Authors: Matt Christopher
When he arrived at home, his father saw him come in. “How did it go?” he asked.
“Okay,” Theo replied. “Actually, it was really good. I did better than yesterday.”
“That’s great news,” said Mr. Gordimer. “Want to tell Aunt Marj? We’re going to see her, and you’re welcome to join us.”
“Sure,” Theo said. “I’ll get cleaned up.”
Mr. Gordimer said, “Marj just finished her last chemotherapy session, so this is sort of a congratulations visit. I don’t
think we’ll stay for long — she’s never up for long visits just after finishing one of those. But she’ll be happy to hear
your news.”
“I’ll be ready in a few minutes,” Theo said as he ran up to his room.
When the Gordimers arrived at Marj’s place, Marj’s aide, Louise, let them in. Louise had been staying with Marj during her
recovery. She was a young woman who seemed to be cheerful all the time,
which, Theo figured, was a good quality to have for someone who did that kind of work. He knew that Marj had a high opinion
of Louise, whose services had been vital for the last several months.
“How is she doing?” asked Theo’s mother as Louise closed the front door.
Louise’s usual sunny look turned a little less bright. “Well, you know how it is. Right after she gets back from the therapy,
she’s not real strong. But that’ll pass. And she’s looking forward to seeing you. Just let’s keep it pretty short today, all
right?”
Theo, who thought he was prepared to see his aunt looking not very well, was nevertheless shocked when they went into Marj’s
room. She was lying in bed, propped up on a few pillows. She seemed even thinner than when he’d seen her last, and her skin
was chalky. Her hair was almost completely gone! There were only some wisps of white left.
Mrs. Gordimer bent over and kissed her sister. “Good to see you home,” she said softly.
“Hi, Gordimers,” Marj whispered, managing a weak smile.
“Nice to know that you’re through with those
treatments,” Mr. Gordimer said, sitting in a chair near the bed.
“I thought they’d never end,” Marj agreed. Her eyes fell on Theo. “Hi, hon! Give your aunt a kiss!”
Theo came to the side of the bed and kissed Marj’s cheek. She looked at him for a moment and must have seen something in his
expression.
“It’s not as bad as all that, hon. I don’t believe you ever saw me just after I finished chemo. I always look like this for
a couple of days. But it passes.”
“Of course it does,” agreed Mr. Gordimer. “You’ll be up and about in no time.”
Marj put a hand to her head. “It’s the hair, isn’t it? Chemo does that to a lot of people. But they tell me it’ll grow back.
And if it doesn’t, well, there are always wigs. I can change my hairstyle every day if I want.”
Theo remembered that the last few times he’d seen Marj, she’d been wearing a baseball cap. Now he understood why.
“I’ve started running,” Theo said. “Today was my second day.”
Marj’s smile grew a little wider. “That’s wonderful!”
“Well, it’s only a start,” Theo said. “No big deal.”
“Sure, it’s a big deal,” said Marj. “Taking the first step is a big deal. And it makes me very pleased to know you’re doing
it.”
Mrs. Gordimer passed along some family news to Marj, and the family chatted for a few minutes. Then, Louise came into the
bedroom.
“I hate to break this up, but Marj needs to get her rest. I think it’s time to say our good-byes now.”
The Gordimers stood up, and each of them gave Marj a kiss and said good-bye. When Theo’s turn came, Marj squeezed his hand.
“You keep this up. I want you to tell me all about it. I’m proud of you.”
“You just get better,” Theo said.
“I’m
proud of
you.”
There was little talk in the car after the Gordimers left Marj’s place. Theo had tried to keep up a confident appearance during
the visit, but he was feeling very upset. From the way Marj looked, he wondered if she would ever recover. But there was no
way that he would say any such thing within his mother’s hearing.
But Theo was pretty sure that Mrs. Gordimer
shared his mood. She sat with her eyes closed, looking unhappy and on the verge of tears.
It was Mr. Gordimer who finally broke the silence. “Look, I know that was rough on all of us. But let’s try not to get too
discouraged, all right?”
“She looks so weak and tired,” his wife said.
Mr. Gordimer kept his eyes on the road while he spoke. “Dear, she’s looked terrible
every time
after the chemo. Then she slowly gets stronger. No reason to expect this time to be any different. Remember Jerry Abrams?”
“The man in your office who had cancer?” Theo asked.
