Catching Colleen

Oddly enough, the second person to Renée was Mrs. Cowalczyck, followed by Allison and Colleen, who must have levitated over 8 rows of fans to get there so fast. "Lincoln players to your bench!" I yelled, and they wandered over upset. I heard Allison saying the same things to her kids. Her center was standing there in tears and Allison had her arm around her. Renée was crying and trying not to move. And Mrs. Cowalczyck was on her knees beside Renée, looking carefully at the wound. Colleen was then beside her on her knees. By this point, I was across from them, on mine.

Mrs. C asked Colleen, "Are you her mother?"

Colleen: "Yes. Do you know what you're doing?"

Mrs. C: "I'm an orthopedist at Dayton Children's. My name's Anna Cowalczyck. She has a compound fracture of the right tibia. There is some bleeding but the artery is not involved. I think the fibula is fine but there could be a hairline--we'll need x-rays. The break is a little out of line so I don't want to set it here, it will hurt and she could pass out. We'll immobilize, wrap for bleeding, and transport. Serge, did you call for an ambulance?"

"On the way, Doctor." I looked around for Victor. He'd found his way to Allison, standing slightly off to the side. So he was safe. "Victor's with Allison."

"Details, details," Dr. C muttered, looked around and saw him there, "Good, good." To Renée, who was probably going into shock by now, she said, "What's your name, 15?"

"Renée Olding."

"And what day of the week is it?"

"Uh, Tuesday?" She answered.

"What's your mom's name?"

"Colleen."

Anna looked at Colleen, "She's lucid and no obvious concussion. I didn't think she hit her head. Well, Renée, you have a broken leg and we'll get you to the hospital soon. You ever ride in an ambulance?"

Renée said, "No. They gonna use the siren?" Colleen had one hand and I had her right. Anna smiled.

Anna said, "Have you notified her father?"

"I'm her dad," I said, " At least, I'm applying for the job."

Anna looked from me to Colleen, smiling. "Family dynamics in the modern era. Well, good."

"It was a good rebound, Ren," I said. "But I think they called travelling when you fell."

She started to laugh but it hurt so she stifled it.

"You ride with her to the hospital, Colleen?" I asked.

"Sure. You should stay with the team. You have a game to finish," she said.

"Dr. Cowalczyck, will you treat her?" Colleen asked.

"If that's your wish I can meet you at the hospital right away."

The gurney came in then, behind two EMTs who had a splint and bandages and they whisked Renée out with Colleen beside her and Dr. Cowalczyck on their heels. I looked over at Allison, with her arm around her center, who was still upset but no longer crying.

"Victor is with you, Allison?" I asked.

"Of course," she said. "I'll take care of him. I live with them right now." I nodded.

I turned to her center. I said, "Hi, my name is Serge Kowalsh. I coach Lincoln. I just wanted to say that you were playing hard and this is just bad luck. It was not your fault. Everybody was playing hard. Just bad luck."

She seemed grateful and nodded.

We got the court cleaned up. It was Wayne's ball out of bounds on the travelling call. The one official said, "Serge, we were gonna give you a T for coming on the court before we blew the whistle, but we decided not to."

"Very generous of you guys," I smiled.

We continued, but neither team really had the heart for it. Allison put her center in the game, but the kids just went through the motions. It was like slow motion. It was our only loss of the season, by four, but no one seemed particularly upset. Perhaps we should have suspended or forfeit the game, but we didn't. The two teams shook hands after. Allison, with Victor beside her, shook mine.

"She's your daughter?"

"Her mother and I are considering marriage right now, and I would eventually want to adopt her, yes," I said, which seem to make our whole plan public. Allison smiled. "I didn't know Anna was a doctor."

"She and her husband broke up early in October. She's divorced now. I moved in with them to help with Victor and because the rent is cheap." I nodded, remembering her husband.

"Is Cowalczyck her maiden name?"

"Yes. She's my mother's sister."

"Well, I'm heading to the hospital now, to see how she is and what the plans are for the night. Merry Christmas, and thanks to your team and parents for the game. Two good teams--too bad she got hurt."

"She is something, finding ways to score against bigger girls. And that guard!"

"Penny? Yeah. She's actually my niece," I replied. "Gotta go. It's been great getting to know you this season, Allison."

"You too, Serge."

All was calm at the hospital, until I told Renée that we lost. She smirked. I think the painkillers took hold.

