“Yes!” She skipped ahead, moving as fast as her little feet would carry her. “Catch me, Mommy. Come on!”
The high school sat adjacent to the grade school, and often Kari brought Jessie here so they could play together and visit with Ryan on his breaks. This was the first time since winter that they’d made it here, and now that Jessie was older, Kari was excited about the months of football that lay ahead.
This was how she’d always dreamed it might be—married to Ryan, raising children at home without a career to sidetrack her. She’d done only a handful of catalogue modeling shoots since fall, and even then she wondered at the wisdom of taking the jobs. They didn’t need her to work, and if God might bless them with more children, modeling would have to wait. Years, maybe.
“Okay, Mommy, push me!” Jessie was agile for her age and afraid of nothing. She worked herself up into one of the smaller swings, gripped the chains, and held on. “Ready!”
Kari set her purse and keys down and gave her daughter two pushes. Then she moved in front of Jessie the way she’d seen Ryan do it. She positioned herself right where Jessie’s shoes would be able to hit her backside, and she bent forward some. As Jessie came swinging toward her, Kari made a loud noise and an exaggerated fall forward. “Hey . . . what’re you doing, silly head?”
Jessie squealed with delight. “Again, Mommy! Again!”
Kari pushed her again and then hurried around in front of the swing, pretending to get kicked by Jessie’s yellow sneakers. Kari rubbed her backside and made a funny face. “Listen you, Miss Silly Shoes, how come you keep kicking me?”
They played the game a few more times, and then Kari swept Jessie off the swing and tumbled with her in the nearby grass, tickling her and chasing her until they both fell onto their backs, exhausted.
Just as they were standing up, Ryan came running over. “Looks like I’m missing all the fun!”
“Yep. We played kick the mommy, tickle the daughter, and chase.” Kari blew at a wisp of her hair. “Now we’re both tuckered out.”
He studied them, his eyes bright, a reflection, Kari knew, of the way his heart was so full these days. She got to her feet and headed toward him. “About that thing I wanted to tell you . . .”
“Oh, sorry.” He pointed back at the field. “We’re done practicing, but I want you to meet someone. One of my new assistants. He worked with the Cowboys back when I was a player, but his wife’s mother moved here a few years ago. She’s being treated for some health thing through the hospital.” Ryan shrugged. “He took a break from the pros and they settled into their house a year ago. When he heard I was coaching, he followed us last season. This year he figured if I can coach a bunch of kids and enjoy it, maybe he could too.”
“Okay, that’s great, but first let me tell you what I—”
“Remember, we had a meeting at his house last week? I told you about him that night, about his family and how his home is the way I want ours to be one day.”
Kari couldn’t think straight. She didn’t want to talk about one of the coaches; she wanted to tell Ryan the news. She forced herself to concentrate. “Ryan, can’t I meet him later? I wanted to—”
“Come on, sweetheart; it’ll just take a minute. Really.” He gestured toward the field again. As he did, Jessie came up and wrapped her arms around his legs. “The guy’s coming right now. Meet him and then we’ll talk.”
“All right.” Kari managed another smile. Ryan wasn’t trying to be difficult; he was only excited about having a new friend. But she could hardly wait for the moment to be over.
A good-looking man came into view, tall with dark blond hair and the familiar build Kari had seen on other football-player friends of Ryan’s. Beside him was one of the players from the high school team. The boy looked like he’d been crying.
“Don’t ask,” Ryan whispered. “I’ll tell you later.”
The coach and player were closer now and Ryan put his arm around Kari. “Jim Flanigan, this is my wife, Kari, and—” he pried Jessie off his legs and turned her to face his assistant—“our daughter, Jessie.”
Jim patted Jessie on the head and shook Kari’s hand. They talked for nearly ten minutes about the pro-coaching circuit and how hard it was to never know if you’d have a job from one year to the next.