“Right,” said Theo’s dad. “Jerry went through the same routine — radiation, chemo, the works. I visited him a couple of times
and figured he would never make it. Well, guess what?
“Jerry’s on the mend. He has been for two years now, and he’s doing fine. Cancer isn’t an automatic death sentence, not anymore
— far from it.”
“Really?” Theo asked. “He got better?”
“He sure did,” said Mr. Gordimer. “And if anybody I know is a good candidate for complete recovery, it’s Marj. She’s one tough
lady. She’s always been
healthy and active, and she’s as stubborn as they come. No way will she just lie down and quit.”
Mrs. Gordimer nodded. “You’re right, of course, but I get so worried for her.”
“Sure you do,” her husband said. “But don’t let it get to you. The most important thing we can do — all of us, you, too, Theo
— is to think positive thoughts and be there for her. We have to let her know we’re rooting for her. That can make a difference.”
Theo sat back, feeling a little less gloomy. His father was right. The other thing he could do, personally, was to keep running.
A
few days later, Theo went to his school’s track to do his workout. The first ten-minute walk went well. Theo was happy to
realize that he covered well over half a mile. He was certain that this was considerably more than he’d been able to do less
than a week before. The big question was: how far would he be able to run nonstop?
Before starting, he quickly went over a few of Mr. Baskin’s tips, especially the one about keeping his breathing steady. Then
he started. Before he’d finished half of his first running lap, Theo knew that he was going to finish the whole lap without
stopping… and then some. He was relaxed and not feeling wiped out at all.
Amazing!
he thought, as his legs kept pumping away.
He finished the first lap and kept going. Shortly
after he began his second lap, Theo began to feel a little winded, but resisted the temptation to slow to a walk just yet.
As he ran, he thought about the kids who had teased him in gym class that day and smiled to himself. He wished they were there
to see him now.
Well, maybe they
would
see him, soon enough. He suddenly realized that he had gone more than halfway around the track a second time! Could he do
a complete half mile? He gritted his teeth. He’d sure try. His breathing got a little faster and harder as the end of the
lap came into sight, but Theo knew that he was going to do it. At the end of the half mile, he slowed to a walk and looked
at his watch. It had taken him just over five and a half minutes. He walked slowly at first, then faster as he got his wind
back.
When the one-minute walking interval ended, Theo started running again. He didn’t have to stop until it was time to start
walking again.
He’d run for nine of the ten minutes and only had to walk once! He felt wonderful. He began walking again, feeling stronger
and more confident with every step. He’d do it! He’d run that five-K!
This was the New Theo, and there was no telling how fast he’d get!
At the end of the final ten minutes, Theo worked out that he’d been walking at about four-and-a-half miles an hour. Hardly
a world record, he knew, but better —
much
better — than the old Theo was ever able to do. Tomorrow was the last day of his first week, and Mr. Baskin’s schedule called
for Theo to take a day off.
Still feeling pumped, Theo phoned Paul that evening after dinner.
“Hey, Gee, how you doing?” Paul asked.
“Fantastic! I had a really good workout today! This is going great!”
“No kidding? That’s really cool, Gee. My dad’s going to be glad to hear it. How far did you run?”
“I ran a half mile without stopping!” Theo said. “Remember that day in gym? I couldn’t make half a lap!”
Paul sounded genuinely pleased at Theo’s progress. “Way to go, Gee! Hey, want to go to the park with me tomorrow and play
some ball? There’ll be a bunch of guys there.”
Theo hesitated, out of old habit, but then said,
“Sure, why not? Sounds good. I’ll come by your place. Tell your dad thanks again for me.”
“Right! Oh, how’s your aunt doing?” Paul asked. “Any better?”
Thinking of Marj, Theo felt his mood darken. “Well, maybe a little. She’s still pretty weak. But it’s going to take time,
you know.”
“Sure,” Paul said, quickly. “But I bet she’s going to be better soon. I bet she’ll be able to come and watch you in that race.”
“Wouldn’t that be amazing?” Theo fell silent, thinking about that possibility. It might happen. There was no way to know for
sure. “Well, anyway, see you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Gee!”
Theo hung up the phone and closed his eyes, imagining himself running in a real race, with his parents and Marj cheering him
on from the sideline. It was a very nice dream. Maybe this dream might even come true.
The next day, Theo biked over to Paul’s, and the two boys rode to the park. Theo was still excited about what he’d done the
day before.