"Lost? I give my leg for the team, and we lose???" She was mocking, but I could tell she took it as a sign she was important. And she was--but we lost more because we no longer cared about the game--because the kids would remember that "crack" and the blood for the rest of their lives.

Dr. C came in to set the bone then, and there was a sickening crunch and crying from the patient; but it was quick.

"No other breaks in any bone. Checked the femur also--that's a big kid who fell on you. But you're okay, and the bleeding stopped on its own. The bones are set now. We have stitches to close the wound. We'd like her to stay until tomorrow afternoon. We'll put a lightweight cast on it for you, and somebody will show you how to use crutches," she said. It was 9:15. She lingered.

"Allison said you divorced him. Your husband."

Anna nodded, not smiling. "I had to get Victor away from the drinking. It was every night. He wasn't violent, just drunk and a mean attitude. Too bad really. A good guy at heart, too."

"I hope it all works out for you. Allison seems a good kid. Victor is very polite." I shook my head about Victor.

"She is, she is. Victor loves having her around. He has latched onto you, like you are his favorite athlete. Maybe because in that whole stadium you noticed him. I was so surprised when Allison mentioned you were coaching girls basketball."

"Coach has cancer. I was visiting my sister." The doctor nodded, understanding. She hesitated.

"You're a good guy, Serge."

Catching Colleen Ch. 07 Swinging Away

I drove to Colleen's house "no earlier than 7:30 and no later than 7:45," she had said, figuring that the injury and everything would delay Renée's enthusiasm. Usually the kid was up at the crack of dawn to open presents, begging her mother to get up, but she was an adolescent now and so she slept longer. I arrived within the time frame, bearing gifts. Actually two gifts.

It was a mild but grey day in the appropriately named town. I carried a large garment box and a small box for each of them. Colleen met me at the door; they'd held off until I arrived. "Merry Christmas, merry Christmas," I proclaimed, gifts in hand, kissing the lady of the house and Renée behind her on crutches. (She kissed my cheek, too). Both of them were in pajamas.

"Why are you up on that leg? You don't have to get up for me," I said. She was proficient on the crutches, but not perfectly comfortable after only one day. There was a good sized real tree in their living room which we'd decorated a week ago; there were several presents beneath.

"Well," said Renée, "let's open them!"

Santa had brought Renée several electronic gizmos, a playstation, Ipod, and from me a necklace. Opening that last, she looked at the mix of her birthstone and small diamonds, and said, "Are those real diamonds?"

"Probably. The jeweler said they are. It is beautiful, isn't it?" She seemed thrilled.

"I've never had real diamonds...on anything. Thank you so much." And she hugged me.

Colleen opened her gift from me--also a necklace, but hers was two small and one larger diamond in a retro setting that the jeweler said was a very popular style but a unique gold item itself. "It's beautiful, Serge. Put it on me?" I put it around her neck and it was lovely, but the pajamas were not complementary.

"I think it's beautiful. I have one other gift for each of you, sort of a closeout item that I'm giving everyone this year." I handed each one a larger box.

Just then Colleen's phone rang. I heard part of this conversation. "Merry Christmas."

Colleen: "Yes he's here. You want to..." Pause.

Colleen: "I'll tell him. We have to go to Fort Wayne, my folks, but you can have him tomorrow... Yeah. ... He is. Bye. Merry Christmas."

She said, "You made some people very happy over there."

She and Renée opened their larger boxes and pulled out red Cincinnati Reds jerseys--with KOWALSH on the back. Colleen and Renée laughed at that.

"I figured these might be collectors' items and very rare soon." They went to change then--and decided to wear them to the family gathering.

Fort Wayne, Indiana is a lot farther from Sky Grey than it appears on the map. Perhaps it is the size of the road, or the size of the towns. Or the lack of towns. Anyway, we pulled into Colleen's parents' drive about 1 that Christmas afternoon. It was a big house before us, with a wide porch and big old windows. We knocked, and Colleen immediately opened the door and we went in.

"Merry Christmas, merry Christmas," Renée and she called out as we moved into the noisy living room. "Merry Christmases" abounded. There were her mother Ursula, father Tom, brother Tom Junior, called TJ, TJ's wife Janice, their children Max, Lucy, and Carrie. Lucy looked to be about the same age as Renée, but they didn't get along too well. Renée and Carrie were four years apart and were better friends. On the way up, I'd asked Renée why she didn't get along with Lucy, and she said she just never had. Colleen said she thought the slightly older Lucy got less attention than the mixed race adoptee.

