24. Eden
24
EDEN
E den opened the front door and Jack darted inside, where he promptly pulled off his coat and draped it on the back of the sofa.
Normally, it was a pet peeve of Eden’s when he didn’t hang his coat on the hook by the door, but with the day they were both having, she just tossed hers on top of his so she could pop into the kitchen quickly and start some popcorn in the microwave.
She knew Jack had been looking forward to eating dessert and maybe throwing the ball around with the kids some more after dinner.
How could I risk his precious heart along with my own? How could I have been so naive?
But she didn’t want to think about her heart right now when Jack was so downcast.
“Why don’t you pick out a movie for us?” she asked him. “I’m going to make some popcorn, and then we can watch whatever you pick. ”
“Okay,” he said politely, heading to the sofa.
Normally, he would have been trying to negotiate to get the whole movie instead of just half like they normally did. She had been planning on saying yes when he did, figuring that they both needed the distraction tonight. Instead, he just grabbed the remote from the coffee table without a word, so she headed into the kitchen.
As she started the popcorn, she tried to remind herself of all the good in their lives right now. They had a lovely home in a welcoming town. She had a good job, and Jack was making plenty of friends in school. All the things she had been grateful for a few weeks ago were still right here for them.
The microwave hummed as she looked out the window at the sweet, snowy backyard and the nearby houses with their warm, glowing windows.
Everything will be okay, she told herself, knowing it was true.
But her heart kept right on aching.
When the popcorn was ready, she emptied it into the big bowl and brought it out to the living room.
But the TV wasn’t even on, and Jack was bent over something.
“What’s this?” he asked, holding up the crumpled paper Axel had given her. It must have fallen out of her coat pocket. “Coach is on it.”
“He’s… what? ” she asked, moving to the sofa and putting the bowl on the coffee table.
“That’s him,” Jack said, holding out the paper and pointing to one of the staff photos and bios at the bottom .
She took it and looked, her heart sinking in her chest as it all came together.
Axel Williams - Coach – 7–9-year-olds
“This camp meant so much to my brother and me when we were kids. I can’t wait to share all the teamwork and fun with a new generation of young athletes.” - Coach Williams
It wasn’t at all what she had thought. Axel wasn’t trying to get rid of Jack. And he wasn’t demanding anything of him. He was just trying to share something with him—an experience that had a special meaning for him.
Tears burned in her eyes for the second time in a night and she searched her coat pocket blindly for her phone, desperate to get to Axel before it was too late.
What if he’s already decided that I’m too emotional and overprotective? What if he thinks I don’t appreciate what he was offering?
He hadn’t even made the offer to Jack. And he’d been so nervous when he started trying to tell Eden about it…
She leapt up and began to pace as she tapped his phone contact.
Please pick up, she begged him inwardly as she paced.
She had reached the fireplace, turned and was nearly at the front door again when she heard a phone ringing outside.
“What’s that?” Jack asked from the sofa.
Eden threw the door open instead of checking through the window like she normally did.
A gust of cold air swirled into the house, but she didn’t care at all, because there was Axel, standing at the top of the steps with his phone in his hand, looking like a wild man, his eyes frantic.
“What… how are you here?” she asked.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice husky with emotion.
“Me too,” she said, holding up the paper she still clutched in her hand. “I didn’t know you were part of it. Not until just now when I started calling you.”
“I should have said that part first,” he said, shaking his head with so much regret in his eyes. “I understand how much I scared you. And I want you to know how important Jack is to me.”
She nodded, feeling her chest ache.
“I don’t care if he gets better at football,” Axel said clearly. “I don’t care if he wants to play at all when he’s older. I went to football camp every spring with my brother, and it was my favorite part of the whole year—playing, sure, but also roasting marshmallows and rowing around the lake. We had so much fun. And I… I was hoping I could share that with Jack. I wanted him to see how much fun it is to be part of a team, no matter what kind of team it is. I thought he would love it, just like I did. You know how it is, when you see that light in someone’s eyes, like they’re so happy and you would do just about anything to see it again?”
He had never said so much to her at once before. His words landed hard on her heart. Of course she knew what it was to want to see that light in Jack’s eyes. She lived for it.
It took her a moment to realize he wasn’t just talking about Jack .
Eden only nodded, not sure what to say.
“I want to make you happy,” he told her softly. “I care about you both so much. I know you want to take things slow, but in my heart, the two of you are already my everything. I can’t lose you, Eden. Please tell me I didn’t lose you tonight.”
She shook her head slowly and the expression on his face was so beautiful—the same mixture of relief and gratitude she knew must be on her own right now.
“Come in,” she told him. “Let’s not stand out in the cold anymore.”
He smiled, and when she turned and headed in, she was happy to hear his heavy footsteps behind hers.
“ Coach ,” Jack yelled happily. “We’re going to have a movie night. Do you want to have a movie night?”
“That sounds great,” Axel told him. “And we’ve definitely got the best movie snack ever. My aunt wanted me to bring you some dessert, and I think there’s a whole pie in here.”
Jack laughed with delight, the sweet sound lighting up Eden’s heart.
“Then I guess we’d better have dessert at the table,” she said.
“I’ll get plates,” Jack announced excitedly.
“I’ll help,” Axel decided.
They all headed into the kitchen and gathered up what they needed to enjoy the pie that was already filling the whole house with the delicate fragrance of apples and cinnamon.
When they were sitting at the table with glasses of milk and thick slices of homemade apple pie in front of them, Eden couldn’t help noticing Axel’s eyes on Jack, waiting for him to close his eyes in thanks before they dug in.
He’s become like a part of our little family without us even realizing…
When Jack was finished, he and Axel each took a bite and hummed their approval.
But Eden’s mind kept going back to the piece of paper she had tucked back in her pocket. The truth was that she hated the idea of being apart from Jack for even a moment. But she knew he would love to go to camp, and she knew he would really love to go with Axel.
I can’t keep him all to myself forever, she thought to herself fondly.
“Jack, there’s something Axel wanted to talk to you about,” she said, pulling the paper back out and smoothing it on the table. “Something he wants to invite you to do with him.”
Jack’s little face popped up from his plate, eyes wide with excitement.
She glanced over at Axel, to see if he had noticed how adorable that was. But the big man was gazing back at her with the same wide-eyed look of delight and disbelief that was on Jack’s face—as if he couldn’t even comprehend how lucky he was.
Eden heard herself laughing out loud before she even realized she was smiling.
And just like that, the three of them were dreaming up big plans, and Jack was asking Axel about camp and whether it was hard to row a boat, and if he could sleep in a bunk bed.
And Eden knew to her bones that everything really was going to be just fine.