Omaha, NEBRASKA WAS WHERE IT ALL STARTED. SHE WAS CHARMED BY HIS BLAZING HAIR IN THE SHADOWS OF THEIR EVENING DATE, THE WORDS FROM HIS LIPS, ALL TOO MESMERIZING FOR MARY TO RESIST RUDY’S ALLURE. THEY WERE YOUNG AND IN LOVE. IN THE BEGINNING, NOTHING COULD STOP THEM. EVERYONE TOLD THEM THE FIRST YEAR OF MARRIAGE WOULD BE THE HARDEST AND THEY WEREN’T WRONG. THEY HOPED THEIR BICKERING WOULD COME TO AN END WITH TIME. BUT THEN TWO YEARS WENT BY. THEN A THIRD. AND A FOURTH. IN BETWEEN THE BATTLE OF THEIR WORDS, WILLIAM RUDOLPH WAS BORN. HE HAD HIS FATHER’S HAIR, LITTLE SPIKES OF RED ON THE TOP OF HIS NEWBORN HEAD. WITH ONE LOOK AT HER SON, MARY REMEMBERED THE GOOD THINGS SHE HAD SEEN IN RUDY. SHE DIDN’T KNOW WHERE IT HAD ALL GONE, ONLY THAT IT ALL HAD CHANGED.

THEY HOPED THAT WYLIE WOULD BRING THEIR FAMILY TOGETHER. THEY HOPED HAVING THEIR SON WOULD HELP THEM RETURN TO HOW THINGS WERE MEANT TO BE. THEY HOPED IT WOULD REGAIN THEIR FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERED THE MOST - REBUILDING THEIR LIVES TOGETHER AS A NEW FAMILY OF THREE. BUT IT WAS WISHFUL THINKING, EVEN ARGUING IN THE DELIVERY ROOM ON WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE BEST DAY OF THEIR LIVES. THE STRESS OF HAVING A LITTLE ONE AND A FULL TIME OCCUPATION WITH DEBT WAS TOO MUCH FOR RUDY TO MANAGE, OFTEN WITH A BEER IN HAND AND A TENDENCY TO SNAP AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY PROVIDED.

WYLIE’S CHILDHOOD WAS FILLED WITH HIS PARENT’S CONSTANT ARGUMENTS, THAT SOON THE SOUND OF THEIR RAISED VOICES MADE HIM UNEASY AND SKITTISH, OFTEN WITH A STOMACH ACHE AND A BAD ATTENTION SPAN IN SCHOOL FROM SIMPLY KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT AT HOME. DESPITE THIS, WYLIE DIDN’T WANT THEM TO FIGHT ANYMORE. HE WANTED THEM TO BE HAPPY, IN LOVE, AND TO DO THINGS AS A FAMILY LIKE HIS FRIENDS DID. MANY TIMES THROUGH TEARS, WYLIE WOULD GET IN BETWEEN HIS PARENTS, TRYING TO STOP THE ARGUMENTS. BUT EVERY TIME HE WAS SENT AWAY TO HIS ROOM, FEELING MORE AND MORE REJECTED AND PUT ASIDE, LIKE HIS OWN FEELINGS ABOUT THE SITUATION DIDN’T MATTER.

IT EVENTUALLY STARTED TO AFFECT HIS BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE IN SCHOOL. HE WAS ALWAYS A DREAMER, HAD HIS HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, LOST IN HIS THOUGHTS OF POSSIBILITIES AND FANTASIES. IT USUALLY TOOK SEVERAL CALLS TO GET HIS ATTENTION, BUT THIS TIME IT WASN’T ENOUGH. HE COULDN’T SIT STILL, ALWAYS INTERRUPTING, COULDN’T STOP TALKING, HE’D MOVE AROUND THE CLASSROOM DESPITE INSTRUCTIONS TO STAY IN HIS SEAT, ONLY TO RESULT IN DETENTIONS THAT ONLY FUELED HIS INABILITY TO STAY STILL. HE’D EVENTUALLY CRY, FEELING LIKE HIS OWN MIND WAS AGAINST HIM. WHEN HE WOULD START SOMETHING, HE COULDN’T FINISH IT. AND WHEN HE DID, IT WAS ALL HAPHAZARDLY DONE. AFTER SEVERAL MEETINGS, WYLIE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ATTENTIVE DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER, WITH ANXIETY THAT HAD BEEN THE KINDLING IN MAKING HIS DISORDER MORE DIFFICULT TO MANAGE BECAUSE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS.

