****
Angela’s cellphone rang as she left the assisted living facility.
“Angela Neil,” she answered.”
“Angela, it’s Lloyd. Shane’s dad.” The world shifted under her and she stopped walking. She hadn’t spoken to Shane’s parents since the birthday party. “Lloyd! What’s wrong? Has something happened to Shane?”
“Oh no, nothing like that. I’m sorry for scaring you gal. Valerie and I were wondering if you would like to join us in the corporate box Sunday at Bristol.”
“Bristol Motor Speedway?” Her voice croaked. Oh shit! No, it couldn’t be...
“You don’t know, do you?” Lloyd continued. “Shane’s racing Sunday. We’d like you to be there with us if you can make it.”
White hot fear coursed through her, making her almost unable to speak. The thought of Shane racing again had never crossed her mind. The idea of Shane back in a racecar terrified her. More than she’d ever been in her life.
“Yes! Yes, of course I’ll be there.”
“Great! The ticket and all the information you’ll need will be at the will call window. Race day can be a mess, so get there early. We’ll see you then sweetheart.”
“Thank you Lloyd for inviting me. I wouldn’t miss it.”
****
Thankfully, Sunday’s weather turned out bright and sunny. Angela didn’t know much about stock car racing, but she knew enough to know driving on a wet track couldn’t be good. Since Lloyd’s call, she’d managed to work her way up to a major panic. In all the time her and Shane had spent together, he’d never mentioned returning to the track.
She wondered why now? What had prompted him to suddenly slide behind the wheel of a racecar again? Did he have a fucking death wish? All she knew was that nothing would keep her away from the track today. If anything were to happen to him, at least she’d be close by.
But nothing was going to happen. He would be fine. At least, this was what she kept telling herself every five minutes.
When she’d arrived at the luxurious corporate box, Lloyd had hurried across the room to greet her, explaining that Shane had already joined his crew and car down in the pits. She nodded, inwardly relieved not to see him before the race. Shane needed to stay focused and her showing up unannounced might be a distraction. Possibly a very unwelcome one.
“Thank you for coming, honey,” Valerie said, drawing Angela into a hug. “It will mean a lot to Shane to know you’re here today.”
Angela frowned and shook her head. “Oh, I don’t think we should tell him I’m here. We haven’t seen each other in awhile. It would be better if he didn’t know.”
Valerie patted her hand and gave her an understanding smile. “Don’t be silly dear. Lloyd already radioed Beverly down in the pit to let her know you’ve arrived. She’ll tell him. Trust, me Shane would want to know.”
An icy ball of fear formed in Angela’s stomach.
Valerie took a deep breath. “Angela, Lloyd and I have a little confession to make,” she began. “Please don’t be mad at us.”
Angela looked at her in surprise. “Why would I be mad?”
Valerie glanced over at Lloyd before speaking. “We’ve known all along about Shane’s little plan to convince us he had a girlfriend; and that his recovery was going better than it really was.” She let out a long breath. “There! I said it. You happy now, Lloyd? I didn’t want to tell you but Lloyd insisted that we should be honest with you.”
Angela’s mouth fell open in surprise. What? How?
Lloyd squeezed Angela’s shoulder. “Now, now, don’t worry. It wasn’t anything you did or didn’t do. We had an undercover spy working for us.” He snickered at the thought.
“Who?” Angela asked, not convinced.
“Bess,” Lloyd answered.
“Bess? Oh my God! Why didn’t you two say anything? I feel like such an idiot.” Could her humiliation get any worse! “What did Shane say when he found out?”
“We didn’t tell him,” Valerie replied emphatically. “And don’t you tell him either! After all, what would be the point? The end result was the same. We got what we wanted-our son back. Alive, healthy and well. Everything worked out in the end, so why upset him?”
Angela looked back and forth between the two of them; loving parents who would do anything for the sake of their son. A thought dawned on her. “You sly devils! Let me guess. The planned intervention at your birthday party was a fake too. Right? You were only trying to spur him into taking action of some sort.”
They both had the decency to look a little ashamed. “Well of course!” Valerie finally admitted with a sheepish grin. “What kind of a mother would plan an intervention for their son at their own birthday party? How embarrassing for everyone. And not one bit fun. We allowed the plans for the upcoming intervention to ‘leak out.’ That little gossip Bridget tells everything she knows and a great deal she doesn’t. We knew Shane wouldn’t like the thought of everybody sitting around telling him how worried they were about him. We hoped it would be enough of an incentive to get him to make some changes in his life. On his own.”
Angela slowly nodded, seeing the wisdom behind their actions. Shane may have thought he was a brilliant strategic player but he paled in comparison to his mother.
“Then you showed up for my birthday party,” Valerie continued, “and we both saw how much he really cared for you and how he’d changed…for the better.” She shrugged. “You probably think we’re an awful bunch, conniving and tricking each other.”
The humor of it all overtook Angela and she started laughing. What a mess! “No, I don’t think you’re awful. You all love each other very much and that’s what matters.” She turned to Valerie. “Shane only wanted you to stop worrying about him. He wanted you to start enjoying your life again too, traveling or whatever else makes you happy.”
“Well I’m doing what makes me happy right now,” Valerie replied with a relieved smile. “I’m with my family getting ready to watch my boy race.” The Star Spangled Banner began to play over the loudspeakers and Valerie stood up, taking both Angela’s and Lloyd’s hands in hers.
****
The race went by in a blur, with Angela alternating between feeling exhilarated by the thrill of the race and feeling like she was going to throw up any second from nerves. She held tightly to Valerie’s hand for support most of the day.
After three hours she stood up and stretched. Damn! She didn’t realize how long these races could be. They went on for hours and hours. The stress and strain were killing her. Every second Shane was on the track, she kept her eyes trained on his car; willing him not to take any chances and stay safe. She knew he must be getting tired out there, especially with the heat. She’d heard the average temperature inside the racecars was over 120 degrees. She hoped Beverly was doing her job in keeping him hydrated enough.
The last five laps were excruciating to watch. Shane and another driver raced neck-and-neck until the final lap when Shane pulled ahead at the last second to finish two car lengths in front. When Shane passed the checkered flag, the crowd jumped to their feet and cheered wildly.
Shane’s comeback had been on all the news stations ever since he’d made the qualifying speed a few days before. His tale was a perfect comeback story, the stuff movies were made of. Angela couldn’t be prouder of him.
She didn’t realize she was sobbing like a fool in both joy and relief until Lloyd handed her his handkerchief. “Here you go, darling. Now dry up those pretty brown eyes and let’s hurry down to the pits. We don’t want to miss Shane getting his trophy.”
Angela blew her nose and shook her head. “No, you two go ahead. I don’t want to get in the way. Shane will need to do interviews and stuff. I’ll catch up with him later.”
Valerie linked her arm through Angela’s. “Did Shane ever mention to you how I always get my way? Come on darling, you’re coming with us. Shane would never forgive us if we let you leave now.”