“I thought I’d miss it more.” Jim smiled, and his eyes had a familiar glow. “But God’s given me something new here.” He shrugged. “I figured we’d stay here a year or two, until Jenny’s mom could be moved to the East Coast somewhere. But a year out of the pros and I can’t say I miss it.”
“Bloomington’s not a bad place.” Ryan patted the player on the shoulder and glanced at Kari. “You remember Cody? Cody Coleman. He’ll be a freshman next year. One of our top receivers.”
“Hi, Cody.” Kari smiled at him. She enjoyed this. Any other day she would’ve wanted the conversation to last another hour. But her news was practically bursting out of her. “You’ve been over to the house before, haven’t you?”
Ryan had the guys over for a barbecue before two-a-day practices each summer. She was sure she’d seen Cody before.
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded and looked down at the grass.
Now Kari was sure he’d been crying. Clearly he didn’t want to be dragged into the conversation. He hung back some and pushed his toe at a clump of dirt.
“Anyway, Ryan was saying you have a great church.” Jim cocked his head, and his grin brought out dimples in both cheeks. “To be honest, we haven’t found a church home yet. Maybe we can join you next Sunday.”
“Sure.” Kari smiled, first at Ryan and then at Jim.
Ryan kept the conversation going. “I was telling Jim we’d like to have his family over after the service some Sunday. He has six kids, three of them adopted from Haiti.” Ryan smiled at her, but something deeper shone in his eyes. “I thought it might be nice to hear their adoption story.”
“Yes. That would be nice.” This was why she loved Ryan so much. He was always thinking of her, always looking out for her. He wanted to make this new friend Jim feel welcome, but he also wanted the four of them to get together so Jim and his wife could share their adoption story. In case Kari never got pregnant and adoption was a road they chose to travel.
“We’re a big group.” Jim raised an eyebrow. “I’ll have my wife call to see what we can bring.”
“That’d be nice.” Kari smiled at the new man. “I’d like to meet her. Sounds like you have quite the family.”
They said their good-byes and Jim shook both their hands. Then he nodded at Cody, who quickly did the same. When they walked off together, Jim put his arm around Cody’s shoulders and they appeared to fall immediately into heavy conversation.
For a moment, Kari forgot about her news. “What’s the story with Cody?”
“He lives down the street from Jim and Jenny. I guess they’ve been talking for a while now.”
“Was he crying?”
Ryan nodded, and the smile left his eyes. “Cody came clean with us today. He’s been drinking.”
“Oh.” Kari’s heart sank. The young man was clean-cut, with a chiseled face and good looks. What made a kid like that decide to drink? “I’m sorry. How bad is it?”
“Bad.” Ryan stooped down and lifted Jessie onto his hip. “The last few nights he’s been drinking so much he blacks out. He told us he didn’t know if he could live like that another week. Like maybe he’d drink so much he’d never wake up.”
“Ryan, that’s terrible. Where’s he getting it?”
“His mom. She’s a single parent. Works at a strip club on the other side of the university. I guess she’s pretty abusive.”
“She beats him?” Kari pictured the stocky football player and had trouble imagining anyone pushing him around.
“Not like that. More with her words, telling him he’s a failure, that he’s a loser like his father, berating him for the smallest offense.” Ryan shook his head. “There’s more, but it isn’t pretty.” He nodd
ed to Jessie. “I’ll tell you later.”
Sorrow filled Kari’s heart as she started walking toward the swings. “Sad.”
Ryan fell in step beside her. “Something has to be done about it.”
“More swings, Daddy!” Jessie raised her hands toward the swing. “Please!”
“Okay, sweetie.” Ryan set their daughter down on the same swing where she had played before. He set the swing in motion with a flick of his hand. Then he turned to Kari. “Cody turned fifteen last week. He’s talking about moving in with Jim and his wife.”
“Really?” Kari crossed her arms. “I thought they already had six kids.”
