Lenny

Lenny took another swipe of his mop on the speckled off-white hallway floor. Dirty shoeprints adorned the floor, courtesy of Louisiana's rainy weather and the boy's football team. In the distance, he could hear the boys jostling each other and their rambunctious chatter. He remembered when he was at that age, he was a wide receiver on his own high school's football team. He enjoyed the thrill of running as fast as he could to catch the ball from the quarterback, and then running routes past the defense. He could almost hear the rush of the wind whistling through his ears when he ran, and the smell of fresh cut grass. The cheerleaders at a distance, practicing their cheers for the upcoming game that week. He had a crush on Lucy, the pretty one with hair black as coal. She'd always bat her long lashes up at Lenny whenever they passed each other in the hallway, or during game practice. He had wanted to ask her out to prom.

That day, when he returned home, he was met with loud shouts. His parents were fighting again. It had been a couple of months like this, ever since his dad had been laid off from his job. The auto industry was changing, people demanded better quality and safer vehicles. The plant had to cut down on cost, so his dad was one of the 150 people let go.

"You just sit on your damn ass all day, doing nothing!" his mom wailed.

"You better take that back. I do all I can to support this family," his father replied.

"Then go get a job!"

His father had crossed the living room, and slapped her clean across her face. Silence. Francis turned on her heel, clutching her cheek, and ran up the stairs. His father hung his head, shaking it.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, son. I promise I'll do better."

But he didn't. He had used what money he had left to go drinking out almost every night. One night, his mom was working late at the diner. Lenny came home from football practice, not expecting anyone at home. But as he neared the bottom of the staircase, he heard moans and some quiet laughter. He had run up the stairs as fast as he could, slammed his parent's bedroom door opened, and in his parent's bed, lain his father and some woman he didn't know. Lenny saw red.

He grabbed his father out of his bed, and threw a punch to his jaw. His father pushed Lenny towards the door, and they wrestled each other. Before they knew it, his father shoved him so hard that Lenny came tumbling the stairs. He had twisted and gotten a hairline fracture in his right leg during the fall. Since then, he hadn't been able to walk or run the same. He took a breath in, laced with bitterness, as he remembered that he had to leave the football team, one of the few things in his life that grounded him. He became their waterboy, but only for a short while, because he couldn't stand watching his former teammates play while he couldn't. So he left.

"Hey Lenster! Did you see Kevin throw today! It was totally awesome," said Jarrod, a running back, as he walked down the hallway.

Lenny sometimes watched the team practiced when there wasn't something to fix or clean, and helped with replenishing their water and Gatorade coolers. He liked the camaraderie of the sport, players working together to push past the defense. It was exciting to see how the plays were executed. An explosive battleplan in action.

"Sure thing! Coach has been really working him," replied Lenny.

"Yea, all of us. The game on Sunday has got us pumped. You're gonna be there, right?"

Lenny hadn't missed Crawford High's games since he started working at the school as their full-time caretaker. It had been twenty-two years he had been working at the high school, after the cleaner job at Roy’s Accounting Firm. He liked being on his feet, working with his hands.

"Course I'll be there, you know it," Lenny said firmly.

"Great, see you tomorrow!"

Lenny grinned and watched as he and some of his other teammates caught up to him. He started to feel some pain in his chest, but he thought nothing of it. Sometimes it happened when he had takeout, but he'd down some Pepto, and in an hour, he'd usually be fine. He sat down by the wall, hand gripping his chest. Sweat dripped down from his temples, and it became harder to breathe.

And then darkness.

-------------------

Beep. Beep. The steady heart monitor cut through the stark silence of the room.

Lenny stirred, opening his eyes slowly. To his right, Coach Sam was sitting in a black simple chair. He stood up when he realized that Lenny was awake.

"Len," Coach Sam started off softly, "how ya feelin'?"

Lenny swallowed and eventually he was able to form words. It felt like wading through molasses.

"Could be better, 'suppose."

Coach nodded, and said, "Doctor said you had a heart attack. Glad the boys found you and got me. Gave us quite a scare, you did."

He cleared his throat and continued, "Len, you're a great support to the team. Thanks for showing up to every one of our games and for helpin' us out. We're truly grateful."

His eyes were glistening with unshed tears. Lenny was touched, he gave a little smile.

"Seeing the team play is what keeps me going. I'm grateful I'm still here to see more."

Coach nodded again, and said, "Well, I'm going to leave you here to rest. You take care, hear?"

He left the room, and the heart monitor was deafening again. Counting how many beats he had left till he faded away, just a whisper of a soul on Earth.

-------------------

He woke up to hear rustling of jackets and shoes squeaking. In a flash, Jarrod, Kevin, and a few of the other boys on the team flooded into the room, and the chill that was in the hospital air was instantly warmed.

“Heyo Lenny! Our man. We’re glad you’re awake. Thought you’d be hungry,” Jarrod called out.

Kevin gingerly handed over a foiled wrapped paper plate towards Lenny, and when he lifted the foil off, he saw there were some breakfast sausages, pancakes, and two sunny side up eggs on the plate. His mouth watered.

“Oh! And the doctor said coffee was okay.” Richard, linebacker on the team, passed along a small Dunkin Donuts coffee cup. It smelled wonderful to Lenny.

“Thanks, everyone. You better best get back to school. Keep your grades up.”

“Yea, yea, we know. Just wanted to make sure you’re okay. You’re our best supporter out there, Lenster. Oh, and this is for you.”

Jarrod gave him a store bought card that read “Get well soon” and a smiling turtle on the front.

“Thanks again. Alright, go before I get up and make you,” Lenny threatened playfully.

The boys shuffled out of the room after their goodbyes and well wishes. After a moment, Lenny opened the card. It read,

“Dear Lenny,

What you do for us, we appreciate it all on the team. Your cheers help us through each game, and every time you refill our coolers during practice. Also, thanks for fixing the lights in the changeroom and keeping the showers clean. You’re truly a part of the team. We hope you recover speedily and we’ll see you out on the field.

Regards,

Coach Sam and the Crawford High Football Team.”

Surrounding the message, there were signatures from everyone on the team. Lenny’s eyes welled up, and his heart swelled. He didn’t have any children; the team was the closest he had to family. He didn’t keep in touch with his father, who was in a senior’s home, and his mother had passed away fifteen years ago. He blamed his father for his mother’s death, she worked too much and stressed constantly about being able to pay the bills. When Lenny was done high school, he went straight to work as a cleaner for the business office to help his mom out. It was a lonely job, most of the people at the firm were so busy and hardly noticed Lenny. So when there was a caretaker opening at the school, he had applied. And now, he finally felt gratitude and warmth from those who appreciated him. He took a breath in, smelling the savouriness of the sausages and eggs, and dug in.