Payne nodded. “He lived in Pittsburgh for a year after the Bills cut him. The Steelers signed him and kept him on their injured list for over a season. Our paths crossed on more than one occasion on the b-ball courts. He liked to play hoops for therapy.”
“But that doesn’t mean you know him. I see Steelers and Pirates all of the time, but that doesn’t mean they’re my boys.”
“True, but I know Levon.” He handed Jones the address book and told him to look for a phone number. Jones quickly flipped to the Gs and was stunned when he saw Greene listed.
“Holy shit! You do know him.”
“I told you I knew him. What’s Levon’s home number?”
Jones glanced at the page for the requested information. “You don’t have a home number. You only have a cell listed.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. When he gave me his info, he was just getting ready to move back to New Orleans and didn’t know his new number.”
“He was moving to Louisiana, and he gave you his number? What, were you guys dating or something?”
Payne laughed. “Jealous?”
Jones shook his head and grinned. He’d always been amazed at Payne’s ability to keep his sense of humor in the most tragic of times. Sure, his buddy would have the occasional flare-up and reveal his true emotions during a crisis, but on the whole Payne was able to conceal his most personal feelings under a facade of levity.
Originally, when the two first met, Jones had interpreted Payne’s frivolity as a lack of seriousness, and he actually resented him for it. After a while, though, he learned that Payne’s sense of humor was simply his way of dealing with things. He realized that Payne never mocked the tragedy of a situation. Instead, he tried to use humor as a way of coping with the fear and adrenaline that would otherwise overwhelm him. It was a good trick, and eventually Jones and several other MANIACs learned to do the same thing.
“Seriously, what’s the deal with you two? Have you known him long?”
“I met him in North Park playing basketball. We were on the same team, and the two of us just clicked on the court. He was rehabbing his knee, so he couldn’t move like he used to on the football field. But he was strong as an ox. He set some of the most vicious screens I have ever seen in my life, and most of the time he did it to get me open jumpers.”
Jones laughed at the description of Greene. “It sounds like Levon plays hoops with the same intensity he showed in the NFL.”
“Hell, yeah! Even though we were in the park, he had a serious game face on. In fact, some people were afraid to play against the guy.”
“I bet, but that still doesn’t explain why he gave you his number.”
“We ended up making it a daily thing. We’d meet at the courts at the same time every day, and we’d take on all comers. Kicked some serious ass, too. Unfortunately, right before Steelers camp started, he failed his physical and was released from the team. But he told me if I was ever in New Orleans I should give him a call.”
“Wow, I’m kind of surprised. I thought I knew most of your friends, and now I find out you’ve been keeping a celebrity from me. So, are there any movie star chums that I should know about?”
“Did I ever tell you about my three-way with the Olsen twins?”
Jones laughed at the comment. “What are you going to do about Levon?”
“It’s not what I’m going to do. It’s what you’re going to do.” Payne handed him his cell phone. “I want you to dial his number for me.”
“You want me to call Levon Greene? This is so cool!” Jones dialed the phone, then looked at Payne when it started to ring. “What should I say to him?”
Payne snatched the phone from Jones’s grasp. “Not a damn thing. He’s my friend, not yours.”
“You are such a tease!”
Payne was still laughing when Greene answered the phone. “Who’s this?”
“Levon, I don’t know if you’ll remember me. My name is Jonathon Payne. I used to run ball with you at North Park when you were living up in Pittsburgh.”
“White dude, nice jump shot?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Yo, man, wazzup? I haven’t heard from your ass in a long time. How ya doin’?”
“I’m fine, and you? How’s the knee?”
Greene winced. It was one topic that he didn’t like dwelling