was leaning back in the upholstered chair with her eyes closed.
“Why, Chad!” Perry spoke happily. “Come in.”
Lorene’s eyes popped open and she stood at once, started toward him, her face radiant, but checked herself.
“You look wonderful,” she said.
“That’s the way I feel, thanks to Perry.” He turned to his biological father. “And you must be doing all right, too. The nurse told me you’re scheduled to be discharged soon.”
“Yes. Our plane leaves at one o’clock tomorrow.”
“We’d like for you to go home with us. You and Perry could go to the same hospital for monitoring. It would mean a lot to us,” Lorene concluded slowly.
“I realize that, but I’ll tell you the same thing I told Mom and Dad. I have to sort out my future, and right now I can do that better alone. I’ll stay in Columbus for a while. I’ll try to come and visit you after that. I don’t know.”
Lorene’s lips parted in protest and Perry shook his head at her.
“We accept that. When you’re ready to talk, we’ll be waiting. Our past behavior doesn’t give us any right to interfere with your plans. We’ll be grateful for any part of your life you want to share with us. We don’t expect you to think of us as your parents, but we hope we can continue to be your friends.”
“I hope so, too,” Chad assured them in an apologetic tone. “It’s just that I’m a different person than I was two weeks ago.”
Lorene’s dark eyes searched his face, apparently looking for something she didn’t see. “Do you think you can ever forgive us?”
“I don’t know,” he said after a heart-wrenching pause. “I don’t know,” he repeated softly. His body trembled, whether from weakness or tension, he wasn’t sure. But Perry must have noticed.
“We’re grateful that you visited us today, but we won’t try to see you again before we leave, so let’s pray together.” He held out his hand. Chad took it and then picked up Amy’s tiny fingers, while Lorene took her place on the other side, gripping tightly the hand of her husband. Amy’s fingers wiggled under Chad’s touch, and he experienced a sense of belonging he had never known before.
“God,” Perry prayed. “None of us are the same as we were a few weeks ago, but we’re thankful that You never change. We are made in Your image. You breathed into us a living soul, which belongs to You eternally. For some reason You have upset Chad’s life, but I believe You still have great plans for him. Many people can play football, but there’s something that only he can do for You. Take control of his future as You have his past and help his parents and us to accept all of his decisions as Your will. Thank You for allowing me the privilege to give him life two times. Amen.”
Chad’s throat was too tight to say anything and unshed tears stung his eyes. He squeezed Perry’s hand before he released it to bend over the bed and give Amy a hug. He circled the bed and gathered Lorene into a warm embrace. He held her close for a few seconds before he turned and left the room, scurrying down the hallway as fast as he could, forgetting until he reached his room that he was supposed to call a nurse to accompany him.
Expecting to enter his room and crash emotionally, Chad cringed when he saw the man sitting beside his bed. Howard Crayton!
Bending an angry glance upon his agent, Chad demanded, “How did you get in here?”
Howard, a short, slender, wiry individual, vaulted out of the chair as if he was on a spring. He extended his hand.
“Meet your elder brother,” he said.
It took a few seconds for that comment to register, but when it did, Chad demanded angrily, “Did you sneak in here pretending to be my brother? Didn’t Dad tell you that I don’t want to talk now?”
“That he did, old buddy, but I’ve got offers for you that will far exceed your fondest dreams. Opportunities that would make a mummy want to talk.”
Chad’s hands shook, and he didn’t know whether the trembling was caused by weakness or anger.
“I’ve been searching around for ways to capitalize on your injury. You might get offers for endorsements. You’re the talk of the nation right now. I couldn’t wait to share this with you. We’re going to get rich, Chad.”
Stifling his anger, Chad leaned against the wall to support his trembling body. He wasn’t as strong as he had thought.
“Since you barged in here uninvited, sit down. If you remember there’s a clause in our contract stipulating that either of us can sever our association with a week’s notice. Forget capitalizing on my injury. It’s something I want to forget. I will not make any decisions until I can sort out what I think is best for me. If you don’t leave Columbus immediately, your one week’s notice starts today.”
Howard’s face took on a sickly pallor, and he dropped into the chair, deflated as a punctured balloon. “You can’t do that! Not after all I’ve done for you,” he said cautiously.
“What you’ve done for me! Do you have any other client who’s made as much money for you as I have?”
“Well…no.”
“I’m not emotionally competent to make any major decisions right now. I may get in touch with you in a few weeks, but it might be a year. I don’t know.”
“Yeah, man,” Howard said. “I got carried away with all the possibilities opening up for you, rather than thinking of all the doors that are closing. Sorry. I’ll take a plane out of here tonight.”
Although Chad had complained about spending a week in bed, the morning’s emotional trauma had drained him and bed looked good to him. He kicked off his slippers and stretched out on top of the sheets. He rested physically, but his mind was still active. What should he do now? Since he was being released from the hospital soon, he needed a place to live. He would have to stay in a hotel for a few days until he had time to find an apartment. Perhaps Vicky Lanham could give him some information about available apartments.
He had been airlifted to Columbus from eastern Ohio in a hospital gown and wrapped in a blanket. Fortunately his mother had bought him two sets of clothes before she left town. Once he was released in a few days, he could buy some more things. Then, after he was settled, he could call his housekeeper and ask her to ship his fall and winter clothes to him, if he decided to stay in Columbus.
The day before he was to be released from the hospital, Chad called the number Vicky had given him. Feeling fortunate to reach her on the first try, he said, “I’m going to be discharged tomorrow, but I intend to stay in Columbus for the time being. Do you have any suggestions about an apartment for rent?”
Vicky’s heart beat a little faster at his call and a warm glow flowed through her. Maybe God was giving her another opportunity to do His will.
“Give me time to ask some questions, and I’m sure I can suggest something. Is anyone picking you up tomorrow?”
“No, my parents are gone now. I’ll take a cab to a hotel and stay there until I find a place to live.”
“Actually, I
