“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 forme.
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.Myfire 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.
