was standing, introducing himself.

“Good morning, I’m Simon Weitz, how can I help you sir ?”

“Morning sir, I’m Brian Stevens.”, I said, shaking his hand.

“Brian Stevens, the tight end for San Diego ?”, he asked.

“Yes sir.”, I responded.

“I thought you looked familiar.”, the sales woman laughed.

“I’m interested in this ring sir.”, I told him, pointing at the box.

“You have excellent taste, this is the best engagement ring I have in the store.”, he answered.

“Diane, go get me the folder on this item, let me see what we can do for Mr. Stevens.”, he instructed his employee.

The woman left but was back quickly with the folder handing it to him. He opened it, scanned the paper work, then set it down.

“The original cost on the ring was about sixty eight thousand, however I did get a non refundable deposit of ten thousand on it. I’ll be honest, you don’t sell a ring like this every day, so I can really work you a decent deal.”, he told me.

“That will work, what are you thinking ?”, I asked.

“How will you be paying ?”, he inquired.

“Does that matter ?”, I answered.

“Well if you pay cash, I can give you a better price.”, he suggested.

“Ok, cash.”, I laughed.

“Tell you what Brian, I’ll let you walk out of here for thirty five thousand flat.”, he offered.

Before I could even reply, he quickly spoke up once again.

“Come to think of it, I’ll do better than that. You make one commercial for me advertising the store, I’ll let you have the ring for twenty five thousand flat, you’ll never get a better deal than that.”, he finished.

“You have a deal.”, I answered, shaking his hand.

We exchanged our contact information, I promised him I would pick up the ring on Friday morning, paying him the full amount at that time. I told him when ever he was ready to contact me, I would be available to do the commercial we agreed on. I left the store then drove over to the team facility where I met Linda again, getting updated on where everything stood. She had did an amazing job thus far, it seemed everything was falling into place.

The following day, I went to act of sale on my new home, I left right before noon, with the keys to a multimillion dollar home in my pocket. On the ride home, I called Linda over at the team office and asked her if she could arrange transportation for Mai on Saturday morning. She promised me she would have my future mother in law picked up and brought to the hotel where the ring ceremony would be held. It was the best hotel in town, the ceremony being held in their grand ball room. Linda arranged for Mai to have a room at the hotel, I didn’t want Alexis to see her mother until my plan was in effect.

Alexis decided to take off Friday, taking the time to get her hair cut and shop for a new dress before the ceremony. I went with her to the salon, sitting in the waiting room while she was with the stylist. We then went to a couple of stores while Alexis shopped for a dress. While she was in the dressing room trying on another dress, I was looking through the different racks of garments. I came upon a very sheer, elegant black dress that was strapless, it had a black lace shawl, that went with it. I thought the dress would be stunning on Alexis, I called the lady over.

“Do you have this in her size ?”, I asked.

“Yes, we do.” she said, walking over to the far wall, pulling an identical dress down.

By that time Alexis had come back out of the dressing room carrying two more dresses, to put back on the rack. I walked over to her with the dress the lady had handed me.

“Hey baby, try this on.”, I urged.

She held the dress up for a second looking at it, then walked back into the dressing room. She had barely closed the door, when it popped back open, the dress still in hand.

“Brian, this dress is twelve hundred dollars, put this back.”, she whispered, extending the garmet to me.

“Go try it on, please.”, I urged.

“Brian, I’m not paying twelve hundred dollars for a dress.”, She argued.

“No I am. I may never win another Super Bowl ring in my lifetime. This is a special night, don’t argue with me.”, I said, pushing her towards the dressing room.

The sales woman was having quite a good time watching the two of us, I caught her laughing several times. After about ten minutes Alexis came through the door with the dress on, I was floored. She was beyond beautiful, she was exquisite. Even the sales woman had to do a double take. The dress fit her like a glove, every lovely curve falling perfectly into place. The olive complexion, the straight black silky hair and her bright green eyes complimented the dress so well.

“We’ll take it.”, I told the woman.

“You sure Brian ?”, Alexis asked.

“Oh I’m sure baby, very sure.”, I answered.

After picking out a really nice pair of Italian highed heeled black shoes, she was all set. We went back to the condo and had some lunch, then took a ride to the new house just to look around again. On the ride back from the house, Alexis reached over and took my hand in hers.

