Chapter 35

Nora's despair didn't miraculously disappear. Darkness, her old friend, was still lurking around the edges, making various attempts to shove her under. She made a point of rising before dawn every morning to walk along the lake and listen to the birdsong. Grandpa was right—it was a very optimistic sound. So optimistic that she had started to believe in herself again. She wasn't quite ready to make that phone call to Dad, wasn't ready to throw in the towel today.

She was on the way out the door to the cooking class when she decided to check her social media posts.

And there it was—another tiny miracle.

Oh, it wasn't Jack—that kind of luck seemed to be avoiding her. But it was possibly the next best thing. Megan from KXAN had direct messaged, asking her to call. Nora's heart began to pound—maybe Jack had gotten in touch after seeing the story on the website.

She dialed Megan's number.

"Hey," Megan said. "Did you see the piece?"

"I did. Did you hear from Jack?"

"What? Oh... no. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get your hopes up. But I do think I can help. We'd like to have you on our morning show. Your story has resonated with viewers—the whole the-one-who-got-away trope."

Nora didn't view her life as a trope, but okay.

"And maybe it will get your search out to more people. I mean, someone is bound to know this guy, right?"

Nora's brain was suddenly spinning like a top. Television? She hadn't even thought to try it. "Right," she said.

"You'll do it?"

"Are you kidding?" Nora laughed. Hope, man. She was brimming with it these days.

They wanted her tomorrow.

***

At cooking class, Willow proved that not only could she play basketball, she could cook. Her béchamel lasagna was voted the best. Tanya swore she'd given her daughter the reins and had acted as her sous chef.

Nora didn't have a dish for tasting because she was Bernice's assistant. All that was missing was her dunce cap. But Nora wasn't quitting. She paid careful attention to everything Bernice did. She'd paid for this damn class, and she would finish it being able to cook something.

Chef Bernice took photos of Willow's lasagna for her website. "You know what's so great about this? It proves that literally anyonecan learn how to cook." Her gaze happened to land on Nora. "Just about anyone. Next week we're moving on to Spain." She gave Nora a pat on the shoulder. "I bet you'll do great with Spanish food."

Nora wouldn't be holding her breath, but she'd try her hardest.

She followed Tanya and Willow out, Willow carrying a container with her lasagna. "You did great, Willow. Very tasty."

"Thanks."

"Hey, think we can play again when I'm off restriction?"

Willow sighed. "I don't know. You're not very good. And besides, I really want to be on a team." She sounded resigned to her fate.

Nora felt Willow's hurt—she'd been that kid once. She turned to go to her own car, but a shadow wisp slipped past and Nora's inner athlete suddenly had an idea. Why hadn't she thought of this before?

She turned back. "Hey, Tanya?"

Willow was already in their car. Tanya paused before she got in and looked at Nora.

"I have an idea. What if it was me? I mean, you said you had to have an adult sponsor to have a team in the rec center league. What if I was the coach and sponsor?"

Tanya sighed. "Are you the white savior now? Swooping in to lead our girls to victory? I thought you just wanted to play. I don't understand why you keep pushing to be so involved. Don't you have a job or something?"

Because she'd been Willow once. Because maybe she could make a difference somewhere. "I'm currently between jobs. Listen, Tanya." She stepped closer. "I wasn't kidding when I told you how much I love the sport. And that I wasn't allowed to play. My dad literally stabbed my basketball."

Tanya stared at her. "Excuse me?"

"That's how against it he was. And obviously, my playing days are behind me, a fact that I have reluctantly come to terms with since Willow and her friends destroyed me on the court. Trust me, nothing obliterates one's ego quite like a group of twelve- and thirteen-year-olds taking you down."

Tanya smirked a little. "I hear that."

"The thing is, this would be an opportunity for me as much as it would be for Willow. I would be thrilledto be a sponsor and get to go to the games. I would be ecstaticbeing on the court and without getting the stuffing beat out of me. Plus, I have the time to do it."

Tanya stared hard, taking Nora's measure. Several moments ticked by before she finally sighed. "You are very weird, Nora."

"I know, right? Sometimes I amaze even myself."

"I guess I can talk to the other parents."

Nora squealed with delight.

"Don't get all goofy on me. They're not going to like that you're kind of a head case. No offense."

"None taken."

"And Wanda's going to want that doctor's note."

Great. Another expense. "Sure," Nora said. "Thank you, Tanya. You won't be sorry."

"Please don't make promises you can't keep," Tanya said as she opened the driver door. "I'll let you know."

Nora's inner athlete lumbered through some victory laps as she watched Tanya and Willow drive away.

It occurred to her that maybe this was how she needed to look at her reverse bucket list—instead of seeing defeat, maybe all she had to do was open her mind to different interpretations.