Sugar Crash (15 page)

"Aye aye, Captain'."

"Not funny, Barb." Susanna tucked her folder away and moved to stand up.

"Maybe I can help out," Darci said. "I'm pretty good at making signs."

"That sounds like a great idea."

"I don't think that's necessary."
 

Barb and Susanna spoke at the same time.
 

"And why not?" Darci asked Susanna, who still hadn't acknowledged her presence.
 

Susanna slowly turned so she was facing Darci, but still wouldn't make eye contact.

"We formed the committees ages ago while you were busy with the hospital. I really don't think we need anything else."

Darci bristled.
 

"I'm sure there's something," Barb said.

Darci straightened her back and turned so she was facing Susanna head on. She looked her straight in the eyes, but the other woman, blinked hard and looked away. "Didn't you say," Darci started, "that since my daughter was captain of the team again this year, that I should be expected to do my bit?"

"I...just...well, with everything..." Susanna stammered and shifted from side to side.
 

"Just say it, Susanna," Barb said. "Because we all know what this is about."

Susanna looked at each of them in turn before patting her hair. "Okay," she said. "It's not a secret that I'm uncomfortable with Taylor's illness."

"It's a disease," Barb said.
 

Susanna ignored her. "And as I said ages ago, I no longer think that Taylor is the best representative for our team. I don't believe she should be team captain and I'm even sure she should be playing with the girls."
 

"Pardon me?"
 

"I don't like it, Darci. And I'm tired of pretending that I think it's okay. Something needs to be done."

Barb stood up and put her hands on her hips. "And what exactly do you think needs to be done, Susanna?"
 

Susanna turned and glared at Barb. "If you must know, I think Taylor should quit the team."

Darci took such a sharp breath that she started coughing. When she got herself under control, she looked directly at Susanna and said, "That's not going to happen."

"There's no way that's going to happen," agreed Barb.

"I see," Susanna huffed and looked at both of them before stepping over the bench to make her getaway. Before she left she turned around one last time. "Well, if she's not leaving, my daughter is."

"You can't do that, Susanna," Darci said. "She's the goalie. The team needs her."

"But they don't need you," Barb chimed in. "Maybe it's you the team doesn't need, Susanna."

Susanna glared at Barb but spoke to Darci, "Well I guess the team doesn't need Jennica quite so badly after all." Without turning around again, she picked her way down the bleachers and towards the players' bench.
 

Barb put her hand on Darci's shaking shoulder. "Let her go," she said. "It's not worth it. And we both know that she'll calm down."

###

Susanna didn't calm down, and the girls played the rest of the game as if their star goalie hadn't just been taken from them. Darci couldn't hear what Cam told the girls about Jennica's departure, and despite the fact that he himself had only heard Susanna's side of the story, there was no doubt that he knew enough of what had happened to piece it together. And the girls didn't need to know the details, although, Darci was sure that Taylor would ask her later.
 

The Chargers won the game, but there was no enthusiastic cheer, no celebration and no victory pizza and soda. One by one, the parents said their goodbyes, and made their way down to the field to collect their kids and go home. In unspoken agreement, Darci, Barb and Tim sat and waited until they were the only ones left in the stands. Darci watched as Cam packed up his bag, gathered the balls that had escaped and stuffed them into his net bag. Taylor and Abby were sitting in the grass stretching their legs, but Darci knew they were doing more talking than stretching.
 

"I guess we should go talk to him," Barb said after a moment.
 

"I'll take the girls to the car," Tim offered.
 

He called out to the girls who grabbed their stuff, dusted off their backsides and jogged over to him.
 

When they were gone, Darci and Barb stepped down the bleachers and over to where Cam was waiting.
 

As soon as they got close, Cam asked, "So, are you two going to tell me why my star goalie was yanked out of the game halfway through?" He didn't look up.
 

Darci stayed silent, she didn't trust herself to recount the story. Just thinking of the way Susanna had acted, made her cringe.
 

"What did Susanna tell you?" Barb asked.
 

