Landon and Brett swam the rest of the afternoon, and by the time they had to go, they were exhausted. Landon changed into dry clothes and put his ears back on, so he could hear when Jonathan Wagner stopped Brett as they were getting into the Suburban.
“Hey, Brett,” the Giants’ right tackle said, “you got one heck of a friend. You’ll have to bring him around again.”
Landon buckled his seat belt and closed his eyes, concentrating hard, because he was determined to remember the sound of those words for as long as he lived. When he opened his eyes, Jonathan Wagner was at the window and motioning for him to roll it down. Landon did and said, “Thanks for having me. It was a great time.”
“Hey, my man, you are more than welcome.” Jonathan reached through and shook his hand. “And thanks for bouncing back on me after my off-sides penalty with the implants there. I appreciate you not holding a grudge. It sure wasn’t a smart thing to say, that’s all. And I just want you to know I’m sorry. Anyway, you’ll be seeing me again real soon.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, well, we got a bye week coming up, and my sister, Courtney, makes this meatloaf like our mom used to make that keeps me coming back.” Jonathan’s face looked a bit sad for a second, but then it brightened. “I’ll check you guys out at your practice. This is all if Coach McAdoo gives us some time off. He should, so . . .”
Jonathan held out a fist and Landon knew to give it a bump, even though his head was spinning.
“I’ll get to see you and Brett in action.”
And suddenly, even after the magic of the day, Landon’s nerves were on edge.