“They do.” Ryan shook his head and made a chuckling sound. “The family’s amazing, Kari. They have this big old house with an apartment over the garage. Their kids’ friends are always in and out, and next fall some college girl is moving into the apartment. I guess she’s coming to Bloomington to start a Christian theater group.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.” Ryan gave Jessie another push. “The guy has all the money he could want, but his house isn’t a showroom. It’s filled with photographs of kids and all this well-loved furniture. It’s amazing, really. You can feel God’s heart the minute you walk through the door.”
“Huh.” Kari angled her head. “And now they’re taking Cody in.”
“It looks that way. If his mom will agree.” Ryan slipped in front of Jessie and pretended to get hit on his bottom. He rubbed it hard and made a funny face at her.
“Silly Daddy.”
After a few times he returned to the other side of the swing and pushed her again. “Cody needs a safe place where there’s no alcohol. That’s the only way he’s going to survive.” Ryan bit his lip. “He’s such a great kid, Kari. Until today, he’d been talking to Jim in the evenings, coming by their house. But neither of us had any idea things had gotten so bad.”
The sun was setting, and suddenly Kari remembered her news. She was about to say something when Ryan lifted Jessie from the swing and held her high over his head. “We’re going to Grandma and Papa’s house for dinner tonight; did you know that, Jessie?”
“Yay! I like Grandma and Papa’s house.”
Suddenly Kari had an idea. She could wait and tell Ryan the news at dinner, with everyone around. That way they could all celebrate the moment together. She and Ryan would laugh about how she’d come to the football field to tell him, and how they’d ended up talking about a handful of other things instead.
Besides, a sadness still hung over the moment, the thought of one of Ryan’s football players so caught up in drinking that he feared for his life. How wonderful that Jim and his wife were willing to take him in.
Ryan was right. That was the kind of home the two of them planned to have one day, a place where kids would feel welcome and safe, where their own children could see them demonstrate Christ’s love through example. Ten years down the road maybe, when they’d had a few more children of their own and life was a bit more stable than it was now.
Kari thought about the announcement she’d make tonight at dinner. Yes, their family was still becoming, but that was a good thing. In fact, she could hardly wait until they were all together at the Baxter house. She and Ryan were going to have a baby!
And nothing in the world could dampen that sort of news.
Chapter Seven
John stayed in the kitchen with Elizabeth, helping her get the meal ready. The news wasn’t out yet, and already a dark cloud seemed to hang over the house, as if the walls and windows knew the truth.
Elizabeth was sick. Maybe she was very sick. And the reality sat so heavy on John’s heart he could barely find the strength to stay standing. Next to him she worked on the salad, a mixture of light and dark greens, chopped tomatoes and mushrooms, grated cheese, and sesame seeds.
This had always been Elizabeth’s way. No bagged salad and instant croutons for Elizabeth Baxter. She’d been a home economics major when he met her, and no matter how busy or big their family grew, she always took time to cook them healthy meals. He admired her from three feet away, how she held the mushroom just so, working her knife across it and tossing perfect slices into the salad bowl.
“You’re beautiful; do you know that?” He stirred a heavy wooden spoon through the bubbling beef stew in the Crock-Pot.
“John—” she lifted her eyes to him, but only for a moment—“I’m making salad, for goodness’ sake. You can’t say I’m beautiful when I’m working.” She set the knife down and brushed her hair out of her eyes with the back of her hand. “I look like I’m working.”
“You always look beautiful when you’re working.” He left the spoon in the stew and moved closer. “Your eyes shine with thoughts of our kids and their families. And each vegetable or bit of cheese is your way of telling them you love them.”
She lowered her chin, and her eyes grew damp. “How come you know me so well, John Baxter?”
“Thirty-five years, Elizabeth. Can you believe that? Thirty-five years I’ve been watching you make dinner and salad and meals for this family, and not once have I stopped and watched you and not thought you look beautiful.” He touched the side of her face. “Are you okay? About tonight, I mean?”
“I’m not sure.” She reached up and wrapped her fingers around his hand. “It won’t be easy.”
“No.” John sucked in a slow breath. It would be the hardest night of his life, if he was honest. “We’ll get through it, though. This way everyone’ll be praying; everyone’ll be behind you when you go in tomorrow.”
