Under a Summer Sky, page 27
E turned to look back and saw one of his teammates from college. “Hey, Ty, I didn’t know you were running.”
“I didn’t either until yesterday. One of my friends from high school got us in. Where’re you starting?”
“In the fives.”
Ty shook his head. “Not me—wait when you get off.”
E nodded.
Ten minutes later, the bus pulled up to drop them off and E waited for Tyler. As they chatted, Tyler revealed that he was coming off an ankle injury and was planning to take it easy. E wanted to keep talking, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw his dad checking his watch and said, “Listen, Ty, I gotta go. We’ll have to catch up at preseason next week.” Tyler nodded and headed off in the opposite direction with his friend.
“You didn’t have to wait,” E said. “I know my way.”
Noah nodded. “I know. I just thought we could warm up together.”
“That’s fine,” E said. “Let’s go.”
“Wait a minute,” Laney called after them, kneeling down. “I have to tighten my laces.”
Noah chuckled. “Boys,” he said dramatically, “did you know this is how your mother and I met?”
Seth and Ben groaned, and E and Gabe rolled their eyes.
“Dad, we know how you met,” Ben said.
“Yeah, you tell us every year,” Seth added.
“Mom was innocently tying her shoelaces at the start of the Falmouth Road Race . . .” Seth started.
“In 1983 . . .” Ben added.
“When you rudely . . .” Gabe began.
“And clumsily . . .” E added.
“Knocked her over because you weren’t watching where you were going,” they all said in unison.
Noah laughed. “Well, that’s your mom’s version of the story. It was really Uncle Micah’s fault.”
Laney stood up. “Okay, I’m ready, but let’s not go too far. I need to conserve my energy . . . and I need to find a porta-potty.”
Noah shook his head. “I told you not to drink that coffee.”
“I know—but I only had a little.”
Gabe and E both rolled their eyes again, and then E looked over his dad’s shoulder and stared. “Um, Dad,” he said, pointing.
“What?” Noah said, giving him an odd look. E nodded behind him, and Noah turned just in time to see a short, spry woman wearing a Nike cap jog past them, and like all the other world-class runners in the race, instead of a number on her bib, she had her name printed across it in bold, block letters: JOAN.
Noah’s eyes grew wide as he quickly raised his hand in a wave, hoping to get her attention.
“Now look what you did,” Gabe groaned.
Noah looked back at Laney. “I just want to say hello,” he called. “I’ve always wanted to tell her . . .” His voice trailed off. Then, somewhere in the back of his mind, it occurred to him that his boys might try to duck away. He turned around. “DON’T YOU GO ANYWHERE!” he commanded in a voice that sounded like it had come from heaven.
The boys watched in dismay and embarrassment as their father flailed his arms, trying to get the attention of the petite female runner before she disappeared into the crowd.
“Seriously, Dad?” Ben murmured.
Laney elbowed him.
“Ouch!” he said, rubbing his side.
“This would really make Dad’s day,” Laney said sternly, “so I’d appreciate it if you would all . . .”
“Joan!” Noah shouted suddenly, and the tiny, silver-haired lady—along with twenty other people—turned their heads to see who was shouting. Noah waved, and she smiled. Meanwhile, the four Coleman boys and their mother watched as Noah greeted the famous runner and started motioning back at them.
“Oh, great, here we go,” Seth groaned, which triggered another elbow to the ribs.
“Ouch,” Seth cried.
With a friendly smile, Joan followed Noah over, and as he proudly introduced each of them, she politely shook their hands. “And this,” he said, motioning to Laney, “is my wife, Laney.” And then, a smile as wide as Texas spread across his face. “I know the race is going to start soon and you probably want to finish warming up, but I’ve always wanted to have the opportunity to tell you that you are responsible for all this,” he said, motioning to his family. Joan gave him a puzzled look, and he launched into an abbreviated version of how she’d unwittingly played a role in changing his life.