Cam turned and glared at his sister. "She said you told her to leave. That she wasn't welcome on the team anymore."

"That's not-"

"I know," Cam said, his face cracking into a smile. "I know Susanna well enough to know that there's a whole lot more to it than that. And really, even if you had told her she wasn't welcome, I wouldn't have blamed you. She's difficult to deal with on a good day."

Darci tried to match his smile, but couldn't. She had to fight the urge to reach out to him and stroke his cheek where the stubble was beginning to turn into a beard. But their relationship was never that intimate and after the way she'd treated him at the hospital, Darci knew she wouldn't have the opportunity to touch him that way at all.
 

"Is that right, Darci?"
 

She shook her head clear, embarrassed that she'd been caught daydreaming and hadn't been listening. "I'm sorry?"
 

Cam was staring at her, his smile had vanished and she hoped it wasn't because of her. "Did Susanna say that Taylor was a bad influence on the girls because of her diabetes?" His jaw clenched tight as he waited for her answer.

Darci nodded. "It's true."

"Then she can't be here," Cam said. "I will not tolerate anyone treating any of my players with such ignorance. It's not fair to Taylor, or anybody else."
 

"Thank you," Darci whispered.
 

He looked at her and his gaze softened. "You don't have to thank me." His eyes held hers and for a moment, she thought he might say something else. "I can't and won't tolerate that kind of behavior. Taylor has enough to deal with, she doesn't need Susanna spreading misinformation too. Jennica is welcome, but that's not my decision to make."

"What did you tell the girls?" Barb asked.
 

Darci and Cam both turned to her, having forgotten she was still there. "Sadly, I didn't have to tell them anything. They heard Susanna's ranting loud and clear when she came and grabbed Jennica. I'll explain things tomorrow night at practice."

Darci's mind drifted slightly and she tuned out of their conversation again. After a moment, she popped her head up and said, "Maybe I can make a suggestion?"
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Darci's lungs burned. Her feet pounded the pavement, and with each strike, she exhaled a puff of air, sucking in another so fast that she didn't have to think about the action. Faster. She pumped her legs, willing them to go. Harder. She closed her eyes for a second; letting her body move by the sheer memory of the trail she ran almost every night.
 

After bringing Taylor home from the game, she'd cooked a simple spaghetti dinner and together they sat at the kitchen table where Darci answered all of her questions about what happened at the game and why Jennica didn't play the second half. It turns out the girls had drawn their own conclusions after witnessing Susanna yelling at Cam, and they weren't far off.
 

Taylor confided that things had only gotten worse with the girls at school too. Darci knew that there had been problems and she wasn't surprised when Taylor told her that Abby, in an effort to defend her, had confronted Jennica.
 

"What did she say?" Darci asked.

"I don't know." Taylor shrugged and picked at her dinner. "And I don't care. It's not worth it, Mom."
 

"Tay, Jennica's your friend. Of course it's worth it to try and figure out what's going on." Darci spun a forkful of pasta and swirled it through the sauce.
 

 
"She just doesn't understand, Mom." Taylor ripped off a chunk of her garlic bread but wouldn't meet her mother's eyes. "It doesn't matter what I do or say, she believes what her mother tells her and I'm sick of saying the same thing."

"I know."

"It's not fair that my friends treat me differently." Taylor shoved the bread into her mouth.
 

"No, kiddo. It's not. But I think I have a plan that will help."

Taylor listened, her eyes growing wide with enthusiasm, as Darci laid out the plan that her, Barb and Cam had come up with earlier. Darci decided it was time to teach the team and all of Taylor's friends exactly what diabetes was, and was not. The plan was to throw a party that would not only be fun but that would also educate them. There would be healthy snacks, sugar free sorbets and other healthy option deserts. Darci had come up with the idea of having Joelle come and do a needle demonstration, so they could all see that it wasn't that scary. It would also be good to explain to the girls what to look for when it came to the signs of
 
a sugar crash, so Taylor could hopefully avoid a seizure again in the future.
 

"Will it be fun?"

