Loving the Game

by Melody Heck Gatto

  “Okay?” Melanie folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head, confused, or maybe interested.

  “Adoption was brought to my attention. It really stuck with me. I started doing some research about it on my own– and it looked really promising. Paige wants a family. I will do anything in my power to make that happen for her. It’s not the only thing I’m willing to consider, but it’s a first step. The problem is, I got a bit excited about it the more I investigated it. I went a little farther than just collecting information.” He paused. “I called my lawyer to see if he could put us in touch with one of the agencies and asked him to make an appointment with them.”

  “Without talking to Paige first?” Mel deadpanned.

  “You got it.” He felt as if he was already in the doghouse and he hadn’t even come clean to Paige yet. Melanie’s glare lay heavy on him.

  “I’ve heard enough.” Melanie interjected. “You didn’t do anything wrong except forgot to include your wife in all of this. You need to put any meetings on hold and talk to Paige. Tell her you did research, that’s not a problem. I guarantee she will love the initiative you took. Show her what you found, tell her about the agency you’d like to go talk to. But most of all, let her suggest any other avenues she would like to take first. Maybe leave out that the entire team knows... as a matter of a fact, absolutely leave that part out.”

  Tyler nodded. All good advice. “Thanks, Mel. I knew you’d make everything clear.”

  On his drive home, he made a mental note – make sure Chuck puts all visits with agencies on hold. He was excited to share what he found with Paige and see what her thought were. There were so many other options, especially since they didn’t even have a diagnosis yet.

  His heart dropped. Suddenly he regretted not being more aggressive about her previous doctor appointments. He should’ve been there. Not that it would’ve changed the outcome, but they should be doing every step of this together. Yes, his wife was strong and liked to take charge, but that didn’t mean she didn’t need a shoulder to lean on. And that was his job as her husband, to be that shoulder.

  That thought led to a second mental note – from here on out he’ll be by her side for every appointment.

  Chapter Sixteen

  PAIGE

  This day could not go any slower for Paige. She spent most of her morning at the team’s practice facility. She had been busy with conference calls all morning but did take a quick peek at practice. Tyler looked off, at least to her.

  Guilt ran through her that their personal lives were affecting his work, and she never intended for that to happen. That was precisely the reason she refused to pull him away from practices for her doctor appointments. She was a big girl and she could handle them. Even though it would’ve been nice to have him at her side.

  The team had stayed behind for off-ice workouts and meetings, while her and Melanie returned to the arena offices.

  Between getting back to the arena and finishing up her last call, she had uncharacteristically polished off a muffin, a doughnut, and a milkshake that Melanie insisted on buying her on the drive back.

  Melanie knocked on her door as she walked in. “Paige, you busy?” She sipped at her own milkshake.

  “No, come on in.” Paige closed her laptop and sat back in her chair. Her stomach now gurgling from all the sugar she had ingested already today.

  All morning her lower back had been killing her. Maybe it was her body telling her she needed to take better care of it– like cut out the sugar. And she made a mental note to get to the gym ASAP.

  “Paige,” Melanie closed the door behind her. “Have you talked to Tyler?”

  “Do you mean today? Or like, ever, because he is my husband, you know.” Paige teased.

  “Um, yes.” Melanie answered, but it was more of a question. She was visibly confused. “Today.”

  Paige shrugged. Melanie didn’t look like she was joking around. “Our usual morning banter. Last night we didn’t do much talking. He had been kind of a jerk and we had some making up to do, if you know what I mean. But, today? Not since this morning.”

  “I think you need to talk to him.”

  “I will. Tonight.”

  “Maybe you could ask him to go to your appointment with you? I can clear his afternoon to make that possible.” Melanie urged happily.

  Paige simply shook her head. It was March, the season was ending, and Tyler needed to keep his head in the game. Skipping practices and meetings didn’t seem like a wise choice. Even if she wished he would go with her.

  “Paige,” Melanie stared at her.

