“He’d better,” Mama blurted out. Everyone laughed.
“Yets,” Brian said, with a nod.
Lisa smiled. “Good,” she said and returned his hug. She put out her hand and he slapped her a high-five. “Now the fun begins.”
She turned to Joan and Mama. “We’ll start training this week and although Brian won’t be ready to compete in the games next month, I’d like to have him come along and be my assistant, if that’s okay?”
Both women beamed. Their boy had found a champion for a coach. Joan nodded her approval.
Although he didn’t officially compete the first year, for Brian and his proud family, it was an experience that would never be forgotten.
The Torch Run was a series of torch relays in which police, fire and correctional officers carried the “Flame of Hope” to the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics Rhode Island State Summer Games, showing the community the true meaning of sport.
Logistically, there were five legs in the Torch Run. It began in Woonsocket and Glocester at about 10:00 a.m. and came together at the State House in Providence. The East Bay leg left from East Providence at 1:00 p.m. and continued through each of the towns on the East Bay. Mama was mending pants on her front porch when the torch came by her house. She dropped the mending and stood to cheer the runner on. As he waved back, a shiver traveled down her spine. For reasons unknown to her, she wept like a baby. Something magical is underway, she knew.
The East Bay leg converged with the Providence leg in South Kingstown, where runners from Westerly, Charlestown, and South Kingstown all met up for the final leg. As the sun went down, the final leg was a five mile run into URI’s Meade Stadium, where the Mauretti family cheered until they couldn’t speak.
Throughout the competitions the following day, Brian never left Lisa’s side. By the afternoon, though, he’d obviously grown tired of passing out water bottles and towels. During the final run meet, he looked up at Lisa and then took off alongside the competing athletes. While Lisa watched on, laughing, Brian sprinted with everything he had. And although he was much slower than the rest of the field, he didn’t stop until he crossed the finish line. Joan, Mama, Frank and all the kids felt confused about how to react. Suddenly, the crowd erupted even louder. It was immediately obvious that at these special games, the applause didn’t end until the last kid crossed the line – whether he was a qualified competitor or not. There were no disappointments and everyone was a winner. “If only all sports could teach the same,” Mama said aloud.
Frank was seated beside Joan and Mama in the bleachers and never noticed that one of the officials kept looking over at Joan – and smiling.
The final event was a softball game, which included a throwing competition. After everyone had finished their throws and their distances had been marked, Lisa approached Brian and handed him the final ball of the day. The giant crowd cheered in support. Brian looked up at Lisa and smiled. The crowd grew silent. While Joan, Mama and Frank held their collective breath, Brian slowly approached the line and lifted the ball high into the air. For moment, he did nothing – and then he smiled wide. As if he were back at Mama’s back yard carnival, he dropped the ball two feet in front of him where it rolled six more inches and died in the grass. The crowd exploded in cheers, and just as many laughs. Frank, Joan, Steph, Heidi and Ross shook their embarrassed heads. Mama and Angie chuckled. “Brat,” Mama mumbled.
At the awards ceremony, Lisa helped Brian onto the podium where a Rhode Island State Trooper draped a gold medal around the boy’s neck. “Son, you have captured the spirit of these games and have shared it with everyone. Thank you.”
Brian nervously fidgeted with his mouth. “Weecome,” he finally replied and the crowd applauded for the final time.
At end of their huddled celebration, Frank kissed Brian, Ross and Angie, said goodbye to everyone and turned to walk away. John Doak, the admiring official, slowly approached and told Mama and Joan, “Congratulations. Brian’s quite a boy. He made me laugh.” John had a shaved head, green eyes and a thick Popeye neck with forearms to match. He was rough looking until he smiled and the sparkle in his eyes betrayed his gentle demeanor.
“Sorry,” Joan muttered.
“No, not at all. It’s a shame that more people don’t have his heart.” He gestured his head toward Frank, who was almost at the parking lot. “Your…”
“Ex-husband,” she quickly told him.
