Last Chance Hero

by Cathleen Armstrong

  “Hi.” It was Andy. “Have you heard anything yet?”

  “Nope.” Jess leaned back against the sofa cushions and tucked her feet up under her. “I was just thinking Gabe’s mom should be calling soon.”

  “Will you call me after you talk to her and let me know how he is?”

  “I really can’t. There are all kinds of regulations, but I can tell his mom you’re concerned and that you’ve asked that she call you.”

  “Would you do that? Tell her I won’t keep her long, I just want to know he’s okay.” A short, awkward silence followed, and Jess was about to say good-bye when Andy spoke again. “Listen, I’m sorry I barked at you earlier. You didn’t have that coming.”

  Jess silently agreed. She thought her question had been perfectly reasonable. “So, what was the deal?”

  “Just touchy, I guess. It seems every time I talk to anyone these days, the first word out of their mouths is why. ‘Why did you . . .’ ‘Why didn’t you . . .’ ‘Why don’t you . . .’ Anyway, I think I took it out on you, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let it get to me like that.”

  “Okay, since we have that settled.” Jess chose her words carefully. “Keeping in mind I’m his doctor and not someone who’s trying to help you coach the team. Don’t you think he’s a little small to be playing football?”

  There was another long pause before Andy blew out a long sigh. “Don’t underestimate Gabe. He’s not real big, but he’s strong, and he’s fast. And he loves the game. He didn’t get hurt because of his size. He just cracked helmets with another player. It happens.”

  Sensing she was stepping out on thin ice, Jess retreated. “Okay, backing off here. I’ll just patch ’em up when you send ’em my way.”

  “You could come to a game, you know.” The tension in Andy’s voice had eased a little, and Jess could almost hear his attempt at a smile. “See for yourself what the attraction is.”

  “Maybe I will one of these days.” Jess took the olive branch he offered, even if she really could not see herself ever sitting on a cold bleacher watching a bunch of guys run into each other and fall down. “Listen, I really do need to get off the phone, though. I’m waiting for Mrs. Quintana’s call.”

  “Oh, sure. Don’t forget to ask her to call me, okay? I’ll be up.”

  Mrs. Quintana called less than ten minutes later, and Jess could tell by her voice that her news was good.

  “Sorry I’m calling so late. I needed to make sure the kids were all right first and get Gabe all tucked in. He’s going to be okay. He just needs to stay in bed for a couple days. That’s all.”

  “That’s terrific news, Mrs. Quintana. I think it would be a good idea to wake him up every three hours through the night, though, just to be on the safe side. He may not like that much, but as you say, he’s going to be in bed all day long tomorrow anyway. You’re the one who’ll be missing sleep.”

  Gabe’s mom chuckled. She had a low and easy laugh. “Please. Call me Marta. When anyone calls me Mrs. Quintana, it usually means one of my kids is in some kind of trouble. And don’t worry. If I were still at work, I’d be up all night anyway, so checking on Gabe isn’t going to be a problem. Waking people up when they’re trying to sleep is what I do best.”

  Jess smiled. Marta seemed like someone she’d like to get to know. “I noticed you had on scrubs. Do you work at the hospital?”

  “Yes, I’m an LPN at San Ramon General. And I’ve been wanting to tell you how glad I am that you came. It’s time Last Chance had its own doctor.”

  “I appreciate that. I’m glad I came too. Now, I’m going to let you get some rest. You’ve had quite an evening. I’ll call in the morning to see how Gabe did through the night, but it sounds like he’s in great hands.”

  “I think he’ll be fine. He complained all the way home about a chemistry test he’ll be missing tomorrow and falling behind in calculus, which is Gabe being normal.” She laughed. “Good night, Doctor.”

  “Good night, and it’s Jess.” She stopped herself just before she hung up. “Oh, Coach Ryan asked that you call him and tell him how Gabe is. He said he’d be up late.”

  “I’ll call him right away. Have you gotten to know him at all? He is such a good man. I’ve lived in Last Chance all my life. Both my brothers played football, and my cousins, and I don’t think there’s ever been a coach who cares as much about the boys as Andy does. I know he’s worked really hard to help Gabe out.” She laughed. “Listen to me. I said good-bye and then started in talking your ear off again. Good night, Doctor. And I mean it this time.”