  Paige knew that look. Mel knew something was up and she wasn’t going to let up until Paige talked. She got up from her desk, took a deep breath, and began to bare her soul to her friend. “So... we’ve been trying to get pregnant to no avail,” she glanced at Melanie’s obvious baby bump. “I’ve been going through testing to try to rule out why things aren’t happening naturally.” She leaned on her desk for support, suddenly feeling drained. The room began to spin as she closed her eyes and silently begged it to stop.

  “You okay?” Melanie moved towards her.

  “Yeah, fine.” Paige opened her eyes and took a drink of water. And now her stomach was obvious angry at the donut she ate as it grumbled at her.

  “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” She looked at her belly. “I guess seeing this day in and day out doesn’t make things much easier, huh?”

  “Oh, Mel, no...please don’t think that’s what I meant. I’ve got a lot going on. I am very happy for you. This is all me.”

  “You guys are going away after the season is over, right?”

  “Yeah. Tyler is setting it all up. We both need to leave work at the door when we come home. Right now, the stress follows us. Mine is mental and his is training.”

  “Yeah, I hear that. I’m always checking the laptop in the evenings. Some nights my poor husband has to pry me away.”

  Paige nodded at Melanie’s belly. “But you didn’t have this kind of trouble.”

  “This?” Melanie rubbed her hand over her stomach. “This was not planned. We had a nice getaway right before training camp started. Went on a cruise. Nothing but sea and sun, and lots of alcohol. Seven months later we are getting a nursery ready. I’m sure your month-long vacation will work wonders.”

  Paige took another drink of water as her stomach flopped. She begged for the nausea to keep at bay.

  “Girl, you look a bit green. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Paige nodded her head. “I felt fine this morning. It is possible that I picked up something at Willow’s birthday party. I love those rug rats, but they are no doubt little germ monsters.”

  Melanie agreed. “Why don’t you cut out early and grab a nap before your appointment? Give Tyler a chance to get home?” Melanie tried one more time to convince her.

  “Nice try,” Paige laughed. “But no. I have some paperwork to finish up, then I’ll bug out for my appointment.”

  “Can’t say I didn’t try.” Melanie said as she left the office. “Good luck!”

  Paige nodded. She needed all the luck she could get. Glancing at the calendar, their month-long getaway couldn’t get here soon enough, even if that meant the season was over.

  PAIGE SAT IN THE EXAM room, waiting for the doctor. She was checking on blood work results to make sure she wasn’t already pregnant before they moved on to the next test. Paige knew this was a waste of time and effort. There was no way she was pregnant. Even though she was late again, she chalked it up to stress. This was not the first time she’d been through this. She had taken a pregnancy test on Sunday and the glaring negative result shattered any hopes she may have had.

  A shiver ran through her. Why do they keep these rooms so cold?

  She had missed lunch. Her stomach knew this and was feeling much better but craving a cheeseburger. All this stress had her turning to greasy and sugary foods. That needed to stop. Which meant her stomach would have to settle for a salad
.

  “Paige,” the doctor entered the room. Her eyebrows raised in question, holding Paige’s chart in her hands. She stared at Paige suspiciously. “How have you been feeling?”

  “Fine.” Paige said, curious. “Why? Did you find something else wrong with me? I’ve probably got high cholesterol now from all the bad food I’ve been eating.”

  “Not exactly.” The doctor said. “Is Tyler with you today, by chance?”

  Paige shook her head, dreading this question. “No. He’s busy, so I didn’t ask him to come with me.”

  “Oh, I see. You did tell me you took my advice to heart and carved out a little quite time for you two as a couple?”

  “We did.” She nodded. “And with our current stress, we’re probably due for another one sooner rather than later.”

  “I’d say the sooner the better.” The doctor sat down across the room. “So, you aren’t noticing any tiredness or nausea?”

  “I’m pretty much always tired. But enough coffee combats that. But, nausea, no? Why is there something going around? We were at a birthday party not long ago, and we all know little kids like to share their germ.”

