Chapter 19

Saturday morning, Kim and I loaded up our horses for another trip to Hope with Horses. I found myself riding with Scoop again. This time, he was happy to be there from the beginning. Rather than just a trail ride, we started in one of the outdoor arenas. I taught him how to use his eyes and seat to guide his horse. He was skeptical until he discovered it worked. I had him work through a series of obstacles.

“I seen other people jumping over those bars,” he said.

“Nope. Not yet. You keep working on it and improving, and it won’t be long. I’m not the one to teach you how to jump, anyway. Kim’s the expert on that.”

“I seen her showing off riding around them barrels. She’s your fiancée, right? She is one fine looking woman.”

“She is that. Trail ride?”

We walked one of the trails, then went around it a second time, mostly at a trot. I rode it two-point, which meant I stood in the stirrups and let my legs work as shock absorbers. Scoop didn’t have the balance for that yet. When we got back, he said he wanted to try to canter. We went back into the arena. I demonstrated, told him how to get started, then let him try. His horse picked up the canter but slowed back to a trot after half a lap. His body told the horse to slow down, whether he realized it or not.

“Whoa, nelly. Is my hair on fire? Damn, that’s fast. I thought I was going to go flying.” His horse had been cantering at a very easy pace for half a lap.

“It can be a bit unsettling the first few times.”

“I’ll say,” and with that, we were done.

Kim had a good time with her guest as well. On the drive home, we talked about how good it felt to help other people. We were regulars at the center, working with kids, and every now and then at Hope with Horses for people recovering from PTSD, alcoholism, or whatever else. We’d been comparing the two things when Kim said, “I wonder how the kids would do if we could bring them out here.” What?

“Was that a real question, or were you actually thinking about it?” I asked.

“It was just an idle question, but now, I’m not so sure. We didn’t even think about taking them to a football game, and they loved it.”

“This Monday night, we’re setting up computers, right? What if we trailered our horses to the center sometime, just to see how they respond? They love Mac. But we’ve introduced some people to riding, and they didn’t really go for it.”

Kim started laughing. “You’re imagining certain kids’ reactions, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I can’t help it. I hope we can do that.”

We dropped off our horses and the trailer at the Denton ranch. Maveric and Diva had both been good. In the last few months, we’d ridden them at the Denton ranch, our property, the beach, the forest, and twice at Hope with Horses and they’d both done great. I was pretty happy with how things had worked out with Maveric.

We pulled into my driveway with Veronica and Angela right behind us. We got out to greet them and were surprised to see Mac jump out of their car and come running toward us.

“Mac!” I said, happy to see him so excited, but wondering what he was doing with Veronica and Angela.

“Guess again, Aquaman. Say hello to his sister, Lassie,” Angela said.

“Oh, my goodness. They’re identical,” Kim said.

“Not exactly. Lassie is smaller, and she has white in a couple of different places. Ready to see how she reacts to her brother?”

Veronica knocked on the door, while we followed Angela around to the back. Lassie eagerly followed us. She sure looked like Mac, but I could see the subtle differences. We found a place on the back lawn and waited.

After Mom, Dane, and Veronica came out, they let Mac out. He saw Lassie and went crazy. He chased her, and she chased him; they nipped at each other and made silly little barking noises. I laughed until my eyes watered. I wasn’t the only one. A couple of times, they slowed down. I was ready to egg them on, but never needed to. They kept at it for a long time.

We were all sitting on the grass, just watching them go. Mac was chasing Lassie when she decided she was done with the whole thing. She ran from Mac, climbed onto Veronica’s lap, and promptly fell asleep. Mac was confused for about a half second, then climbed onto Mom’s lap and did the same.

“You’re stuck now,” Dane said.

We sat there, laughing at them and the predicament they’d put us in for about a minute.

“I am not going to be imprisoned by a puppy, no matter how cute. Dane, help me up. Kim, take this little fluff ball from me.”

I offered my hand to Veronica. She let Angela take Lassie and stood, sort of stumbling forward, almost into my arms. Our eyes met, and she raised her eyebrows for just a second, then we both laughed. Nope. Her advances were a long time ago, and it was good that we could both laugh at it.

