Chapter 20

After practice, Coach Lewis sends Calvin on a tour with an assistant coach and takes me into his office.

I ask him if they have any game tapes from when my dad played, and he tells me he’ll have some copies made and sent to me.

“Thank you,” I say. “I can’t wait to watch them. I haven’t seen much from when my dad was playing here.”

Coach Lewis nods at this and smiles.

“Now let’s talk about you,” he says.

And we talk. Not only about my season with the Warriors, but also about what I want to study, what I want to do after college. I tell him I’d like to have a career in medicine.

We talk for almost an hour. I feel comfortable sitting in that office. I feel like I’m home.

***

We have lunch with some of the team. When they find out who my dad is, one of the guys tells me that Coach Lewis has talked about him before.

“He’s told us we should all play tough. ‘Play like Leo Jones,’ he tells us. ‘Play with the Lion’s heart.’ ‘It isn’t over until the clock says zero.’ ”

I nod at this. I feel like a part of my dad lives on in this place. It’s not just his picture on the wall, but his spirit. These guys all seem like hard workers who put their whole hearts into what they’re doing. I can tell they respect each other as teammates and have each other’s backs. And the vibe I get from them is friendly, like I’m already one of them.

After lunch, Calvin and I head to the airport. It was a short trip, but we’ve toured the campus, saw my dad’s pictures, and I got to talk with Coach Lewis. It was an incredible twenty-four hours. I’m glad we came.

As we walk to our departure gate at the airport, Calvin is quiet.

“What did you think?” I ask.

“It was a nice school,” he says. “But they’re not interested in me.”

“They didn’t give me an offer either,” I say.

“What would you do if they did?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I say, but I do know. I’d go to Branford. I’d play on the same field and sit in some of the same classrooms as my dad did. In a way, it would give me some time with my dad, but I don’t know how to explain this to Calvin.

“I’d choose being on the same team with you over being rivals,” Calvin says.

I wish Branford would have shown some interest in Calvin. Everything would be perfect then. I know I could convince him to go if he was given an offer, but I don’t even know if I’ll even get one.

This time, our plane leaves on time, and we are back in Oahu at dawn.