Just a Little Faith (27 page)

****

W
alking through the lobby
,
she heard Tori answer the
phone
and
Pax paused
when Tori mentioned
Seb's name
.
H
er heart leapt at finally getting the opportunity to speak with him.
It had been a month
s
ince his accident
,
and
she
feared what might happen if he went t
hrough this all alone.
Pax
didn't understand why he
'
d shut her out, but
she figured he
would call when he felt ready.

Upon hearing Tori ask Seb if he really wanted to speak to Michael instead of her, she closed her eyes and placed her hand to her mouth
, as sorrow bubbled within her
.
H
urry
ing
back toward her office,
she
shut the door
,
her legs crumbling beneath her. Sliding down the door, she wrapped herself into a ball. P
ut
ting
her hands in her face
,
she
wept
bitterly
.

 

Over the next few weeks
, Paxson
read
various newspaper and internet articles about Seb. There were photos of him in
several
nightspots around t
own,
girls surrounding him while he smiled for them and the camera. It appeared Sebastian
wanted to
“recove
r
” from
t
his injury the same way he “recovered” from his failed ma
rriage
.
Her heart ached
see
ing
his
handsome
face yet not
recognizing
the man in the photos.
A
stranger.

She learned from Michael Seb requested to meet with him
outside
LLS
, stopping
at her door afterwards
.

“
What did he say
,
Michael?”

“We agreed to postpone doing any
more work for LLS until he's back on the playing field. Between what his
doctors
told him and how he's feeling, he thinks it will be probably Spring Training of next year.”

“Oh
,
really? I didn't know it could be that long of a recovery.”

“
The knee is tricky. Most people can recover well enough but for a professional athlete like Seb, you can't take a risk with it not being completely ready when you step back out on the field.”

Michael walked over beside her desk and touched her shoulder. “He asked about you
,
Pax
.
He wanted to make sure you were okay. I told
him
yes. He wanted to know if you liked your seat at the games. I didn't tell him you hadn't been back since his injury. I figured what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.”

“Did he say why he won't call
,
Michael?”

“No, but I think he's feeling pretty sorry for himself these days. I imagine there might be some guilt over how he's treating you rolling around in his head too. Give him some time
,
and he'll come around.”

The days and week
s
passed.
Determined to put Sebastian Quinn out of her mind, Paxson
dove into her work and church family, allowing it to consume her every waking minute.
Spending time with her
family
from church
gave her opportunity to take her mind off of her troubles and concentrate on doing for others.

Besides visiting Children's Hospital on Thursdays, she added Tuesday to her schedule as well. The kids always helped her put things in proper perspective. She generally left happier than when she came.

Pushing little Cassandra down the hall to her room after her
last
visit, they discussed the latest movies being shown in the entertainment hall. “I think the newest Disney movie will be out on DVD next week. I'll make sure and stop by the store and bring it the next time I come.”

“That will be great
,
Miss Pax. I know we'll all enjoy it.”

“Miss Pax. We haven't seen Seb lately. Is he ever going to come back?”

After p
utting the brakes on the wheelchair, Pax came around to kneel in front of the little girl. “I don't know
,
Cassandra. You know Seb hurt his knee pretty badly right?”

Cassandra nodded her head
.

“Well, getting better from a surgery like that takes a lot of time and Seb is pretty busy trying to heal up so he can play baseball again.”

“Oh. Like we take medicine to try and heal up too?”

“Kind of. Seb doesn't have to take the medicines
and stuff like
you kids do, but he has to go to therapy a lot and work on getting his knee to bend better. It's a hard and painful process.”

Apparently s
atisfied with her answer, Cassandra nodded.
“Well, Miss Pax next time you see him, tell him we miss having him here, okay?”

Biting her lip to keep it from quivering, Paxson stood up and released the brake. “The next time I see him, I'll be sure and tell him you said that
,
Cassandra.”

After leaving the hospital, Pax hurried to her apartment, threw on her running clothes
,
and headed out to the local park. Jogging for several miles, she prayed with each step.
She
asked for God's blessings
on
the kids at the hospital and for their treatments to be effective. She prayed
she could
keep her mind focused on
what
mattered mos
t
. Even though she tried not to think about him, Pax
prayed for Sebastian. She prayed one day he might realize the life he was choosing to live
wouldn't give him
the answer to his troubles.

She also prayed to not miss him so much.

****

The first Thursday of June, Paxson decided to take a half a day off of work and
go
downtown for a rare afternoon game during the week
.
I loved the Cardinals before I met Sebastian Quinn
,
and I won't let what happened between us overrule my desire to enjoy this game again.
Besides, I need the escape for a little while.

Work at the office had been challenging
lately. A
couple of potential clients were still trying to decide on a proposal Michael and Paxson
had written
.
With Seb's lack of participation, the office staff scrambled to find someone of his caliber for their marketing campaign.

Plus, the night before
,
t
he nurses
from the hospital
called
Pax
to tell her
little Cassandra
from Children's Hospital
seemed to have
t
a
k
en
a tur
n for the worse
. Her chemo stopped
working
,
and the
doctors
didn't think
she would live through the weekend.
Paxson
drove t
oward the Stadium
with a heavy heart
.
Coming from
the hospital before the game
, she felt
sure
she had seen Cassandra for the last time. Her body so weak it wouldn't be long before it su
rrendered to the cancer.

