24. Callum #2
My heart leaps from my chest and maybe into hers as we embrace.
Seeing her again is like starring in a live-action remake of my own childhood home movie.
Chaotic, emotional, bizarre, wonderful. Neither of us say anything, letting the hug speak for itself.
My shirt gets damp when she turns her face to the side, the fabric soaking up her tears.
The sound of tires screeching causes us to split apart. Tammy inhales sharply, and I turn to find Jeff parking haphazardly in the driveway. He doesn’t make it in the garage. No, he puts the car into park diagonally and sprints toward us, leaving the driver’s door wide open.
Ty always looked exactly like his dad, and seeing his blue eyes up close again knocks the breath right out of me.
“Son. You’re here,” he says on a sob, clapping me on the back.
Tammy and Jeff wipe the tears dripping off their chins, but I’m not crying. All of my fears surrounding this moment evaporated as soon as I fell into Tammy’s arms.
Tammy pulls away first, visibly shivering. “Let’s go inside, it’s positively arctic out here. I’ll put the soup on.”
Jeff keeps his arm around my shoulders, and we walk side-by-side through the foyer. When we reach the table, he squeezes my neck with one hand and punches me in the shoulder with the other. “You’re taller than me now, big guy.”
I smooth a finger over my upper lip. “And you finally went with the mustache.”
Tammy removes the lid from a plastic tupperware of frozen soup. “I’ve been telling him it’s unbecoming, but he said he’s keeping it because Tyler would like it.”
All three of us go completely still at his name. We blink at each other in silence.
“Tyler would think it looks like shit, Jeff,” I say.
The burst of laughter that echoes through the kitchen comes accompanied by a wave of nostalgia from doing this exact same thing throughout my childhood.
When the howls peter out into chuckles, Tammy dumps the soup into a pot with a loud thud and turns on the stove. “Should only be about fifteen minutes. Let’s go relax in the family room while we wait.”
Tammy and Jeff sit on the loveseat, and I sink in the recliner opposite them. They’re holding hands, the white of Tammy’s knuckles noticeable where she’s tightly gripping Jeff. I wonder how they’re feeling. I want to ask, but there’s something I have to do first.
I lean forward in my chair and make direct eye contact with them. “I’m sorry.”
Tammy shakes her head. “Cal. We already told you that you don’t have to be sorry for what happened. We don’t blame—”
“I know. I know that now. But I’m sorry for not visiting. For not responding. It wasn’t fair to either of you. I’m asking for your forgiveness, but I understand if it’ll take some time,” I say nervously, tapping my fingers against the arms of the chair.
Jeff and Tammy look at each other, then Jeff shakes his head.
“We’ve talked about this Cal. We know why you didn’t visit.
It was hard for us to understand, at first, but all we’ve ever wanted is to tell you face-to-face how much you mean to us.
So you could see the sincerity in our eyes—the truth.
” He wipes a hand down his face. “Honestly, a large part of why we left you those voicemails, asking you to visit, is just so we could spend time with you.”
I push my hair away from my face, hoping they can see the truth in my eyes.
“I’ve missed you. And I’ve missed him. It’s like, there’s this me before his death, and this me after.
It took me a long time to reconcile the difference.
Thank you for being patient. You didn’t have to be, but it means a lot. ”
A fresh tear slides down Tammy’s cheek, and she quickly wipes it away. “Enough about that for now. Tell us about you. I want to know about every year we’ve missed in detail, but I’ll take the most current Cal for now.”
My eyes crinkle in the corners. “Well, the most current Cal has a job as a Health Inspector, a girlfriend he’s in love with, and a geriatric cat who barely tolerates him.”
Tammy’s eyes reach her hairline, and she drops Jeff’s hand to cover her mouth. “A girlfriend? That you’re in love with? I need the details.”
I spend the next ten minutes, possibly thirty, talking about Peyton. I give them all the details and explain how we met. How she keeps me on my toes. How she’s changed my life. The Sheldons listen intently with huge smiles on their faces.
I relax my elbows on the armrests of the chair. “You’ll have to meet her one day.”
Tammy and Jeff exchange a look. “Callum, we know Peyton.”
My head jerks back so forcefully my hair falls into my face. “My Peyton? You know my Peyton?”
