“I wouldn't miss it for the world,” her mother leaned over and kissed her. “I'll bring Bobby.” Charlotte nodded and said nothing. As much as she loved her mother, it would have meant the world to her if her father had come, just once. If he cared enough to do that. But they both knew he didn't. She wasn't Johnny.
Alice didn't say anything about it to Jim that night. There was no point. He was already asleep by the time she got to bed, drunk on beer and wine, and too much turkey. But in the morning, she said something to him over breakfast.
“Girls can't play basketball,” he said decisively in answer as he drank his second cup of coffee. “You know that.”
“You never missed any of Johnny's games,” she said, annoyed at the way he had said it.
“That was different.”
“Was it? Why? Because he was a boy?”
“He was a great athlete,” Jim said matter-of-factly He had a splitting headache.
“So is Charlotte. Maybe even better than he was. Johnny always said that about her.”
“He was just trying to make her feel good.”
“Why don't you come and see for yourself?” she asked him, as Johnny and Bobby walked into the kitchen. Bobby said nothing, as usual. And Johnny stopped to kiss his mother, but Jim couldn't see that. “You could still get in plenty of time at the office. The game doesn't start until four o'clock, in the gym at her school. I think it would mean a lot to her if you would be there. Johnny always went. And you know a lot more about the game than I do. I think it's important that you be there.”
“Oh come on, Alice. Don't be silly. She won't even know the difference.”
“Yes, she will,” Alice persisted, as Johnny sat down at the table, next to his father, staring at him intently. “Why don't you think about it?” Alice said, as she set a bowl of cereal down in front of Bobby. Jim seemed not to see him. To him, Bobby was as invisible as Johnny was to him. Ever since Bobby had stopped speaking, his father had ignored him. Acknowledging him, and the reason why he could no longer talk, was just too painful for him.
“I've got a lot of work to catch up on, for my new clients. I'm going to be working all weekend.” But at least that was good for him, and she was aware that his business was slowly improving. She kept hoping that if he felt better about his work, he might stop drinking, or slow down at least. He had been better since Johnny had come, but there was still a lot of room for improvement.
He left for work a few minutes later, and both boys disappeared outside somewhere. Alice was alone in the kitchen when Charlotte came down for breakfast, and she left a few minutes after that for practice. At least she seemed in better spirits, and she said nothing at all about her father. She wasn't expecting him to come, and Alice didn't tell her she had talked to him about it, and gotten nowhere.
And at a quarter to four, she and Bobby got into the front seat of her car, and Johnny got in the backseat behind them. He was talking animatedly about the game, and Bobby was talking and laughing with his brother, as Alice smiled and listened to them. It was like a dream come true, being with them, listening to Bobby talk, and having Johnny back with them.
She didn't know how long he would be with them, but it was a gift beyond any she could have hoped for. And by the time they arrived at the high school, they were in great spirits, and looking forward to the game.
The game went well for Charlotte's team. The score was 26 to 15 by the middle of the second quarter, and Bobby was hopping up and down in his seat, clapping for Charlotte. She scored another three-pointer, and Johnny went crazy watching her. He couldn't believe how well she was playing. And then, as they waited for the second half to start, Alice saw a familiar form out of the corner of her eye, and turned to see her husband making his way across the gym, looking somewhat tentative, but smiling at them.
“I can't believe it,” she whispered, as Bobby stared, and Johnny gave a victorious whoop. Alice almost cried when she saw Charlotte's expression when she saw her father. It was the first game he had come to. “How did you manage that?” she whispered to Johnny, just before Jim reached them.
“To be honest with you, I'm not sure,” Johnny said to his mother. “I've been thinking about it a lot, and wishing for it ever since we got here. Maybe he heard me, or felt it, or something.” Johnny still wasn't aware of how he influenced things, yet he was beginning to realize that when he thought of something hard enough, it happened. It was a miraculous kind of power that seemed to flow through him. And suggesting something to someone's thought invariably seemed to make them want to do it.
Jim had reached them by then, and sat down between his wife and Bobby, but said nothing to the child. His eyes were riveted on Charlotte. Suddenly, he seemed very intent on her playing, as though he had never before seen it.
“She's playing incredibly,” Alice said proudly, and he nodded.
And she scored another basket as soon as the clock started. Jim said nothing, he just watched her. But she scored another three points with an amazing shot in the last two minutes of the game, and everyone cheered her. Her team had slaughtered their opponents, and twenty of the winning points had been Charlotte's. The rest of the team carried her around on their shoulders, when the game was over. And when Alice turned to him, she saw that Jim was smiling broadly. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen him look that happy. He was immensely proud of his daughter, as though he were seeing her for the very first time and finally discovering her talent.
“That was a hell of a game, wasn't it?” he said to Alice, and she nodded, as tears stung her eyes. And a few minutes later Charlotte joined them, looking happy and excited to see her father.
“Thanks for coming, Dad,” she said shyly.
“You did a great job, Charlie,” he said, standing up and putting an arm around her shoulders. “I was really proud of you!” he said gruffly, as he shook her gently like a bear playing with a cub, proud of some new achievement of his offspring.
They followed her out of the gym, after she had changed, and she couldn't see him, but Johnny had his arm around her, and she looked pensive as she silently thought about him.
“You know, Johnny played a game like that once,” her father reminisced as they drove home, “he won a trophy for it.”
“I think we have a good chance to be in the division finals this year,” she said with a look of gratitude for his interest. It was all so new to her, but she was reveling in it.
“If you do, I'll come see them,” Jim promised. He had been vastly impressed by the game he'd just seen her play She had real athletic talent. More than he'd ever dreamed.
They stopped to buy groceries on the way home, and by the time they got back, it was time to start dinner. Alice busied herself in the kitchen, and Bobby went outside to shoot baskets with Charlotte, as their father watched them and coached Charlotte, and Johnny went along to watch them. A few minutes later, he walked back into the kitchen, to talk to his mother.
“That was pretty cool of Dad to come, wasn't it?” he said, sounding as pleased as he felt. He knew what it had meant to Charlie. Even their father had seemed to “get it.” And he had been blown away by the way Charlie played. He was already talking about going to the next game.
“I think you have more power than you think,” Alice said softly, so no one else would hear her. “What you do has an effect on all of us…. Look at Bobby. And Dad going to the game. It's like magic.” His gentle, loving touch was improving all their lives, one by one.
“Bobby was just ready, Mom. Five years is a long time not to talk.” She knew it all too well. Jim had been drinking heavily on a daily basis ever since Bobby had become silent.