Souls in Peril (36 page)

“
S
o
, JD. Do you think people will
vote for me?”

“Heck yes! I
’
d vote for you.”

“Okay, lets just watch the movie. No wonder people hated Max and I that day in the theater,” she mumbled.

Chapter
20

T
he next morning, Izzy
, still in intensive care
,
was unable to
receive calls. Thankfully, Em invited Max on a picnic with her family. He needed
the distraction
. He and Em decided to meet at the park early and run the trail.

“Good run today, JD.” Em lay in the grass beneath the oak tree. Max noticed a large bruise on her
left forearm
.

“What happened?” he pointed to her arm.

“Fell.” Max glared at her and her one word answer. “Okay. We
’
re working on a secret stunt for the big game, you know, for when we win the championship.”

“Secret
,
as in dangerous?” Max sat next to her, wiping his damp forehead on his sleeve.

“No, it
’
s not dangerous. It
’
s going to be awesome,” came her ambiguous reply.

“So what
’
s the stunt?”

“I told you, it
’
s a surprise. You
’
ll have to wait until
the
game.” She sat up. “You
’
re
coming
, right?”

“Try and keep me away.” Even though he wouldn
’
t be playing, he had every intention of cheering his teammates on to victory.
They had a semifinal game coming up
this week
he could hardly wait for.

He gazed into Em
’
s eyes. “Promise me you won
’
t do anything that co
uld be dangerous. I don
’
t want something
terrible
happening to you. I don
’
t know what I
’
d do if . . .” He couldn
’
t bring himself to say the word
die,
he just couldn
’
t.

“JD,” she said softly, “that
’
s so sweet of you to worry, but I
’
m going to be fine. Really.” Max nodded, but
a little voice
told him she wasn
’
t being completely up front about the stunt.

Spending the rest of the afternoon with Em and her family brought back memories of
their
past outings.
Like
the time in Ocean City, Maryland
,
when he
’
d lost his swimsuit after being tossed around like a lifeless ragdoll by a rogue wave in the Atlantic Ocean. Her father teased him about it for months.
H
e had to bite back a laugh at the memory of Noah, who
’
d ripped his hoodie getting off the subway in New York City, grew tired of walking and sat down against a building in Time Square. He laid his head on his bent knees to rest, when a random stranger, thinking him homeless, slipped a five dollar bill into his hand.

So many happy memories fill
ed
him. He enjoyed escaping into an easier, less challenging time, even if only for a day.

**

Not till
Sunday
could Izzy
finally receive visitors. Max jogged over there first thing in the morning. He quietly
entered
her room, not wanting to wake her if she were asleep. He found her sitting upright in bed, looking pale.

“You finally decided to come and see me. I thought you were going to wait
.
” Max strained to hear her she spoke so softly.

“I couldn
’
t. They said I wasn
’
t allow—”

She held up her hand. “I
’
m only kidding. I didn
’
t expect you to stay.”

Max didn
’
t like how frail she sounded, but he was glad to see her sense of humor still intact.
“How
’
s the pain?”

“
Not too bad. The incision
’
s bigger than I thought it
’
d be.” She traced the bandage on her stomach to show him.

“Can you eat yet?”

“Clear liquids only. Tonight I
’
m progressing to
dental soft
. I can hardly wait.”
S
he frowned.

“Do you want me to sneak you in a Big Mac?” he offered.

“Yes, extra onions.”

“Done.”

“What
’
s done?” Izzy
’
s dad strolled in the room. A young woman
with
a bored expression, stood at his side, her hand wrapped in his. Max guessed her to be in her twent
ies
,
early
twenties.

“Hello, JD. This is my friend, Wanda.” She glanced at Max, but said nothing.

“Izzy really isn
’
t up to company
,
so I hope you
’
ll keep your visit short.” He slipped his arm around Wanda
’
s shoulders. She remained emotionless.

“Dad, I want JD to stay. He
’
s my friend.”

“And I
’
m your father who knows what
’
s best for you.”

“Izzy, I
’
ll come back tomorrow. You do look pretty tired.” Max scooted between the bed and
Kevin
, edging his way to Izzy
’
s side. He gave her a gentle hug and whispered in her ear, “Keep to the code.”

She smiled. “Thanks for coming. Promise you
’
ll be back tomorrow?”

“Yes. I promise. I
’
ll call you later.”

When Max returned home, Em
’
d left a message for him on his answering machine. “Hi, JD. I
’
m going to ride my bike along the canal path to Palmyra. Give me a call if you want to come along.”