“Oh,” he replied with a smile, his eyebrows rising with the hope of a new possibility. And then he stood frozen for a moment, unable to speak. “Well then…” he finally managed, “congratulations again.”
Blushing, Joan nodded her appreciation and watched him closely as he walked away.
John wasn’t ten steps from Joan and Mama when he suddenly stopped, turned and walked back. As he approached Joan, he took a deep breath. “Please forgive me if I’m being too forward,” he said, “but if I don’t do this now, I may never have the chance again.”
“What is it?” Joan asked, oblivious to the man’s obvious intentions.
Standing off to the side, Mama cracked a wide smile.
“I realize we’ve just met and you have no idea who I am,” John said, “but I was hoping you might consider having dinner with me some night?”
Joan was paralyzed from shock and couldn’t react. Mama nudged her in the back. John caught it and grinned. The old lady was as subtle as a strong upper cut.
“Yes, I’d love to have dinner with you,” Joan finally answered and began fishing around in her pocketbook for a pen to write down her telephone number.
He placed his hand on her arm. “That’s okay. I can get your number from the district office,” he said, and walked away smiling.
Joan looked at the kids. Brian was smiling from ear-to-ear, Ross was glaring at the stranger and Angie wore her usual pout.
At eight o’clock, the telephone rang. Joan picked up. “Hi, Ma.”
“Hi, Joan. Is my butterfly home?”
“He sure is. And he’s been waiting for your call. I think he’s excited to tell you something.”
“Great, put him…”
“Allo,” Brian answered in a winded voice.
“Hi, love. Your mom says you have something to tell me?”
“Yets, I mole no state…”
“Slow down, Brian. Take your time and think about your words. There’s no rush, sweetheart.”
He took a deep breath. “K.” There was another thoughtful pause. “I wore mole.”
“What, sweetheart? What’s mole?”
“Mode…l,” he pronounced slowly.
“Mode…l?” she repeated, trying to decipher Brian’s newest word puzzle.
“Mode…l,” he said again, exercising an equal amount of patience with his grandmother.
A bell went off in her head. “Oh, medal!” she blurted. “Your medal?”
“Yets,” he answered, proudly.
“You’re still wearing your medal, right?”
“Yets.”
“And I bet you won’t be taking it off anytime soon. Do you know how proud Mama is of you, Brian?”
“Yets Mama.”
“You’d better,” she said. “Now tell me everything about your day.”
Chapter 17
Late Spring 1986
Joan was nearly giddy with anticipation. “John’s picking me up at 7:00,” she told Mama.
“I’ll be there to get the kids at 6:00,” Mama confirmed, glancing up at the kitchen clock.
“You don’t need to be here that early. Brian wants to be here when he picks me up.” She paused. “You think that’ll be okay?”
“It better be,” Mama said. “If he wants more than one date, he’s going to have to get used to Brian.”
They both laughed.
“So you excited?” Mama asked, already knowing the answer.
“I am,” Joan admitted. “It’s just that…”
“What is it?”
“The kids are still youn
g and…Brian…”
“It’s a date, Joan…just a date. The kids are fine. Brian’s fine.”
Joan didn’t take long to get ready and was already pacing the kitchen floor when she spotted John’s car pull into the driveway. She felt a squeal of excitement rise in her throat, but she held it back while she watched her date from the shadows. John walked around the passenger side of the car, opened the door and retrieved a bright bouquet of flowers. The squeal pushed higher, but she kept it down. John closed the car door and checked his appearance in the window. He fixed the collar on his sports coat and, turning toward the house, took a deep breath. “Ooooh,” Joan squealed and melted deeper into the shadows like a nervous teenager. As she straightened out her dress, the doorbell rang.
Although she didn’t mean to, she threw open the door. He was standing there, his smile beaming behind the flowers. “Come in,” she said. As he stepped past the threshold, he handed her the bouquet. “Beautiful,” she said and accepted his gift.
