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Chapter 2 The Big Game
Jimmy blew smoke out of his mouth as he drove towards the usual hang out. A sleazy bar called Gooma, which served as not only a hideout, but also as a major moneymaker for the family. The feds had tried to wiretap the Gooma but had never had an opportunity to get in unnoticed or send in a man undercover. Tony made sure the Gooma was under constant watch. The owner of the Gooma was one of the most trusted soldiers outside of the family, Sergio Dante. Sergio had about as much respect as Jimmy. Right under Sergio was Vinny Alconti and Frankie Meretti, two loyal captains who would bend over backwards for the brothers Cortoli. Although Tony was the official boss of the family, no one gave Jimmy any crap. He was next in line if anything should happen to Tony. Three lower soldiers were regulars at the Gooma. Although they weren't as powerful and didn't have as much respect as everyone above them, they still fit in well with the main guys. First off was Sonny Alconti, Vinny's nephew and right hand man. Sonny was next in line to take over Vinny's crew and all of Vinny's businesses once Vinny retired or got promoted. Working as second in command of Frankie's crew was Salvatore "Sal" Vendetti. Sal had once been a top earner but he got arrested and convicted for gun running and manslaughter and ended up serving fifteen years in a maximum-security prison. He was lucky that Tony let him back on a crew. Finally there was Vito DiAngelo, a loyal captain who had the misfortune of being related to a notorious FBI informant. Vito's brother, Vin, had turned federal witness and snitch four years earlier which led to eight major arrests and a countless number of hits. Tony had barely managed to keep the family from falling apart. Despite all that, Vito still remained loyal to his family and would do anything for his bosses.
The group was involved in a high stakes card game as Jimmy walked into the club.
"Who's winning?" asked Jimmy, climbing over the bar and helping himself to a drink.
"This motherless fuck here," snapped Sergio as he pointed to Vinny.
"Is it my fault you can't play cards for shit?" asked Vinny. The table burst into laughter.
"Yeah laugh it up you prick," groaned Sergio as he threw his cards down. Jimmy laughed as he took his drink to the back. Jimmy's younger brother Jackie, who served as Jimmy's right hand man, was counting some money with Sonny.
"Hey, Jack. How's tomorrow's game looking?" asked Jimmy. Jack looked up from what was he doing.
"If Jake kicks ass like he's been doing then we got some serious cash coming towards us. This was a smart move to make. Betting on a junior football game," explained Jackie.
"Hey, if the stakes are high enough then we're talking some serious betting," added Jimmy.
"Hear what Mikey did?" asked Sonny.
"Besides being an asshole and betting against the Lions?" asked Jimmy.
"Son of a bitch stole money from Vinny's crew," explained Sonny. Jimmy paused for a moment. How could that have gotten past him?
"When did this happen?" asked Jimmy.
"Just today. I didn't tell Vinny about it because I knew he'd have Mikey's balls in a vice in no time," replied Sonny. Jimmy threw his glass and the bottle of whiskey he had taken against the wall.
"That piece of shit. Oh he's so dead. How much did he take?" exclaimed Jimmy.
"25,000," answered Jackie.
"And he thought he could get away with this how?" asked Jimmy.
"He didn't know I was watching him," replied Sonny.
"OK. Tell Vinny that this happened. Tell him to hang for a second and let me run this by Tony," ordered Jimmy. Sonny and Jackie nodded as Jimmy went into the private office that was used by either Jimmy or Tony. Why did he let shit like this happen?
…………..
The following day, all the Bakers are at the stadium for the Championship game. Jake is nervous.
Sarah was allowed to go as long as she doesn't complain about being
grounded anymore.
Jake takes a deep breathe and sighs. He looks into the stands which is
packed. He sees at least eight hundred people there. He puts his helmet
on and goes to take the field. His team won the coin toss and they
decided to recieve.
Jake calls the play. WR Zinger Post. The offensiveline men get set Jake
takes his place behind the center to take the snap. He looks at the
linebackers who are much bigger then Jake and weight more then he does. This was going to be tough. Jake calls hike. The ball slips out of his hand. The defense recovers the
fumble. The first quarter doesn't go well for Jake. He has a fumble,
and two interceptions.
