Alex felt some of her tension ease and the corner of her mouth lift in the beginnings of a smile. "Excuse me a moment please." She stepped around the group and quickly headed for the powder room to clean up after her crying bout. When she returned, everyone was sitting around the living room.
"Would you like something to drink?" Lexi asked as she hastily rose from her chair. "We have tea, lemonade or water if you'd like."
"Tea would be lovely. Thank you."
Lexi walked back in and handed a glass to Alex before returning to her chair. "So I take it you are the one who has been leaving flowers on their birthdays and the anniversary of their deaths?"
She dipped her head in agreement. "Yes. It took me a while to find out where they were, but once I did I made sure they were recognized on those days." Lexi tilted her head slightly as she listened, her eyebrows drawing down slightly. "I didn't say remembered because they will never be forgotten."
"Right you are my dear." Lexi acknowledged with a smile. "The family gets together every anniversary. We all go to the cemetery together to pay our respects, then we come back here for a meal." She looked up at the clock. "They will start arriving here in the next hour or so. I'd really like it if you would stay and join us today."
Alex looked down at her hands where they rested on her lap. She swallowed and bit her lower lip as her eyes darted around the room. Nikki reached out and placed a hand over her fidgeting fingers. "We'd be honored." She smiled gently when Alex finally met her eyes. "This fear serves no good purpose. It is time to let it go." Alex took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she nodded.
"Well, I've a few things to finish up in the kitchen. Paige, why don't you show our guests around?" She stood and turned towards the kitchen.
Nikki stood and said, "Please let me help. I'm pretty good in the kitchen, and with some help it will go much faster." She gave Lexi a smile. "That way you'll have more time with Alex."
Lexi acknowledged her offer with a slight dip of her head. "Thank you. I'd love the help and it will give me some time to get to know you as well."
Alex watched them walk into the kitchen before turning to Paige. "So Paige, do you live here with your family?"
"Yes. It's just Mom and me here these days. Dad died several years ago. My brother, Adam is in the Army, and is currently overseas. My sister Stephanie is in law school at NYU." She stood and offered Alex a hand up.
"What about you?"
"I received several softball scholarship offers, and decided to stick close to home. Mom was going through a rough time with Dad's death and I didn't want to leave her alone."
Alex followed Paige as she walked through the house. The tour ended in one of the three bedrooms at the back of the house. "I take it this one is yours?"
"Yeah, beats a dorm room."
She pulled out the chair at the small desk and sat down as Paige sat on the foot of the bed. "What are you studying?"
"I'm pre-med."
"Very nice." Paige gave an embarrassed shrug. "Don't make light of it. It’s a big deal. You and Nikki will get along just fine." At her questioning look, she said, "She's an ER doctor."
Paige stood and walked over to the bookshelf beside the desk. She pulled an old three-ring binder from one of the shelves before sitting back down. "I'll have to talk with her. I'm not sure which direction I want to go yet." She began leafing through the binder, coming to a stop on one page. She looked at the page then up at Alex and back down again. "I'll be damned."
"What's wrong?"
She looked back up at her and grinned. "I knew there was something familiar about you, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I thought that it must just be family resemblance." She shook her head. "I was wrong. You're the reason I started playing softball, and why I became a pitcher." Alex just sat quietly waiting to hear what she had to say. "You're three-time Olympian Alexis Mohr."
Alex nodded and watched as her eyes widened. "Yes, I am."
"I can't believe it. You are so lucky." She dropped the binder on the bed and jumped to her feet as her excitement began to build. "Man, what I wouldn't give to be in your shoes."
Alex shook her head. "No, Paige. You don't want to be in my shoes. You are by far the luckier of the two of us."
"What are you talking about? You have Olympic medals, endorsement deals, money, and fame." Paige shook her head. "All I'll ever have is memories of college games. I'll never get to play in the Olympics."
Alex stood and started down the hall. As she reached the end she turned back. "There is so much more to life than softball."
"What are you talking about?" Paige's voice began to rise. "You've achieved more than I'll ever get the opportunity to."
"You just don't get it, Paige. I would give it all up for what you've had your entire life." She could tell by the look on her face that Paige didn't understand. "A family."
"Seriously? You'd give up everything?"
"In a heartbeat, for a family that wanted me. Instead this family turned their back on me, and left me to be raised by the state. Do you know how many people want a four-year-old child that won't speak, and wakes up screaming every time she falls asleep, terrified her father is going to come and kill her too? Zero. No one wants that child, Paige. More than forty foster homes in fourteen years, as well as several trips