His eyes took her in and he smiled. “I’d say.” He then noticed the entire family sitting on the couch, watching. He wasn’t surprised – or at least he didn’t show it.
“Ha Ja,” Brian said, getting off the couch to offer a hug.
“Hi Brian. I didn’t think you’d be here when I came to pick up your mom,” he said, hugging him back, “but I’m glad you are. It’s good to see you.” He clearly meant it.
Mama offered her approval in a smile. Ross and Angie nodded their greetings.
“Hi guys,” he said, his arm wrapped around Brian’s shoulder.
While the small talk began, Joan headed toward the kitchen to place the fresh-cut stems into a vase of water. “Can I get you a drink?” she yelled from the kitchen.
“No, thank you,” John yelled back. “I’ll wait for the restaurant.”
Joan hurried with the vase and when she returned to the living room, she found Mama standing there, holding her sweater. “I’ll bring the kids to my house. I need to get a few things done and I can use Ross and Brian’s strong backs.” She looked at John. “You two go out and have some fun.”
John thanked her and said goodbye to the kids. Ross and Angie all but ignored him, while Brian couldn’t stop giving him high-fives.
As Mama shuffled Brian to the door, she waved Joan over to her. “Let’s just plan on them sleeping over.”
Joan nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. Thanks.”
“But give me a call when you get home. I want all the details,” Mama whispered with a smile.
“I can’t imagine there will be too many details to share from a first date,” Joan whispered back.
Mama grinned again. “Oh, you never can tell.” She turned back to the kids. “Let’s go, guys.”
While Angie and Ross gladly filed out of the house, Brian stood beside John and wouldn’t take another step.
John chuckled. “Do you want to come with us?” he asked Brian.
Joan quickly shook her head. “Don’t even suggest it,” she said. “He wouldn’t hesitate.”
Mama agreed. “Brian already has a date tonight,” she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him out the door. “And I don’t like being stood up.”
Both John and Joan laughed, as they watched Mama escort Brian to her car. “You have a beautiful family,” John said, sincerely. “You’re very lucky.”
She nodded. “I know. I’m blessed.”
Joan took a deep breath, locked the front door and embarked on the first date she’d had in years. When they reached the car, John opened the passenger side door and held it for her. She took pause, looked into his emerald eyes and smiled. She’d never really thought about it until this moment, but it had been years since anyone had held a door for her.
At Mama’s cottage, the kids learned that the only heavy lifting to be done involved their grandmother’s massive meatballs – from fork to mouth. After the dinner mess was cleaned, she decided it was time to teach Brian how to play Parcheesi; how to count out the spaces he could move by the combined number he rolled on the dice.
While it came so easy for Ross and even Angie, Brian struggled. “Kent,” he finally muttered, shaking his frustrated head.
Mama’s head snapped around at him, as though he’d just called her a curse word. “What did you just say?” she asked.
Brian shook his head again. “Kent,” he repeated. This time, it was nothing more than a whisper.
While Ross and Angie sat back to watch the show, Mama leaned in and shook her head. “Here we go again,” she complained. “When will you kids ever learn – there’s no such thing as can’t?”
Brian looked at her, but said nothing.
She picked up the small cup, placed both dice into it and handed it back to him. “Roll them again,” she said. “We have all night.”
Brian poured the dice onto the game board, and rolled a combined eleven. Mama counted the black dots aloud and then showed him how to move his game piece eleven spaces. “Do you see?” she asked.
He looked at her, but remained silent.
She picked up the small cup again, placed both dice into it and handed it back to him. “Go ahead, roll them again,” she said. “We have tomorrow night and the night after that and the night after that, if we need it – whatever it takes.” She looked at him and shook her head. “Can’t, huh?” she muttered. “Oh, I don’t think so!”
