Under a Summer Sky (15 page)

N
oah tied his running shoes and looked at his watch. “We’ve got to go,” he called up the stairs. He turned to Chloe, who’d arrived early. “Are you sure you don’t mind watching from the finish line with Asher?”

“I’m positive,” she said. “It’ll be fun.”

E came down the stairs, wearing his running shorts and a T-shirt. “Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied with a smile.

He started putting the water bottles Noah had filled into a waiting cooler.

“I think we’re going to have to take two cars,” Noah said, trying to figure out the logistics of transporting everyone to Falmouth.

“That’s fine,” E said. “Chloe, Gabe, Asher, and I can ride up together, and then Chloe and Asher can walk to the finish line and Gabe and I can take the shuttle to the starting line.”

“I’d like to stay together.”

“Okay, well, we’ll probably park in the same place we parked last year.”

Noah nodded and was about to call up the stairs again when he heard a thundering herd coming down. “Good,” he said, seeing Gabe, Ben, Seth, and Asher. “Make sure you have your bib numbers and racing chips and grab a snack if you want one.” Immediately, Ben and Seth reached for the Pop-Tart box.

“Ah,” Gabe teased, eyeing his younger brothers, “the breakfast of champions.”

“Yup! All that extra sugar will give us a nitrogen boost,” Seth said.

“And then we’ll see who finishes first,” Ben added.

“We definitely will,” Gabe said. “You two have been slacking all summer.”

“No, we haven’t,” Seth retorted. “We’re just well-rested.”

“Well, your team won’t appreciate you being well-rested when you lose this fall.”

“We’re not gonna lose,” Ben said. “State champs, baby.”

Gabe shook his head skeptically. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“All right, girls,” Noah said, rolling his eyes. “Go get in the car.”

As the boys pushed their way out the door, Asher lingered, retying his new running shoes. “Are you sure I can’t run this year, Dad?” he asked.

“You’re not signed up, bud,” Noah said, tousling his hair, “but maybe next year.”

Asher looked disappointed, and Chloe said, “Besides, who would I have to hang out with if you ran too?”

Asher shrugged. “Okay,” he said, smiling and reaching for her hand.

As they went out the door, Laney came down wearing running shorts and a bright orange running shirt.

“I guess you don’t want us to lose you,” he teased with a grin.

She chuckled and reached for the coffeepot.

“I wouldn’t do that,” he warned, watching her pour coffee into her travel mug.

“I’m not,” Laney said. “I’m just having a splash.” She scratched Mennie’s ears. “Have the dogs been out?”

“Yup, out
and
had their breakfast . . . and we need to go. Do you have your bib and chip?”

“Yup,” she said, reaching for her racing packet and holding her mug. “I’m ready. Lead the way.”

M
addie was still sound asleep when Asa slipped from between the sheets. It had been well past their bedtime when they’d gotten home the night before, so he tried not to wake her. A cool ocean breeze drifted through the bedroom windows, rustling the curtains.
What a great day for Falmouth
, he thought enviously, sitting on the edge of the bed. For years, his knee had prevented him from running in the famous race, and he still missed it.
But it doesn’t mean I can’t go for a run.
He reached for his shorts, and as he did, he heard Harper’s tail start thumping against the hardwood floor on the other side of the bed.
That dog doesn’t miss a trick
. He peered around the end of the bed and put his finger to his lips, but seeing him just made her tail thump harder, so he motioned for her to follow. She got up quickly, her paws slipping off the braided rug and scratching the floor, and Noah held his breath, waiting for Maddie to wake up, but she only stirred and seemed to reach for him.

“C’mon, you,” he whispered, “before you wake her!” Obediently, Harper followed him down the stairs, the tags on her collar jingling like bells. Asa sat down in one of the chairs on the porch to put on his running shoes. “You certainly are noisy in the morning,” he said, and she wagged her tail in happy agreement. While he tied his shoes, Harper waited, watching his every move. He looked up. “You don’t want to go too, do you?” he asked softly, and she got up and wiggled all around him. “You’re silly,” he said, rubbing her ears.

As soon as they got to the bottom of the stairs, Harper started sniffing around the yard, but Asa called, “C’mon, this way,” and headed down the trail that led past Nauset Lighthouse. Harper—who was still taking care of business—watched him intently and then raced after him, zigzagging every which way, trying to breathe in as many new morning scents as she could while still keeping track of him. When they reached the lighthouse, he jiggled the lock and it clicked open. “You stay here,” he said, slipping inside and climbing the winding metal stairs. When he reached the lantern room, he watched the rotating lens for a few moments and then pushed open one of the windows. A fresh breeze cooled his skin, just as it had when he was a boy standing in the very same spot with his arms around Noelle. He looked out at the waves chasing each other toward shore and realized the bittersweet memory could still make his heart ache.