  “Good night.” Jess ended the call and put her phone back on the table. Maybe Marta was uncomfortable calling her by her first name, or maybe she just hadn’t heard Jess’s request, but Jess did hope they could be friends.

  “How’s Quintana?” Kev came into Andy’s office after his last class. “Sorry I couldn’t wait till you got back. I got everything wrapped up here and Tina was counting on me to get home. She has her bunco game on Tuesday night.”

  Andy sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. “He’s going to be okay. He got a few stitches, and they’re keeping him home for a day or so because of that rap on the head, but he’ll be back.”

  “But not by Friday?”

  “Nope, and probably not by next Friday either. I’m not sure when he’ll be ready to play.”

  “Man, I do not need to hear that.” Kev folded his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “I think we had a real good chance to start turning things around with these next few games, but with Quintana out . . .”

  “Yeah, it’s a hit, all right.” Andy went back to the notebook open in front of him. “But that’s part of the game.”

  “You know, I got to hand it to you, Coach.” Kev pushed away from the doorjamb and shoved one hand in his pocket. “I wouldn’t have given you two cents for Quintana when he showed up for practice last August. Too small, too scattered, and no experience to speak of. He pretty much spent the season sitting on the bench last year. But you saw something that sure escaped me. I guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks, huh?”

  Andy looked up from under his brows. “Yeah, right.”

  Kev laughed as he headed to the locker room. “I’ll go make sure things are set up for practice. See you in a few.”

  Andy could hear the players begin to arrive for practice as he worked, and when a light tap came at his open door, he looked up expecting to find one of them standing there.

  “Hi, Andy. Dare I approach the inner sanctum?” A slender woman with blonde hair curling around her shoulders smiled at him from the doorway.

  “Heather!” He got up and crossed the room to take both her hands in his. When he bent down to kiss her cheek, he noticed her eyes were still as blue as an early morning sky. “I’d heard you were still in the area. Thought I might run into you sometime. I didn’t think it would be here, though.”

  “Okay, you caught me. I came to find you.” She laughed up at him as he led her to a chair in front of his desk. “I forgot that my boys had flag football today after school, so I got here to pick them up way too early. When I realized I had a half hour or so to kill, I took a chance that you might be free and I could say hi.”

  He sat down behind his desk and leaned on his folded arms. “I can’t get over it. You haven’t changed a lick in, how long? Nearly ten years?”

  “Longer. We didn’t see much of you after graduation.”

  “Wow.” Andy felt a twinge of guilt. He had really intended to stay in touch with Heather, and in those early days even dreamed of coming back for her someday. “Has it been that long? Can’t be.”

  “Time does fly when you’re having a good time.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, just like she used to, and smiled again. “But we can save this for later. I want you to come to dinner. James would love to see you again, and my boys are dying to meet you. Telling them I was homecoming queen in my day got a big yawn from them; telling them you were my escort elevated me to super
star status.”

  “Sure. I’d like to see James and meet your boys.” Andy got to his feet. Silence from the nearby locker room told him that Kev had already taken the team out; he needed to get out there. And Heather needed to go get her sons. “Almost any day but Friday. Just let me know.”

  “Saturday? About 7:00? James has taken over the family chile farm, so you know where to find us.” She gathered her purse and stood up. Andy walked her to the door. “Oh, and feel free to bring someone with you, if you’d like. There’s always room for one more.”

  Andy took a deep breath. Bringing someone might be a good idea. “Yeah, there is someone I could bring with me. Let me talk to her and I’ll get back to you.”

  “Great. Anyone I know?” Heather stopped in the doorway and raised an eyebrow. She was doing that funny little thing with her mouth that she always did when she was about to worm a secret out of him.

  “Nope. She’s new in town. She’s the new doctor, as a matter of fact, so she may be on call or something. I’ll call you in the next couple days to tell you if she’ll be coming.”