Ross sighed heavily, stood and extended his hand to his baby sister. “Let’s go watch some TV, Angie. This is going to take them a while.”
Ross and Angie had long since gone to bed when Mama relented and allowed Brian to do the same. “But we’re going to start again tomorrow,” she promised. “Don’t you worry. You’ll get it, sweetheart.”
“K, Mama,” he said and puckered his lips for a kiss.
She bent over him and laid one on him.
“Nigh, nigh, Mama,” he said.
“Goodnight, Brian,” she whispered, and pulled the covers under his chin.
As she closed the bedroom door, the phone rang. She hobbled over to the kitchen to answer it. “Hello?”
“How are the kids?” Joan asked, trying to conceal her obvious excitement.
“Great. We played a few games of Parcheesi.”
“Brian?”
“Sleeping like an angel. We had a good night – spent a few hours working on his terrible math skills.”
Joan chuckled at her mother’s endless tenacity.
“So, how was the date?” Mama asked.
“He took me to the Old Grist Mill, that fancy place on the river. Actually, it was really nice – comfortable, you know?”
Mama said nothing. She only listened.
“They had the best baked onion soup, with melted cheese crawling down the crock. John had the clam chowder. For an appetizer, he ordered us the lobster stuffed mushroom caps. And for our entrees, I took his advice and went with the baked stuffed jumbo shrimp. He ordered the surf and turf special. Through it all, I never stopped talking and he never stopped smiling. I didn’t realize how long it’s been since a man was truly interested in what I have to say.”
“That’s great. So did you find out anything about him?”
Joan laughed. “At one point, I actually apologized when I realized he hadn’t spoken a word through the entire meal and I hadn’t shut up. He told me, ‘That’s fine. I’ll fill you in on our next date.’”
Mama chuckled. “That sly fox.”
“Well, I did learn that he started volunteering for the Special Olympics to spend time with his nephew, Calvin, who suffered from Cerebral Palsy.”
“Poor darlin’,” Mama said.
“I know. John said that he passed away from pneumonia about a year ago.”
Mama sighed. “And John’s still volunteering, huh?”
“He said he took a break from the Special Olympics for two months, but couldn’t quit; that he didn’t want to miss out on any of that magic.”
“That’s all you learned?”
“
He’s also divorced.”
Mama snickered, but didn’t comment.
“After treating me to a waffle cone of butter pecan ice cream, he walked me to the front door like a true gentleman.”
“That a boy,” Mama teased. “You really had quite a night, didn’t you?”
“It was a perfect night – the restaurant, the conversation, the meal…and especially him.” She paused. “He’s absolutely wonderful, but the kids…”
“Joan, it was your first date,” Mama interrupted. “Why are you already over-analyzing this?”
“Are you serious? With Angie’s age and Brian’s needs, I didn’t expect you to respond like this.”
“You didn’t, huh? And when have I ever said you were less important than anyone else in this family – to include your children? Besides, children are happiest when their parents are happy. If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for the kids.”
“But…”
“No more buts, Joan. The kids will love him – even Angie – although she’ll never show it.” She chuckled. “…at least not for years.”
Joan sighed heavily.
“He’s a good man,” Mama added. “If he weren’t, you know I’d be the first to call it out.”
Joan cleared her throat, but didn’t utter a word.
“Anyway,” Mama said, “follow your heart and let go of those doubts. It’s about time you gave yourself a shot at being happy. Lord knows you deserve it.”
“Thanks, Ma,” Joan finished. “I’ll come get the kids first thing in the morning.”
“If you don’t mind, make it tomorrow afternoon. I think Brian and I are making some real progress on his math skills. Besides, I’m trying that butternut squash ravioli recipe in a sage cream sauce and I need a guinea pig to test it before I put it out for the rest of the family.”
“Of course. Who else would you test it on?” She chuckled. “Goodnight, Ma – and thank you.”
Goodnight, Brian Page 13