Everyone was welcoming and friendly. They all wanted to know about my career and I tried to turn the conversation to theirs. At one point someone said that I was a celebrity in the family. I said, with a smile, "I played baseball. I entertained people. But it was not as important as adopting a kid like Colleen, or running a store that employs people, or raising a family like Tom and TJ and Ursula and Janice, or fighting for our country like Barry in Afghanistan. It pales to insignificance beside the things you all have done." Tom looked at me as if to agree. Ursula reached for his hand. I hoped Barry was safe.

"But we get cool shirts," Renée said.

The food was good, the house was warm, and we ate supper around 4 so we could get back that evening. After pecan pie, the adults sat in the living room and talked. I asked why they built a fort in Fort Wayne. TJ groaned, his wife smiled big, and Colleen said, "I know that." Colleen wrote a paper on Ft. Wayne's early years, during her years in college. Apparently, it was the divide between the Mississippi and Maumee Rivers; the Miss heading to the Gulf of Mexico and the Maumee to Lake Erie and the Atlantic. Fort Wayne had a portage between the St. Marys and Wabash Rivers. Also apparently, control of that portage made the small Miami tribe very, very significant. Hence Little Turtle; hence, Mad Anthony Wayne, She Who Shines, Grey, and etc. Apparently, Colleen thought all midwesterners should know this history by heart.

Driving home, I asked Colleen why we didn't stay over.

"They actually asked us to. Mom and Dad wanted us to stay in the extra bedroom; they assumed we're sleeping together and Dad wanted to have a talk with you about my history and they were shocked when I told them we did not sleep together. Then Dad wanted to know if there was something wrong with you..." She was laughing. From the back seat came, jeesh! "I thought it best we get home. Your family wants to see you tomorrow."

Hm. And a double hm.

I carried a sleeping Renée in and to her bed. She woke long enough for some pain medication. Since she had stitches under the cast, the doctor wanted to check for infections and healing every few days, so we would take her on the 27th. She had no fever, which was a good sign. I kissed her forehead and we left the room.

It was 10, pretty late. I asked Colleen to sit with me on the couch. It had been a long day.

"I feel so close to you, and now Renée," I told her, holding her right hand in my left.

She looked right into my eyes. "Where have you been all my life, Serge?"

"Playing kids' games. Hitting a ball with a stick about 25 times out of a hundred," I said smiling. "Making a mistake with a woman. Growing up slower than most. Reading Styron and Hemingway. Wondering where I belonged." I stopped.

"You spent too much on us," she said. "The necklaces must have cost a lot."

I nodded. "They were not cheap. But I've a nice bank account still. And I don't want you or Renée to feel like I'm trying to buy love. We've only known one another three months."

Colleen was nodding, clinging to my arm in that way I like. We kissed. She said,

"I will say yes if you ask, whenever that is, and I do not want it to be soon. You love my child. She loves you, too. But we have had no conflict yet--she hasn't been mad at you, and you haven't had to discipline her or even disapprove of something she does. We've had no stress yet. I think we need to get past these things in the normal course of our relationship. She needs to see you angry and still loving her.

"I have seen you driving a beat up Mustang. You live in a dinky apartment, and then you buy us jewelry that must be expensive." She shook her head and kissed me again. "I don't know if you can afford a used car. I don't care. I am falling in love and I like the feeling. I want it to go on a while longer, before we make any big choices."

We kissed and it started soft and became hard, just as I did. I let my hand wander. She was soft where she should be soft, and I squeezed her breast, which was obviously big. She groaned. We had to stop. I did not want the first time this wonderful woman made love to be in these circumstances. I pulled away then, after kissing her neck.

"Why don't you stay?" she asked, breathing hard. "You can sleep on the couch here. You can go home to change in the morning."

"Deal. It's cold--do you have some blankets?"

"If not I'll pile all our dirty laundry on you..." I fell asleep a short time later.

Someone was up at 4:45 and I remembered Colleen had a store to open even the day after Christmas. She was being quiet, but I don't sleep when someone is moving around. I sat up.

"Hello, Wonderful. How do you do this all the time?" I asked. She came around and kissed me.

"It's lucky you snore cutely," she said, "if that's a word."