In the midst of talking about what he was going to do at the track in the coming week, Theo stopped and looked at Paul.
“What are you smiling at?”
Paul shrugged. “Oh, nothing. It’s just that, up until a week ago, I’d have had to drag you out onto a track. The only action
you liked was what you saw on a video screen. And now… well, it’s a huge change, that’s all.”
Theo nodded. “Yeah, I guess it seems pretty funny. But it’s for real! And I owe it all to you. If you hadn’t pushed me into
trying it out, I might never have done it.”
They had arrived at the ball field, where they got off their bikes and locked them. Some other boys were already at the field.
Paul and Theo waved to them as they walked over.
“Anyway,” Theo said as they walked, “I think maybe I’ll be able to run the full ten minutes without stopping by the end of
this week. Maybe we can work out together once or twice.”
“Sounds cool, Gee,” Paul said.
“Did I hear something about working out?” asked Van Sluman, one of the other boys waiting to play.
Van was a wiry, freckle-faced redhead who seemed to enjoy making fun of Theo more than anyone else. He’d been one of the boys
who had ragged him when Theo hadn’t been able to run a full lap on the school track.
Theo didn’t say anything to Van, but Paul did. “Yeah, Theo’s started doing some running. He’s going to get into shape.”
Van laughed and looked at the other grinning boys. “Get into shape?
Him?
What shape is he going to get into? A big, round ball?”
“Real funny, Sluman,” Paul snapped.
Theo flushed, wishing Paul had kept his mouth shut.
Van turned to the rest of the group. “Hear that, guys? Theo’s working out. He’s going to be a runner.” He turned back to Theo,
sneering. “How far you going to run, big boy? Down to the candy store and back?”
Stung by the laughter, Theo couldn’t stop himself. “I’m going to run in a race in a few months. A five-K race.”
Van rolled his eyes in a look of comic disbelief. “Five K?
You’re
going to run five K? Yeah, right!”
“That’s more than three miles!” said one of the other kids. “They won’t need a stopwatch to time you. They’ll need a calendar!”
“He’s going to do it,” said Paul, standing up for his friend. “You’ll see. He’s already doing a lot better than he used to.”
“Uh-huh,” Van said. “A lot better. Like, he can make a hundred yards now without fainting?”
Theo swallowed and said, “I’m going to do it. I will.”
Van stared hard at Theo. “Tell you what, Gordo. If you run a whole five-K race, I’ll push a peanut all the way down Main Street
with my nose. On my hands and knees.”
Paul put a hand on Theo’s shoulder. “You better start practicing with a peanut, Sluman, because he’s going to run that race.
And
I’m
going to make sure you do what you said you’d do.”
Theo, who only a few minutes ago had felt really confident in himself, suddenly wasn’t sure at all. He was back to the old
Theo, wishing he hadn’t gotten involved in this running stuff, doubting that he had what it took. Van was right about him,
there was no way in the world he could run that far. He stood
silent and miserable until Van and his buddies got bored with picking on him and chose up sides for the softball game.
As usual, Theo was the last one picked.
As his team went out to start the game — Theo was put in right field, where he’d do the least damage — Paul whispered to him,
“Don’t let that guy bother you. You can do it, and you’re going to make him look like a total jerk.”
Theo nodded and trotted to a corner of the outfield, where he stood hoping that nothing would be hit in his direction. As
the game began, Theo couldn’t focus on what was going on in the field. He kept thinking about what the other boys thought
of him, and that they were probably right. He was what he was, and that was that.
“Hey, Gordimer!
You sleeping out there?” The yell from a teammate jolted Theo out of his daydream to notice that a ball
had
been hit in his direction and rolled right by him. He ran after it and threw it back to the infield, but not before the hitter
had made it all the way to third base.
“Yo, Gordo, if you want to take a nap, find a bed
somewhere!” yelled a second teammate. Theo looked at his feet and said nothing.
The rest of the game wasn’t much better, although Theo managed not to get so distracted again. But he misplayed a couple of
fly balls that he should have caught easily. When his team was at bat, he did no better. With runners at first and third and
one out, Theo hit a little bouncer to shortstop that resulted in a double play to end one inning. The ground ball had been
hit so slowly that only the lead-footed Theo could not have beaten out the throw to first. In another at bat, he actually
struck out, something that almost never happened in the kind of slow pitch softball they played.