Free A Long Road Back: Final Dawn: Book 8 by Darrell Maloney

tumblers, but not always. Tumblers, because they tumble instead of fly true, slow down over time. They can lose momentum and fall back, in the same way that a bicyclist who’s tired may fall back behind the point man and lose the draft. And when he loses the draft he slows even more.”
         She could tell she was losing him again.
         “I’ll tell you what, honey. I’m going to take a short break and go refill our cups. While I’m gone I want you to think about that same bicyclist. The one who was drafting off the point rider and got tired. So he started to fall back and finally was out of the draft. So he got even slower. I want you to picture him, and then picture what will happen to him as he gets more and more tired.”
         By now Mark’s head was spinning as he tried to wrap that spinning head around everything she’d told him thus far.
         She kissed him on the forehead and said, “I’ll be right back.”
         With that she scooped up the two empty coffee cups and hobbled off unsteadily toward the kitchen.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    -14-
     
         Hannah got sidetracked on her way back through the dining room by little Markie, who awoke to find his apartment empty and went looking for his mom and dad.
         “I’m hungry,” he said. “How come you guys came and ate without me?”
         She dropped to one knee and was eye level with her son. He saw her wince in pain and said, “Mommy, are you okay?”
         She lied and smiled at the same time.
         “I’m fine, little sailor,” she said while tussling the mop of hair on his head.
         “First of all, we didn’t come to eat without you. It’s too early for breakfast. We just came over to get some coffee. Second of all, you seriously need a haircut, young man. You need that way more than you need breakfast.”
         “But I don’t want a haircut, mom. I want to grow my hair long, like Samson. Then I want to put it in a ponytail.”
         Samson was Markie’s newest favorite cartoon character. It didn’t matter that Samson’s hair was blond, and Markie’s was the same chestnut color as his mom’s. In Markie’s world, all he needed was long hair and he’d not only be a perfect likeness, but he’d also somehow gain Samson’s strength.
         “You’re aware that Samson doesn’t have a ponytail, right?”
         “But he could have one if he wanted one. Samson can do anything he wants. ‘Cause he’s awesome.”
         “As awesome as your dad?”
         Markie hesitated. He didn’t want to answer.
         “Well… Dad’s cool and all. But Samson is way stronger and has way way more muscles.”
         It was a point she couldn’t argue.
         “Well, that’s true…”
         Hannah had been trying to get Mark to start working out again for a while. He’d been getting soft around the middle, and a bit weaker as well. She hadn’t noticed it until he picked her up to carry her across the threshold to celebrate their tenth year together not long before. And he’d spent most of the next day nursing a sore back.
         At first she’d blamed herself, before she pulled out a scale and discovered she weighed the same as she had when they met.
         Actually less. She was two pounds lighter.
         “I’ll tell you what, little sailor. I’m going to take you back to the kitchen and ask Miss Karen if there’s anything you can do to help her with breakfast. That’s so Daddy and I can finish our talk. Then after breakfast, I want you to go to Daddy and ask him how come he used to be stronger than Samson, but now Samson is stronger than him. Then later you and I will sneak back to the kitchen and bake some cookies. Deal?”
         Hannah wasn’t sure whether Markie was more excited about chiding his father into working out, or in baking cookies. But he was certainly agreeable to her offer.