I limped off the field, ready to go home. Mom came to give me a big hug. I winced. After the game, I felt as if every bone in my body had been jarred. There were going to be bruises for sure.
"Oh honey, I don't even know what to say!" Mom said with teary eyes. "The whole time I can't believe that was my daughter!"
Her voice quivered and tight. She was about to cry.
"It's just a stroke of luck, mom," I said. "We were a mess back there and you saw it."
"Oh Darci," she sighed.
Dad came straight up to me then. His mouth was moving but I couldn't connect with the words he was saying. He was mumbling, almost embarrassed. Then he reached out to put his hand on my shoulder. Dad kept talking. I'm pretty sure he was trying to be nice, but the weight of his hand was uncomfortable. I shook his ha
