20 Questions

Chapter 143

Hunter

"Tonight has been an interesting night," my beautiful wife says, her voice a little on the shaky side.

I didn't know she was participating in this presentation tonight until just a couple hours ago. She refused to tell me what she was presenting and no matter how much I begged and tried to guess, she held her ground. Not sure why I'm surprised. The woman excels at stubbornness. I watch her as she hits the clicker to the first PowerPoint slide. She's nervous, her hand tremoring as she holds the remote. I'm not sure if she's this uneasy because of the content of her slides or if she suffers from stage fright. I want to run across the room and hold her up, but I'm confident she will find her stride.

"So much has happened over the past couple months. Hell, so much has happened since I loaded that plane to Aspen the first time," she giggles, the audience joining her. "But no matter what tragedies we have had to overcome, I wouldn't change a thing about my life. It molded me into the woman I am today. I found my soul mate and have the greatest family anybody could have ever hoped for. My part of the presentation is quite the contrast from the previous slides."

"Thank God for that," Patrick jokes, making us all bob our heads in agreement. I even heard a chuckle fall from broody Elijah.

"But my part is just as lifechanging, if not more," she says, clicking on the next slide. "Several months ago, Hunter shared the full story with me of his horrific childhood. Everything he said made an impact on me, but it was who he spoke of that stuck with me the most. Life is all about moments, good and bad." She turns and reads a quote on the screen from Maya Angelou. "People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel. All throughout my life, I have encountered people who have changed me, some for the good and some for the bad. I remember things they've done for me or to me and I remember some of their words, but Maya Angelou is right. What stuck with me the most is how they made me feel. The night that Hunter disclosed all this information to me, I remember him telling me about the man who took him in and protected him from Ivan. He protected Hunter's mother from Ivan. Hunter wasn't able to recall what the arguments entailed or where he hid him, but he remembered that the man made him feel safe. He made him feel that his life was worth saving. That made an impact on him and therefore it made an impact on me. His name was Paul and he risked his life to save another. When Hunter went into the system, he lost touch with Paul. So I did some digging and was able to find him."

My jaw drops to the floor as I stare back at the woman that put so much time and effort into reconnecting me with someone from my past. A man that I owe my life to. She did this...for me.

"Unfortunately, when I found him, he had passed a few years prior. I'm sorry, Hunter," she says with sympathetic eyes. My stomach drops. I hoped to one day have the opportunity to thank this man for everything he did for me and my mom. "I know this isn't the news you wanted to hear, but there is still some beauty in this story. I tracked down his daughter and she told me about the last couple years of his life. He made almost a full recovery from his injuries that Ivan inflicted on him and was able to discharge from the rehab facility. He went on to marry a woman that he was deeply in love with. She was terminally ill when they met so they spent the time that she had left traveling the country and being with each other. She passed on a Wednesday and he passed the following day. His daughter said he had died in his sleep, peacefully."

I wipe the tear falling down my face and find comfort in the fact that he didn't die alone in some nursing home. He spent his remaining years with the love of his life and that makes a man's life worth living. I nod my head and thank my wife.

"Sometimes we meet people along the way that stand up for us, helping us instead of kicking us when we are down. They offer a hand, they give support and they realize that sometimes what is right is not always popular. We all need somebody to have our back. So without further ado, Hunter, I have someone that is really excited to see you again."