IN EFFORT TO HELP WYLIE COPE, WITH THE HELP OF HIS PARENTS, WYLIE DECIDED TO TRY OUT FOR LITTLE LEAGUE. AFTER TRYOUTS, THE COACH DECIDED HE WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH, LEAVING WYLIE COMPLETELY GUTTED. RUDY WASN’T ONE TO TAKE NO AS AN ANSWER, A QUALITY THAT WYLIE WOULD SOON INHERIT, AND IN SECRECY MET WITH THE COACH ONE NIGHT. RUDY THREATENED HIM, TOLD THE COACH HE HAD GIVEN HIM A SLOW POISON AND WOULDN’T RECEIVE THE ANTIDOTE UNLESS WYLIE WAS ON THE TEAM. THE NEXT DAY TO HIS SON’S SURPRISE, THE COACH CAME OVER TO APOLOGIZE AND WELCOME HIM ON BOARD. DESPITE THE INTIAL REJECTION, SPORTS SOON BECAME AN IMPORTANT PART OF WYLIE’S LIFE, SOMETHING THAT KEPT HIM GROUNDED WHEN LIFE AT HOME WAS ANYTHING BUT THAT. HE LEARNED LIKE A NATURAL, BUT HE NEVER FOUND OUT THAT HIS FATHER WAS THE ONE SLASHING THE OPPOSING TEAMS TIRES DURING TOURNAMENTS. adolescence

BY HIGH SCHOOL, WYLIE PARTICIPATED IN VARIOUS SPORTS, BUT FOOTBALL WAS WHERE HE SHINED THE MOST. IT HAD HELPED HIM KEEP HIS HEAD ON STRAIGHT IN SCHOOL, TO BUNKER HIMSELF DOWN IN CLASS, TO HAVE AN END GOAL FOR THE FUTURE THAT KEPT HIM MOTIVATED TO DO WELL. BUT THOSE PROUD MOMENTS FLUTTERED AWAY QUICKLY WHEN HIS PARENTS FOUND MOMENTS OF WEAKNESSES, MAKING FUN OF THE WAY HIS HEAD WAS ALWAYS IN THE CLOUDS. THEY WERE REALISTS, SOMETHING WYLIE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND. THEY DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO DREAM AND THEY DIDN’T LIKE WYLIE’S DREAM, ALWAYS MAKING A POINT TO TELL HIM THAT A CAREER AS AN ATHLETE WASN’T A REAL OCCUPATION. “YOU’VE GOT TO BE MORE RESPONSIBLE. I EXPECT MORE FROM YOU.” IT WAS NEVER ENOUGH. AS MUCH AS WYLIE DIDN’T WANT TO DISAPPOINT HIS PARENTS, HE DIDN’T WANT TO LET GO OF HIS OWN DREAMS EITHER. THEY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS THE ONE THING KEEPING HIM SANE, KEEPING HIM ON THE RIGHT PATH FROM DESTRUCTION. BUT WYLIE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THAT HIS PARENTS FEARED THE WORLD, FEARED THAT ONE DAY IT WOULD DISAPPOINT THEIR SON LIKE IT HAD DISAPPOINTED THEM.

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN MARY AND RUDY’S FIGHTING STARTED TO ESCALATE. WYLIE REFUSED TO COME HOME, OTHER TIMES SHOWING UP LATE INTO THE NIGHT. HIS FATHER ALWAYS CAME AFTER HIM WITH A NEED FOR CONTROL, BUT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES WYLIE WAS TOLD WHAT TO DO, HE ALWAYS DID THE OPPOSITE. HIS MOTHER HATED IT, FEARED THAT HER SON WAS TURNING OUT LIKE HIS FATHER, ESPECIALLY WHEN HE WOULD DISAGREE WITH HER. BUT MARY WAS EXHAUSTED IN THE RELATIONSHIP, CONTROLLED BY THE MAN IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE, THAT ESCAPE SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE. SOMETIMES IT WAS EASIER TO SEND WYLIE AWAY TO HIS ROOM DURING THE FIGHTS THAN TO FIGHT FOR TWO. SEEING HIS FATHER LIKE THIS MADE IT DIFFICULT TO GROW A CONNECTION WITH HIM. HE WAS A HARD ASS, AN UNAFFECTIONATE BEING, BUT A HAVING A CONNECTION WITH HIS MOTHER WASN’T ANY EASIER WHEN SHE HARDLY SEEMED PRESENT ANYMORE. THE ONLY THING HE HAD WAS HIS DREAM, EVEN IF THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE IN IT. HE LOST COUNT OF HOW MANY TIMES THEY TOLD HIM TO INVEST IN SOMETHING DIFFERENT, BUT WYLIE DOESN’T LIKE TO BE TOLD WHAT TO DO AND SO HE KEPT DOING IT.