  “Well, yes, some of them do, I guess.” The doctor appeared to hold back a laugh.

  Her patience had been thin as of late, and today was no exception. “Did you find something in the blood work?”

  “Yes.” The doctor nodded. “And we won’t be going forward with any other testing.”

  Paige’s heart sunk. She knew this was a possibility. But now it was all so real.

  “I guess you have a diagnosis now?” she couldn’t even look the doctor in the eyes. Her stare was focused on the floor.

  “Paige, you’re already pregnant.”

  Her head snapped up and her mouth dropped open. She heard the words, but they didn’t make any sense. It was as if the doctor was speaking in a different language. “Excuse me?”

  “I know, it doesn’t seem real. You’ve been through a lot, Paige, but this is the real thing. Blood work doesn’t lie.”

  “How? When? How?” the disbelief washed over her like a wave. She never thought she’d hear those words. So many months of trying, following every tip she found online, and taking more tests than she cared to. She probably owned stock in the pregnancy test company by now. “I’ve been so stressed over this.”

  “You are in fact pregnant. And everything looks good. You only have two jobs now, to take care of yourself, and of course, to tell Tyler the good news.”

  “I don’t understand. I took a test on Sunday and it was negative.” Her mind went back to the morning of that test, how she was nauseous when she woke up, assuming she was just hungry, then dizzy during the morning meetings and finally, so nauseous during her run she had to take a minute to rest, right in front of the rescue league.

  “Well, it’s pretty early then. Home pregnancy test can take a few weeks to show a positive. But you are pregnant. Paige, you still with me?” the doctor asked.

  “Yeah, um, just realizing now how awful I’ve been feeling lately, and I didn’t even notice.” And the cravings for donuts and cheeseburgers.

  “Remember I told you that a lot of people get pregnant after the HSG test? We’ll know better when we do a sonogram, but according to your last cycle, looks like you are three weeks along.” The doctor wagged her finger at Paige. “Paige you need to pay better attention to what your body is telling you now. Doctor’s orders. I know you have a demanding job, and so does Tyler, but your health and your baby’s comes first.”

  My baby. The words hit her right in the chest. Suddenly she knew why Mel was cutting her hours. Her boss was more demanding about her job than even Paige was, but it all hit her at once that her baby and her health is more important than anything else.

  Her doctor spoke more about how to take care of herself, diet, exercise, and lifestyle. And made an upcoming appointment for a checkup, but Paige kept cutting out and going back to the fact that she was actually pregnant.

  Taking a handful of pamphlets with her, she hurried home. Tyler wouldn’t be home for a few hours yet, and she couldn’t wait to tell him the news!

  HEARING THE FRONT DOOR open, her heart soared. Tyler was home and she could tell him the good news. This was not a phone or text conversation, she wanted to do it face to face.

  Paige bounced down the stairs, excited to see her husband after a long day.

  Hearing him on the phone, she quieted her movements to not disturb him.

  That’s when she heard it.

  “Chuck, I hate to say this, but I jumped the gun with this decision. I’m not ready just yet. There are some things I need to do first. I need more time.”

  Her heart sank like a rock into her stomach. He wasn’t ready. She finally had the news they had both been waiting for, and now he was changing his mind.

  Chapter Seventeen

  TYLER

  Tyler was tired, and just wanted a quiet night with his wife. They needed to talk about adoption. It was something he wanted to do, but he was wrong to not talk to Paige first.

  His phone rang just as he pulled into the driveway. It was his lawyer, Chuck. “Hey Tyler, I wanted to give you the information for the adoption agency manager. Her name is Nancy, and she is expecting your call.”

  Walking in the house, he thought carefully about his next words as Chuck continued.

  “I’m really excited for you and Paige.” Chuck added.

  This was the call Tyler had been dreading. When he last spoke with Chuck, he was sure this was the next step – even without talking it over with Paige. It all had made so much sense, why weren’t they opening their home to one of those children?

