Jimmy listened intently. He stared at the papers and looked up at Lou.
“Any other questions?” Lou asked.
“I don‘t think so,” Jimmy replied.
Lou slid a pen across the desk. He looked at Jimmy and smiled.
“This is a good step for you,” Lou said quietly. “I wouldn‘t bullsh*t you. We‘re going to go championship racing together and we‘re going to win.”
Jimmy nodded, and reached for the pen. He found the line above his name on the back page, and the tip of the pen touched the paper.
He signed his name. James R. Wilson.
Jimmy placed the pen on the desk and looked at the paper. Then he slid the agreement back across to Lou.
Lou stuck out his hand.
“Welcome to Indy car racing.”
Jimmy drove home from the meeting in a bit of a daze. He was excited, but also sad. No sprint cars? In the midst of all the excitement and opportunity, that was a punch to the gut. But Jimmy realized that‘s the way it had to be. For now.
His first call was to Renee, who shared his excitement. It was too late to go out to dinner, so Jimmy sat quietly at his kitchen table and ate a baloney sandwich and drank a beer.
He looked at the package of baloney and chuckled. Yes sir, he figured. This is the high life.
As he thought things through, he realized he had a ton of stuff to do. His first priority was to sit down with Sonny Ellison — and Harvey and Slim, too — and break the news to them. Lou mentioned the team sending a press release to announce Jimmy‘s hiring, but Jimmy asked him to wait until Friday to release anything. Jimmy needed time to personally share the news with people like Sonny, as well as close friends like Bobby Mancini and Al Petrov.
Jimmy tried to get in to see Sonny this afternoon, but Sonny‘s secretary said he was attending a business dinner downtown this evening. Maybe tomorrow afternoon would work.
He‘d have to quit his job at the grain elevator, too. But this wouldn‘t be a surprise to his boss, Marv. When Jimmy asked for some time off to do the Indy car tests a couple of weeks ago, Marv laughed and said “I knew this day was coming!” He joked and said he expected Jimmy to line him up with some choice 500 tickets next May.
Jimmy glanced at the clock. He was thinking of calling his folks, but it was getting late. He and his dad had a strained relationship, but the last year or two had been a little better. Jimmy‘s mom was a gem, and he knew she‘d be happy and excited with the news. He‘d have to call them tomorrow.
So many changes! Wow. Jimmy‘s mind was filled with swirling thoughts. He was elated with the opportunity, and extremely proud that a prestigious team like Meteor Foods would hire him to drive their car. At the same time…he began to realize that when you gain something, you lose something, too. It was kind of confusing but he could definitely feel it.
The next day at work felt like he was going through the motions. He told Marv first thing, and Marv asked if Jimmy could stay for the next two weeks. Jimmy agreed; harvest season was upon them, and it would be tough right now for the operation to go short-handed.
He called Sonny‘s office, and was disheartened when the secretary explained that Sonny had been called to a meeting out of town to discuss a big paving job. She made an appointment for Jimmy the next day.
Man! All these delays, and he desperately needed to talk to Sonny!
Late in the afternoon Jimmy got a message that Renee had called. He called her back at the bank, and she asked if they could meet right after work. He said he had already planned on coming over.