Finally, he headed back down and found Harper waiting patiently, wagging her tail. “Good girl,” he said, sliding the rusty lock closed. “Let’s go,” he called a moment later, and Harper bounded across the deserted parking lot, heading for the steep stairs down to the beach.

Asa looked at his watch and wondered where all the beachcombers were. Seven o’clock wasn’t too early to be out scouring the beach, looking for treasure. He trotted down the stairs and walked over to the hard sand along the water’s edge. Harper was already gleefully racing through the surf, leaping over the waves, and he wished he’d brought a tennis ball.

“C’mon, girl,” he called, turning to jog down the beach. The shiny, wet, black Lab stopped in her tracks, watching him, and then chased after him at full speed. Asa looked out at the orange sun glittering on the water and, as often happened when he jogged, his mind drifted back through the years to when Noah and Micah were younger. Oh, the times they’d had—hiking in the White Mountains, fly-fishing in the cold, clear streams of Maine, reading stories late into the night. He’d never forget the time he’d tried to get through the last agonizing pages of
Where the Red Fern Grows.
Noah had been nestled on one side of him and Micah on the other, and they’d all been misty-eyed as they read about the heartbroken hound Lil’ Ann lying on the grave of her beloved Old Dan and refusing to get up. Maddie had even brought them a box of tissues. “I warned you,” she said, eyeing him. Finally, Asa just couldn’t read any more, and Noah had had to finish the last few pages as tears streamed down his father’s cheeks. Sad as it was, Asa thought, it was worth it.

Asa looked down at his damp running shoes. When he was younger, he could run for miles on the beach, barefoot, and not think twice about it, but now he worried that running without shoes would only aggravate his knee . . . and every other ache in his body. He started to feel an odd twinge in his chest and slowed down to rub it. It went away, and he started off again, wondering what people thought about before they died. Did they know, at
the
critical moment, that they were about to die? Some didn’t, he decided, like those who were being administered morphine—it was easy for them as they slipped away peacefully without even knowing it, but it wasn’t so easy for their loved ones who, with aching hearts, kept watch as they took their last breath. But what about the people who died in tragic accidents? Did they sense, during the day, that the end was near—even before the accident happened? Did they feel any kind of foreboding? Would
he
feel any kind of foreboding before he died?

One time, he’d heard someone refer to the human body as an earth suit and he’d found it fitting. After all, the body’s main purpose was to house the soul—it was a suit for the soul while the soul walked around on earth, and when the earth suit failed, well, then there was nowhere for the soul to be housed. He’d always found it difficult to comprehend what happened next though. What happened to the soul when the body died? Was it immediately whisked away to heaven . . . or hell? Or did it linger, hovering around loved ones and witnessing their grief and sorrow? The soul was such a complex entity—it made up a person’s laughter, the sparkle in their eyes, their unique memories . . . everything about them . . . but when the body dies, the soul is just
gone
. Where does something so amazing
go
?

He looked out at the waves and thought about how lucky he was to have had such a positive outcome in his bout with cancer when so many others didn’t. Some, like Micah’s first wife, fought with every fiber of their being and still lost the battle.
Why was it that some folks beat the odds while others didn’t? Why were some prayers answered . . . while others seemed to go unheard? How did God choose who would get better and who wouldn’t?
Asa shook his head. He knew if he asked Noah that question, his minister son would assure him that God doesn’t choose.
Well, if that’s the case—if God doesn’t play a role in someone’s healing—then what’s the point of praying?
He could almost hear Noah’s answer: “God’s job is to be with us as we go through it—no matter what the outcome. We pray to be held in His arms . . . to be in His constant care . . . and for His will to be done.”

Asa looked up and watched Harper chasing the seagulls. He smiled.
Ah, life
. . . he thought.
Why am I dwelling on such gloomy thoughts on such a beautiful morning?
He continued to run, but suddenly, out of the blue, the odd pain in his chest returned, sharper this time. He rubbed it with his palm, feeling light-headed . . . and as he looked up at the summer sky it started to grow dark. In the back of his mind, he heard the pounding surf and the cry of the seagulls. He felt the wet sand under his knees . . . and then he felt Harper near, licking his cheeks and nudging his hands. “Good girl . . .” he whispered softly.

T
he 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.