In the stands…
"What's wrong with Jake?" Mike asked Charlie.
"He's nervous." Charlie explained.
"Why?" Mike then asked him in the annoying, little kid way, where they ask you why after everything.
"Because that defense is much larger then him and weigh more then him. Because he looks like a shrimp compared to them, and he's making the team look bad and—"
Sarah started.
"Sarah!" Kate snapped angrily, "You know Jake's not even tat certain he likes football, so keep his confidence up!"
"He can't hear me!" Sarah retorted.
"Sarah!" Tom said sternly, and she sighed.
"Sorry. Get it Mike?"
"Uh huh." Mike replied.
The second quarter starts off with The Chicago Tigers up 14-0. The
Evaston Lions are hoping Jake gets his shit together.
"Jake, you need to focus." Tom told him.
"I'm trying!" Jake replied, exasperated, "It's not easy, they're like ten feel tall!"
"Don't let The Bears get into your head." Tom then told him, "Just focus on the ball."
Jake nods in agreement and goes onto the field, not sending even one glance back to his father.
Jake calls the play. Playaction Dig Dag. When the ball is hiked Jake
takes a monster hit. When he gets up he holds his side. And shakes the
cobwebs out of his head. When he gets to the sidelines for the next play
Tom is worried about him.
"You okay Jake?" Tom asked him.
Jake nods his head, gritting his teeth. "Just a rough hit, that's all."
Jake calls the next play and takes another big hit. This time it takes
him a little longer to get up.
"Jake doesn't look so good." Sarah said to Mike.
"Maybe he's sick." Mike said to her.
"Or maybe he's hurt and doesn't want to come out of the game." Sarah
rolled her eyes. "He's trying to be macho and grin and bear it. Not smart."
"If he's hurt he shouldn't be playing." Mike cocked his head to one side and watched his brother on the field.
On the next play Jake throws another interception and the Bears run it
in for another touchdown and it's now 21-0. It's now halftime. In the Lions locker room Tom is sitting next to Jake. Jake has his head
in his hands.
"You okay Jake?" Tom asked him, crouching down so they were face to face.
"I'm fine." Jake told him, but Tom didn't believe him.
"Jake, I'll talk to the coach and have you sit the bench." Tom said to
him.
"No, I'm fine." Jake snapped at him, sucking in his breath in an effort to lessen the pain. "It's no big deal, I'm not a baby. I can handle it."
Tom walks away from Jake, shaking his head at his son's stubbornness. The Lions come out of the locker room. The Lions kickoff to the Bears. The Bears go three and out. Jake takes the field. He calls the play. Tango Ranger Zig Zag. He throws a sixty yard touchdown pass. After he throws the ball he grabs his stomach because he's in pain, but quickly straightens up in an effort to hide it.
The score is now 21-7. The Bears throw an interception and the Lions get the ball back. The Lions have to settle for a fieldgoal. It's now 21-10. It's the end of the third quarter. The Lions get the ball back after a Bear fumble. Jake drives his team down the field and runs it himself. The score is now 21-17.
The Bears offense can't do anything since that interception at the end of the first half until two minutes left in the game. The Bears are driving and on a 3 down with 5 yards to go they gain twenty yards but, they get called for offensive holding. It's now 3 down and 15 yards to go. Holding is a ten yard penalty.
The Bears try for a pass but, it's deflected. The Bears must now punt. The Lions are pinned on their own one yard line and have
Ninety-nine yards to go and they have one minute to do all that. Jake drives his
team to the Bears thirty yard line with seven seconds left. The end zone
is only thirty yards away. Jake gets the ball and drops back. It's a
blitz and Jake has to chuck the ball. He chucks it as he's getting hit.
The opposing players helmet goes into his stomach as they hit the
ground.
Jake is now in blinding pain holding his stomach. He had to bite on his shirt sleeve to stop himself from screaming. Stupid, stupid, stupid… he thinks in agony as he lays unmoving. The pain was almost unbearable, and he had to force away the tears. No way could he get up now.
