Catching Up Chapter Two: Resolution

Roland discovers that Carl might not be the friend he needs right now.

Carl’s boat was huge when he mentioned we would go out on a boat. I thought it would be a small runaround boat. He should have said he had a small yacht, not a boat. It even had a small bedroom.

“Impressed?” Carl asked as we got cruising out on the open ocean.

“Yeah,” I said, unable to hide my thoughts. “You’ve done well for yourself.”

“Yeah,” Carl grinned.

While he was teaching me how to steer and navigate, Alicia was at the front of the boat, lying out sunbathing. Her blue bikini drew the attention of every male we had passed, even some of the women.

Carl knew where we could mingle with others, and we sped off. Others meant a few people to me, but when we turned a corner off the coast, there was a private cove filled with other boats, yachts, and even what looked like a floating bus. Carl laughed at me as he saw my eyes go wide.

“See what money gets you?” Carl smiled as we slowed to a crawl.

The music was loud, and people were dancing on their boats. Small plastic floating beds and rafts were everywhere.

“Carl!” a man shouted from one of the other boats.

“Dennis!” Carl shouted back.

Others shouted and called for Carl to pull up to them.

“He sure is the life of the party,” I said as I sat beside Alicia, who seemed unimpressed.

“He shows up, they talk, that’s it,” Alicia shrugged. “They never call or talk to him unless he shows up.”

It seemed Carl was the same as he was in college. He knew where the parties were, even if he wasn’t invited. People always knew him when he did, but that’s where it ended.

“Fun, huh?” Carl approached with a drink in his hand.

“Where did you get that?” I asked, looking around.

“Come, I will show you,” Alicia smiled as she got up.

I walked behind her as we stepped off our yacht onto another, then another. It was like a floating maze of boats roped to each other.

Finally, we got to one with a large bar. It was also where the music came from, as there was a D.J. behind a bank of tables. I could barely hear myself think, let alone order anything.

As we walked back, people smiled and wanted to dance with Alicia. She was also well known. She kept introducing me.

“Hey,” a man said as we got to another boat. “You’re Rod Griffin!”

“Yeah,” I replied with a slight smile.

“Dude, that game against Clemson,” the man said with a smile. “You used to do those one hand catches before they got popular.”

“Right!” I said with a bit more enthusiasm than I thought was possible. “And we didn’t have the gloves like they do now.”

“Exactly,” the man said.

“Hey, Jackson,” the man said, calling another over.

He introduced me, and again, we talked about the old days of college football. It was good to talk to people who understood where I came from. Then, the subject turned to what I was doing now.

“No way,” the first man said. His name was Derek.

“Dude, if you’re ever looking for a job out here, I can definitely hook you up,” Jackson said. “We do motivational speeches for young athletes, and you would be a hit. Young people would listen to someone that’s been there in the trenches.”

He handed me a card, and I walked back with Alicia. Carl was still there talking to some young women and a few guys.

“You’re back!” he yelled.

“Yeah,” Alicia said as she looked at him. “Rod was a big hit, it was hard to get back.”

“Oh yeah?” Carl asked.

“Yeah, Jackson offered him a job,” Alicia smiled as she walked past him.

“Jackson, huh?” Carl asked as he looked at me. There was a bit of anger on his face for the first time since I was out here.

“Yeah, Derek was the one that noticed him,” Alicia said as she lay on the deck and lowered her sunglasses.

“Derek and Jackson,” Carl stopped smiling as he stared at me.

“Yeah, no big deal,” I shrugged as the others walked away.

“Derek’s one of the scouts for the University,” Carl said.

“University of South California,” Alicia added.

“The Trojans?” I said, nearly spitting my beer.

“And not just a scout, one of the top scouts,” Alicia said, emphasizing the word as she looked at me. “People usually listen when he speaks.”

“Holy shit!” I said, looking back at the maze of boats.

“But, no big deal, right?” Carl said as he shrugged and stared at me. “I’ve only been trying to get Jackson to let me on his podcast for three fucking years now!”