“Brian, I have never been this happy in my entire life. I don’t know how or what brought us together, but I am so grateful that I’m here now with you.”, she said.

“I’m glad you’re happy Alexis, you deserve to be.”, I answered.

I woke up early Saturday morning, I still had a ton of things to do. I called Mai and told her the limo would be picking her up at one o’clock taking her to the hotel where I had a room in her name booked. I told her I would sneak away right before the ceremony and come upstairs and get her. I then called Linda back one last time to make sure she had everything taken care of. She assured me, even I would be surprised at what she had arranged.

I left Alexis at the condo and drove a few blocks to the barber shop to get a quick haircut. I then passed by the cleaners to pick up my suit that I would wear tonight. I then passed by the jewelers and picked up the ring, then drove back to the condo. I stashed the ring in my trunk, I would have to get it out later when Alexis wasn’t watching.

The event was scheduled to begin at six o’clock, with a meal, then the awards presentation. Everyone was asked to be there by five thirty if possible. Alexis and I left the condo around four forty five, I was amazed at just how beautiful she looked. She could easily pass for a movie star or a fashion model, I couldn’t believe that hopefully in a few short hours, she might agree to marry me. I opened the door for her to get in, then walked to the back of the vehicle, opened the trunk and slipped the ring box into my pocket. I then opened my door and slid in behind the wheel.

“What was in the trunk ?”, Alexis asked.

“Nothing, I just thought it wasn’t shut all the way, it looked funny.”, I answered.

We arrived at the hotel right at five thirty, the valet took my keys. We made our way into the lobby where several of the players and their families were already congregating. Every man in the lobby couldn’t take their eyes off of Alexis, even the women were giving her serious looks. I felt like the luckiest man in the world as I grabbed her hand in mine. I introduced Alexis to several of the players, who in turn introduced their families to us.

Around quarter to six, the hotel manager began asking everyone to move to the grand ball room, informing us that tables had formal seating, to find the table with our name on it. I walked Alexis through the door, we found our table, it was in the first row, right in front of the stage. I helped her into her seat, then made an excuse about not getting a ticket from the valet for my car. I told her I would be right back.

I walked back into the lobby then over to the reservation desk asking for Mai’s room number. I was told she was in room 816, then shown the elevator in which to take. I rode up on the elevator to the eighth floor, then down the hall to room 816, knocking on the door. Mai quickly answered the door, inviting me in. She looked lovely, her dress jade green, her hair had just been done. I accompanied Mai down to the grand ball room, we entered through the rear door. Since our table was front center, Alexis had her back to us. We walked down the center isle to the table where Alexis was sitting, Mai stood back behind her out of sight.

“Hey baby, another guest is here, they are going to take the one chair we have left.”, I told her.

“Here she is.”, I said, extending my hand to Mai.

Alexis glanced over her shoulder, the look on her face was priceless. She squealed in delight, jumping up to hug her mother. She helped her mother to her seat then sat back down, turning to me.

“How did you two pull this off without me finding out ?”, she laughed.

“He plenty sneaky Alex.”, Mai said, pointing at me.

“Obviously so, I better start keeping a close eye on him.”, she replied.

Alexis and her mother started talking, letting me off the hook for a while. Finally I saw Linda in the back of the room, she had motioned for me to join her. I excused my self from the table again, then walked back and met with Linda.

“I have it all worked out, just go along with the MC, do exactly what he tells you to do.”, she informed me.

“No problem.”, I answered.

“Do you have the ring ?”, she asked.

I glanced back at the table, Alexis had her back to me, so I slipped the ring to Linda. She instructed me to go back to my table, she would handle the rest. Just about that time, the master of ceremonies asked if everyone could be seated, it was time to start serving dinner. I glanced around the room, I would say there were at least five to six hundred people present as well as members of the local media, who were covering the event.

Everyone was served a bacon wrapped filet mignon topped in crab sauce, a baked potato and steamed vegetables. The meal was followed up by various deserts which you could choose from, everything was very good. Mai and Alexis had a great time chatting during the meal, I have to admit Mai did an excellent job keeping her composure, knowing what was to come. Finally the staff cleared away the dishes, bringing everyone a glass of wine to begin the awards presentation.
The master of ceremonies stepped to the podium, the program was underway.