Joan listened and laughed, and then, with genuine interest, asked the boys how they liked running and where they went to school. She nodded, listening intently to their answers, and then she told them about the 10K race in Maine she had started—it’s called Beach to Beacon. The boys all nodded and promised they would look into it for next year. Finally, Joan turned to Laney. “And there’s one more?”
Laney nodded. “Asher—he just turned eight last week. In fact, he was born on race day. We were heading to Falmouth that year to cheer on our older boys, but we ended up having to turn around and go to the hospital instead.” Joan smiled and shook her head at the coincidence.
“Well, I’m so glad you flagged me down,” she said with a smile. “It was a pleasure to meet you and to hear how I helped bring five boys into the world without even knowing it.”
Noah smiled. “I wish I had a camera,” he said, “but we left all of our phones in the car.”
“I didn’t,” Ben said brightly, pulling his phone out of an armband. “Mom makes us,” he said, motioning to Seth and himself, “carry one whenever we go running.”
“Well, it’s a good idea,” Joan said. “You never know when you’ll need it.”
Ben nodded and started to hand the phone to Noah, but Joan called a friend over to take the picture of all of them and then Laney took a picture of Joan with just Noah.
“Thank you so much,” Noah said.
“It was my pleasure,” she replied. And then she looked at the boys. “I hope to see you in Cape Elizabeth next year.”
They all nodded, and as she jogged away, the boys started gushing about how nice she was.
“I told you,” Noah said with a grin. He glanced at his watch. “Now, are you finally ready to go for a warm-up?”
64
Maddie slipped her hand over to Asa’s side of the bed but instead of his warm body, she only felt the coolness of his sheets. She opened her eyes and realized he was gone. She peered over the side of the bed and realized Harper was gone too. She gazed out the window at the blue sky and heard the haunting sound of sirens in the distance. In the summer months, a day didn’t go by on the Cape when they didn’t hear sirens racing up or down Route 6, so it wasn’t unusual, but as was her habit, she murmured a prayer for the person or people who needed help.
She got up, pulled on her robe, and as she went downstairs, she realized the eerie sound was getting louder. She went out on the porch to listen, wondering if Asa had taken Harper for a walk . . . or maybe they’d gone for a run. She realized there was more than one siren, and the emergency vehicles had rounded the corner at the Coast Guard Beach and were still coming this way. Maddie’s heart pounded. Maybe when Asa got back he would know what happened. The sound suddenly stopped, and she pictured the vehicles with their lights flashing pulling into the Nauset Light Beach parking lot. She wondered if there had been a drowning, or maybe a shark attack—with the growing seal population along this pristine stretch of coastline, there had certainly been more shark sightings, and it seemed like it was just a matter of time.
She whispered a second prayer and then went inside to make coffee, and while it brewed, she went up to take her shower. If Asa had gone for a run, he’d want to take one when he got back, so she may as well get hers out of the way.
65
The announcer summoned everyone to the starting line, and although Ben and Seth wanted to start in the first wave with Gabe and E, Noah made them line up in the second wave.
“How are we going to beat them when they have such an unfair advantage?” Seth moaned.
“They’re only a couple hundred feet ahead of you, so I’m sure, if you can beat them, you can catch up to them,” Noah assured.
“Yeah, a couple hundred feet with a million runners in the way,” Ben complained.
“You’re quick and agile,” Noah said with a smile. “You’ll weave through the other runners in no time. Besides, it’s based on time, so you could have a better time than they do.” And leaving them with that strategy in mind, he walked farther back with Laney.
“You don’t have to run with me,” she said. “In fact, I’d rather you didn’t.”
“Why?” he asked, looking wounded.
“Because I’ll feel like I’m holding you back.”
“You never hold me back,” he said, putting his arm around her.
“Well, I’ve hardly had any time to run this summer, so I’m going all the way back to where the nine-minute milers are starting.”
“The nines?”
She nodded. “Maybe the tens—I am going to be fifty-three soon, you know.”
“You are?” he teased. “When did you get so old?”
