39. Jamie
Chapter thirty-nine
Jamie
The Promise
By Wednesday morning, I’ve become a terrible liar.
Not because anyone is asking difficult questions, but because apparently every person in my life has suddenly developed the ability to read my face.
I walk into the arena carrying my equipment bag over one shoulder, determined to behave like it’s every other practice day.
Ten seconds later Liam falls into step beside me.
"You're humming."
I blink. "I'm what?"
"Humming."
"I don't hum."
"You absolutely do."
He tilts his head, listening dramatically.
"It's subtle."
"I wasn't aware of it."
"Neither was your subconscious."
I shake my head and keep walking. "I think you're imagining things."
"I'd agree..." He pauses thoughtfully. "...except Toby noticed too."
From somewhere behind us, Toby calls, "You are humming."
"I am not."
"You are."
"I've known him longer than you," Liam says triumphantly. "Trust the experts."
By the time we reach the locker room, I'm laughing too hard to defend myself.
***
Practice itself is almost a relief. Passing drills don't ask personal questions. Conditioning laps don't study my expression.
Coach runs us through special teams before finishing with battle drills along the boards, and for nearly ninety minutes the only thing I need to think about is hockey.
Even then...my hand finds the inside pocket of my jacket hanging in the locker room every chance I get.
The ring is still there.
Safe.
Waiting.
The final whistle sounds just before noon.
Coach gathers us at center ice for a few last instructions before dismissing everyone.
As the other players begin skating toward the tunnel, he catches my eye. "Walker."
I glide over. "You've got somewhere to be this afternoon."
It isn't a question. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded sheet of paper.
"Our community appearance."
I glance at it. "The elementary school?"
"I moved it."
"You did?"
He nods matter-of-factly. "Toby volunteered."
From halfway across the ice Toby calls, "Wait...I did?"
Coach doesn't even turn around. "You did now."
The entire team bursts into laughter. Toby points dramatically. "I've been promoted without consent."
"You'll survive," Coach replies.
"I don't even know what I'm teaching."
Liam skates past him. "Children."
"About what?"
"Excellent question."
The laughter follows us all the way to the locker room. As I finish unlacing my skates, Coach quietly walks over and sits beside me. For a few moments neither of us speaks. He watches the room empty while players joke with one another, gather equipment, and head toward the door.
Finally, he says, "Nervous?"
I think about it honestly. "A little."
"Good."
I look over. "Good?"
"If you weren't nervous, I'd wonder whether you understood what today means."
I smile. "I understand."
He nods. "I know."
The words settle quietly inside me. He stands, giving my shoulder one familiar pat.
"When the time comes..." I look up. "...don't worry about finding perfect words."
He smiles. "She fell in love with yours a long time ago."
Before I can answer, he starts walking toward the door. Halfway there he pauses without turning around. "And Walker?"
"Yeah?"
"Try not to make the rest of us cry too much."
I grin. "No promises."
He chuckles softly and disappears down the hallway. I feel the silver coin resting in my pocket. A father's blessing. A ring waiting in the other pocket.
I close my locker slowly, feeling the weight of both. They're reminders that no one reaches this kind of moment alone.
Outside the arena, the afternoon sun warms the parking lot as I climb into my truck and check my watch. If everything goes according to plan, by sunset she'll be wearing the ring that's been waiting for her all along.
***
By the time I pull into the parking lot outside the Inn, my heartbeat has somehow become louder than the truck's engine.
I've faced Game Seven overtime, Olympic tryout camps, national television interviews.
None of them have prepared me for waiting outside a simple small-town inn on a simple afternoon.
The ring box is safely tucked inside my jacket, and Dad's silver coin rests in my jeans pocket.
Apparently, I'm carrying enough good luck to survive almost anything.
She pauses on the porch to comment to someone inside before turning toward the parking lot.
The moment she sees me, she smiles. Not the polite smile she gives patients. Not the careful professional smile I've watched a hundred times. It’s the smile that's just for me.
It still amazes me every single time.
Climbing in she leans across the console to kiss my cheek before fastening her seat belt.
"Hello."
"Hello."
She studies me for all of two seconds. "What?"
"What do you mean, 'what?'"
"You're smiling."
"I smile."
"Not like this."
I pull away from the curb before answering. "What does this smile look like?"
She pretends to think about it. "The kind that means you're hiding something."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Mmm-mmm."