Max snatched up the phone and immediately called
her
, hoping he
’
d caught her in in time. “Hi, Em. Is your offer to go biking still good?”

“Sure is. Meet you by the canal in Applegate Park in ten minutes?”

“I
’
ll race you. Loser buys winner an ice cream after the bike ride,” Max offered, knowing Em couldn
’
t resist a bet.

“You
’
re on
,
” was all she said before ending the call.

Max raced to the door, knowing he
’
d have to hurry to beat her.
Man, I hope JD has a bike.
He hadn
’
t thought about that. He ran outside, going straight to the small tin shed in the backyard. Opening the door, he spotted a bike alright. A bright pink woman
’
s bike, covered in dust. He tossed his head back and groaned.

“No time to whine.” He backed the bike out of the shed and
brushed the seat off with his hand
,
not
ing
the extra wide gra
nny seat
. He
groaned again. Peda
ling as fast as he could to beat Emma, and to avoid being seen on the streets riding a pink bike, he raced to the park, arriving just
after
Em.

“Nice bike,” Em giggled.

“It
’
s my mom
’
s. I guess I don
’
t have one.” He climbed off and
parked
it next to the tree.

She raised her right eyebrow. “You guess?”

“It
’
s been
a
while since I rode it. My mom must have gotten rid of it.” At least that
’
s what Max hope
d
. Surely JD didn
’
t ride around town on a pink bike.

“Here,” she said, getting off hers. “I
’
ll ride the pink one, you can ride mine.” Emma rode a woman
’
s bike also, only it was red. He
’
d take it. Anything but pink.

“Thank you. And my future children thank you,” he joked.

Max couldn
’
t remember the last time he
’
d ridden along the canal. His excitement surprised him, but for the life of him
,
he couldn
’
t figure out why. Everything from the Canadian geese and the
m
allard ducks floating on the water, to the little kids tossing bread at the well-fed birds
,
fascinated him. As he watched a fisherman pull a catfish from the canal it hit him.
JD is enjoying this.
That explained it. Max finally found an exercise JD liked. Now he
just
had to figure out a way to earn money to buy him a bike
,
because he was
not
riding
Mel
’
s pink one.
Sorry JD.

Em led the way, and the view from where Max sat put a grin on his face. 
Man, I hope my mom
’
s not watching
. More than once Em ve
er
ed too close to the trails edge. The rocky slope into the canal unnerved him. “Em, you need to move over to the right. You
’
re going to end up doing a header into
the canal,” he called out. She
move
d
, but a few minutes later her bike w
a
ndered back near the edge again. Unable to stoma
ch the panic any longer, he peda
led up beside her, positioning himself between the canal and Em.

They arrived in Palmyra half an hour later. Em led him through a small park to a beautiful arched bridge constructed of gray granite. Along one side
,
a man-made waterfall cascaded into the canal. They
’
d been to the park before. He and Em came one afternoon with a photographer to have their senior portraits taken. The photographer, an ornery perfectionist, sucked all the fun out of being there with his constant re-shooting of the same pose. “One more time, Maximiliano” he said, turning the camera on end, “and this time try not to look as if you
’
re in pain.” Neither he nor Em enjoyed the park that day.

“Let
’
s soak our feet.” She hopped off the bike and slipped off her leather sandals, sitting on the bank near some smooth gray river rocks. Max followed suit, dipping his feet in the water.

“Man, that feels good after a long
,
hot ride.” Max lay on the bank and let his feet dangle in the water. Em did the same. They watched the billowy clouds float carefree across the sky.
A
perfect day.

“JD, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, anything.” He turned on his side, leaning on his elbow to see her better.

“Do you believe in God?”

“Yes. Don
’
t you?”

“I did.” She looked at him. “I
’
m not so sure anymore.”

“What changed your mind?” He pulled out the blades of grass stuck in her hair.

“Max,” she said simply.

He
tried to think about what he
’
d done to turn her away from God, when it hit him. “Because he died?”

“Yes. Why him? Why his parents, for that matter? There are so many foul people on the earth, why not them?” She sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. “It
’
s so unfair.” She
stared
at him, waiting for an answer.

No pressure, Max!
he thought
.

“I don
’
t know, Em. I do know that bad things happen to good people.
It might be cliché, but it
’
s
just a fact of life. A sad, but very real fact. I guess there are lessons to be learned from all of it.”