  Both eyebrows were up now. “The doctor. Wow. You do move fast. Be sure to warn her she’s coming to a farmer’s house. Nothing fancy.”

  “She won’t be looking for fancy. That’s not her style.” He gave Heather a quick good-bye hug. “You’ll like her.”

  “If you like her, I’m sure I’ll like her too.” She put a hand on his shoulder and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Now, I’ve got to run and get my boys. They’ll think I forgot them again.”

  Andy stood in the doorway of his office watching her as she hurried down the hall and out the door. It couldn’t have been ten years. She looked just like she did when she was seventeen. Not even the fragrance she wore had changed.

  As Jess headed down Last Chance Highway Friday evening, she passed a long line of cars and pickups decorated with black-and-gold streamers and white shoe polish proclaiming Puma pride heading up toward I-10. She waved as she went by and gave a little double tap to her horn in solidarity, and in doing so unleashed a cacophony of whoops and blaring horns that she could still hear in the distance as she drove into Last Chance. Clearly, as the week had gone by and game day approached, the frustration and even anger displayed Monday night at the town council meeting had changed again to hope. And for Andy’s sake, how she wanted them to be right.

  The lights were still on in the Dip ’n’ Dine, and a few cars were still in the parking lot as Jess drove into town. Since the folks going to the game seemed to have already left, she took a chance and pulled in. Lainie had assured her that the Dip ’n’ Dine did not close early on game days, no matter what Juanita said, and truthfully, she wanted a little company, even that of strangers. Friday night was for welcoming the weekend and not a night she wanted to go home and eat yogurt.

  She pushed the door open with a cautious eye out for Juanita, but it was Lainie who crossed the dining room to greet her.

  “Hey, look who’s here.” Lainie gave her a hug and looked around the room. “Where would you like to sit?”

  Jess shrugged and glanced at the row of booths by the window. “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Over here!” A petite woman with dark, curly hair smiled and beckoned.

  “Okay with you? Sarah was just telling me she wanted to get to know you.” With Jess’s nod, Lainie led the way to the table.

  “I hope you don’t mind.” Sarah reached across the table and took Jess’s hand as she slid in the booth across from her. “I’m Sarah Reed. That’s my husband, Chris, over there. I’m just waiting for him to finish up here and get ready to come home. Say hi, Chris.” Chris looked over from the cash register where he was dealing with customers and waved. “Anyway, everyone I know keeps telling me how terrific you are. I don’t know how I wound up being the only person in town who hasn’t met you yet.”

  “Different circles, I guess.” Jess found Sarah’s smile infectious, but then she guessed most people did. “I feel like I know you, though. Elizabeth has shown me your wedding pictures and told me all about you. Second-grade teacher, right?”

  “That sounds like Gran. Family is her favorite topic of conversation—well, her second-favorite topic, anyway.”

  “Oh? What’s her first?”

  “How much time have you spent with Gran?” Sarah sat back and cocked her head.

  “Some. Not as much as I’d like, though. I really like her.”

  “Everybody loves Gran, and I’ll leave it to you to discover her favorite topic of conversation—which you will, believe me.”

  “Are you all ready to order?” Lainie appeared at their table and Sarah looked up as she handed the menu back.

  “I’ll have the stuffed sopaipilla, beef, with red chile.”

  “All right. How about you?” She turned to Jess with a smile. “Have you had time to decide?”

  “Um, I don’t know.” Jess hadn’t even looked at her menu. “What Sarah’s having, I guess, and some iced tea.”

  “Good choice.” Lainie tore the sheet off. “I’ll get this in and bring your tea.”

  After she left, Jess leaned across the table. “What did I just order?”

  Sarah laughed. “You know what sopaipillas are, right?”

  “Yeah, you put honey in them.”

  “Well, in this case you don’t. You fill it with a mixture of ground beef and onions and Carlos’s secret spices and cover it with red chile sauce, or green, if you like it that way. As my granddad used to say, ‘It’s so good it ought to be against the law.’”

  Lainie came with their iced tea just as the last of the other customers went out into the night, and Sarah scooted over and patted the seat next to her.

