“I chased after the places he had been, witnessed those beautiful moments he had seen before he passed, and truly, I lived my life because that’s what he taught me. My life wouldn’t have been the same without him, but I can still be happy after him. He’s never gone. All the memories are a reminder and telling his story gave me strength. Sharing him with Dean gave me closure.”
Her answer is so sincere and not at all complicated.
“Family is the only thing we leave behind. Everything else is just filters. But the moments that we get to spend with people we love, last forever far beyond the grave. I admit there are tough moments and things that remind you of them but there’s always a smile right after when you think about a precious moment you shared with them.”
“Yeah,” tears leak down my cheeks and I’m choking on my words a bit, “It’s still so hard going back to these moments and reliving them again.”
“Of course, it doesn’t go away because they stay with you forever.” She starts sniffling. “My brother and your friends, they will always be comforting memories. Now and then, it’ll hurt but it’s okay.”
“Dean is so lucky to have you and Jamey will too.”
“Aww come here, I need to hug someone,” she says to someone on the other end. “I can’t believe next year we might get the chance to take little Jamey with us to Yosemite and introduce her to my brother.”
I chuckle, brushing the tears from my cheeks.
“What did you say to my wife that made her cry?” Playfulness laced around Dean’s voice. “I will send Scar to end you.”
I continue to laugh and they both join me.
“Are you trying to get rid of the fucker?” I taunt, knowing it will piss Lenny off.
He clears his voice, “Never!”
“Don’t you worry Scar, Daddy is just playing around and he will make it up to you later by giving Mommy a foot massage,” she retorts right after.
“Okay mama,” Dean responds, “Talk to you tomorrow before the race, Meadow.”
I end the call and stride toward the persistent knocking on my door. When I open it, I grin like I won the lottery.
“I can’t believe all of you came here.”
“We said we would,” Ronnie embraces me first before he enters the room with bags of chicken wings that smell divine. Amber and Bradley walk in right after.
“This is a nice suite, champ,” Bradley says as he roams around.
Amber already helping Ronnie unpack the food on the coffee table next to the couches.
I stare at Frankie who gives me a warm embrace like she always does and fist bump my chest. “Race you after the race.” She already making plans.
“Did you check the book I sent you?”
I slant my gaze to Theo, giving him a knowing grin. “I did, there’s a woman who appreciated it a couple of nights ago.”
Theo and Frankie have a library of books on their phones and tablets and when we first met they introduced me to that dirty world. After that, I found out that everyone in this group reads or listens to audiobooks like these so we started sharing them.
“Damn, you work fast.” He seems impressed by his expression. “Do you think she’ll be part of the group?”
“Too early to tell.”
He taps on my shoulder, “You don’t try things like that on just anyone. Something to think about.” He enters inside and joins the rest.
He kind of has a point.I pull the door shut.
The following day, before the race starts there are interviews and preparations. My team is already working on my bike as I talk to a Spanish sports channel, gazing at the sponsor signs across the racetrack through my visor right as a helicopter crosses the sky, broadcasting the race, getting a bird’s eye view.
The racetrack is a street circuit next to an adjacent area, also referred to as the pitlanes, where my team’s garage is situated.
Flashlights snap at every corner as cameras are pointed at riders.