The pass is caught. The Lions win 24-21.
The crowd is celebrating. Tom notices that Jake hasn't got up yet. Now,
Kate notices this and runs on the field. Charlie and Nora have to keep
the younger Bakers in the stands.
Tom rushes to Jake's side.
"Jake!" Tom yelled.
"Dad, my stomach hurts really bad." Jake cried with tears in his eyes. "Don't touch it!" he snapped when his father made a move to touch his stomach.
"Can you stand?" Tom asked him, his expression now not that of a proud, happy father of a football player, but the worried, scared face of a Dad.
"No, it hurts." Jake told him. "Dad, it hurts really bad. Make it stop…"
Tom helps Jake up. Jake takes his helmet off and his mouth piece out of
his mouth and coughs up blood. He falls to his knees and clutches his stomach.
"You're going to the hospital." Tom said to him. "This is serious."
Kate is now on the field next to Jake.
"You okay, Sweetie?" Kate asked him.
"Mom, I can't even stand." Jake cried, "What's…what's wrong with me?"
"Let's get him to the hospital." Kate said to Tom.
"I was thinking the same thing." Tom said as he scooped up Jake and put
him in the backseat of the minivan. Jake is moaning in pain and barely conscious of what was going on.
Sarah, Mike, Charlie, Henry Nigel and Kyle are in the minivan with
Jake. Sarah and Mike try to offer words of comfort, but Jake doesn't respond. He's just clutching his stomach with his eyes shut tight.
Sarah told Jake he should take his shoulder pads off, and helps him take them off. With his jersey on without the shoulder pads, Mike thinks Jake looks really small, like a little boy in pain, and he thinks about what Sarah said earlier.
He can tell Sarah is thinking the same and regretting it.
Kate is driving her own car with Kim, Jessica, Lorraine and Mark. Nora and her boyfriend Donald are right behind them.
They check Jake into the hospital. Jake wouldn't let anyone touch his stomach, but they eventually got an x-ray done. By now, Jake keeps angrily wiping away his tears, mad at himself for being such a baby. But it hurt so much!
After examining the survey, the doctors, including the main surgeon Dr. Gordon, told the Bakers that Jake had a ruptured spleen and it had to be removed immediately. Jake listens with wide eyes, and Kate looks at her son in sympathy.
"What?" Jake said shrilly, his voice cracking. "Surgery? No!"
"Jake, you have to!" Kate says soothingly, putting a comforting hand on Jake's shoulder. "It's necessary, or you're going to be in a lot more pain."
"No…Mom, I can't! I don't want to Mom…please don't make me…" Jake begged, still clutching his stomach.
This was one of the worst things Kate had to deal with. Her son was begging her to not make him go, and she had to make him. It was a hard thing to do. "Jake, the pain will go away!"
"But…Mom…I can't…" Jake stuttered, searching for an explanation. Then he totally forgot the surgery thing, moving on to something bigger. He looked up at the doctor, his puppy-god brown eyes clouded with pain. "Am I going to die?" he asked, "I mean, die from this? What is a ruptured spleen?"
"Jake, you need to go into surgery, that's all I can say." The doctor replied.
Jake stared down at his shoes and nodded, slowly. "Okay." He muttered.
They prep Jake for surgery and take him to the OR. Kate waves goodbye, and he waves back before disappearing into the swinging doors to the OR.
"Mom, is Jake going to be okay?" Sarah asked Kate, her voice full of concern for her little brother.
"He'll be fine." Kate said to her, not sure even if this was true.
Tom walks over to Kate and takes her aside, gently.
"The surgery is going to be pricy." Tom told her, glancing over to the kids to make sure they hadn't heard. "Health Insurance won't cover all of it.
"We can't afford it," Kate said to him, her face turning pale. "Tom, what are we going to do?"
"We'll need a little help." Tom said to her reassuringly, "But don't worry."
"I'll call my parents." Kate replied immediately, hoping her parents could help.
"I'll see what I can scrounge up at home," assured Tom. "We need to remain positive." He had no idea that soon his back would be to the wall and he would a decision that would change the Bakers lives forever.