Interlude

Tami

The news of David's death in the avalanche devastated all of us. Footage of the fireball, and mushroom cloud were captured on a cell phone. The wreckage of the blast site seemed to confirm our worst fears. Range Sports paid to have David's Dad flown from California to Colorado to identify the body. They also arranged to have David's body brought home along with his parents for the funeral. His Mom was in the middle of her treatment and had to be talked into staying until the funeral. Greg was flown to California to be with his Mom. Devin and Sandy Range were real troopers. They even made sure a grief counselor was available for the youth group; even before they returned home.

The press had gone into a feeding frenzy when on the second day Pastor Dan's body was recovered. They invaded our sleepy town en masse. The interview that pissed me off the most was the one with Tracy. She professed her everlasting love for David, as she leaned on Luke for support. There was a special place in hell for those two. Several people declared they were David's close friends, just so they could get on TV. I was grateful, when none of his true friends did interviews.

I remember the first time I met David. My Mom and I moved in the middle of the school year. I was nervous the first day. I was worried everyone already had their friends and I wouldn't be accepted. My Mom took me to the office to get me signed up. I was put into Mrs. Nolan's first grade class. It was as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Mrs. Nolan made me get up in front of the class and introduce myself. Public speaking and first graders don't go together. I mumbled a few words, and sat back down. Mrs. Nolan took pity on me and left me alone for the rest of the morning. At recess I noticed one of the boys was organizing a softball game. He and another boy were going to pick sides. He saw me hanging back.

"Tami, get over here," he said giving me no choice but to join the game.

He told the other captain to pick first. He picked one of his friends. The boy who called me over made his choice.

"I pick Tami."

I sheepishly went and stood behind him. I had never been picked first in anything before. He picked all the girls who wanted to play. We were about evenly split with boys and girls on our team. The other team was all boys. I asked him why. He just laughed at me and said he wanted to win. Sure enough the girls were all pretty good and we did win. When the bell rang I was confused by this boy. In first grade, boys normally have nothing to do with girls.

At lunch, I bought my sack lunch, and entered the lunch room looking for an empty table. I was startled when I heard a male voice behind me.

"Tami, come sit with me and my friends."

I turned and it was the same boy from recess. We went to the table he indicated and there were two other boys looking at me curiously.

"Did you find another stray?" the one with curly hair asked.

The three of them laughed.

"Yep, this is Tami. Today is her first day and she needs friends." He turned to me and said, "This is Jeff and Alan."

They both said hi.

"Sorry, but what is your name?" I asked him.

"He is David," Alan answered for him. "He's a dork, so you may want to run while you still have the chance. Once he decides he's your friend, you can't get rid of him. Believe me, Jeff and I have tried."

I sat down and Jeff gave a dramatic sigh.

"Alan warned you."

"David, am I really your friend?" I asked.

"Yes, sorry, but you can't get rid of me now."

I look back on that day, and I realize it was the luckiest day of my life. My Mom was shocked when I dragged him home. From that day forward we were inseparable. He was a 'stupid boy' who didn't realize he needed me to keep him out of trouble.

The summer between grade school and junior high David came over to my house with an announcement.

"We're going to play little league baseball."

I was skeptical, being the rational one.

"They don't let girls play."

He just ignored me.

"You have a better arm than most of the guys. If you're worried, we can get Eve to be on our team."

Eve was a year older, and a good athlete. She was faster than most of the boys our age. I could see he was serious, so I decide to give the boy a chance.

"You get Eve, and I'll play."

David's Dad was the head of the park district. He had to get involved so Eve and I could be on David's team. That was the beginning of one of the great joys in my life. I loved playing baseball. David loved it when I would gun down a runner. It didn't take long until Eve and I gained the respect of the other boys.