Exiting
off the interstate onto Park Avenue, her cell phone rang. Not taking the time to
check the Caller ID
, she answered
quickly
.
“Hello, t
his is Paxson.”

“Pax.”

Her
heart stopped beating. “Sebastian?”

“It's me
,
Pax. I'm sorry I haven't called you in so long. I don't have a good explanation for it.”

Once
she felt confident her
heart started beating again, it felt like it w
ould
pound out of her chest. “I know
you've been through some difficult times lately,
Sebastian. I hope your recovery is going well.”

“I guess it
'
s going as well as possible
,
considering the amount of cleanup work they
did
on my knee. I, um, was hoping maybe I could see you. Maybe grab a cup of coffee or something.”

Paxson felt a tear slide down her cheek. “Of course, Seb. I would love to see you. Just tell me when and where.”

“How about seven o'clock tonight at Perks… You know where we had our first date?”

Paxson smiled at the memory. “
Of course
.
I remember. That
sounds wonderful. I look forward to it.”

S
ilence
greeted her
on the other end of the phone
until she
heard
his voice whisper
,
“I've missed you
,
” then
the
click of the phone
.

She slowly placed the cell phone on the console between the two front seats
,
a smile c
rossing
her face. Sometimes things did work out if you just had a little faith. She was amazed at the ways God could take a difficult day and all at once turn it on a dime just with a phone call and three simple words.
Maybe
today w
ould
be better than she hoped in more ways than one.

This last thought made her happier than she'd been in weeks.

Squealing brakes
caught her attention. She glanced up.
Her world went dark.

 

Sitting in his car,
Sebastian hung up his phone
. For the first time since opening day, he
stared across the parking lot at the stadium.
He had to go back.
He missed playing
,
but he also knew he hurt
not only
himself b
ut his
teammates by
not coming out to support them
.
They'
d done well
in his absence
.
W
inning almost every series they played and as of
today they
were in first place with a six
-
game lead over the next team in the standings.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the handle
and
aided with a cane limped into
the locker room
.

Voices shouted at him from every direction.
“
Seb!
Where you been man?
”

“What's this? Ready for the old folk's home already?”

“Look at you coming crawling in here like you're a member of AARP!”

He shared several hugs with the players before they dressed for batting practice.

Laughing
,
Seb knew their jokes were a
ll in fun. He
felt
better emotionally than he had in a long time
,
and
he
enjoyed the camaraderie of the team.

H
e
limped
over t
o the locker beside his old one
and
sat on the bench beside
his protégé Carter Manning
,
who kept his
head down
while
he tied his cleats.

“
Carter,
h
ow you doing,
son
?”

The young man
looked up
,
his lips form
ing
a small smile. “Hey
,
Seb. I'm doing okay. I um. Well,
I'm
glad to have made it to the big leagues
.
B
ut
I'm
sure sorry for how it happened. I hope you don't hold it against me.”

Seb laughed.
“
Hold it against you? I'm proud of you
,
son. You
'
re a great athlete
,
and your being on this team is well-deserved.
I'm
glad management saw the potential I did. You've had a great season so far. I hope it continues.”

When Carter
breathed a sigh of relief
, Seb put his arm on his shoulders and pulled him close.
“But don't think this position is yours next year. I'll be back at Spring Training
,
and I'll be in the best shape of my life, so you better beware.”
S
lapp
ing
him on the back
,
he
laughed
,
and hobbled
down to Linc and Rangy's lockers at the other end of the room.

“Well, look who finally decided to come back to work!” Rangy jumped up from the bench and hugged Sebastian. “It's sure good to see you. I thought you were just gonna leave us and never come back to the park
.
”
He snapped his shirt at Seb's chest.

Seb smiled
.
“I know
,
Rangy. It took me a bit to get back to my senses and come around. But I think I can say I've got my head screwed on straight now
.
I'm
ready to be a part of the team in any way I can.”

Linc placed his hand on Seb's shoulder and tightened his grip. “It's good to see you
,
Seb. We've missed you. It hasn't been the same without you here
among
us
.
”

“I've missed you
,
too
,
Linc. I appreciate you supporting me in my therapy
,
and I appreciate your friendship with everything I have been through. It's meant a lot.”

“Well, enough of this sappy stuff, let's
get busy
!” Rangy slapped him on the back a
s
they made their way out toward the field.

Seb sat in the dugout, receiving well-wishes from his teammates,
while yelling encouragement. Watching them ta
k
e
batting practice,
he
felt his pocket vibrate and then the faint sound of
his cell phone ring.
Yanking it out of his pocket, he answered.

“Seb. It's Michael Stratford from LLS. You need to get over to St. Louis University Hospital. Pax has been in an accident
.
I don't know the extent of her injuries
,
but an ambulance took her to the ER
.”

Sebastian
's
heart drop
ped
.
No, No, NO! H
e w
ould not go through this again. He
couldn't
lose someone so important to him. Not
now. Please.
Hopping off the bench, h
e yelled for Linc
and Rangy
,
who ran over from the batting cage
.

“What's going on man, you look like you've seen a ghost?”

“I've got to go fellas. Michael just called. Pax has been in an accident and is at St. Louis Hospital. I need to be there.”

“Oh man! Go! Let us know when you find out anything, we'll come
as soon as the game is over
.”

Limping
as fast as he could from the dugout
, and
out the back of the Stadium
to the car
, Seb had only one thought
. He had to get to
Pax
. He had so much to tell her.