  But after talking to Melanie, he was beginning to second guess his over eager response. This was a move they needed to make together.

  He could hear Paige upstairs, so he lowered his voice as he walked into the kitchen. “Chuck, I hate to say this, but I jumped the gun with this decision. I’m not ready just yet. There are some things I need to do first. I need more time.”

  “Okay. If that’s what you want. I’ll have all the information when you’re ready.” Chuck responded.

  “Thanks for your help. I’ll talk to you soon.” Tyler hung up the phone just as Paige walked into the kitchen. “Hey, babe.”

  “Who was that?” she questioned flatly.

  “Chuck, he just had to go over a few things with me.” He was bursting with excitement. He couldn’t wait to tell her all about his idea of adoption.

  “Oh.” She answered, and yet sounded unconvinced.

  “I missed you!” Tyler wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “I was looking forward to a nice afternoon in. If you’re done for the day, maybe we could order some dinner and watch movies? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Yeah, that sounds great, but I have a meeting. Sorry.”

  Tyler shrugged and flashed his best smile for his girl. He rarely ever faked a smile, so she had no idea that he was miserable that she was leaving.

  “I’ll be back for dinner.” She called on her way out the door.

  “No kiss?”

  “Sorry, babe. I’m late.” She never even turned around. “Maybe order a pizza for dinner.”

  There was something about her dark tone that worried him, not to mention not giving him a kiss before she left. “Whatever you want, babe. I’ll be here waiting for you.”

  Did she find out about the adoption? Did Melanie tell her? Did she know the whole team already knew? Aw shit... Tyler crumbled into a chair. His head was spinning, which seemed to be the new normal for him.

  He texted Melanie to see how long Paige would be. Maybe if there was a chance she wasn’t needed at the meeting; Mel could send her home?

  To his surprise, the message he got back was that there was no meeting.

  Melanie answered: Don’t worry. I got this. She’ll be home by dinner.

  “What is going on?” he said out loud.

  “Meow.” Reggie squeaked
and hopped up onto the arm of the chair. The kitten rubbed his head against Tyler’s arm.

  “Hey little guy. I think I messed up.”

  “Meow.” The kitten jumped down and hurried away.

  “Even Reggie knows I screwed up.”

  He got up and went to get a beer, but stared at the can, he knew that he needed to clear his head. And alcohol would just make it spin more.

  Tyler grabbed his keys and his jacket. Petting Reggie on his way out the door.

  After driving around for about twenty minutes, he ended up in Trina’s driveway. Before he could drive away, deciding that he needed to stop running to his sister for advice every time he screwed up, Willow appeared in the window waving at him.

  “No turning back now. And I possibly see a dance party in my future.” He turned off the engine. Once he got to the front door, Willow was there to greet him.

  “Uncle Ty, Uncle Ty, Uncle Tyyyyy!” Willow said, jumping up and down.

  “Tri,” Tyler said as his sister opened the door for him. “Do you feed this girl a diet of straight sugar?”

  “Hardly.” She scoffed. “Willow, please let Uncle Ty get in the door.”

  “Hey, Ty. Is Paige here too?” Sam asked as he shook his hand.

  “No. Uh, just me. I need some advice.” He stuttered.

  “Uh-oh.” Trina curled her lip. Directing her attention to Willow, she said, “Sweetie, why don’t you go put on one of your shows? Uncle Ty needs to talk with the adults.”

  “Okay.” Willow pouted. “But first...” the little girl ran and jumped into Tyler’s arms and gave him the biggest bear hug that her little arms could manage.

  “Hey kiddo!” Tyler gushed as he hugged his niece. “Thanks for giving me a little time with your parents. I appreciate it.”

  “Don’t mention it.” She called before she ran to the living room.

  Tyler couldn’t help but laugh at the little girl’s very grown up comment.

  “That girl,” Trina shook her head in exhaustion. “C’mon Ty, we can sit in the dining room.”