the lakefront below and hunkered down on a rock within view. Eva longed to follow him, but given the condition of her ankle—to say nothing of the condition of her spirit—it simply wasn’t possible.
Angela was the only bright spot in the day, cheering her on and carrying her when the crutches had her underarms feeling raw and then numb. Despite the daunting day, something about her sister-in-law seemed lighter. Eva would ask about it later, but for now, her own emotions nearly crushed her with their weight.
At long last, the sound of a crowd’s cheers reached their ears. Marc checked his watch and declared they were a half mile away.
Pressing on, every muscle aching, they finally came within view of the finish line on the edge of Wanaka. Among the din she could make out Angela’s children’s voices screaming, “Mom! Aunt Eva! Marc!” Her eyes scanned the crowd and she saw her nieces and nephew, along with Sherry, holding a large neon-pink sign, jumping up and down. Eva pointed them out to Angela, whose eyes filled with tears.
When they were a few feet away, Eva tossed aside the crutches. Marc and Angela came on either side of her and wrapped their arms around her back as she slid her arms around their shoulders. She leaned into Marc, relishing the closeness that she might never know again. Together, they moved while she hopped—one, two, three—across the finish line.
As soon as they were over the line, Marc’s hand dropped and he lurched aside while the children surged forward, tackling them.
“Mom! I lost a tooth while you were gone!” Lilly shouted.
“You finished with exactly one hour and six minutes to spare.” Oh, Zach.
“So proud of you guys!” Kylee squeezed Angela tight.
Sherry came alongside Eva. “Looks like you’ve had quite a time. But you did it. My boys would be so proud of you.”
“Thank you. I hope so.” As Eva clasped her mother-in-law’s hand, her eyes scanned the crowd and caught Marc melting away.
One painful step at a time, they’d made it here. Done what they’d set out to do. Her legs could barely hold her upright, but somehow she still stood.
At the same moment, the sisters-in-law turned to each other and threw themselves into each other’s embrace.
“Thank you, Eva.” Angela’s jagged whisper doused the noise around them. “Thank you for inviting me on this journey. I haven’t felt this way in a very long time. Maybe never.”
Eva’s throat filled with cotton. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
And even though she still had no clue what lay ahead, Eva clutched Angela tight and allowed herself to rejoice in a job well done.
Maybe now life could finally bloom again.
41
Six weeks later
Angela’s fingers hovered over the mouse for the briefest of moments before she sent a prayer heavenward and clicked.
Friend Request sent.
“Whew.” She exited out of Facebook and closed her web browser, sitting back in her desk chair. Even though her office door remained shut, her feet could pick up the vibration of the Latin music Danica used to teach the Pilates class next door. The eucalyptus smell had snuck down the hall from the main entryway of No Frills Fitness and pervaded her small little corner of Marc and Eva’s gym, where she was now an administrative assistant.
A knock sounded on her door, and she straightened when Marc poked his head in. “Hey, boss.”
In his hands he held a magazine. “You’re still here, huh?”
“Just about to head out.” She’d stayed late to pop on social media and do the thing she’d been dreading for weeks. Now the ball was in her father’s court. If he wanted her and the kids in his life, he’d respond, even though he hadn’t returned her three attempted phone calls. And if he didn’t, she’d done all she could to forgive him for the past and move forward.
“Wondered if you’d seen this yet.” Marc slid a copy of the Worldwide Runners quarterly magazine onto her desk.
A majestic photo of the mountains of New Zealand and the man who’d won the ultra-marathon graced the cover. Angela ran her thumb over the glossy finish. “Hard to believe it’s been six weeks.”
Marc flew home the next day, and after spending a final week recuperating in the Wanaka lake house, the rest of them had returned home. Angela had started her new job right away, and the kids had gone back to school for the last few months of the semester. On a normal day she was home in time to