Page 102 of Center Ice
“I think it’s the last thing he expected, and probably the best thing that ever happened to him, too.”
“Hey, Ma?” Missy’s voice rings out behind us. She was inside getting dinner started when we got here, so we got a chance to meet her. But her husband and boys haven’t arrived yet. I appreciate that Graham is getting a little time here with Drew first, before the rest of the family descends.
I can’t wait for him to meet his cousins, but I also don’t know if he’s going to be overwhelmed by all these new people in his life. Graham seems to take things in stride though, probably because five-year-olds don’t have the capacity to complicate things like adults do. I know I need to stop projecting my own worries onto him because he seems fine.
Mrs. Jenkins turns toward Missy. “Yeah, honey?”
“Can you help me with the sauce?” her daughter calls from the sliding glass door. “It seems like it’s missing something.”
“Sure, I’ll be right there.” She turns back to me. “Thank you for coming over today. I know that meeting a whole new family is going to be a lot for you and Graham, but we’re really excited to have you guys here.”
“Thankyoufor welcoming us like you have,” I say, returning her soft smile.
When she heads inside, I take a seat on the stairs leading up to the deck. I love listening to Drew and Graham as they hang out together in the playhouse. They’re talking about Spider-Man, Graham’s favorite superhero, when the sliding glass door opens behind me and Mrs. Jenkins pads across the deck to take a seat next to me.
But when I glance over, I find Caitlyn sitting there instead. I’m sure I don’t do a good job of masking my surprise, because she says, “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I just thought you were your mom, is all.” I don’t really know what to say to her after our last interaction, where she called me a Puck Bunny and chastised Drew for being late to his mom’s appointment because he was with me.
“I owe you an apology,” she says, and that shocks the shit out of me. From the way Drew talks about her, an apology was the last thing I expected. “I’m sorry I made the assumptions I did when we met.”
“It’s okay. I showed up out of nowhere. You don’t know me.” I pause, wondering if I should hold back the next thought in my head, but it’s out of my mouth before I can stop it. “And to be perfectly honest, I don’t think you really know your brother, either.”
It’s probably not my place to say this to her. But, if she’s going to be my sister-in-law someday, I want to make it perfectly clear that I’m not going to tolerate her treating Drew like she has been. He deserves better than that, especially because he’s a wonderful son who goes above and beyond for his mom, and he clearly has a good relationship with Missy. I don’t think he’s the problem here.
She sighs. “You’re probably right. Which is sad, because I practically raised him after our dad died.”
“I know how hard that is,” I tell her, and she looks at me, seemingly taken aback.
“You do?”
“Yeah. My mom died when I was fourteen, and my dad left when I was fifteen. I helped raise my sister, who’s three years younger than me.”
“Helped who?” she asks.
“My brother. He used to play for the Rebels, but retired when my dad left so that he could be there for me and Jules. He got guardianship of us, but it was me who did most of the day-to-day stuff because he was so busy building his career as a sports agent. He’s Drew’s agent, actually.”
“Wait, Jameson Flynn is your brother?”
“Yep.”
“And he gave up his hockey career to raise you and your sister?”
“Yeah.”
“Does he…” It’s like she can’t find the right words. “How does he feel about that?”
“He doesn’t really talk about it, but my future sister-in-law says that he told her he’s never regretted his decision for a second.”
“Are you and your sister close?” she asks, propping her elbow on her knee and resting her chin on her fist.
“She’s my best friend. I was supposed to go to Georgetown for college. It was where I’d dreamed of going since I was little. I got in, but the thought of leaving her, of missing those high school years, was unfathomable. After my parents were both gone, Jules and Jameson were all I had. I didn’t want to miss out on any of the milestones. So I went to BU instead.”
“Where you met Drew…”
“Yeah.” I nod.
“How did he not know about Graham?” she asks, but her tone holds no judgment.
