The small group of kids were surprisingly close; last summer, they went to Charlotte together and had a wonderful vacation in Orlando and Miami.
Gan Youwei didn’t object, saying, "Staying in Portland for a while isn’t a bad idea. I actually kind of miss it... which state is Portland in again?"
Wang Fuxi didn’t say a word. She knew her husband well, and the moment Gan Guoyang suggested it, she had already figured it out.
That night, back in their room, Wang Fuxi asked, "Why are you suddenly thinking of going back to Portland for a while? Are you planning to make a comeback?"
Gan Guoyang replied, "Huh? I... I just think, you know, summer is a bit too hot in California, and going back to Oregon for some fresh air in the forest sounds nice."
Wang Fuxi said, "Don’t kid me, I know you. Are you sure you didn’t already promise Old Tang that you’d go back to play? You’re just trying to act first and report later."
Gan Guoyang, seeing he’d been seen through, decided to lay it all out, "You got me. I did promise Old Tang. But if you really don’t agree, I... I can go back alone."
Wang Fuxi thought Gan Guoyang would say, "I can choose not to return," but instead, he was thinking of going back alone?
Gan Guoyang casually caught the pillow Wang Fuxi tossed at him, saying, "When Old Tang called me, I was impulsive and agreed. Now I’m discussing it with you."
Wang Fuxi rolled her eyes at her husband, "Discuss my foot! You’re just informing me so I can help clean up your mess, organize the comeback."
Gan Guoyang, hugging the pillow, moved closer, "Aren’t you a bit tired of the dull housewife life too? How about we join forces and return to the center stage?"
Gan Guoyang never denied Wang Fuxi’s vital role in his success; without her, he wouldn’t have had a stable base to focus on playing basketball.
Wang Fuxi sighed. She knew her husband’s mind was set. His comeback would soon be news all over America, even the world, once again putting them in the spotlight.
Helicopters would be circling above their house, interview requests would come one after another, and news about her husband would be on TV and radio.
Various collaboration negotiations would fill their schedule, the miles on their Pan Am VIP Gold Card would shoot up again, and their briefly calm life would get busy once more.
This life was certainly exhausting, but indeed thrilling and stirring.
"Oh well, anyway, you know that no matter what decision you make, I’ll always support you in the end. But let me remind you about your dad’s health. You retired for his sake back then; now his memory isn’t getting any better. Just yesterday, he met me in the yard and asked who I was. I said I was his daughter-in-law. Dad said, ’My daughter-in-law is so pretty, my son is truly blessed.’
"Are you sure he really didn’t remember or was he just flattering you?"
"Does Dad need to flatter me? That’s genuinely what he thinks! But there was once he saw my mom, didn’t recognize her, and asked if she was his wife. When he found out she was the in-law, he muttered, ’Sure enough, not my taste,’ which pissed my mom off. She said, ’What do you old man know about taste anyway.’"
Gan Guoyang was caught between laughter and tears. People sometimes get less proper as they age, and Gan Youwei’s condition was gradually worsening.
Of course, he had considered this issue.
"It’s exactly because I know Dad’s memory is getting worse that I’m considering a comeback. You know, Dad forgets a lot of the past, but if it was a basketball season of mine, whether I won the championship or not, who we played in the finals, he remembers it clearly. For example, June 1986, he remembers being in Portland, us playing the Celtics, the score being 4-2, and Walton returning from injury in Game five. Besides the match, he even remembers college classmates from Gonzaga coming to watch, where he lived, what he ate — he remembers clearly some things I’ve almost forgotten, but they’re etched in his mind."
"Looks like Dad uses your professional career as a timeline marker. If that’s really the case, I can only support you. Who could stop you with such a reason?"
Gan Guoyang chuckled and said, "That’s one of the reasons. If I really can’t play well, there’s nothing I can do. Or I might find a coaching position or something. I can’t accept myself declining too much, losing competitiveness on the court."
Wang Fuxi came over to hug her husband, saying, "I believe you won’t have any problems; you are the best basketball player in the world... but you should lose some weight first."
Wang Fuxi reached out to pinch the fat on Gan Guoyang’s back and belly, wondering if these rolls of fat would become a barrier to his return to basketball’s summit.
Gan Guoyang sighed and said, "Yeah, I was fretting over this in the afternoon too. Not playing for a year and a half, the weight’s piled on too fast. I shouldn’t have let my weight go so high back then."
Gan Guoyang regretted it somewhat; he had pushed his weight over 270 pounds, which was quite a lot for his height.
Although this high weight period was brief, and he had slimmed down later, it also made his metabolism more robust.
Now his weight had crossed 280 pounds, heading towards a super heavyweight of 300 pounds. If he didn’t lose it, he might end up like Barkley.
"What should we do then? If you announce your comeback, there’ll be a press conference soon, and looking like this isn’t exactly suitable for a conference."
"Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters! If you’re making a comeback, you must give everyone enough of an intimidation factor, mentally pressure the others; you can’t look just chubby and cute."