Foul Ball
Chapter 48: Macey

Somehow, Melissa had convinced Dr. Hudson to let me go to Jayce's game, as long as we kept the time there minimum and the most embarrassing part-as long as I stayed in and was carted around in a wheelchair.

"I don't need this," I insisted as Jayce and Melissa helped me out of the bed and towards the wheelchair a couple of hours before the game. "I feel fine. I'm not even shaky today." As the words left my mouth, I promptly lost my footing and careened forward, nearly face-planting before Jayce caught me around the waist to steady me.

"You were saying?" he asked, lowering my body into the wheelchair. Melissa went back to the bed for a blanket, handing it to Jayce to tuck around my weak legs and waist.

"I'll be right back,” she said, turning to go out the door. "I need to get my purse and jacket from the staff room."

"Okay," I said as Melissa hurried out, punching Jayce playfully in the arm. "Go be with your team. And win this thing! For us."

"Hey," Jayce said, kneeling down in front of me. He reached a hand out and touched my cheek, stroking it with his thumb. "I love you," he said, and it took nothing more than a split second for it to dawn on me. We hadn't said those words yet.

Before I knew it, I was crying and big, fat tears were sliding down my cheeks. I was surprised they were coming, honestly, because I had felt dehydrated enough to drink all the Great Lakes.

"Oh, baby," Jayce said, pressing his forehead against mine. "Don't cry. I wouldn't have said it if I thought it would make you cry."

I shook my head, wiping the tears from my face. "Damn you," I murmured. "Damn you."

"Why?"

"Why? Because you've made me love you, too."

Jayce closed his eyes, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips. He kissed me, held me for a moment that I never wanted to end, and stood up just as Melissa came back into the room with her jacket and bag. "Ready?" she asked, and I nodded. I was ready. I was damn ready.

Melissa and I drove in her minivan so there was room for the wheelchair in the back, and Jayce left before us to get to the field to meet his team. I felt good today, ready for this, and the abundance of sunshine that washed over my face felt good...so good. Better than sunlight had ever felt.

"You're glowing today," Melissa said, parking the van as we arrived at the stadium. "I bet it feels good to be out."

"You have no idea," I said longingly, taking Melissa's hand so she could help me get into the wheelchair again. "I don't think I've ever liked the sun as much as I do today."

"Enjoy it," she said, pushing me towards the stadium and down the handicap ramp. The place was packed today. And I mean packed. College sports were hot shit around here, and it looked like everyone in Denver had shown up to this one to cheer on their college teams and players.

Melissa found seats for us at the bottom of the bleachers, and much to my excitement, Candace was there waiting for us with an enormous grin and two cannisters of popcorn.

"I'm so glad you felt well enough to come," she said, leaning down to give me a hug. "You won't want to miss this game. We've missed you."

"How badly can you miss me?" I teased. "You and the guys make it a point to stop by and see me at least twice a week."

"What can I say?" said Candace with a shrug and a sly smile. "There's something about you we like."

"She's just got that personality, doesn't she?" said Melissa fondly, sitting down on the bench so that I was sitting between her and Candace, surrounded by two of my favorite people. It didn't take long for the big pre-game show to begin, which is something they did every year for the last game of the season. A farewell, of sorts, until next time.

I had my eyes downcast into my lap picking through the buttery popcorn as music began to play and the lights blinked. It was the intro to "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses, one of my favorite songs. Next to me, Melissa gasped, and I jerked my head up.

"Oh my God," Candace breathed.

"What?" I asked, trying to determine where exactly she was looking. "What is it?"

The entire Eagle River University team stepped out onto the field just then, following each other like a line of army ants marching to battle, marching along with the beat of the song. Jayce was in the lead, with Dalton taking up the rear. Their caps were on, but only for a moment, and as each man came to a stop out on the field, they removed their hats one by one, facing the crowd, revealing a team full of shiny, bald heads. Jayce included.

"Oh my God," I said, and Candace nodded. "My sentiments exactly."

As we watched the guys down on the indoor field, my eyes were on Jayce, who stepped forward and reached for the microphone that the game announcer had. He raised it to his lips and faced the crowd, eyes landing almost at once on me as he began to speak into the mic.

"Recently, a member of our baseball family and a student at this school fell sick," he said to the gamegoers, and a hush fell over the crowd. "Today, we're honoring this person, as she is a relentless fighter, a true friend, and a compassionate human being. Despite the odds, despite the fight, she has endured so much in so little time. She's overcome something that at her age shouldn't have ever even been a risk. So, M, this game is for you. We love you. This school loves you." Around the stadium people began to cheer, their roars growing, filling in the crevices of the dome. And if I thought it wasn't possible for the people to scream any louder-in excitement, in happiness, in encouragement, in just pure glee I was wrong when the opposing team also stepped out onto the field and joined up with ERU, facing the other side of the auditorium as they, too, took off their hats to reveal half a dozen or more shiny, bald heads. "I" I choked on my words, unable to fathom what was happening in front of me. What was happening for me.

The roars grew louder. Louder than I could have ever imagined, and just as the intro to the song was over and jumping into the lyrics, the lights in the whole stadium dimmed until he place was nearly basked in complete darkness. From the side of the building came a truck, decorated with flashing lights. But not just normal lights...it was a fire truck. My fire truck. And Hansen was driving it.

"Holy shit," said Candace. "Holy shit."

Stretched across the side of the truck as it rolled down the field covered in brilliant flashing lights that danced in sync to the music was a banner, basked in light. I didn't have to squint to see the scroll. Team Macey,

Participating Members of the Eagle River Community,

has proudly raised over $60,000 for the support and research

for those diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

WE LOVE YOU, MACIE!

Sound. So much sound, going on all around us. On either side of me, Melissa and Candace were crying, and it seemed at least half of the rest of the crowd was, too. I hadn't realized I'd been crying, either, until a hot tear slipped down my

cheek and dried there. Melissa had her arm around my shoulder and was saying something excitedly, but I felt too shocked to really hear the words. And for a moment, as the song ended and the players shook hands, ready to play, I wondered if maybe I was gone already, dead, and yet still somehow surrounded by the people I loved the very most...because this, to me, was heaven.