Tammy nods, leaning back against the couch. “We know your Peyton. And, actually, we’re very fond of her, so she’s technically our Peyton, too.”
“How…” I trail off, before pausing. Of course they know Peyton. Peyton is everyone to anyone at any given time. “Did you meet her through a job she was doing?”
Jeff smooths his moustache. “A year after Tyler passed, we got involved with the Epilepsy Foundation’s northwest Ohio chapter. Tammy quit teaching to work for the foundation full-time.”
“I actually met Peyton waiting in line for that new candle shop in Toledo.” Tammy smiles.
“We got to talking, and I told her all about my work with the foundation. She mentioned that she has epilepsy, and it snowballed from there. She committed to be a corporate sponsor of our chapter before we even made it into the store. It was only later that I found out about Good Taste and the type of work she does.” Tammy chuckles softly.
“Peyton attended the foundation’s next event, and she was the last one there at the end of the night.
She said she usually says a quick goodbye at events like ours, but she didn’t want to leave. ”
“That sounds exactly like her.” A smile tugs at my lips, before sudden understanding hits me. “Wait. If you know Peyton, does that mean she… Has she known about Ty? This whole time?”
“She’s very familiar with his story.” Jeff tugs on the cuff of his flannel. “And, actually, she’s always donated in his name. In memory of him.”
For the first time since seeing Tammy and Jeff, my eyes start to sting. The revelation that Peyton knew about Ty this whole time… It doesn’t feel real. This is what Peyton was trying to tell me—I’m sure of it. God, she must’ve been so scared after everything that happened.
I sniff. “That’s, um. Wow. Well, I’d love to donate.”
Tammy gives Jeff a knowing look. “We have a way for you to get involved, if you want. The foundation has our annual charity soccer game coming up at the indoor arena in Toledo, and our team is playing in memory of Tyler. It’s short notice, but we’d love for you to come.”
I’m nodding before she finishes her sentence. “I’d love to support you. I’ll be there. Maybe Clover can help promote it on her social media.”
Jeff holds eye contact with me. “We actually want you to play, Cal.”
My stomach flips. “In the game?”
“If you’re open to it. We could use an extra player.”
I haven’t touched a soccer ball since the day Tyler died. Thinking about it usually makes me nauseated. It might be reconnecting with the Sheldons, or completing the voicemails, but the idea of playing doesn’t sound so terrible right now.
“I… I can give it a try. Fair warning that I might have to bow out at some point, but I’ll try. For him.”
Tammy’s smile reaches her ears. “Perfect. With you on our side, we’ll definitely win the game.”
I snort. “I think you’re giving me too much credit. My cardio routine has been severely lacking.”
“Well, I’m sure Tyler will enjoy making fun of your feeble skillset from above,” Jeff chimes.
My responding laugh betrays me despite my best efforts to punish him for that comment.
The soup is ready in exactly fifteen minutes, and we spend the next hour swapping Tyler memories at the kitchen table.
Between bites of bread and butter, Tammy and Jeff tell me all about the way they’ve grown the northwest chapter to be the most active in all of Ohio.
A dull ache of regret echoes in my chest—I wish I could’ve helped sooner.
Just as Jeff starts to persuade us that maybe his moustache does make him look younger, my phone alarm dings.
“Time to head to my inspection. I wish I didn’t have to go. This has been…”
“Needed,” Tammy fills in.
I shoot her a grateful look. “Needed.”
We all slowly stand and collectively sigh. I don’t want to leave, but work calls. I drag my feet to the sink, rinsing my soup bowl, before reluctantly shrugging on my coat.
“Let us walk you to the porch,” Tammy says.
When we reach the threshold, Jeff pulls me into his arms, anchoring me against him. “Don’t be a stranger, son.” His voice sounds husky, emotional. “You don’t be a stranger,” he repeats into my shoulder. “Never again, Cal.”
“I won’t,” I mumble into his sweater. “I promise.”
We break the hug, and Tammy swaps in for Jeff, squeezing me tightly. “Give Peyton our best, okay? We love that girl.”
Me too.
I need to fix things with her. Even though I’m in a better place after my conversation with the Sheldons, I can’t say the same about my relationship with Peyton. After pushing her away, I don’t know how I can reassure her that it won’t happen again.
I don’t say any of that to Tammy, though.
Instead, I give her a wave. “I’m on it.”