THE DIVORCE WAS INEVITABLE, BUT IT DIDN’T MAKE THE TRANSITION ANY EASIER. WYLIE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED FOR HIS MOTHER TO AWAKEN, JUST THAT ONE NIGHT SHE DRAGGED HIM OUT OF BED AND TOOK HIM OUT OF THE HOUSE TO HIS AUNT’S HOME. HE DIDN’T SEE HIS FATHER MUCH AFTERWARDS, IT BECAME AN ESTRANGED RELATIONSHIP EVER SINCE. MARY AND WYLIE EVENTUALLY FOUND A SMALL PLACE TO CALL HOME, BUT THE CHANGE WAS TOO MUCH FOR WYLIE TO KNOW HOW TO COPE, INCLUDING THE COUNTLESS OF QUESTIONS HE HAD THAT MARY REPEATEDLY ANSWERED WITH, “YOUR FATHER WAS EVIL!” EVEN THROUGH THE EMOTIONAL ABUSE, HE FELT LOST, THE FREEDOM WAS SOMETHING HE NEVER REALLY EXPERIENCED. BUT HIS MOTHER, AS SHE HAD WHEN SHE PARENTED WITH RUDY, NEVER PUT RESTRICTIONS ON WYLIE’S ACTIVITIES, EVEN WHEN HE NEEDED THEM THE MOST. WITHOUT THOSE BOUNDARIES IN PLACE, WYLIE STARTED TO TEST HER LIMITS AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY, WHEN UNDERNEATH IT ALL WAS JUST A SCARED BOY LOOKING FOR SOMEWHERE TO FEEL SAFE. HE NEEDED THOSE BOUNDARIES. NEEDED LOVE. NEEDED PROTECTION. THE DIVORCE WAS HARD ON HIM AND HIS BEHAVIOR REFLECTED THAT FOR AWHILE.

EVEN THOUGH HIS GRADES HAD SLIPPED AND HE WAS ACTING OUT AT HOME AND IN SCHOOL, WYLIE TOOK OUT HIS FRUSTRATIONS WHEN IT CAME TO HIS SPORTS. IT WAS HIS ESCAPE AND BEING AN ATHLETE WAS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO HIM NOW THAN BEFORE. HE WAS GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS LITTLE TOWN, EVEN IF IT KILLED HIM. HE REGRETTED THOSE WORDS AS FAST AS HE THOUGHT THEM. DURING A FOOTBALL MATCH IN JUNIOR YEAR, WYLIE SUDDENLY COLLAPSED FROM AN ODD FEELING IN HIS CHEST. HE WOKE UP LATER IN THE HOSPITAL, THE RIDE THERE A BLUR, EXCEPT FOR THE FACES OF HIS PARENTS STANDING NEXT TO HIS GURNEY. HE WAS SURPRISED TO SEE HIS FATHER AFTER SO LONG, BUT THERE WAS A SMUGNESS TO HIS FACE. “I TOLD YOU SO, SON. I TOLD YOU BEING AN ATHLETE WASN’T WORTH YOUR TIME. NOW WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED.” WYLIE IMMEDIATELY WENT INTO A PANIC, THE PANG IN HIS HEART RETURNING. HE COULDN’T FIGURE OUT IF IT WAS BREAKING BECAUSE OF HIS FATHER OR BECAUSE HIS WHOLE DREAM WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE.

IT TURNED OUT THAT HIS HEART WASN’T BEATING IN THE CORRECT RHYTHM. WYLIE WAS LUCKY TO BE ALIVE, BUT HIS HEART CONDITION WAS BAD ENOUGH THAT HE NEEDED TO BE PUT ON MEDICATION AND SCHEDULED IMMEDIATELY FOR SURGERY TO INSERT A PACEMAKER TO PREVENT FUTURE MISHAPS. THE DOCTORS EXPLAINED THAT IT WAS IN HIS BEST INTEREST TO STOP THE CONTACT SPORTS, WHICH IMMEDIATELY RECEIVED A LOUD REBUTTAL FROM WYLIE WHO NEARLY RIPPED OFF EVERY LINE IN HIM. “BUT I CAN’T. THAT’S MY WHOLE LIFE I’VE WORKED TOWARDS.” THE NEWS GREW WORSE, BEING TOLD THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE IT EASY AND DO LIGHTER EXERCISES, WHICH DIDN’T SETTLE WELL WITH SOMEONE WHO CONSTANTLY LIFTED WEIGHTS. IN THAT MOMENT, EVERYTHING FELT LIKE IT HAD GONE DOWN THE DRAIN, WITH HIS PARENTS VOICES TELLING HIM WHAT MIGHT AS WELL BEEN: ‘I TOLD YOU SO.’ WYLIE LOST HIS DREAM, THE SCHOLARSHIPS, THE YEARS OF HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO GET HIM OUT OF HIS HOME AND OUT OF THE TOWN. NOW WHAT DID HE HAVE? HIS PARENTS LOOKED AT HIM FROM THE CORNER OF THE ROOM LIKE SUCH A FAILURE. HE DIDN’T HAVE A BACKUP PLAN, AFTER REFUSING TO DENY HIS DREAM WHEN HIS PARENTS WOULD PESTER ABOUT IT. THAT NIGHT, HE HAD TO SAY GOODBYE TO IT ALL, NOT FIGHTING THE SURGERY THAT LEFT HIM WITH A SCAR ON HIS CHEST.

