The Conspiracy--Part I: The Meeting

Danielle was impatiently waiting for her children to get in the house after the 3:30 daily deposit by the school bus.

"Hurry up and get in here!  We need to talk"

Without taking off his coat, Nate headed to the garage and grabbed his basketball.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to play basketball", Nate said as he started dribbling in the kitchen.

Danielle grabbed the ball.  "Don't give me another reason to want to put you up for adoption.  I already have plenty.  I told you before school that we had to have a family meeting after school while your Dad was still at work."

"Is this the NCAA thing again?"

Izzy sat at the table and put her feet up with her hands behind her head.  "Yep.  It's intervention time.  After almost ten years, I can't take it anymore."

Nate was intrigued.  "You can't take what?  You don't even make your own picks and six of the past ten years you thought March Madness was a spring disease.  At least I have won money in the pool with my own picks."

"I have been around enough to know that he has been obsessed with this pool, he rips Mom in almost every email and blog post and he has been using our names, forwards and backwards, to advance his cause in that stupid blog.  It's identity theft!  If nothing else, it's at least a copyright infringement!"

"Since when did you become a lawyer?  You can't even add numbers without your fingers..."

"Enough!"  Danielle was not amused.  "This is why I have to keep reminding myself that child endangerment is a crime.  Focus.  This isn't about you two--it's about your father.  Every year it is the same thing and this year is worse than others.  Have you not noticed how obsessed he has already become this year with the pool?  He hasn't moved from the television set since the conference championships started.  He was yelling at the end of the Summit League championship.  It was between South Dakota State and Omaha!"

Nate had a knowing look.  "Now that you mention it, he did ask me yesterday if I would create a picking model in Excel for him based on my 6th place finish two years ago.  The request didn't seem odd at the time, I mean, with my superior intellect and all."  Both ladies frowned--angrily

Nate motioned with his hands "Calm down.  Ok, maybe it was a little far-fetched to ask a 7-year old that question."

Izzy piped up.  "Yesterday, I asked him to help me with an answer on my math homework and he said 'Villanova'.  When I asked him how he got his answer and what it meant, he said "Dean Smith".

"Dean Smith?", Nate asked.

"Dean Smith, the coach of North Carolina," Danielle explained to quizzical looks from the children, "He is who Roy Williams was before he changed his name to Roy Williams".

"Ohhhhhh"

Nate had a suggestion.  "Maybe if we stop the Vegas trip?"

Danielle shook her head vigorously.  "No.  No way.  Those five days are bliss around here without him around.  We need to find some way to curb the obsession without sacrificing my five days of Zen."

"There is only one possible option," Izzy said, "but it comes with a price."

"I'm desperate" Danielle said.  "At this point, I'll do anything".

Izzy smiled.  "Then it's settled.  We need to go see the only individual who has ever been an equal foil to Dad.  We need to go see...The Furry One."

TO BE CONTINUED