Chapter 14
As more of the runners continued to cross the finish line, two food trucks arrived and parked on the side of the harbour, with a sign on an A-board between them announcing that fifty percent of all profits from the sale of food would be going to the MND charity, which was just as well as Mehenick’s had almost sold out.
There was music playing over a sound system and the event had almost turned into a mini-festival.
The two boys had continued to hand out medals until Heather, Will and Leo were called over to talk to a journalist from a local television crew.
Rowan had watched as they’d called Irene and Nathan over to be part of the interview, too.
Irene had happily complied with the request, but Nathan had shaken his head and gone back to collecting empty water bottles dropped by some of the runners.
She wondered if it was a conscious decision to stay out of the spotlight, or because as the organiser of the event he felt the need to muck in with the volunteers.
Either way, it was clear that all that mattered to him was maximising revenue from the event.
When Rowan, Bex and Toni had gone to check how the children were getting on, Bella had been tucking into a burger, announcing happily that it was her second one.
Apparently she’d earned it because she’d been round the inflatable course three times.
She seemed delighted to be in the company of Tiffany and some of their other friends and Rowan had taken it as yet more evidence of how well her daughter had settled in to life in Port Agnes.
But when Bex had suggested that she, Rowan and Toni have a go at completing the obstacle course, Bella had begged her mother not to be embarrassing.
Not wanting to spoil her daughter’s day, Rowan had left the other two to it and had headed back to see how Theo was doing.
She felt a surge of pride, watching him congratulating the final few runners, still beaming every time he handed out a medal.
Leo was back with him and she smiled at the sight of her little boy and his best friend, a feeling of contentment washing over her.
Theo had never had a best friend, and the realisation that he’d found something as special and life-affirming gladdened her heart.
‘Your son has been a little superstar.’ Rowan hadn’t realised that Nathan was standing behind her and she wanted to blame surprise for the quickening of her heart, but that would have been a lie.
‘He loves Leo and he’s a pretty big fan of yours too.’
‘The feeling’s mutual; he’s a great kid and it’s not hard to see where he gets that from.’ Nathan had a way of looking at her that she wasn’t sure she’d ever experienced before, almost like he was seeing her on a different level to the way the rest of the world did.
‘I think you’re the one who should be having praise heaped on you today. The whole event has been incredible.’
‘I’m just a small part of that and we’ve been really lucky with the weather.’ Nathan shrugged like it was nothing, but she couldn’t let it go.
‘Are you always this self-effacing? I don’t remember you being like that when we were kids; from what I can recall you were confident, some might even say cocky.’ She grinned as he pretended to look offended.
‘Wow, that’s an arrow to the heart. There I was hoping you’d never got over the fact that we didn’t get a chance to see where that kiss might have led, and you thought I was cocky?’ He shook his head slowly, but he couldn’t disguise his smile and it was her turn to ask him something.
‘Are you trying to tell me you never got over it?’
‘I never forgot you, Rowan Adams and I was desperate to ask you out properly after that first kiss. I wanted to know if things between us might actually go somewhere, but then everything happened and almost overnight you were gone. We’ve both changed a lot since then, life has a way of doing that to you, but this is our second chance to see where this might go and everyone deserves one of those, don’t they? ’
Her eyes met his and she knew this wasn’t just about them finally going out on a date, he wanted to know if she believed he deserved a second chance in a far wider sense.
‘Of course they do, as long as—’
‘Right, it’s time to say a few big thank yous.
’ The voice booming across the loud speaker system and cutting Rowan off sounded vaguely familiar and, when she looked up, she realised it was Gwen Jones standing next to Nathan’s mother.
‘Will, Heather and Nathan, we need you up here for this too, where are you?’
As Gwen scanned the crowd, Nathan caught hold of Rowan’s arm. ‘What was it you were going to say about second chances? As long as what?’
His question sounded urgent, but people were gesturing at him to move to where his brother and sister-in-law were now standing, next to Irene and Gwen.
‘It doesn’t matter now, just go up and take some well-deserved praise, you’ve earned it.’ He tried to protest again, but then Will walked over and grabbed him by the wrist, giving him no choice but to take his place at the front of the crowd.
Gwen was a natural at public speaking and listed off all the people they needed to thank for such a magnificent fundraiser, as well as the winners in each of the race categories.
Theo had flushed with delight when his name had been called out and Rowan wasn’t sure she’d ever felt more proud of him.
Gwen saved the biggest thanks for the organisers of the event, including Nathan, and a cheer rose up from the crowd as each name was announced.
Rowan glanced in his direction, trying to gauge Nathan’s response to the obvious approval of so many people, but he just looked as if he didn’t want to be there.
After she’d finished the official business, Gwen handed the microphone to Irene who told the assembled crowd that being a grandmother had saved her when she lost her husband, and how ‘holding her baby’s baby in her arms’ had changed everything, and that all she wanted was for Leo to have the chance to experience all the same milestones.
Rowan had already had to blink back tears, even before the microphone was handed to Heather.
‘Thank you all for coming. Will and I just want to echo everything Gwen has said about the brilliant volunteers for this event, especially my amazing brother-in-law, Nathan, whose idea this whole thing was. We’re also incredibly grateful to Gwen, who has taken on the role of treasurer for the event to make sure that all the money collected gets to the charity as soon as possible.
’ The wobble in Heather’s voice had been obvious, but as she took a deep breath her eyes filled with tears.
‘Most of you know our son, Leo, and when he was born all we wanted was for our baby to be healthy. At first we thought we’d got that, but as the first couple of years went by, we realised that he wasn’t like other children.
He was special in so many ways, but one of those ways turned all our lives upside down.
The reason this work is so important is that it helps children like him… it helps children like him to…’
She repeated the last part of the sentence and furiously wiped her eyes, but it was clear the emotion of the moment was becoming too much for her and she folded herself into Will’s arms, thrusting the microphone towards Nathan as she did.
‘You can see how much this means to my brother and sister-in-law. Leo is their whole world and, if you’ve met him you’ll understand just how special he is.
The best way any of us have of helping Leo and other children with muscular dystrophy to have long, active and happy futures is to support the research currently being undertaken, so that one day children like Leo will be able to run in events like this, or race down the beach into the sea and their families will be able to plan for their future just as they would with any other child.
Leo is an incredible boy, capable of so much and, like Mum said, all we want is for him to grow up and have the chance to fulfil his potential.
If you haven’t already given by sponsoring our runners, buying tickets for the children’s events, or purchasing food and drink from any of the caterers donating their profits to the cause, then please consider making a direct donation to the charity, the link to which is on our Facebook page: Leo’s Lions.
Let’s have one more big cheer for Leo.’ Nathan looked across to where his nephew was sitting, Theo still at his side, and Rowan felt weighed down by melancholy, her own worries suddenly ridiculously small and her heart breaking for Leo and the family who adored him.
Nathan had been very careful to avoid using any terms that might scare the little boy, like the mention of death or further deterioration of his condition, but it was there in the subtext, in a way that would be easy for any moderately informed adult to pick up on.
The research into muscular dystrophy was vital and Leo, and children like him, deserved all the support in the world.