She folds her arms dramatically. "I've spent months studying your facial expressions."
"I should've read the consent forms more carefully."
"You really should have."
I laugh.
"So where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
"See, I told you. Now I'm definitely suspicious."
As the road curves gently away from town, I follow the shoreline toward the lake.
She notices almost immediately and says, "This isn't the road to the cabin."
"No."
"And we’re not heading toward Frostholm."
"No."
She looks out the window again before turning back to me. "Should I be worried?"
I let her chew on that.
For a few minutes we drive in comfortable silence.
The afternoon sun glitters across the water, and fresh spring leaves shimmer in the breeze that moves through the trees lining the road.
Annette reaches over and slips her hand into mine.
She doesn't ask another question. She simply sits there; her fingers intertwined with mine as though they've always belonged there.
The road narrows as we leave the highway behind, winding toward a small overlook above the lake. I pull into a gravel parking area surrounded by tall pines. The view stretches for miles. The water below catches the late-afternoon sun, turning it into liquid gold.
Annette looks around slowly. "It's beautiful here."
"It is."
She turns toward me. "So..."
A playful smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. "Is this where you're finally going to tell me why you've been smiling all day?"
I smile. "Not quite."
When I climb out of the truck and walk around to open her door, she raises one eyebrow. "You're becoming very mysterious."
"I know."
"I didn't think you had it in you."
"Neither did I."
She slips her hand into mine as we begin walking along the narrow path overlooking the lake. The ring feels impossibly light inside my pocket.
My heart...
Not so much.
***
For one suspended heartbeat, the entire world seems to disappear. The breeze stills. The water below us glimmers beneath the afternoon sun. Even the birds seem to fall silent.
Annette simply looks at me.
I look into her eyes, trying to memorize every expression crossing her face. The afternoon sunlight catches the tiny flecks of gold in her hazel eyes, and for a moment I wonder how I ever believed I was lucky simply because I played hockey.
This...
This woman is the greatest gift my life has ever given me.
I reach into my pocket and gently place the worn silver coin in her hand.
She looks down at it curiously, turning it over between her fingers.
"You've been carrying this all day?"
I nod. "My dad has carried it for years, and I wanted a little piece of him with me today."
***
Her thumb brushes slowly across the smooth edge, her expression growing softer with every passing second. She looks up, her eyes already shining.
"Jamie..."
"I've carried it in my pocket all day because it reminds me of what he told me - that the best promises aren't the ones you make once."
I smile. "They're the ones you keep every day afterward."
For a long moment she simply holds the coin between her hands.
Then she whispers, "I love that."
"So do I."
***
I draw a steadying breath before reaching into the inside pocket of my jacket.
This time I take out the small velvet box.
Her eyes widen instantly. "Oh..."
The word barely escapes above a whisper.
***
“Annette, before you, I thought I knew exactly what my life would look like. Hockey. The team. Taking care of the people I love.”
I smile.
“Then you walked into a hospital room and started telling me what to do.”
She laughs through her tears.
“And somehow you became the person I want beside me for all of it.”
I take her hand.
“I want ordinary Tuesdays. Coffee on the dock. Hockey seasons and quiet mornings. I want the good days, the hard ones, and every ridiculous argument we're undoubtedly going to have in between.”
My voice catches.
“I don't want a perfect life, Annette. I want ours.”
I hold up the ring.
The diamond catches the late-afternoon sunlight, scattering tiny flashes of light across the lake behind us.
Annette's hand flies to her mouth.
"I talked to my parents. I wanted their blessing."
She nods, unable to speak. Another tear slips quietly down her cheek.
Then I hesitate and rub the back of my neck. "I called yours."
"You..." She blinks. "You called my parents?"
"I did."
She can barely find her voice. "What did you say?"
"That I love their daughter."
Tears immediately fill her eyes. "I told them I intended to spend the rest of my life making her happy."
She covers her mouth.
"I asked if they'd give me the privilege of joining their family."
"Jamie..."
"I wasn't asking permission." He smiles gently. "I know you're the one making this decision. But I wanted to honor the two people who raised the woman I love."
"They cried."
She laughs. "They did?"
"So did I."
She laughs even harder.
He grins. "Your dad told me if I ever made you cry, he’d remind me that he knows where I live."
Now she's laughing and crying.
"So, what did my mom say?"