by Chris Fabry
“I know I’m late. I’m in the car. I’m about fifteen minutes—”
“Whoa, hold up, Barbara,” Doyle Odelle said. “Are you at the cross-country meet?”
“How did you know that?”
“Bobby told me about it. Your granddaughter is running. It’s Hannah, right?”
Bobby was the kid who gave Hannah a rough time. “That’s right. I wanted to see the start of the race.”
“Well, why didn’t you tell me?” Doyle said. “It’s the state championship, right?”
“Yes, sir. It is. But if I leave now, I can make it there in—”
“If you leave now, you won’t see her finish. We can handle the restaurant. Understand?”
She didn’t know what to say. “Uh, well, yes sir. Thank you. But I don’t get it. What did Bobby tell you?”
“Look, I know he and your granddaughter have had problems. My wife got a call from the principal. I finally got the truth out of him. Heard the whole story—not just his version. I feel badly about the way he’s treated her. She deserves an apology.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
“We can talk more later. I want you to stay till the end of the race. And I won’t take no for an answer. And then you get here and tell us what happened, all right? It’s not that busy here, but after the race things might pick up.”
Barbara smiled. “I’ll be there after the race, then.”
“Good.”
“And thank you, Mr. Odelle.”
She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. She took her keys from the ignition and walked back to the fence in front of the concession stand. She was watching from there ten minutes later when runners appeared at the edge of the woods. When she saw Hannah in second place and moving up fast, she screamed and yelled and pulled on the chain-link fence. There was a commotion at the finish line and Barbara couldn’t see what happened. It was all she could do to keep from going forward to see what all the fuss was about.
CHAPTER 43
Standing on the winner’s podium felt like a dream for Hannah. The official shook her hand and placed the medal around her neck. Gina Mimms stayed stoic beside her, not saying a word, and Hannah thought the girl was probably so mad at losing she wanted to throw her second-place medal into the woods.
To Hannah’s surprise, as she stepped from the podium, Gina turned and smiled and held out a hand. “Congratulations. You deserved the win.”
“If I hadn’t fallen at the end, I might not have.”
Gina grasped the medal around Hannah’s neck. “I think there’s a lot more of these in your future. I’ll tell my coaches at the university to watch out for you.”
Hannah gave her a hug, then found the Harrisons. As they left the track, Coach pointed to Mrs. Brooks, who was standing next to Hannah’s grandmother. Hannah went to her and embraced her grandmother in a warm hug.
“Grandma, you stayed.”
“Yes, I’m late for work but it was worth it.” She looked at Hannah and something seemed different in her face. The hardness, the bitterness, the edge her grandmother showed had been replaced by something tender and gentle. “I am so proud of you.”
“Thanks,” Hannah said. She held her grandmother’s hands and looked her in the eyes. Like a runner gathering the energy and courage to pass someone on the track, she took a deep breath. “I want to go see my father.”
No scolding. No accusation. No scowl or furrowed brow. Her grandmother nodded and without a word gave her blessing. Hannah felt like she had won Olympic gold.
Her grandmother drew her in for another hug and Hannah wanted to pinch herself to make sure it was real. But it was. The whole day had been real.
Her grandmother walked toward Coach Harrison. “Just get her home safe,” she said.
It felt like a breakthrough. It felt like Hannah finally had a clear path to her father.
Hannah found Mrs. Brooks and hugged her. “Thank you for everything.”
Mrs. Brooks didn’t say a word. She just smiled and watched Hannah and the Harrisons walk away.
The Harrisons drove straight to the hospital. On the fourth floor Hannah pushed the door open and found her father waiting.
“I hear three sets of footsteps coming,” Thomas said.
“Hey, Thomas, how are you?” Coach Harrison said.
“I’ve been on pins and needles all day. How is everybody?”
“We’re good, Thomas,” Mrs. Harrison said.
Hannah moved close to her father. “Hey, Daddy.”
“And how is my daughter?” he said gently.
Hannah pulled the medal from her pocket and put it over her father’s head so that he was wearing what she had earned. She fixed the medal over his heart and he placed his hand over it. His face broke into a wide grin.
“You won a medal.”
“Thomas, that’s not just any medal,” Coach Harrison said. He didn’t need to say any more.
Tears formed in her father’s eyes. He struggled to get the words out. “You mean to tell me . . . my daughter won the race?”
Hannah sat close and leaned forward. “I had a really good coach.”
Her father couldn’t hold in the emotion any longer and he put his head back on the pillow. Hannah bent down to rest her head on his chest and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head.
She heard Coach Harrison leave the room and then Mrs. Harrison followed, and she and her father were alone. His chest heaved with emotion.
“Oh, Lord, You helped me. You saved me. You restored me. You saved my daughter. You’ve made her an overcomer. Only You could have done this, Lord. I don’t deserve Your kindness and Your mercy. But You’ve given it to me and I bless Your name, Jesus.”
Hannah listened to the beat of her father’s heart, the sound of his breathing, his voice.
“Did you hear my directions during the race?”