Back inside, we told them about our trip to Hope with Horses and our time at the center. Angela was doing great at Bosch. Veronica was discouraged that she couldn’t find her knight in shining armor. I suggested trying the Wappoo Cut, which was where I got Dane for Mom. That brought some out-loud eye rolls.

Mom told us that she’d be working more as a dance instructor while one of the others was on vacation. She also told us about an unmarried client who was trying to pick her up. “I casually mentioned that my son was teaching my husband kung fu and boxing, and that my future daughter-in-law was a hunter. He quit trying to pick me up.”

“I haven’t been hunting in forever. The season opened last week.”

“You should go with her, Dane,” Mom suggested, and they thought that would be a good idea. The conversation bounced all over the place. Everyone knew me well enough to know what was coming when I said Regionals would be the following Saturday. I’d be in my Zen mode, and not particularly great for social interaction.

Kim and I drove out to the marina and took Inherit the Wind into the harbor for a bit of alone time. Kim told me they’d be winterizing the boat soon, and we might have one more day of sailing before that happened. We took our time and enjoyed each other. There is just something about making love on the water. Maybe it’s the fresh air, or the gentle rocking of the boat, but whatever it is, I like it.

Sunday morning, I was up early to swim. I was at the school before eight, but when I went through the locker room and onto the deck, Gil was already in the water with Coach Miller sitting in the stands. He motioned me over. I sat next to him.

“Yogi Berra once said, ‘Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.’ He was a great baseball player, but he wasn’t very good at math. Brian and Aaron have what it takes to make it to Regionals. Taking one of the top two spots and moving on to State is another matter. They might surprise me. You did. Gil has a good chance to take home a title. You’ve been there and you know just how tough it is.

“I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Focus. Your mechanics are sound. You have the body for it. Despite my joking, I think wingspan makes a much bigger difference than shoe size. So for you, it all boils down to focus. Starts, turns, and pure willpower to bring it home every time. You remember what one of the keys is to doing well on the bike?”

“Don’t coast into the turns. Bike hard until you have to brake hard, then immediately get back up to speed.”

“Exactly. Keep that in mind in the pool. Don’t coast into any wall. I know you know that, but you might need to remind yourself when you’re swimming the sixth race of the day. You play baseball. Balls and strikes. No matter what the last pitch was, you have to focus on the next one. Whether you win a race or finish last, that race is over. Reset for the next race and get your head in the game.”

“All good advice, Coach,” I said, and he nodded.

“Two more. First, act like you’ve been there before. Celebrate or commiserate afterwards. You’ll have plenty of time for that later. Do not get hung up on a bunch of ‘I should have this or that or the other.’ There’s no profit in that. Finally, when you hit the wall at the end of every race, your tank should be empty. Empty. Nothing left. You should sink and need a lifeguard.”

“I’ve tried to bring my fifty-freestyle attitude to other events.”

“That’s exactly it. Go ahead and get wet. Tonight, close your eyes and walk through the entire meet in your mind. Visualize the entire meet. It’s in Conway. I’ve got pictures in my office on my desk. Take a look before you leave.”

I practiced exactly what Coach told me to. In three years, he hadn’t steered me wrong. When it was time to get out, I swam hard to the wall, then sank, putting up first one finger, then two, as though I was drowning. I finally came up to see him talking with Brian. My great gag had gone completely unnoticed. No more humor for me. Not for two weeks.

I changed into running shoes and drove to the beach. I needed some exercise that wasn’t weight lifting or swimming. It looked like rain, and I didn’t want to get stuck out in the rain on my bike. I wasn’t in the mood for a long run or a fast run. I decided to do six miles at a seven-minute pace. I’d read or heard somewhere that every workout should have a goal. My goal was to shake the cobwebs loose. That was it. I ran north from East 2^nd Street toward Ocean Street. It wasn’t much of a street, really. It was less than a block long and provided beach access. It was easy to spot from the beach since there was a wide gap between the houses, and that wasn’t normal.

I wanted to shake the cobwebs loose, but what I ended up doing was visualizing Regionals. The pictures of the Conway High School pool weren’t terribly helpful. It was a pool. I was so wrapped up in the visualization process that I made it all the way to the pier before I realized I’d overshot my car by a block.