“Good evening ladies and gentleman, I am so pleased to be here tonight with you to celebrate this year’s World Championship team from here in San Diego. We hope this is only the first of many more, this team has lifted the spirits of this community to heights it has never known.”, he started.

“We will start the ring ceremony with the coaches, then players and finally the training staff and support personnel. As we call your name we would ask you to follow the front of the stage here to my left, then up the steps to center stage. Each player is asked to escort the woman in his life with him to the podium, so that she may receive her gift as well.”, he continued.

Alexis looked at me strangely, then leaned over and whispered.

“What are they talking about ?”, she asked.

“You’ll see.”, I smiled.

The procession started with the coaches and their wives being introduced, then walking up and accepting their rings. Since the players were called in ascending order of their jersey numbers, it was going to be while before they got to me at number eighty nine. When Josh was called with his girlfriend, the room gave him a standing ovation, which he rightly deserved. It took several minutes for the crowd to finally quiet down and get back in their seats. The procession restarted and one by one, the players moved across the stage with their significant others. It was really wonderful to see a few of the single players escort their mothers across the stage, you could tell they were so proud of their sons. Finally it was time, it was our turn.

“ On offense, number eighty nine, tight end Brian Stevens, who is escorting Ms. Alexis Clarke.”, he announced.

I stood up holding my hand out for Alexis, which she took so gracefully. You could just sense every eye in the room was on Alexis, she was a vision of elegance, form head to toe. The ovation was louder than most, I suspected mostly due to Alexis. I was handed a beautiful dark walnut wood box with a light blue band on it with the number eighty nine. Alexis was handed the same box, only slightly smaller. We made our way back to the table sitting down, we both opened the boxes. The rings were huge, I had never seen anything like it. The face was covered in diamonds, the team logo emblazoned in gem stones in the center. I looked over at Alexis, she had received the exact replica of the face of the ring, only on a beautiful gold chain.

“Oh my God Brian, it’s beautiful.”, she said, kissing me quickly.

Several minutes later the entire team had received their rings, it was time to move on. The master of ceremonies once again took the microphone announcing it was time for the individual awards ,starting off first with a few presentations the coaches wanted to make personally.

Coach Reed was announced first, once again a standing ovation following him to the podium. He thanked the crowd, then pulled a few index cards from his jacket pocket.

“Thank you so much for that warm reception, I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to be standing here in front of you. I have a couple of wards I want to make personally, so if you would please indulge me, I would appreciate it.”, he started.

The table behind Coach Reed was filled with awards, crystal bowls, crystal footballs, sterling silver objects, as well as some beautiful porceline footballs. There were close to three dozen wooden plaques as well.

“First and formost I want to recognize the man who I think turned this franchise around in just one year. He has brought a unique brand of football to us, one that I quite skeptically doubted was possible in the beginning. But nothing speaks louder than results, he is the orchestrator of the best offense in football. Ladies and gentleman our offensive coordinator, Chase Cullen.”, he announced.

The room exploded in applause, he was in fact a huge part of our success. What he was able to do in just one short year was astounding. He was presented with a beautiful sterling silver bowl as the year’s most outstanding coordinator, something no one would question.

One by one Coach Reed gave out awards, all to people who really deserved them, he was spot on. He had just given out the award to his pick for defensive player of the year, which was not necessarily the player that would be recognized later by the team. He then moved on to the offensive side of the ball.

“This next award is for my pick on offense, which due to their success this year, was quite difficult to select to say the least. But in the end, I had to go with my gut. I had what most media members called a complete mental breakdown two years when I lobbied for this player to be drafted. I was told it couldn’t be done, some suggested I be drug tested immediately.”, he started.

The room erupted in laughter at his latter comment, it took a few seconds for everyone to settle down. He leaned into the microphone again. By now, it was obvious he was talking about me.

“I put a world of pressure on this kid the minute he walked out on our practice field for the first time. I was relentless, failure was simply not an option I would consider. All he did in response was to spend countless hours of his own time in the film room and on the field with Josh Henson, doing everything he could to not let me down.