  “Come sit down for a minute. There’s no one in here but us now.”

  Lainie sighed. “I’m afraid if I sit down, I might not get up.”

  “All the more reason for her to sit down, right, Jess?” She continued patting the seat until Lainie, with a glance toward Chris, did scoot in next to her.

  “You do look tired, Lainie.” Jess tore a package of sweetener open and stirred it into her tea. “You don’t want to overdo it.”

  “I’m fine, really.” Lainie leaned her head against the back of the booth and closed her eyes for a moment. “We just got slammed earlier with folks trying to eat before they headed out to the game, and Juanita had already talked Chris into letting her go a little early. She and Russ never miss a game if they can help it.”

  Jess shook her head. “I still can’t get used to all this devotion to high school football. Am I really the only person in town who doesn’t care?”

  Lainie opened one eye and tapped her own chest, indicating there were at least two, but Sarah clearly could be counted among the faithful.

  “I’d be there every week if I could. In fact, before I got married, I never missed a game if I could help it. That’s how I knew it was Friday night—frozen pizza, a football game, and a good scary movie. It was the best.”

  Lainie patted Sarah’s hand without opening her eyes. “Poor baby. Sorry you’ve got it so rough now.”

  “Well, we’re usually there by halftime for home games.” Sarah didn’t even seem to notice Lainie’s sarcasm. “And I still watch my movie when we get home, but the frozen pizza has been banished forever. Chris makes great pizzas from scratch, but it’s just not the same, you know? They don’t have that unique cardboard flavor.”

  Jess laughed. How had she missed getting to know Sarah?

  “Here you go. Be careful, though. The plates are hot.” Chris arrived tableside and set plates brimming with steaming red chile sauce in front of Jess and Sarah.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Chris.” Lainie moved to get out of the booth. “I didn’t even hear the bell.”

  “It didn’t ring.” Chris put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. Take it easy. We’re done for the day. But if you ladies want dessert, you’d better order now. Carlos is cleaning the kitchen.”

  “None for me, than
ks.” Jess looked up from gingerly poking her stuffed sopaipilla with a fork and smiled. “This is going to fill me up. I can tell that right now.”

  After getting a similar response from Sarah, Chris nodded. “Okay. Enjoy your dinners. And take your time.”

  As he ambled away to turn off the Open sign and dim the dining room lights, Sarah reached across the table to grab Jess’s free hand. “I know! Come over to my house. Chris made a triple chocolate cheesecake last weekend, and there’s still some in the freezer. We can eat cheesecake and watch my movie. This one is called”—she paused for effect—“The House Down the Road 4. Come on, who can say no to cheesecake and a good horror flick? You come too, Lainie.”

  “Nope. Goin’ home.” Lainie had closed her eyes again. “I’m going home, taking my shoes off, putting my feet up, and watching whatever Gran has on TV—Colombo, Hawaii Five-O, doesn’t matter.”

  “But you’ll come, won’t you, Jess?” Sarah was clearly in the mood to do a little Friday celebrating herself.

  Jess grinned. “Sure. Why not? Does it matter that I haven’t seen The House Down the Road 1, 2, and 3?”

  The first thing Jess noticed when she opened Sarah and Chris’s front door to go home a few hours later was that the wind had picked up and was howling through the cottonwood tree in the front yard, ripping dying leaves from the branches and pulling them up into the black sky. The second thing she noticed was how dark and empty and full of shadows the quiet street had become. And, of course, the third thing was how very far her car, parked at the curb, seemed to be from the warm light pouring from the front door.

  Would you get a grip? It was just a movie, and you’re a scientist. What is your problem?

  “I’m going to stand right here and watch until you get in your car, and I’ll leave the porch light on until you’re gone.” Sarah’s voice at her elbow made her jump, and Jess turned to tell her that wouldn’t be a bit necessary.

  “Thanks, I’d really appreciate that.”

  Well, how embarrassing was that to have to admit?

  Jess forced herself to walk casually to her car, and when she was safely locked in, had sneaked a quick peek to the backseat, and had started the engine, she waved Sarah back in the house.