Jamie
His emotions tangled together. There wasa sense of being overwhelmed battling with gratitude, and a feeling of happiness that felt powerful enough to warm his body in the cold. Jamie must have remembered that day in the coffee shop, when Tyler had opened up to him about how much he missed writing poetry.
Tyler grabbed his phone from his pocket. He wanted to call Jamie, wanted to hear his voice in his ear, but he hesitated. He didn’t want to bother Jamie while he was with his family. He didn’t want to interrupt his life.
Maybe there would be time to talk later. Tyler pressed his lips together as he typed out a message.
Tyler:
Thank you, Jamie. Rowan loves his gift. As do I.
When his phone rang a moment later, Tyler answered. “Hi,” he said, already smiling.
“You saw it?” Jamie asked, his voice warm and rich in Tyler’s ear. He could hear the soft sound of conversation in the background. “Rowan found his snowman?”
Tyler watched Rowan, who was now running in circles around the snowman shouting gleefully about “Putting the puck!” and “Goalie interference!”
“Can you hear him?” Tyler asked. “He loves it.”
“Yes!” Jamie let out a low laugh. “I’m so glad he likes it.”
Tyler sat down on the front steps, resting his elbows on his knees. “How early did you get up to do this?”
“It wasn’t too bad. I made the rookies help me.”
“Jamie!” Tyler’s voice rose, indignant. “You made them help you on Christmas?”
Jamie laughed again, and Tyler let his eyes close for just a moment, savoring the sound. “They wanted to help,” he protested. “And I had snacks.”
“Are all hockey players food-motivated?”
“Yes.”
Tyler couldn’t stop smiling. “Are you having a good visit with your dad?”
“Yeah. I…” Jamie stopped and cleared his throat. “I told them about you.”
“Really?”
“Everyone’s excited to meet you. You know, someday. Whenever you’re ready, or if you’re ever ready, or–”
“Jamie.”
“Yeah?”
“I’d love to meet them.” It was probably too soon to talk about things like meeting parents and looking into the future, but Tyler couldn’t pretend that he wasn’t ready for all of it. It didn’t scare him, anymore, how much Jamie had come to mean to them in such a short amount of time. Rowan came running over, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright. “Kiddo, do you want to say hi to Jamie?”
He put the phone on speaker. “Jamie!” Rowan shouted. “This is the most bestest snowman!”
“I’m glad you like it, buddy.” Jamie replied. “Depending on what time I get back, would you guys be up for a visit later?”
Rowan turned his pleading eyes to Tyler. “Please, Papa? Can we please see Jamie?”
“We’d love that.” Tyler couldn’t imagine a better way to end their first Christmas in Madison.
Tyler pulled into Jamie’s driveway and parked behind Layla’s minivan. The whole Jackson family was there, the kids bundled in snow suits next to a pile of plastic sleds. Mitch was already standing at Jamie’s garage, punching in the code to open the large bay.
Tyler hadn’t been sure what to do for Jamie for Christmas. After spending hours trying to think back on everything he’d learned about Jamie, he landed on something Jamie had told him the day he’d come to the Children’s Museum.