"I don't snore. Quit making things up."

"If you could help Renée. I don't know when she'll wake. The last two mornings she's had some pain. Be sure she takes one of those pills on the counter. Do you intend to take her with you to Joan's?"

I was not sure, so I said, "If she wants. When am I supposed to be there?"

"She said for lunch, so 11:30 probably makes sense. I gotta go. Stop by the store, I'll give you a discount."

Suddenly I was alone in the room, at zero dark thirty. Awake. I turned on the tv and watched an old Christmas movie called The Robe. Okay, it was more of an Easter movie, but that didn't stop the schedulers. I forgot the strange passion of Richard Burton and the softly beautiful Jean Simmons--quite beautiful. Special. I was sitting on the couch watching this old movie and must have fallen asleep. When I awoke it was 8:15 and this pretty kid was asleep beside me, her head on my shoulder and her broken leg propped up on the coffee table. I felt hair on my cheek as Colleen kissed my hair, and I lifted my free hand to touch hers.

"Quite a sight," she said.

"I don't remember her joining me. Why are you home?"

"I have three back there and they can handle it for now. I brought you some coffee, it's on the table."

I extricated myself from Renée and felt like I'd caught 15 years in the big leagues. Every joint in my body hurt. Ex-catchers, like old football linemen, should only sleep prone. The coffee was very good.

By 11 Renée was dressed and her pain had abated, so she decided to go with me to my sister's. Colleen was back at work. We stopped at my apartment and I showered and changed.

"You don't even have a tv," Renée said when I came out dressed.

"I don't like much on tv, anyway. Plus I have no cable bill. I'll probably get one for the NCAA tournament. I have more presents to put in the car--don't tell them what they're getting, okay?" I pointed at the boxes in the corner, the same as had contained Renée's Reds shirt.

Joan's steps looked like a mountain to Renée. We made it up those steps carefully, finally reaching the top, me behind to catch her if she tottered. She had the hang of it now. But I think if no one was around to help, she'd hop up using the railing for safety. I went back for the boxes while Renée waited at the door.

Joan opened the door at our knock and threw herself in my arms. "I love you, little brother," she said.

"Love you too, Sis."

Art got there then and he was obviously choked up. "Serge, there's no way...I can't ever..."

I held out my hand and he took it, warmly. "Overdue account, Art."

"No, it's not."

"Well, make sure it's all used wisely. The kids...?"

"We'll guide them. They respect Joan and me," he said.

Renée said, "So? What did you do?"

"It's cold out here, let's go in." Which we did, but then I had three more kids throwing themselves at me. It's not good for an older guy to have three beautiful girls surrounding him. We settled into the living room, with its bright tree and opened presents on the floor.

"So, what did he do?" Renée demanded of the girls.

"He started a trust fund for each of us and put $50,000 in each of our accounts, for us girls. To be used for college or education or later as we need it. And he just gave Mom and Dad 10 grand outright," said Nicci.

By now we were all seated and there was an almost somber silence. I had never felt this sense of goodness, and even after distributing a large chunk of my net worth I still was wealthy by almost anyone's measure.

"Uncle Serge," Maddy said, "I don't know how we can ever thank you. We..." I held up my hand.

"Um, you should understand. For all my adult life, I ignored or avoided the very people who most loved me. I didn't see Joan after Mom and Dad's funeral. Or Trip, for that matter. Or you girls. I made money by entertaining people, a lot of money compared to most people. I did not buy a house. After Carol, I decided to save and invest what I could. I gave rarely to a church or a charity. I did not send presents at Christmas. I was not there when Penny learned to dribble or Nicci had trouble with math or Maddy decided to try out for cheerleading. And I didn't have to be. Parents do that." I looked at Renée. "They bet their lives trying to make their kids happy and good."

"I hope the money helps you, that you use it wisely. Listen to your parents when they guide you before you spend it, if it comes to that. They will control it for a while, but you get it when you are 28, whatever is left--use it for a downpayment on a house, or invest it for your children. I can't afford to give presents like this every year, but I'm still not a poor man, so don't worry about that. I want you kids to have opportunities, and I want Art and Joan to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I love you guys."

Art held his hand up. "Serge, no gift is ever demanded or expected. We do not judge. We are grateful for your act, but more importantly we are happy that you are with us, and we hope you'll stay for a long time, or ever."