Playing the Game

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Authors: Stephanie Queen
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you mind my asking if Barry mentioned Roxanne when you spoke with him?” She had a worried look, he thought.
    “Who the hell is Roxanne? Oh, sorry. I have to learn to watch my language.” He felt embarrassed, and more than a little puzzled.
    “No problem. I guess that answers my question.” She left it at that and walked away.
    Barry Dennis simply did not oversleep for an important event, Dave thought. He didn’t even oversleep for unimportant things, much less this. Dave stood in the lobby holding his cell phone, debating whether to call again. It was ten thirty now.
    “You are trying to hide something—I’ll bet he’s been injured and you’re trying to keep it hushed up until you know if he’ll be playing. What about it, Dave? How serious is the injury?” the reporter from the Boston Globe , Kevin Moroni, asked
    “No. I’m serious. He really did oversleep, Kevin. Why would I lie about something as embarrassing as that?” They walked out to where the team’s coach was standing, in a corner of the clubhouse where refreshments were being served until the event would officially begin.
    They joined the coach and he looked worried. “Dave, it’s all right. Tell us what happened to Barry. You can keep it off the record, can’t you, Kevin? Besides, it can’t be anything too serious or I would have heard about it,” Coach John Benson assured the reporter.
    “Look, Coach, he should be here soon—at least that’s what he told me. Let him explain it to you. All I know is what he told me.” Dave shoved his hands through his mop of hair and turned away in exasperation. He was starting to have his own doubts. He assumed that Barry was still in bed with a woman named Roxanne after Laura Howard’s question, but Barry hadn’t said so. His assumption was based on Barry being a normal red-blooded male—not that he wasn’t—but sometimes Barry seemed to be more superhuman than most. Barry rarely—no never—succumbed to normal human distractions. Nothing ever interfered with his professional life that Dave knew of.
    The crowd of spectators grew as the start time for the tournament approached. The men inside, the paying participants, celebrities from various sports, press people, and Children’s Mercy Hospital representatives alike began murmuring. Dave had the uneasy feeling that they were spreading rumors about Barry Dennis’s mysterious absence. After all, he was the star attraction of the event.
    Finally, Dave spotted Barry’s black Cadillac Eldorado stealthily driving up to the curb like a sleek black alley cat trying to sneak by. Dave rushed out to talk to him before any of the press did, but he was too late. Kevin Moroni got to him first and took him into the pressroom. Coach Benson and Dave followed them into the room arranged with chairs, tables, computers and printers. The door was closed after them.
     
     
    “All right, let’s have it.” Kevin wasted no time. All three looked at Barry expectantly. Barry had no idea what to say to them and looked at Dave for help. Dave merely shrugged his massive shoulders with an apologetic look.
    “Didn’t Dave tell you?” Barry stalled, suddenly finding the situation embarrassing. He looked at his watch and started to rise from the chair they had backed him into. “It’s late already. We better get started…”
    “Not so fast. I’d like to hear it from you.” Kevin was relentless with his pencil poised. Barry looked at them all in disbelief. The coach had his arms crossed expectantly.
    “I overslept. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it now except get out there and get on with it.” He rose again from his chair, and this time he was determined to get out of there.
    “That’s it? You sure you’re not trying to hide anything?” Kevin questioned.
    Barry concentrated a stare at the reporter, wordlessly telling him he was out of line. It was Coach Benson who responded.
    “Now you know better than that, Kevin. If Barry says he

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