She pulled back to answer him. “Yes. I heard every word. And you wouldn’t believe how right you were so many times.”
“You can thank Coach Harrison for that. Tell me what happened.”
Hannah walked him through the race and described the sections where he had helped her the most. “It was like you could see what was happening right in front of me and all I had to do was listen and do what you said.”
Her father laughed. “This race was one of the good things God prepared for you in advance, Hannah. And I got to be with you. I’m so glad. And God is going to be with you every step of your entire life. Do you know that?”
“Yes, Daddy. And guess what else happened?”
“I can hardly imagine anything better than I’ve already heard. But tell me.”
“Grandma said I could come to see you. She was at the race. She stayed through the whole thing even though she had to be at work.”
Her father smiled and put his head back on the pillow. “I think the Lord is working on her just like He’s working on us, Hannah.”
“I think you’re right.”
CHAPTER 44
John didn’t so much leave the room as float from it. Seeing Hannah in her father’s arms, hearing Thomas weep for joy and kiss his daughter was too much. He signaled Amy that he couldn’t take it and walked into the hall, hat in his hand, unsure what to do with the emotions.
John knew the feeling of winning as player and coach. He had set goals for himself and his teams, but even when he reached them, there was always something hollow inside, a desire for something more, something lasting. Filling that empty space was a never-ending climb up one mountain that led to another.
Now, pacing the hallway, holding back his emotion, he felt something he’d never experienced. He had surrendered his hopes and dreams for the basketball season. He had placed that on an altar and had given God his future and his family. And along came this wisp of a girl—he remembered the first day he saw her and how lonely she looked on the bleachers.
What I would have missed if I hadn’t coached Hannah Scott, he
thought. I wasn’t placed here to help her. She was placed here to help me.
Amy came out of Thomas’s room, tears in her eyes, and drew close. John pointed to the room and tried to speak. He blew out air as if that would help make room for the words. Finally he tapped his chest.
“I’m full,” he said, surrendering to the emotion.
They had been through so much in the last few months. Life had not gone the direction they had hoped. But he had seen a miracle today. And the miracle wasn’t Hannah winning a race, as good as that felt. The miracle was watching Thomas, whose only hope was in the power of God. Thomas had fully trusted his heavenly Father to do what he was powerless to do. God had reconciled hearts and had drawn Hannah into a relationship with Himself.
Amy embraced him. They’d had deep questions about the future, and God had used Thomas, Hannah, Barbara, and the struggle in the town to bring them closer together. Wasn’t it just like God to accomplish that by using something that seemed awful?
“Thank You, Lord,” John prayed, holding Amy’s head close to him. “Thank You for all You’ve done.”
CHAPTER 45
Hannah enjoyed extra attention at school because of the state championship win. Mrs. Brooks made an announcement over the intercom and teachers and classmates congratulated her, some who hadn’t seemed to know she existed.
She saw Robert in the lunchroom and approached him with her tray. She had a speech ready. She wanted to tell him she was sorry for throwing food and soda at him. And she wanted to say she forgave him for being mean. Mrs. Harrison said forgiving others was a choice. You weren’t saying what they did was okay. You were releasing them from your anger. But before she could open her mouth, Robert scooted back from the table and held up his hands.
“You’re not ruining another shirt!” he yelled.
Hannah retreated to the other end of the lunchroom. Grace found her. “Don’t waste your time on Robert.”
“I just wanted to talk to him.”
Grace frowned. “Some people can’t be talked to.”
Hannah looked back and saw Robert alone. She felt sorry for him.
“Hey, you were amazing at the race,” Grace said. “You’re a rock star.”
Hannah smiled and shared the condensed version of finding her father and the way he had helped her win.
“Wait, you didn’t know your dad was alive?”
Grace sat with mouth agape as Hannah told the whole story. By the time she finished, a group of girls had joined them.
“So you go to visit your dad every day?” Leslie said.
Hannah nodded. “I’m riding over after school today.”
“What do you do at a hospital every day?” Grace said.
“We just talk. Sometimes he helps me with my homework. Sometimes he’s tired and he goes to sleep while I’m there. Then the next day he’ll have more energy. Those are the good days.”
“He must be really glad he met Coach Harrison,” Grace said.
“Yeah. If it weren’t for that, I never would have met him, I don’t think.”
On Friday evening her father asked Hannah not to come to the hospital the next morning. They had often spent Saturdays together listening to music, or Hannah would read to him. The nurses sometimes rolled a cot in and she took a nap on it next to her father.
“Coach Harrison has a little project for me, so why don’t you come in the afternoon?”
“What are you and Coach Harrison doing?”
“You’ll see. For now, it’s our secret.”
He was tired when she arrived in the afternoon that day and seemed kind of distant and emotional. He perked up when she suggested she read him his favorite psalm. She watched him mouth the words along with her as she read.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
The next Tuesday afternoon, her grandmother surprised her. She was waiting inside the front door for Hannah when she got home. She was nicely dressed and was holding her car keys.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” Hannah said.
