“My two are older. My boy is a junior in high school, and my daughter goes to USC. She’s a freshman. When they became teens, they didn’t want much to do with me anymore. Enjoy it while you can,” Coach Farrow advised.
David took them to the kitchen, where two women were cooking.
“Mom, Rosy, meet Coach Farrow.”
“Carol Dawson,” David’s mom said to introduce herself. The coach could see where David got his good looks. “Rob should be here shortly. I sent him out to pick up some wine.”
“Get out of there,” Rosy chastised David when he stuck his head in the oven to discover what smelled so good.
“Oh, man, she’s outdone herself tonight-both red and green enchiladas. Rosy is the best cook ... besides my mom,” David announced.
Coach Farrow gave him points for the save. The kid had already learned what took him five years of marriage to discover: never compare women to each other.
“Are the adults eating on the roof deck?” David asked.
“Yes. We’ll feed the horde down here,” Carol said. Turning to Coach Farrow, she asked, “Would you like a beer with dinner?”
“I’ll wait for the wine,” Coach Farrow said.
“We’ll go up and get everything set up,” David said.
Coach Farrow followed him up to the roof and was instantly jealous. He could never bring his wife here because she would insist they remove their roof and install something like this. It had great views of both the hills and the ocean and was set up for adult entertaining, complete with an outdoor kitchen, wine fridge, and fireplace. The topper was the ten-person hot tub. The space took full advantage of what drew people to live here, namely the weather.
David grabbed some cleaning supplies so he could wipe down the chairs and a substantial redwood table. The table was cut out of a solid piece of wood; you could tell by the live edges. While David did that, Coach Farrow followed behind, setting the table for eight. It looked like he was going to meet more than just David’s parents tonight.
They’d just gotten done when people began to come upstairs. Coach Farrow was introduced to Ashley and Scarlet, the mothers of three of his children: Allen, Dawson, and Carol. Peggy was the slender redhead, Dave’s mother. David’s parents, Rob and Carol, were the last to join them.
Coach Farrow sat back and watched their interaction throughout dinner. He came away with the conclusion that they’d built a stable family environment. He could tell that Rob and Carol were principally responsible for making everyone feel at home.
After dinner, the girls cleaned up, leaving David and his parents to talk to the coach.
“There has to be something that’s come up. I’m curious why they sent you,” David said.
Coach Farrow was at first taken aback that David had figured it out. He was also impressed with David’s natural confidence in taking the lead in the discussion. Usually, when a family sensed something wasn’t right, one of the parents stepped in to deal with it. It was refreshing to see someone David’s age take charge and do it in a way that wasn’t overbearing or immature.
“Remember when you came for your recruiting trip, and Coach Clayton talked to you about his quarterback philosophy?” Coach Farrow asked and waited until David nodded. “He wants you to know that Matt is penciled in at QB1. We aren’t going to offer you a scholarship to play ball at USC to be a quarterback.”
Coach Farrow waited for the blowup he knew was coming. Instead, the three Dawsons just stared at him. It was the most unnerving experience he could remember. Before the coach knew what he was doing, he began to babble everything.
“While Coach Clayton doesn’t want to create a quarterback controversy-which would surely happen if you were recruited as a quarterback-I want you to play defense. I can see you playing multiple positions, based on the situation. With your size and speed, you’ll be a difference-maker. I personally think you may have as much potential impact on my side of the ball as you would at quarterback.
“But I have one problem. I used all my scholarships for defense in the early signing period. You would have to be a preferred walk-on at first. We can get you through the admission process via the athletic department and get you placed in the athletic dorms without a problem. You would just have to wait until a scholarship freed up to get your schooling, room, and board paid for,” the coach ended in a flourish.
Coach Farrow felt like a complete ass after he’d said all that in a rush. He held his breath to see what the response would be.
“What about the waiver?” Rob asked.
“Sorry, I forgot about that. I confirmed that we are on board, and David wouldn’t have any issue with that.”
“Would there be any problem with David playing baseball?” Carol asked.
Coach Farrow rubbed his forehead before answering. While he would prefer that David focus entirely on football, there was no way he could see to prevent his playing baseball, under the circumstances.
“No, that would be fine. I can even talk to the baseball people, if you want.”
Finally, David weighed in.
“Would I be required to attend preseason training as a preferred walk-on?”
“Technically, ‘no’...”
“Would I have to live in the athletic dorms? Could I live elsewhere?” David asked.
Now Coach Farrow was confused. Why would David not want to work out and live with the team?
“If you wanted, but we want freshmen to live in the dorms,” Coach Farrow answered.
“Technically, David will be a sophomore. He took enough advanced placement classes in high school to bypass his freshman year. He plans to get his undergraduate degree in two and a half years,” Carol said.
“I’m seriously considering pursuing the five-year BA/MBA program USC offers,” David added.
Coach Farrow suddenly felt he’d not been prepared for this meeting. He should have known that.
“I think living in the dorms would be good for David. It helps young men get acclimated to college life since this is their first time away from home,” the coach said.
“You may not realize I’ve been living away from home for the past seven months while I filmed my movies. So, I’m not particularly worried about living away from home. I’m going to college with a purpose; I’m not going to party 24/7,” David said.
“Well, I’d have to see about you living off campus,” Coach Farrow hedged.
“I’m fine with living on campus, but I have a specific request. I want to live in Sandoval Hall, and I want to room with Alejandro Sandoval,” David said.
“I ... uh ... I ... uh...” Coach Farrow stammered before he gathered his thoughts. “I’m not sure I can get you into Sandoval Hall, let alone be Alejandro’s roommate. There’s a waiting list to get in, and most have to demonstrate a need...”
Then he got it. Sandoval Hall was a new dormitory that had formerly housed medical offices. Umberto Sandoval had wanted a high-security residence hall to house his two children. The building had been miraculously transformed over last summer so that it was ready for the fall. It was called ‘The Palace’ around campus because it housed high-profile students, and the accommodations were equivalent to what you would find in an exclusive condominium.
It had instantly filled up with students whose families had either connections or money. It was also the only residence hall where you had to pay a premium over the standard rate for campus housing. The extra money went for security, amenities, and the like. He’d heard rumors about how great the food was.
“Never mind. I get why you would want to live there,” Coach Farrow finished.
“It’s part of the deal I had to make with my parents. It was either live there or have a security guy follow me around. I want to go to school and be just a normal student. You met Manaia; he kind of stands out,” David said, referring to the Polynesian man Coach Farrow met when he arrived.