Chapter 45
forty-five
Jeremy
October
Hey, bud. What are you doing up?” I glance over my shoulder to see Henry standing a few feet away.
“I couldn’t sleep.” He crawls onto the couch, and I move my laptop out of the way and place a pillow on my lap for him to lie on.
Once he lies down, I pull a blanket from the top of the couch down over him.
We’re staying at my place tonight because Henry is hanging out here while Tristyn and I are at the hospital tomorrow for my surgery. Vince is coming over, too. They’re just going to hang out and have a great time and try to keep his mind off it.
“What’s keeping you up, bud?”
“I don’t want you to die.”
My heart sinks in my chest.
“What?”
“You go to the hospital tomorrow. Mama said you need to stay there and that it’s risky.”
I rub his back, hoping to soothe the thought, but also hoping his presence will keep me from breaking down.
I told Tristyn I’m scared for tomorrow. Everyone knows I’m worried about tomorrow. They don’t know I’m awake right now because every time I close my eyes, the worst-case scenario haunts my dreams.
“I’m going to be okay, bud. I know it’s scary. I can’t promise you I’ll be myself again right away. I’ll be in a wheelchair a lot, to help me heal, but I’d never leave you. You know that, right?”
“My dad did.”
“Well, I’m not him, Henry. I love you both so much. I don’t know what a life without the two of you would look like, and I don’t plan on finding out.”
“I don’t think my dad loves us.”
I don’t know how to respond to that. For a seven-year-old, he’s really smart. I feel like we don’t give him credit for everything he understands.
“Why do you think that?”
“He left us. A lot.”
I know enough about the situation to know Tristyn’s ex is a real pain in the ass, but I’d never tell her son that.
“I’m sure he loves you, buddy. In his own way.”
I run my hand over his head.
“I wish you were my dad.”
My eyes widen, and my hand freezes, and I say the only thing that seems logical at this moment.
“I love you, buddy. You’ll always have me, okay? I promise.”
My head shoots in the direction of a loud creak in the floorboards, and I see Tristyn standing against the staircase.
“How long have you been there?” I ask.
“Not long.” She smiles.
I can tell from her smile how much of our conversation she heard.
“I didn’t realize we were doing a slumber party out here on the couch.”
“Yeah, well, Henry couldn’t sleep.”
“Neither could I.”
“We’re quite the bunch.” I laugh, and then I motion for Tristyn to come sit with us.
She shuts my laptop and sets it on the coffee table. I adjust my body in the corner of the couch as we make space for her. I throw an arm over her shoulder and hold her close to me.
I close my eyes, holding Tristyn and Henry tight in my arms, and for the first time all night, I don’t have all the negative thoughts running through my mind. It’s just them.
And it’s the thought I’ll carry with me through surgery tomorrow.
Ididn’t think that I’d be meeting your whole family!” Tristyn paces back and forth in the hospital room.
“You didn’t think they’d drive down for my surgery?”
“I don’t know, I guess it makes sense that they would, they’re your family, but I didn’t think about meeting them today. What am I even supposed to say? Hi, I’m Tristyn, your son’s girlfriend, so sorry we’re meeting for the first time because he’s getting back surgery.”
“Hmm, I give it an A plus.” Joey stands in the doorway. “I can’t think of a better time to meet my little brother’s girlfriend than in a hospital. Truly, no better setting, right?”
Tristyn’s eyes widen as Joey comes into the room and gives me a hug.
“How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” I reply. “But ready to hopefully get on with my life after this.”
“Me too.” Joey turns her attention to Tristyn. “Hello, girlfriend.” Joey smiles and extends a hand. “I’m—”
“Joey.” Tristyn takes her hand. “You’re exactly what he described.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean—”
Joey lets out a loud chuckle.
“No, I’m kidding. Sorry, I didn’t mean to. It’s nice to meet you. And whatever he told you, only about half of it’s true.”
Tristyn’s shoulders fall as the tension seeps out.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Where are mom and dad?” I ask.
“Talking to Dr. Franklin, obviously. You know they like to hear him explain the procedure a million times before he completes it.”
“Sounds about right.”
“They’ll love you, okay?” Joey squeezes her shoulder. “You love their baby boy. What more could they ask for?”
“Maybe meeting a girlfriend under normal circumstances?”
“That’s boring.”
“And the Moores don’t do boring,” I add.
“We sure don’t. Speaking of, where’s Henry?”
“Oh, he’s with friends. I thought being here might be a little too traumatic.”
Good thing she thought that in advance, because after last night, I don’t know how he’d react to being in the hospital for hours while waiting for me to get out of surgery.
We all fell asleep together on the couch last night, and I honestly don’t know if we could’ve fallen asleep if we weren’t on the couch like that.
It was like we all protected each other from our individual worries.
“Smart. Hospitals are not a fun place for an adult, let alone a kid.”
“My baby.” My mom rushes in and heads straight for my bed. She cups my face in her hands and smiles. “You ready?”
“Don’t really think I have much of a choice in the matter, Mom.”
My mom looks up and sees Tristyn, and her smile fades. The second it does, my heart drops into my stomach. My mom hating my girlfriend never even crossed my mind.
She walks over to her, takes her in from head to toe, and without a word, pulls her in for a hug, a long exhale escaping as she does.
“Thank you.” She squeezes Tristyn tighter.
“For what?” Tristyn asks as my mom pulls back.
“Being the light at the end of his tunnel.” She cups Tristyn’s face. “You saved my boy.”
“Oh, I didn’t—”
“You did.” She bites her lips, holding back tears. “You made him realize his life was still worth living, even without hockey.”
“Well, um,” Tristyn looks over at me, and I give her a small nod, “you’re welcome?”
“So, where’s this sweet boy my son has been telling me about? From what I hear, you’re one hell of a mama.”
“Henry makes it easy.”
“No kid makes it easy. A superwoman takes on each challenge with ease. Henry wouldn’t be who he is without you.”
“He’s not here, Mom,” Joey interjects.
“What? Richard, did you hear that?” She turns around and looks at my dad. “The boy isn’t here.”
“I told you he probably wouldn’t be, Marie.” My dad sets a large gift bag on the floor. “Your mom went crazy and bought him a whole toy store.”
“I did not buy him a whole store.” My mom looks over at me, as if my dad is the one being dramatic. “I thought it only made sense to get him some stuff to pass the time while we waited for Jeremy to get out of surgery. But I didn’t know what he’d like, so I got some variety.”
“She was super close to buying him a gaming console.” Joey laughs. “It was in the cart and everything.”
“Mom.” I shake my head.
“What? Hospitals can be boring. We would know.”
“Well, Marie, I told you coloring books are plenty to pass the time and—”
“Richard, I swear,” my mom turns toward my dad, but my eyes don’t leave Tristyn. Even as my parents bicker over nothing, my eyes stay on her, watching her laugh and take in my family, or at least the small part that’s here.
Tristyn looks at me as her body shakes with laughter. It’s like a movie, everything moves in slow motion. Tristyn laughs. My mom grabs her arm and shows her all the things she bought for Henry. My mom flips my dad the middle finger every time he makes a joke about one of the presents in the bag.
It’s perfect. And she fits right in.
A part of me always knew she would, but witnessing it firsthand is beautiful.
Who needs hockey… when you have all of this?
When you have a life this good?