“I don’t know,” she laughed. “I was twenty just yesterday.”
“It sure seems like it,” he said, stopping. “Okay, so I guess I’ll start around here then, on the tail end of the sevens. Good luck!” he added, giving her a kiss.
“You too,” she said, smiling. “I hope you don’t have to wait all day for me.”
“I hope not. Pancake Man closes at two.”
“I’ll try to be done by then,” she said, laughing.
Moments later, after the wheelchair racers took off, the elite runners lined up and the national anthem was sung, followed by the famous trumpet fanfare from Churchill Downs, and then a countdown from ten, and finally, the gun went off. The elites sprinted away, and the first wave started moving. The inspirational theme from Rocky along with lots of happy cheering filled the air as E set off at a quick pace with Gabe by his side. Meanwhile, Ben and Seth had to wait several seconds for their wave to start moving, but as soon as it did, they wove through runners with Ben leading the way, trying to catch up to their older brothers.
Farther back in the pack, Noah started trotting along. It was the first year in a long time that Micah wasn’t by his side, and he missed him. He glanced at his watch. It was five after ten, and he knew they’d had an early flight, so if they weren’t in Bermuda already, they were at least on their way. He hoped they’d have a good time—they certainly deserved it.
Laney smiled as she ran through the cheering crowd lined up along historic Water Street. She’d always thought the best part of running Falmouth was there was no shortage of cheering spectators. They lined the entire seven miles of the course, inspiring runners to keep chugging along. As she jogged along the narrow, winding, shady roads she thought about the chance encounter they’d had with Joan Benoit Samuelson. Noah had been thrilled, and she was glad the boys had had the chance to meet her. She truly was an inspiration.
When E and Gabe finally reached Falmouth Heights Beach, they were still together. Then they started to hear the crowd cheering, “Go, Joanie!” and they realized the little silver-haired runner they’d met that morning was trotting along—with her unmistakable steady-as-you-go gait—ahead of them! They looked at each other and picked up the pace, knowing they would never hear the end of it from their father if they came in after a woman who was nearly sixty years old . . . even if she was a world-class runner! They said hello to her as they passed, and then they raced each other down Grand Avenue, delighting the crowd with their effort, and in the end, it was a photo finish with both claiming victory.
Asher and Chloe ran to meet them as they came out of the shoot. “That was awesome!” Asher said. “We couldn’t even tell who won.”
“I did,” they said in unison, trying to catch their breath.
Two minutes later, Ben came in, and Seth—complaining that Ben went out too fast—came in a minute later.
“Excuses, excuses,” Gabe teased.
“Wait ’til next year,” Seth said.
Noah was happy to come in at under fifty minutes, but the clock had almost clicked over to an hour before they saw Laney in her bright orange shirt running under the huge American flag that hung over the finish line. “Yay, Mom!” they cheered, and Laney grinned and gave them a thumbs-up.
66
Maddie was drying herself with a towel when she finally heard the persistent knocking on the front door. “Be right there,” she called, quickly pulling her robe around her. She didn’t remember locking the door, so why was Asa knocking? And why was he at the front door? She pushed back her wet hair and pulled the door open.
A young state trooper was standing there with Harper. “Mrs. Coleman?”
“Yes,” she answered, feeling her heart start to pound. “Is everything okay?”
The officer bit his lip. “Is this your dog?”
Maddie nodded. Suddenly, she remembered the sirens and blurted, “Where did you find her? Is my husband okay?”
“May I come in?”
“Of course, please,” she said, stepping back, and as he came in, he let go of Harper’s collar and she immediately sat at Maddie’s feet with only the tip of her tail wagging.
The officer took off his hat, and Laney could see tears in his eyes. “Ma’am, I’m very sorry . . . but your husband . . .”
Maddie shook her head. “Noo,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “Noo!” she cried. “This can’t be . . . he just had cancer . . . he was better . . . the doctor said he was going to live a long time.”