“I got a new job.”
“A new job? Doing what?”
“I’m supposed to be your chauffeur. Now, if you’ll kindly get in the car, Miss Scott, I’ll take you to your destination.” She paused. “Oh, but you’ll have to get changed first. There’s something in your room you need to try on.”
Hannah ran to her room. On her bed lay a beautiful blue dress with pretty flowers all over it. She squealed and tried it on, then walked into the living room to show her grandmother. “It’s perfect! But what’s the occasion?”
“I’m just the driver here. Now get your shoes on and let’s get in the car.”
Her grandmother drove them to her restaurant, which Hannah thought was odd. They walked inside and the waitstaff, all her grandmother’s friends, greeted Hannah and told her how pretty she looked.
“Right this way, Miss Scott,” the owner said. When they reached the back room, he paused and shook her hand. “I’m Doyle, your grandmother’s boss. She told me about your state championship.”
Hannah nodded.
“Well, I hope you have a lovely evening, young lady. This is our banquet room and it’s for you and your guests.”
She walked inside and found a long table decorated with hearts and flowers and streamers. A silver sign above the table said, Happy Birthday, Hannah.
Mrs. Harrison hugged her and Coach Harrison smiled. Ethan and Will were dressed in coats and ties.
Mrs. Brooks introduced Hannah to her husband. “This is our state champion runner I was telling you about, Charles.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Hannah,” the man said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Mrs. Cole, their next-door neighbor, greeted her, as well as Shelly from the Brookshire office.
And then a woman with a familiar face approached, and it took Hannah a moment to place the nurse. “Rose!” Hannah said. “I’m glad they remembered to invite you.”
Rose gave her a quick hug. “I wouldn’t miss it. I’m here to make this a party you’ll never forget.”
“But it’s not my birthday,” Hannah said. “My birthday is—”
Rose held up a hand and disappeared behind a curtain at the back of the room. Then she pushed a wheelchair into view. Hannah put a hand over her mouth.
“Daddy!”
“Happy birthday, my daughter!” He was laughing and smiling from ear to ear. “Are you surprised?”
“Surprised is not the word.” Hannah turned to her grandmother and wiped her eyes. “You knew about this?”
“Somebody’s been planning it for more than a week,” her grandmother said. “And he didn’t do this alone. Mrs. Harrison got everybody together.”
“You chose the venue,” Thomas said, winking at Barbara.
“I suppose I had a little to do with that.”
“But I thought you couldn’t leave the hospital,” Hannah said.
“There are some things more important than a hospital,” her father said.
Rose leaned down and whispered, “I’m going to take good care of him while he’s here. Don’t worry.”
“But, Daddy, my birthday isn’t until—”
“I know it’s not Valentine’s Day, Hannah,” her father said. “But you have to remember, I’ve missed fifteen of your birthdays. I’m not going to miss another one. So I decided . . .”
Her grandmother finished his sentence. “We decided to have a party with some of your favorite people.”
Rose wheeled her father to the front of the table and Hannah sat next to him. At first, her grandmother helped the servers, but then her boss entered the room.
“You’re not on the clock now, Barbara. Sit down and let us do our jobs.”
While they ate, Coach Harrison told the story of meeting her father “by chance” at the hospital. Her father picked up the story and told how surprised he was that without knowing it, he had given running tips
to his own daughter. Everyone laughed.
Her father held up his glass of water. “A toast.” Everyone joined him with their glasses of water or soda. “To Hannah Scott, first in the state, first in my heart. I’m grateful God brought you back into my life.”
Rose checked her patient’s vital signs every few minutes. He hadn’t eaten much at the meal and seemed content just to take in the conversations.
When the table was cleared, more dishes arrived, and Thomas spoke up. “I have a special treat for your dessert.” He signaled Rose, who stepped out of the room. “This is for my state champion daughter.”
Rose brought a cake in the shape of a medal with #1 on top and placed it before Hannah. Ethan took pictures of the cake and of Hannah blowing out the candles. It looked too good to eat. But they ate it anyway.
Hannah glanced at her grandmother several times through the evening. She was quiet but seemed to enjoy herself. There was laughter and a few tears around the table as the evening progressed.
“And now for the present,” her father said. He pulled a small package from his pocket and handed it to her.
“What’s this?”
“You have to open it to see,” he said.
She unwrapped and opened a rectangular box, revealing a gold necklace. In the middle was a pendant in the shape of a cross. She looked at her father, then back at the necklace.
“Well, put it on and see how you like it,” he said.
Her grandmother helped her and she put her hand over it and beamed. “Every time I wear this, I’m going to think of you.”
He nodded. “And I want you to thank God that He brought us together in His time and through His grace. That’s what the Cross is all about—God’s amazing grace.”
They were all lining up for a group picture when her father slumped in his wheelchair. Rose went to him quickly. He blinked and bobbed his head backward.
“I think it’s just too much excitement,” he said, slurring some of his words.
“We need to get him back to the hospital,” Rose said. “I’m sorry.”
