Hard & Deep: A Football Romance

The second snow storm that week was coming in fast as Elsie drove down the county road, away from Oliver's house. The lights of her small town hovered in the distance, but were barely visible through the weather.

Warm weather can't come soon enough, she thought. I'm tired of storm after storm. I'd hoped the one last week was the end, but they just keep coming.

It was the end of March but there still hadn't been any real signs of spring yet. The days were getting longer, but even so, it was already almost dark out and only dinner time. She couldn't wait until summer, when the sun didn't go down until nine o'clock and she could sleep with her bedroom window open.

But the thought of the changing seasons was a double-edged sword for Elsie. Because despite all of the things she loved about spring and summer, the passing of winter also meant that her time with Oliver was quickly running out. It wouldn't be long before he'd be recovered and moving back to California. She was really enjoying the physical therapy sessions with him and wasn't looking forward to their end. She didn't want to go back to the same old patients and non-sports related injuries. She wanted to work with Ollie forever.

When she got to the end of the county road, she slid to a halt at the stop sign. Then she turned right, pointing her car down the main street that ran through the center of town. It only took a few minutes of driving before she pulled up to a small building, which sat lonely at the end of the block. It's dark cedar siding looked white, as drifts of snow piled up all around it. Elsie parked the car in the back and then made her way inside.

The building, which Elsie considered both her home and office, was owned by her uncle. On the bottom floor was the physical therapy clinic that she ran. The upper floor had a small apartment, which her uncle allowed her to live in rent-free. It was a decent place, but very small. In fact, it was smaller than the apartment that she'd lived in during college. But it was a place to stay and it was nice being so close to her clinic. The commute time of thirty seconds was something that never got old.

Grumbling about the cold and dark, Elsie made her way upstairs and into her apartment. She threw her keys into a bowl by the front door, before hanging up her coat. Even though her place was small, she'd made a distinct effort to make it a space where she enjoyed spending time. She'd repainted the kitchen from plain white to a cheery yellow and the living room to a soothing beige. She'd even updated the tile in the bathroom, changing it from the 1940's pink into a more respectable classy gray. All in all, she was happy with the place, but did look forward to a time when she could afford a full-sized house of her own.

She let out a yawn as she kicked off her shoes and made her way into the living room. As soon as she approached the couch, she plopped down on it, letting the overstuffed cushions pull her in.

I'm beat, she thought. I could fall asleep right here if I'm not careful.

Even though Ollie was her only real patient for the moment, she still had a lot on her plate. She still had to run the clinic, and keep her regular patients taken care off. It definitely meant extra hours and some odd work days, but it was working out okay. Still, she felt like she was juggling a lot and hardly had any time to just relax. Now that she was seated in a comfortable position, relaxing suddenly felt like it was going to happen whether she liked it or not.

As she kicked her feet up on the coffee table, she thought about everything that had brought her to that point in life. From the time she was young, it was like her future had been written. Her Uncle Frank had been a physical therapist for his entire career. All throughout high school, Elsie had spent all of her afternoons at his office, just watching him treat the locals.

She loved everything about it. It seemed like magic to her. A patient would walk in holding their lower back in pain and then after a few sessions with Frank, it was like they were a different person. They were no longer in pain and could walk upright without any problem. He was a magician and she wanted to be just like him.

So when high school was over and college came around, the choice of which direction to go was simple. She decided to become a physical therapist just like her uncle. She went to a school about a hundred miles away from home, where she earned her degree in sports medicine before getting accepted into grad school for physical therap

y. She'd worked her butt off in DPT school, but loved every minute of it.

After graduation, she'd been accepted into an amazing sports therapy residency. Two years flew by as she absorbed everything like a sponge. She got to work with professional and collegiate level athletes, some with very acute injuries. Elsie had landed her dream job.

But that all changed a few months later when Elsie's Aunt June passed away. Her aunt, Frank's wife, had been both the receptionist and assistant for his PT practice in Iowa. With June gone, Frank just couldn't run the place like he used to. Plus, he became deeply depressed about the loss of his wife. He didn't seem to care as much about doing physical therapy any more.

It was at his wife's funeral where he basically gave the practice to Elsie. He told her that he didn't want it any more, that it was something he and June had built together. There were too many memories there and it hurt him to be in the office. He said he wanted Elsie to have it, because he thought that she'd be able to take care of it the way June would want.

The offer had put Elsie at a crossroads. She was working the job of her dreams, but the clinic was where she grew up and it belonged to her family. In the end, she decided to move back home and take over Frank's practice. It seemed like the right move, especially since it helped her family. Her family meant more to her than any job. Plus, there were some big perks about moving back home. Her new patients were all her friends and she got the chance to help the community that she'd grown up with. Nobody stepped into her clinic whose first name she didn't already know. It made her feel like she was really part of something important.

However, working with aging farmers and the elderly was quite a bit different than working with the high-end athletes that she was used to. It took a lot more patience and a much gentler touch. It wasn't necessarily better or worse, just a different kind of work.

When she started working with Ollie, she was quickly reminded of the kind of physical therapy that she was truly passionate about. The need to get him up to peak physical condition inspired and motivated her. Working with Oliver made her feel almost like she'd landed her dream job once again.

“Oh, Oliver,” she whispered, clicking on the TV. “What am I going to do about you?”

Just thinking about him put a smile on her face. It always did. She got excited on every one of her drives over to the farm house, knowing that she was going to get to spend a couple of hours with him. And each session just seemed to be even better than the one before. They could talk about anything it seemed. She loved chatting with him about his brother and mom and she enjoyed telling him all about her niece and nephews.

She chuckled at one of the stories he'd shared with her that day. He'd said that his favorite memory as a kid was going to the fair with his little brother. His mom had given them enough money to buy the ride pass, which gave them unlimited access to every single ride in the park for the entire day. Apparently, Oliver and Michael had made it their mission to get the most value for their money. They rode every ride at least four times and only stopped when they both puked.

The TV in front of her was showing some game show. She wasn't really watching it, but it was good background noise. When the show ended and the news came on, she decided it was a good time to muster up some motivation and make some food. She hadn't eaten much all day and was starving. The first thing that came to mind was a frozen pot pie that was in the back of her freezer. It was easy, quick and would satisfy the craving for something that at least gave the illusion of “healthy”.

She peeled herself off of the couch and went to the kitchen, ready to indulge. But for some reason, as soon as she picked up the pot pie, she thought of Ollie.

Ollie wouldn't eat something like this, she thought. No way. He's always talking about sticking to his diet. I know he's serious about it, too. His perfect physique doesn't lie.

“Screw it,” she said, opening the box and tossing the pot pie into the microwave. She was hungry.

Elsie realized that she should be more careful about what she ate. She always lectured her patients about eating healthy and here she was, about to stuff her face with what might as well have been a bowl full of sodium. She really didn't want to be a hypocrite, but also really didn't want to cook anything more complicated than a five-minute microwave nuke. So frozen pot pie it was.

Oliver would probably give me a hard time if he knew what I was about to eat, she thought, with a smirk. He'd probably make the frowny face that he makes whenever I tell him to do ten more reps.

The frowny face of Oliver's was different than his concentration face. And was also different than his happy face, which was the one that Elsie liked best. That was the one he expressed whenever he talked about his younger brother.