The Black Coats(85)
Her coach blew the whistle, and Thea waved behind her, calling it a day. She would get there. Someday.
“Yeah, Thea! Second place! It’s just like first, only it’s not!”
Thea started laughing as she looked up at her own personal cheering section: Mirabelle Watts with her face streaked in yellow and black paint, her hair pulled up in a ridiculously high ponytail; Casey looking bored but still cheering, a single black ribbon in her hands waving slowly back and forth; Bea and Louise hugging each other with excitement and screaming for Thea. She grinned up at them, mouthing, “Calm down!”
Behind them sat her parents. The joy on her father’s face was almost embarrassing, but it was not nearly as heart-wrenching as her mother’s fresh tears. She nodded at her mother, who smiled and wiped her face with the back of her hand. They had been so shocked at what their darling daughter had been involved in. It would take years to earn back their trust, but lucky for her, their love didn’t change. That was the nature of parents, she guessed. They would love even when they shouldn’t.
Today was the first track meet of the year, her first without Natalie, and somehow Thea felt okay. In fact, Thea was better than okay on this warm October morning. The smell of the track, the feel of the sun on her skin, the jersey tank with the hornet on it—all of it was making her heart soar.
And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the handsome college freshman waiting for her at the bottom of the bleachers.
“Hey, nice run!” Drew leaped up to hug her, and Thea alone noticed the way he slightly favored his right ankle. They leaned against each other, both a little broken, both a little wiser. He kissed her cheek and wrapped her up in his arms, smelling like sunscreen and his pickup truck. His olive eyes looked straight into hers. “I can’t even tell you how proud I am of you right now.”
“You, too. I saw you finish those hot dogs,” Thea teased.
Drew flipped his sunglasses on. “It was a major accomplishment, to be sure. Hey, I wanted to see you run, but now I have to head to that art show for class. Are we on for our date tonight? Six?”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“I know you will.” He playfully tugged on her curls, sending her heart violently tilting. “Oh, and I have something to tell you. I declared my major today.”
Thea turned her head, a naughty smile drifting across her face. “Human anatomy?”
He raised his eyebrows at her suggestively behind his glasses. “We can talk more about that later, but I’ll give you one more guess.”
She squeezed his hand. “Criminal justice?”
“I knew I fell in love with a genius.” He planted a long kiss on her sunburned lips. “Hey, it might be cold tonight, so make sure you bring a jacket or something. Maybe a red windbreaker? A yellow parka?” He smiled. “A black coat?”
Thea narrowed her eyes as she lightly punched his arm. “That’s getting old.”
“Never.” He gave her a serious look over his glasses. “Hey, I love you. You looked so great out there. How did it feel?”
She thought for a moment before squeezing his arm. “It felt right. And I love you, too.”
With that, she made her way carefully up the bleachers, where her team was still cheering her on. Mirabelle, Casey, Bea, and Louise wrapped themselves around her, their smothering love overwhelming. Even though she hadn’t won the race, Thea knew that she had won a thousand others. Whatever the Black Coats had taken from her, she would never be able to repay the debt she owed them for introducing her to these strong women. The Black Coats of Austin may have been completely dissolved, but they had left a heart for justice beating in the chest of five girls who Thea knew would grow to do great, hard things. She was sure that, like herself, they each tried their best not to think of the Black Coat hanging in their closet, doing nothing more than gathering dust. Maybe someday they would pull them down and dust them off. But that was not for today. Today was for sunshine and medals.
Later that afternoon, after making sure the new owners weren’t home, Thea wandered across the street and let herself through the back gate of Natalie’s old house.
The backyard was so different. Her aunt and uncle had always let things grow a little wild, but these new people were gardeners, and Thea couldn’t believe how much it had changed. Where there were once rocks and overgrown weeds, there was now a lush garden of huge white poppies, black-eyed Susans, and long purple heather that waved in the warm air. The garden was filled with butterflies. A fountain bubbled in the corner, and the yard was spotted with the shade of a dozen new saplings.
Thea caught her breath as she scanned the porch, seeing their spot from all the way across the yard. She walked toward the back of the yard to a small notch in the fence and knelt before it, the cool dirt kissing her knees. There, carved in the reddish wood in a sloppy middle-school scrawl, were their names:
NATALIE + THEA = FRIENDS FOREVER
Tears gathered in her eyes. She pressed her palm against her lips and then laid it against the words, closing her eyes for just a moment, burying a part of her heart that she would never get back. Then she smiled through her tears and reached into her dress pocket. She carefully tucked the second-place ribbon into the gap in the fence.
“Second place,” she whispered. “You beat me again. But I’ll catch up with you. Soon enough.” Then Thea turned to watch a single monarch butterfly dance over the flowers, a beautiful killer inexplicably drawn to the sweetness within.