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After rinsing her face and pulling her hair back in a ponytail, Maggie felt a little better. She took her place beside the bed again and dialed Hannah.
“Hey, how is he?” Hannah said, when she answered.
“No change. Where are you?”
“I had to get home. Paul called and was worried about me. We’re going to grab some dinner in a bit and then we’ll come back by the hospital. Do you want to join us?”
“No, I don’t want to leave him.” Her voice cracked as she cried.
“Can we bring you something?”
“No thanks. I’m not hungry. And don’t worry about coming by. I’m gonna stay here with him through the night. I sent his parents home to sleep.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.” Maggie curled her foot up under her and ran her hand over her hair. “I’ll call you if there’s any change.”
“Do you want me to bring you a book or anything? Something to help pass the time?”
“No thanks. I wouldn’t be able to focus enough to read it. Would you mind checking in on Dantes for me though?”
“Sure. I’ll just bring him to our house for the night. And I know you won’t do this, but try and get some sleep yourself. We’ll come by in the morning.”
“I’ll see you then.”
“And Maggie, we’ll be praying. It will all be fine.”
“Thanks, friend. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
She put her phone back in her purse and took a deep breath. Everyone kept saying it was going to be fine, but how? Did they know something she didn’t? Looking at Josh so frail and vulnerable didn’t give her any confidence that everything would be fine.
Please don’t leave me. I just found you again.
Josh breathed in and out as the machines beeped. Voices murmured in the hallway as people passed by. Then it was quiet again.
A nurse came in to check his vitals.
“We have a pretty decent cafeteria if you need some dinner,” she offered.
“Thank you. I’m not sure I could eat anything right now.”
The nurse smiled. “I understand. Just push the nurses’ call button if you need anything. We at least have some decent coffee down by the nurses’ station. You’re welcome to it. I know the night shift can be tough.”
“Do you want the TV on? Watching the ball drop at midnight might be a nice distraction.”
“What?”
“It’s New Year’s Eve,” the nurse reminded her.
“That’s right. I forgot. Um, no thank you. I might turn it on later.”
The nurse nodded and left the room.
Maggie glanced at the window seat designed to be a cot for overnight guests and thought for a moment of trying to sleep, but what was the point? She wouldn’t. Besides, the window was too far away. She couldn’t stand the idea of not being right beside Josh.
Picking up his hand, she intertwined her fingers with his. He had a callous on his right ring finger from the way he held his pen while drawing architectural plans. His pinky finger turned in slightly from when he broke his finger in football their senior year. Maggie’s memory drifted to that game.
It was homecoming. He was crowned homecoming king. One of the cheerleaders was crowned queen and clung to his arm possessively. Everyone loved him, even then. The Van Halen song “Dreams” played as each couple paraded around the field, the girls waving like princesses, their long, teased hair waving behind them.
Maggie watched from the stands as Josh walked by with a goofy gold crown on his head. He swaggered and waved, king of the school. He’d winked at Maggie when he passed by, paying little to no attention to the girl on his arm, making the cheesy smile and bounce in the girl’s step fade.
After halftime, the team ran out to the marching band playing the school fight song. Josh was back at quarterback and all business again. The Cougars were playing their biggest rival and were down by two touchdowns in the middle of the third quarter. Josh took a snap and threw a forty-yard pass for a touchdown. He also took a late hit from an enormous lineman, breaking his finger when he landed.
The stands buzzed with worry as everyone wondered if their star quarterback would be able to go back in the game. Josh stood calm and cool on the sidelines while the team trainer looked at his hand.
The clock ticked away, time slipping through their grasp. The defense held, but the backup quarterback struggled to gain yardage. Tension mounted as the game neared its end and Josh still stood sidelined with a taped-up finger.
It was third and goal on the five-yard line with only twenty seconds showing on the clock. The Cougars handed the ball off to their running back. He fought through, breaking tackles and lunged into the end zone. The team needed a two-point conversion to win.