"The party?" Darci plucked a piece of lettuce from her plate. "Of course it'll be fun. We'll make sure that fun is the number one priority."

"Will there be music? What about dancing? I think there should be dancing."

"I think it's important for your friends to understand that diabetes doesn't mean that you're a different person. You're still, fun, lovable you. As goofy as you always were. So yes, there'll be dancing. "

That made Taylor laugh and they spent the rest of their dinner joking and planning the Sugar Crash Party.
 

After the dishes, Taylor retreated to her room to talk on the phone to Abby who was also brimming with ideas for the party. But at nine, Darci shut them down and made Tay turn out the light. As soon as she said goodnight Darci laced up her runners and headed out the door.
 

The muscles in her legs screamed as she pushed them to the limit so Darci slowed her pace as she rounded the corner that would lead her down the street to the cemetery. It wasn't every night that she chose that route, a route that most would shy away from. But despite the fact that Taylor was happy and excited about the party, Darci couldn't help but feel that there was something more she could do. She knew the Sugar Crash party would be good; it would increase awareness and understanding among Taylor's friends and their families. But what about the thousands of other people? The people who like Susanna and Monica who were going to judge Tay or tell her that if she just ate the right foods she could cure her disease, or look at her funny when she gave herself an insulin shot. What about them?

Darci pumped her arms in rhythm to her foot strike and turned into the cemetery. She should have been spooked, running alone through a graveyard in the middle of the night, but the park with the huge oak trees and perfectly kept grass was her quiet place. The place she could go to think things through. The place she could go where she didn't feel alone.
 

She slowed to a walk and clutched her side, letting her breath slow as she approached Ryan's tombstone. She ran her hands over the carved lettering. "Loving Husband and Father."
 

Darci slumped to the ground and rested her back against the stone, letting the coolness of it penetrate her thin running shirt. Instead of chilling her, it comforted her.
 

Nobody knew that she came to the graveyard to be close to Ryan. Not even Taylor shared in that secret. Over the years, she went less and less on her own, reserving her visits mostly for Ryan's birthday and the anniversary of his death. Trips that she'd make with Taylor. But over the last few weeks while out for her runs, Darci found herself going to the cemetery almost as if her feet had a mind of their own. She needed Ryan. His guidance, his comfort, his ability to let her bounce ideas off him.
 

"I'm afraid, Ryan," she whispered into the night air and leaned her head back against the granite. "But it's not Taylor I'm worried about. She's going to be fine. I know that. She's your daughter. She's tough like you, a survivor." Darci took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking again. "It's me. I don't know if I can do this all on my own anymore." Her thoughts flashed to Cam and the awful way she'd treated him. "And I don't think I want to," she admitted.

Darci sat for a long time, letting her breathing slow and her heart rate return to normal. She spoke to Ryan as if he was sitting there with her. She told him about the soccer game and the scene Susanna made. Darci knew he would have laughed at her if he'd been there to see it. He never had any tolerance for stupidity that was hurtful to others. He would have been so proud of Taylor for being brave and Darci that he'd be all for the party they were throwing. But she also knew that Ryan would be angry at her for trying to do everything on her own. He'd always gotten after her for her stubborn streak and her 'pigheadedness' as he'd called it.
 

"Dammit, Ryan." She looked up to the stars that dotted the dark sky. "Damn you for leaving me! I shouldn't have to do this on my own." The anger Darci hadn't felt since the days after Ryan's death surged through her and she pushed herself up from the damp grass and took off in a sprint.
 

Once again, she pushed her body to the limit, relishing in the feel of the burn in her lungs as she sucked in the crisp air. She followed the path, taking a sharp right out of the graveyard and back on the street. The physical exertion distracted her mind and let her focus on her body, clearing her head of everything else. Right. Left. Right. She chanted to herself as her feet struck the pavement. Darci was so preoccupied with running, she didn't notice the man coming towards her until he was only a few houses away. When she looked up and saw him running in her direction, her breath caught in her throat and she almost tripped as her rhythm faltered.