She nodded and picked up the knife again. Three more mushrooms were sliced and tossed into the salad bowl before she looked up. “Why . . . why does it feel like the beginning of the end?”
“Oh, honey, come here.” He folded her into his arms, stroking the back of her head, her thick dark hair. His words were for her alone, spoken straight to her soul, more of a whispered cry than a confident statement. “We can beat this thing; I know we can. You’ve gotta believe that, okay?”
The bell rang, and they heard the front door open. Elizabeth straightened and sniffed twice. She reached for a tissue and held it beneath her nose. “Pray for me, John. I don’t want them to know something’s wrong. Not yet.”
She turned and blew her nose. He saw her slip her hands beneath the kitchen faucet, and he knew what she’d do. She’d stay there at the sink until the kids entered the house and then, because she was genuinely glad to see them, she’d put on a happy face and all would be well.
At least for another hour.
Kari and Ryan and Jessie arrived first. Kari hugged John, and he couldn’t help but feel something was different about her. They explained that they’d spent the afternoon outside at the football field.
Jessie chimed in. “We did swings, Papa.” She tugged on his pant leg until he patted her head. “It was so fun.”
“I’ll bet it was.”
Ryan launched into a story about his newest assistant coach, the man who’d coached in the NFL and had a big family in town. There were more details, but John stopped listening. His thoughts were limited to Elizabeth, and how she was handling her emotions in the next room. How this might be the last time for a long time that their house would be filled with the sounds of happy children and grandchildren.
He’d visited friends with cancer before. The feel of death hung in the air, and happiness had a hard time gaining ground. It was hard to imagine the Baxter house that way, hard to picture cancer coloring the place where they’d all shared so much love and laughter.
Ashley and Landon and Cole arrived next, and again John was taken aback by the joy in their eyes. Was it his imagination or were Ashley and Landon practically bursting about some sort of good news? John tried to imagine what it could be. Ashley had seen her doctor that week, but nothing he could’ve said would explain the way his daughter’s eyes were dancing tonight.
Then again, maybe there was nothing new. Maybe this was simply the way the two of them l
ooked now that Ashley wasn’t running from love. John led them into the family room where Kari and Ryan and Jessie were waiting. At the same time, Brooke and Peter and the girls came through the front door.
“Hi, everyone!” Maddie skipped into the family room, a lopsided grin plastered across her face. “Guess what? Hayley held her own cup today!”
Peter and Brooke came into view, pushing Hayley’s wheelchair. “Hi, Dad.” Brooke looked back at Elizabeth in the kitchen. “Hi, Mom. Another good day at our house.”
“That’s good.” Elizabeth smiled from her place near the Crock-Pot. The transformation had taken place. Her sorrow was gone, and her eyes no longer brimmed with tears. Instead she glowed the way she always glowed when her family was around her.
“Maddie’s right.” Brooke looked at the others in the room. “Hayley held a cup today. For the first time!”
Hayley was strapped to her wheelchair, but her eyes lit up when she saw the room full of people. She lifted her hand in a weak gesture and looked at John. “Papa . . .”
John felt a lump in his throat. All of this was new. Her quick recognition, her ability to say a few words, and now holding her own cup. All of it was proof that God would always have the last word when it came to life-and-death situations. After Hayley’s accident, no one thought she would live. He himself had prayed that God would take her home so she wouldn’t have to spend her life tied to a bed in a special facility somewhere.
But God and Hayley had surprised them all. First they’d realized she could see, even after they thought she was blind. And in the months that followed, she recognized the people she loved, learned to sit up and swallow food. Her tubes and wires were removed and she was able to go home.
Yes, the ordeal had been a strain on Peter and Brooke, but they’d all survived. Even though Hayley wasn’t the same child she’d been before the accident, she was precious and full of love and improving a little more each month. She could even pull herself around on all fours in a semi-crawling motion.
Reunion Page 7