An End and a Beginning
Two weeks later, on a Friday, the front page of the local paper revealed that Barbara Collins, the renowned founder of a community foster home, had passed away the night before. She’d finally lost her battle with cancer. Nick read the article as tears streamed down his face. He recalled Barbara’s many good deeds and the way she served others. She exemplified a term he’d learned in school: servant leadership.
Then a different photo on the front page caught his attention. It was a photo of a man he’d seen before at the luncheon and at the fundraiser, and most recently at the church. The photographer. Braedon Ramsey. He thought of the missing wedding band and of the wife who’d died of cancer. He read the headline, “Pregnant Woman Shoots and Kills Husband, Thinking an Intruder.” The story that followed indicated that Tricia Ramsey had purchased a gun for her family’s protection a couple of years prior to the shooting, which she hid in her nightstand. When Braedon Ramsey arrived home from work in the middle of the night, the room was dark and she mistook him to be a burglar and shot him. She was mortified when she discovered her error and called 911 immediately. They had two twin toddler girls.
“Karma. He got what he deserved. He lied about his wife, probably after Mom. Cheater.” He reflected on the way he noticed Braedon in the church the previous Sunday. “Faker.”
He thought of his mom and the chemotherapy she’d just begun. It had already weakened her quite a bit; she was having difficulty walking and seemed very depressed and tired. Nick had offered to quit his job at the summer camp to become her full-time caretaker, but she wanted him to continue to work to keep his mind off of her cancer. She’d hired a nurse named Fey from a home healthcare facility to tend to her medical needs and to administer fluids and check on her vital signs and progress. Nurse Fey took her to her doctor appointments and chemotherapy sessions.
“I need to be here for her this fall,” he said as he searched his phone for the State University Registrar’s phone number. “Maybe I can take on-line classes from home,” he said as he got up from his chair and dialed.
His hopes were confirmed after two calls to the Advising Office and the Registrar’s Office. He’d be awarded his diploma in December following successful completion of three business courses. He called his coach and shared his plans and fortunately, his coach was supportive. “Probably wouldn’t have been so supportive if I starred on the team, but since I was only a backup…”
Nick returned to the couch and turned the pages of the paper to read the rest of the story about Braedon Ramsey. Tricia Ramsey was pictured in a headshot.
“She looks familiar, but from where? Was she at the fundraiser or at the church or someplace else?”
He continued reading the article and discovered that she belonged to the church he attended. “Sad,” he said, “I must have seen her before in the church. Now she’ll have to take care of three kids all by herself.” He finished the paper, folded it up, and carried it to the recycle bin in the garage, tucking it under other papers in the bin. “No sense in showing this to Mom. She’s already depressed enough. She doesn’t need to know that the guy who was flirting with her was married and is now dead. No need for that.”
The phone rang, so he got up and walked into the kitchen to answer it.
“Hello.”
“Hi, is this Nick?”
“Yes, who’s this?” Nick sensed a familiarity of the female caller’s voice.
“Piper McCoy.”
Nick’s heart raced and he felt his hands shaking. Piper? Is this a dream? He struggled to compose himself before saying, “Hi Piper! It’s great to hear from you.”
“Nick, I heard about your mom. I’m so sorry. You probably don’t know this but my mom died of cancer when I was in the seventh grade. I miss her so much,” she said in a shaky voice. “I thought I’d call to offer you support.”
“Wow, thanks Piper, I really appreciate it” he said as his face lit up. “Geez, I thought you hated me.”
“Hated you? No. I never hated you. I just didn’t want to date you since you always seemed like you were on the prowl for women. Marlis told me a few weeks ago that you’ve changed since Tyrone’s death, though. And she told me a few days ago about your mom. I started thinking about calling you.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“But my thoughts didn’t turn into action until I talked to Parker and Aiden.”
“What did they say?” Nick asked. “You know I saw you in the parking lot on my first day of coaching them, but you drove away before I could say hello.”
“Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t want to talk to you because I didn’t think you were my type.”
“Didn’t think?” Nick asked, feeling a ray of hope.
“Yeah. Didn’t think. I like gentlemen. But then I started thinking more about you. You looked like a loving son to your mother at the luncheon and you’ve been a good example to Parker and Aiden on the field. Maybe my judgments of you were in error. Parker and Aiden told me that you’re a really great guy. And that you really care about them. And that they admire you.”
“Really? Parker and Aiden said that?”
“Yup. That’s when I knew I needed to call you.”
Nick smiled. He started feeling a bit lightheaded as his thoughts were racing. He said in a slightly audible voice, “Could be fate.”
He figured he’d give it a shot. “Piper, would you want to talk more in person? Maybe we could go to the beach?”
“Sure, I’d love to.”
“Really?” He said excitedly, “how about tomorrow afternoon? I’ll come over and pick you up.”
“That sounds nice Nick,” she said, “why not?”
He confirmed a few details along with her address before hanging up the phone. Nick couldn’t believe the way the day had taken a turn for the better, from depressing and sad in the beginning to exciting and hopeful in the end. The mixed emotions caused his stomach to twist and turn, causing a passing bit of anxiety and the need to throw up. He took a deep breath and the feeling passed.