I could see a half dozen people fishing from the pier. As always, there were people walking down the beach collecting shells or sharks’ teeth. I had a jar full of shark’s teeth at home and had no use for them. Interesting, but that was it.

I turned to walk back to my car and heard a familiar voice call my name. I turned back toward the pier and saw Natalie, sitting on a huge beach towel. Karen said, ‘no,’ but Kim said to make sure she wasn’t chasing me. I walked over and sat down beside her.

“Already run?”

She gave me a sad look. “No. Shin splints. No running for at least three weeks.”

“Three weeks! When is your next race?”

“Look at you. You’re all worried for me. Marathon season is in the Spring, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise. You know, I miss a lot when I’m running. I love the ocean, but I barely notice it when I’m running.”

“It beats running on the track or down Savannah Highway.”

“That’s for sure. I don’t think I’ll take it for granted ever again. What’s new with you?”

I gave her the rundown. She said she’d never been to a swim meet before. I told her it would probably be almost as boring as soccer, and that got a laugh. Does everyone but me think soccer is interesting or exciting? We talked about a variety of things. I wasn’t chasing her, and it seemed to me that she just needed a friend.

It rained hard for about fifteen minutes and then stopped as quickly as it had started. We were under the pier, so it didn’t much matter to us. I asked her if there was anything I could do for her. “Not a thing.” She told me to be careful where I ran and protect my health. Streets were bad, and hard-packed sand was good. I told her my favorite place to do what she was doing was the Wappoo Cut, but sitting under the pier seemed pretty good, too.

“Not on a busy summer day. Too crowded. The Cut. They have picnic benches, I think.” I told her that was the place and I could choose to ignore people, watch them, or help them, depending on my mood. She liked that.

I stood up to leave and she stood up as well. “I broke my foot right before the start of baseball season two years ago. I missed the entire season. It sucked.”

“It does. Baseball is just for fun, though, right? Running is who I am.”

She was on the verge of tears, and if anyone needed a hug, it was Natalie. As much as I thought she needed one, I wasn’t going to do it. “I played last year, and I guess I set some records or something. Maybe the time off will be good. I don’t know. I know this, or at least I believe it, that you can’t improve if you’re injured. My coach told me that, and it makes sense. How long will you be out of running?”

“At least three weeks, and maybe more. I guess if I have to be sidelined, this is as good a time as any.”

“Well, I hope you’re back up to speed in time to get ready for race season. You will be,” I said. We talked for a few more minutes, and I left without giving her a hug. Why was that even in my mind? What a dufus.

I drove home, had lunch, then set to work on homework. I wanted to get as far ahead as possible before the week of Regionals began. Mac found me in my office and, after unsuccessfully trying to persuade me to play, fell asleep at my feet. Before dinner, I found Mom in the kitchen and practiced my Polonius speech for her. Mom said it was great. I could have messed up royally, and she still would have said it was great.

I returned to homework, pushing as far forward as possible. I finished my evening with some heavy bag work. I hadn’t done that in a while and worked up a pretty good sweat. Inside, I called Franklin and told him I wouldn’t be at kung fu for the next two weeks.

First thing Monday morning, I performed my encore of Polonius’ speech and got a much better grade than ‘poop’. I grabbed my old table, and Kim came over to join me.

“Prefer to be alone?” she asked.

“I’d prefer to be with you. I just didn’t want all the conversation.”

“Just as well. Did you realize yesterday was Halloween?”

“No. Say it isn’t so.”

“I can see how disappointed you are. I figured that you rarely get kids at your door, it’s your least favorite holiday, and you were undoubtedly trying to get an entire week’s worth of homework done.”

“Right on everything. You know me pretty well, I guess.”

“I should. Anything else you’d care to tell me?”

I told her about my day, including running into Natalie at the pier. I told her the whole nine yards. I told her about standing there, knowing that Natalie’s identity was totally wrapped up in being a runner and thinking she was in terrible need of a hug. I sort of knew how she felt since I’d busted up my foot and couldn’t play baseball a couple of years prior, but it wasn’t the same. Baseball didn’t define me.