Maggie watched as Josh said something to his coach, who quickly called a time out. The whistle blew and each team huddled up. The crowd cheered like crazy as Josh ran back onto the field and stuck his head in the mass of players that were his team and shouted the plan for the last play. Maggie’s heart raced, the noise of the crowd around her almost deafening.
Josh yelled, “Break!” and the team lined up in formation while the defense set up. Maggie thought she might get sick. As Josh took the snap, everyone in the stands went quiet, holding their breath. Josh spun around and faked handing off the ball to the running back who tucked in tight and ran to the right. The defense followed the running back. Josh ran to his left, the ball tucked in his left arm. Sprinting for the pylon, Josh looked right. The defense recognized the fake and recovered. It was a race to the corner. Josh crossed the goal line, the hands of two defenders at his feet as they dove for him.
A roar erupted from the stands and everyone went wild. Josh stood in the end zone with his hands in the air, the football tight in the grasp of his left hand. He held his head to the sky and hollered, his face glowing through his facemask.
Maggie jumped up and down, cheering and crying like the rest of the crowd. Her heart almost leaped out of her chest when Josh ran straight toward her, jumped up over the front of the bleachers and handed her the game ball. She was the envy of every girl in that stadium. But that wasn’t what made her happy. She was happy because he only had eyes for her. To him, she was special. No man had ever loved her that way.
Later that night, Maggie and Josh sat in the empty stands, her head resting on his shoulder and the game ball cradled in her arms. He smelled of soap from his after-game shower and his clean practice jersey felt scratchy beneath her cheek.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked her.
“I just keep seeing that play over and over again in my mind.”
He smiled. “Yeah, me too.”
Her laugh shook his shoulder. “I bet you do.” His right hand sat on her knee, his pinky finger wrapped heavily. She ran her fingers over it, her touch light.
“What about your finger?”
“It’s no big deal. Just broken.”
She rolled her eyes. “Spoken like a true boy.”
It was his turn to laugh. “The way you’re clutching that game ball, I don’t think I’m ever going to get it back.”
She looked up at him in mock horror. “You want it back? No way. You’ll have to fight me for it.”
“Is that a challenge?” he teased as he wrapped his arms around her, trying to sneak the ball from her grasp.
“Don’t you even think about it!” she screamed amidst giggles.
He tickled her a moment more and then wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Forget it. You can have it. Everything else of mine is already yours.”
She pushed back a lock of hair from his forehead.
“I love you, Maggie Mitchell.”
“I love you too,” she whispered.
He kissed her, soft and sweet, then buried his face in her neck.
“Hey! Come on you two!” Hannah shouted from the bottom of the bleachers. She and Paul stood together, she in her cheerleading uniform and he dressed just like Josh. Jeans and a clean jersey.
“The bonfire’s already started,” Paul yelled. “Let’s go.”
Maggie stood and reached out her hand to Josh. “You heard them. Come on. Your fans await.”
As they walked down the bleachers, his arm around her shoulders, he said, “You know, some of my fans may want to steal that game ball from you.”
“Then they’re gonna have one heck of a fight on their hands.”
His laugh echoed down the metal bleachers and across the field. “I have no doubt.”
Shouts of “Happy New Year” from the nurses’ station down the hall resonated off the walls and shook Maggie back to the present.
The clock on the wall read 12:01 a.m.
“Happy New Year, Josh,” she said, kissing his hand.
Laying her head on his arm, she began singing. Even though her voice was soft, it felt loud against the quiet of the room. Her voice cracked as tears streamed once again down her face.
“You always were a terrible singer.” His voice was a mere whisper.
Maggie lifted her head and looked into his deep-blue ocean eyes. A mixture of a laugh and sob emerged from her, tears now flowing from joy.
He smiled at her, making her stomach do flips.
“I was just thinking about the homecoming game our senior year,” she said. He lifted his hand to cradle her cheek and wiped a tear away with his thumb. “Do you remember that game?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“I still have that ball. I never did let it go.”