He moved but he didn’t let her lie down. He scooped her off her feet instead and kissed her senseless before tucking her safely against him.
He pulled up the blanket. “I only fell asleep because your dad said you should be here any minute. I tried to wait up but I haven’t slept, and I’m supposed to be at camp in about eight hours—”
“Shhh...” She swept locks of hair away from his forehead. “We’ll get some sleep and get you there on time. I have to tell you a couple things.”
“If it’s bad news, don’t bother. I can’t take it.”
“Not bad news. No more bad news. I want you to know I took care of that confrontation we talked about.”
He stiffened. “You just couldn’t let me help you with that, could you?”
“No one could help me with that. It only took a minute. I saw him, I told him me and the police knew, and I gave him a Bible.
“So you were close to the—”
“I wasn’t close. I put it in a bag and left it for him to pick up when I walked away.”
“You gave the rapist a Bible?”
“Why not? It’s what he needs.”
“You’re a better person than me, Gia.”
“I don’t know about that. I also saw my father and buried the hatchet with him. Learned a couple things, too. We can talk about that another time.”
“Do you feel better?”
“Infinitely.”
He yawned and stretched and then pulled her closer still. “What else?”
“I saw Ty when I went to work. He’s a mess, but he’ll be all right. I don’t think his aunt and uncle know exactly what to do to help him, and I don’t think he’s had much motivation to help himself.”
“It happens. You have to want to be healthy and active when you end up in a chair. It happened to me as an adult, and I had to make a way for myself. Can’t imagine what it’s like for a kid, especially on top of a loss. Do you have any ideas about working with him?”
“I have lots of ideas. That’s where you come in.”
“You’re the child psychology person. I’m a computer nerd with possible brain limitations from too many hits to the head during twelve plus years of football.”
“Twelve plus years? When did you start?”
“This is Texas, baby. I think I was in first grade.”
“Never mind that. You have no brain limits. You are a genius. I’ve decided you can fix anything, do anything, solve anything—”
“I couldn’t keep my wife from leaving me.”
“I didn’t leave you. Don’t change the subject. I was talking with Ty, and I realized I only know what I know because I learned it from you. I’ve been optimistically curious about what God intended to do with us now that He brought us together and I think I might know.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“First you have to tell me something.”
“Here it comes...”
“I need to know about hand cycling.”
“And there it is.”
“Awww Rocky, I’m sorry I peeked in the top secret cave, but c’mon, why were you hiding that? I looked at something briefly online, and I can see why that’s an excellent sport for you.”
“I don’t know if I want to get into this tonight.”
“Start talking, cowboy. We both need some sleep so let’s get it all on the table. What exactly is a hand cycle?”
“It’s a type of recumbent bike. It’s powered by the arms rather than the legs. They are like tricycles in their frame because they have two coasting rear wheels and one steerable front wheel. Like all other bikes, there are different brands, styles, etc., but I enjoyed working on my own and developing my own ideas.”
“How did you do that?”
“There are hand cycling clubs same as there are chess clubs and astronomy clubs. I got together with other guys who had welding capabilities or pipe bending equipment and metal saws, stuff like that. We hung out, built bikes, and rode. Some raced. I was learning to do that.”
“Did you have those shiny, stretchy clothes cycling people wear?”
“That’s the part of the story you’re interested in?”
“I’m trying to get a visual here, and I think you’d look good in those shirts.”
“Yes, I have some cycling clothes around here.”
“Good. Continue. Why did you quit? You’re so strong and competitive and it looks like fun.”
“It was fun, but I got too intense about it. I was training, spending all my time with other racers. It’s almost like I couldn’t find a balance in my life. But remember this is before I found the church. Everything was out of whack and empty.”
“So what happened?”
“A bunch of us went out on a training ride. It’s always dangerous on the road, but we have people who follow us and motorists are usually good about it. But this day it went nuts. Somebody slowed, the person behind them didn’t. The next car in line was going too fast anyway and went to the shoulder without looking. Knocked two of our group off the road and over the embankment. We were tumbling down like dominoes. The car came so close to me I could feel it and smell it. I should be dead. I still don’t know how I’m not.”
“What about the others?”
“One guy died, but not at the scene. He got a secondary infection in the hospital and couldn’t fight it fast enough.”
“I’m sorry, Rocky.”
“I lost my passion for it after that. Someone called my mother from the hospital where we’d been taken. I was transported because I was banged up and needed some stitches. Infection is always a concern and it felt like I ripped my shoulder to shreds. My mom and dad got there and they didn’t know anything. The look in my mom’s eyes when they found me... She’s been through enough with me. I know things happen that are way beyond our control, but I decided I didn’t need to be a sitting duck on a highway. If I ever get back to it, I’ll do things differently.”
“And I would think a planned race is a closed course.”
“Oh yeah, but I never got that far. So that’s the story of my short-lived hand cycling adventure. Someone invited me to Cornerstone a couple weeks later, and I got busy with the band. Haven’t looked back.”
“But why the big secret?”
“It was never meant to be a big secret. I’m not a quitter. I didn’t want you to think I was. I was going to tell you about it.”
Gia’s mind crackled with the possibilities. “How soon can you put one of those things back together? You’ve got enough parts out there. Can you ride it around the neighborhood? We can go for rides together. I need a bike.”
“Take it easy. What’s the hurry?”
“You need to get back up to speed, so to speak. We have things to do.”
“What things, Gia? I don’t need any more things to do. Trying to keep my wife safe and in the same county is work enough for me.”
“Stop. I’m not going anywhere. Do I really have to draw you a map here? I’ve wanted to work with children since I can’t remember when. You have a gift for it. We’re in this situation for a reason. Kids like Ty are that reason. It’s our destiny to pool our ideas and talents and help kids.”
“No, I don’t need a map. I’ve been feeling it, too.”
“I’m going to camp with you tomorrow so I can talk to the directors there. They have experience with grant writing and fundraising. I’m going to pick their brains about how we can start our own deal for special needs children.”
“We can’t start a camp, Gia.”
“Not with that attitude we can’t. Maybe not this week, but sometime in the future.”
“Start smaller.”
“OK. First we have to get Ty in the pool. Then onto a hand cycle. Then we can have a game day at the community center for disabled kids. We’ll have food, prizes... Then we can have weekly activities for kids who need a boost. You can have a junior hand cycling club. I can do the emotional and relational stuff—”
“Gia.”
“I’ll work on a proposal for Coach. I bet he’ll be on board—”
“Gia.”
“We can do something through the church, too, so we can have a program with a faith-based approach.”
“Gia.”
“Yes?”
“We can get to all this tomorrow. All I want to do is hold you and sleep.”
“I love you, Rocky. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I do love you. Takes my breath away how much.”
“I love you, too, Gia. I should have said it, too. I guess that’s what happens when you do the whole thing backwards. You miss the fine details.”
“We’ll not miss them again.”
“I was scared to death when I came home and saw that note. I thought you were gone for good.”
“It said I’d be back.”
“Yes, but then I saw your room. All your things were packed. I thought you were moving out.”
“No, Rocky, I’m not moving out, I’m moving down the hall.”
“Oh. Ooooohhhhhh. Why didn’t you put a box in my room or something? I’ve literally had heart palpitations for two days.”
“I’m sorry, but it never occurred to me you would think I wasn’t coming back. It was in the note. We’re married. I love you, and I thought it was high time I spent the night with my husband. Plus, I heard he has a great spa-like shower deal.”
“He does. Get some sleep, and then we’ll try it out.”
“I love you, Rocky.”
“I love you, too, Gia.”
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May God’s glory shine through
this inspirational work of fiction.
AMDG