Chapter 15 - The Morning on the Water
The Southeast Regional Rowing Championships were held on Lake Lanier under a blinding, brilliant May sky.
Thousands of spectators lined the grassy banks, their cheering voices echoing across the blue water. Banners from dozens of high schools and rowing clubs fluttered in the warm spring breeze.
I stood at the water's edge near the three-hundred-meter mark, wearing a navy team visor and holding a pair of binoculars.
The loudspeaker crackled to life across the lake:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, approaching the final five hundred meters of the Women's Varsity Quad Grand Final! In Lane 3, Atlanta Youth Rowing! In Lane 4, St. Jude's Academy!"
The roar of the crowd intensified.
Through my binoculars, I saw the two lead boats surging neck-and-neck down the center lane. The oars flashed in the sunlight like silver blades, cutting through the water with terrifying power and speed.
In the bow seat of the Atlanta boat, Valerie was driving her legs down, her back extending, leading her crew with every ounce of strength in her body.
"Look at Atlanta!" the announcer screamed over the PA system. "Atlanta is moving! They’re upping their stroke rate to thirty-eight! Valerie Vance is pushing the bow ahead!"
Ten meters from the finish line, Valerie’s boat surged half a canvas ahead of St. Jude's.
HORN.
The air horn sounded across the water, signaling the end of the race.
"First place! Atlanta Youth Rowing!"
The crowd on the bank went wild.
Out on the water, Valerie dropped her head back, her chest heaving, letting out a wild, triumphant scream that rang out across the lake. Her teammates leaned forward, hugging her shoulders, splashing water into the air as the gold medal official launch headed toward their boat.
Ten minutes later, Valerie walked up the wooden boat ramp, carrying her heavy carbon-fiber oar over her shoulder, the gold medal gleaming brightly against her red team jersey.
She didn't stop for the photographers. She didn't stop for her teammates.
She walked straight through the crowd on the lawn until she was standing right in front of me.
She set her oar down on the grass, pulled the heavy gold medal off her neck, and placed it gently around my collar.
"This is yours, Mom," Valerie said, her voice choking with emotion, her eyes shining with tears of pure, unadulterated joy. "You carried us through the dark."
I pulled my daughter into my arms, hugging her so tightly I could feel the strong, steady beat of her heart against mine.
I looked up past her shoulder at the wide, sunlit expanse of the lake, at the blue sky stretching endlessly toward the horizon.
May you like
We had walked through black ice. We had faced the monster in the dark. We had torn down a prison made of seventeen years of excuses and lies.
And standing there in the warm morning light, holding my champion in my arms, I knew that no dark road, no freezing wind, and no man on earth would ever take our light away again.