LAYING IN BED GAVE HIM A LOT TO THINK ABOUT. HE WAS DONE FEELING SORRY FOR HIMSELF. HE WAS DONE GIVING HIS PARENTS THE SATISFACTION. WYLIE WAS DETERMINED DESPITE BEING TOLD THAT HE SHOULDN’T LIFT ANYMORE, THAT HE WAS GOING TO PROVE THEM ALL WRONG. HE KNEW HE COULDN’T PLAY CONTACT SPORTS, THAT WAS SOMETHING HE UNDERSTOOD, SO HE STOPPED BUT VOWED TO LEARN TO STAY ACTIVE AND MAKE SOMETHING OF HIMSELF EVEN WITH HIS RESTRICTIONS. AFTER RECOVERY, HE STARTED TO FIND WAYS TO STAY FIT, FINDING HIMSELF WITH HIS NOSE IN A BOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. BY SENIOR YEAR, HE DECIDED TO ATTEND COLLEGE TO START HIS JOURNEY TO BECOME A PHYSICAL THERAPIST TO HELP THOSE WHO DIDN’T THINK THEY COULD KEEP ACTIVE AFTER A TRAUMATIC INCIDENT TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEMSELVES. SINCE THEN, WYLIE’S BEEN IN THE BEST PHYSICAL SHAPE AND IT’S CHANGED HIS WHOLE LIFESTYLE. HE'S PROVED THEM ALL WRONG.

PRESENT

BY EIGHTEEN, WYLIE LEFT NEBRASKA FOR SAN FRANCISCO. IT WAS A PLACE FOR DISCOVERY, OF BOTH SEXUALITY AND HOW TO WORK A STOVE. HE NEEDED ROOMMATES TO SURVIVE, RELYING ON NEW FRIENDS TO TEACH HIM A THING OR HUNDRED. WITH HIS FAMILY IN DEBT, HE NEVER EXPECTED MONEY FROM HIS FATHER, WHILE HIS MOTHER COULD HARDLY HELP NOW THAT SHE WAS ON HER OWN. ALTHOUGH HE HAD FOUND A FEW ODD JOBS HERE AND THERE, IT WAS DURING TAKING HIS DOCTORATE THAT HE FOUND HE COULDN’T AFFORD RENT. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN HE WOULD SPEND HIS DAYS ON CAMPUS, ONLY RETREATING TO HIS CAR TO SLEEP UNTIL FINALLY ADMITTING TO HIS FRIENDS THAT HE NEEDED A COUCH TO CRASH. BUT IT WAS BITING BACK HIS PRIDE TO DO SO, SOMETHING HE DIDN’T FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING. HE KNEW HE NEEDED TO FIND MEANS TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY, WHEN ONE NIGHT OUT HE WAS APPROACHED BY AN ESCORT AGENCY AND IT ALL SOUNDED TOO GOOD. WYLIE - OR AS HE GOES BY WITH HIS CLIENTS - BILL, HAS BEEN DOING IT PART TIME EVER SINCE, ALTHOUGH MORE OFTEN IN THE SUMMER. HE DOESN’T TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT, NOT SURE THEY WOULD UNDERSTAND. BUT IT’S HELPED HIM GET BACK ON HIS FEET, TO FIND AN APARTMENT, AND TO AFFORD UNIVERSITY WHEN HE COULDN’T TAKE HIS ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIPS AFTER THE INCIDENT AND BEING ON HIS OWN WHEN IT CAME TO FINANCES. THE TRIPS ARE SOMETIMES A BONUS. HE TRIES NOT TO FLAUNT TOO MUCH, NOT WANTING TO CAUSE SUSPICION, AND SAVES MOST OF IT FOR THINGS THAT ARE NEEDED BUT STILL THE OCCASIONAL SPLURGE. HE TRIES TO SAY IT’S BECAUSE HE’S GOOD AT BEING FRUGAL AND WORKING OVERTIME AS A PHYSICAL THERAPIST, WHICH HE CURRENTLY DOES THROUGH A RESIDENCY AND HIS OWN INDEPENDENT BUSINESS.

HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER REMAINS THE SAME. SOMETIMES A MESSAGE WILL APPEAR WITH PROMISES THAT ARE NEVER KEPT. HIS MOTHER STILL LIVES IN NEBRASKA, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE SHE MIGHT BE MOVING CLOSER SOMETIME SOON.