Page 27 of Natalie's Nighthawk

“That he is,” Natalie answered, wiping away a tear. “Did you know he was going to do that?”

“We had talked about honoring Colin in some way, but I never imagined he’d go all out like that!” Letty also had to wipe away a tear or two. “Where do you suppose he got the medal?” she mused.

“I’m pretty sure it’s his,” she answered. Letty’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped open. Natalie understood the Principal’s surprise; there weren’t many people who would give up an honor they’d won for a child. Graham was the type of man who wouldn’t hesitate to give something with that importance to honor someone else.

Chapter 9

GrahamfeltNatalie’seyesonhimandglancedoverafterhe’d been hugged by Mrs. O’Donnoll for the thousandth time. There was an expression on her face that he was dying to interpret. He watched as she reached up and wiped a tear away while chatting with Miss Letty?the woman wouldn’t let him call her anything else; it was Letty or Miss Letty. The teachers finally managed to shoo the students back to their classrooms, an intricate dance of organized chaos.

Graham extracted himself from the grateful O’Donnoll family and joined the two ladies at the back of the room, dodging excited youngsters as he went. As soon as he reached them, he was enveloped in Miss Letty’s ample bosom for a huge hug.

“You are something else,” she enthused. “On behalf of everyone here at Lake Haven Elementary, I thank you for what you’ve done for our student body today. I’ve never seen so many little faces give somebody their unwavering attention for so long. You must be magical,” she finished in wonder, hugging him again.

“Just doing my job.”

“You are something else.” She reiterated as she wiped away another tear before rushing off to help with the students.

“She’s right, you know,” Natalie started. “You are something else.”

He dismissed her words, uncomfortable with praise. “I’m glad you could make it to one of the sessions.”

“Me too. I’m especially glad it was this one. That medal was yours, wasn’t it?” He shrugged. It was one of his, but he’d rather Colin enjoy it. Most of his stayed hidden in a box as the accolades and praise embarrassed him. He was doing his job, what he was trained to do. Plus, knowing there’d been far more people he hadn’t been able to help, so many failures that haunted him; he felt he didn’t deserve them.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is to Colin,” she insisted. He followed her gaze. Colin huddled with his family, studying the medal that was grasped in his hand. Okay, so it was a big deal … to them, he could admit that. As the O’Donnoll’s turned to leave, Colin stiffened. Donnie, the bully Colin had fled from, approached them.

“Can I talk to you?” Donnie asked tentatively. By now, everyone knew what had made Colin and Lucy bolt to the woods.

“Umm … sure,” answered Colin stepping slightly away from his family.

“I want to say I’m sorry for the way I acted.” There was sincerity in the boy’s voice. He wasn’t just saying that because a parent was forcing him to apologize. “I’ve had a lot of time to think, and realized I was an ass ...” He broke off, glancing at the adults still in the room. “What a jerk I’ve been. I was wondering if we could start over and be friends.” He paused before holding out his right hand.

“Umm … sure. I guess.” Colin shook Donnie’s hand, and that was it. The two started chatting in the animated way reserved for children.

As they walked toward Graham, Donnie asked, “Did you really do all those things that guy said you did?”

“Kinda,” Colin answered with a shoulder shrug.

“Cool!” Donnie said. “Think you can teach me sometime?” Colin’s face lit up, obviously thrilled to pass on his knowledge to a friend.

As they walked through the doors, Colin was telling Donnie about how he learned most of it with the scouts, and wouldn’t it be cool if Donnie could join too. The forgiveness of children; most adults could learn a lesson from them.

“Wow,” whispered Natalie. “I never saw that coming.”

“Pretty decent of Colin to forgive him so quickly. I hope the two become fast friends.”

Natalie’s awe-struck eyes followed the two boys. “They are an inspiration.” Graham couldn’t agree more.

With Natalie’s help, Graham packed up his display while answering some questions she still had about his work. He was happy to oblige her. It was a good feeling that shewantedto know more. She picked up his compass, watching as the little arrow spun around till it found north. As she turned it over in her hands, he smiled at the memory of his parents giving it to him.

Notlong afterthe tsunami,he’dbeen in a bad placewith too many dreadful memories of allhe’dseen.He had disappeared for awhile,afraid he’dtainthis familywith hismoodinessand anger;retreated totheircabinin theUpperPeninsulaand spenta fewweekswallowing in his misery.His dad hadfound himsodisheveledthathe’dbarely recognized his son.Duringhis weeks of self-imposed isolation, Grahamhadn’tbothered to shave,drank heavily, and had barely bothered to bathe or even eat. His father had cookedhima meal andsat quietly withhimuntil he was ready.He’dbeenreluctant to share the horrors he had witnessed, but eventually,it poured out of him.

Oncehe’dtold everything, his father gavehim the compass;engravedonthe backwere the words,“So you can always find your way home.Love, Mom, Dad,and David”.Ithad becomeone of the most precious things he owned.He still struggled to findhis way home afterthe more intensemissions, but he managed to connect with his family,evenwithjust a phone call.

Reading the inscription, a sudden sadness crossed Natalie’s face. He wanted to lash out at her parents, certain that they had never given her anything as special as that compass was to him. He felt an overwhelming need to make it up to her, to give her the kind of love and attention her family had never bothered to show.

She handed the compass to him to pack away. “Do you have to get back right away, or can you stick around for a while?” she asked.

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