“I’m so sorry,” the officer repeated. “A couple out walking found him,” he paused and bit his lip again, trying to fight back his own tears as he stroked Harper’s soft ears. “They said your dog was lying next to him with her head on his chest.”
Tears spilled down Maddie’s face as she looked down at Harper. She tried to speak but no words would come.
“Even after the EMTs got there, your dog refused to leave his side. They had to pick her up.”
Maddie knelt down next to Harper and buried her face in her neck. “You are such a good girl,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Oh, God, please tell me this is not happening,” she sobbed.
“Is there someone you’d like to call to meet us at the hospital?” he asked softly.
Maddie put her hands on her forehead. “Oh, I can’t even think.” She paused. “My oldest son . . .” she said finally.
67
“Do we still have time to go to Pancake Man?” Asher asked as they walked back to their cars.
Noah looked at his watch. “If we hurry,” he said, picking up the pace.
Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot. It was one thirty. “Just in time!” Asher said excitedly, hopping out. “I’m starving.”
E walked across the parking lot with his phone in his hand. “Dad, Grandma called both Gabe and me and left messages to call her back as soon as we could. She sounded upset.”
Noah frowned and reached under the seat for his phone. He looked at his screen and realized he’d missed three calls—all from his mom. He listened to the first message: “Noah, please call me as soon as you get this.” It sounded like she was crying. Although she’d called two more times, she hadn’t left any more messages.
“Lane, check your phone to see if my mom called.”
Laney reached into her bag, and as she listened to her voice mail, she nodded, confirming she’d received the same worrisome message. Noah scrolled to his parents’ Cape Cod number and pushed it, but the phone just rang and rang. He tried their cell number too, but it went right to voice mail.
Noah shook his head and frowned. “I wonder if we should skip Pancake Man.”
“Noo,” Asher said, sounding disappointed. “Let’s just eat fast.”
Noah looked at Laney, who raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know, hon. I think we should probably head home and find out what’s going on.”
“We have two vehicles,” Noah said, thinking out loud. “Do you want to stay here with the boys and I’ll take the car home?”
Laney shrugged uncertainly. “If that’s what you want to do.”
Gabe frowned. “Do you want me to go with you, Dad?”
“Don’t you want to have pancakes?”
“I can live without them.”
“Okay, let’s go then.”
“Do you want me to go too?” E asked, feeling as if he’d been passed over.
Noah shook his head. “No, you stay and have pancakes with Chloe. It’s the least we can do after making her get up early and come all the way down here with us.”
“I didn’t mind,” Chloe said with a smile.
Asher reached for her hand. “Yeah, she didn’t mind. C’mon, Chloe, let’s go have pancakes.”
E laughed. “She doesn’t need me. She has Asher.”
Noah nodded. “Well, you stay anyway.”
He and Gabe got in the car, and Laney signaled for him to call, and he nodded as he pulled back onto Route 28.
On the way home, Gabe continued to try to reach his grandparents. He even tried their New Hampshire number.
“I wish I had Uncle Isaac’s number,” Noah said offhandedly.
“I can look it up,” Gabe offered, going online.
“You can?”
He nodded as he typed. “Providence, right?”
Noah nodded, and Gabe dialed the number and waited hopefully. The phone rang and rang, but when it finally clicked, it was just the answering machine. “Should I leave a message?” he asked.
“Yes, have them call as soon as they can.”
Gabe left a message and then looked out the window. “I wonder if she forgot we had the race this morning.”
“She probably did. Any other time and one of us would have had our phone with us.”
“Are you going right to the house?”
“I guess.”
They drove the rest of the way in silence, and when they pulled into the driveway, both of his parents’ cars were there. They hurried up the back stairs, and Noah called them but there was no answer. He saw Harper lying on her bed, but when she didn’t get up to greet them, he walked over and knelt down next to her. “Hey, Harp,” he said softly. The tip of her tail wagged, but her ears were back, and her eyes were full of worry. “What’s the matter, girl? Where is everybody? Oh, I wish you could tell me what’s going on.”
