“How’s it going?” Sara asks a few minutes later, three glasses of champagne in her hands. She hands them out to Julia, Bridget, and me.
“Good! So many dresses to choose from!” Julia tells her.
“Let’s set you up with a room and start trying on a few dresses,” Sara suggests. She pulls a few and leads us to a sitting area that has a couch facing a huge mirror with a platform in the center. “The two of you can have a seat,” she says to Bridget and me, “and you can come with me,” she says to Julia. Bridget and I take a seat and watch as Julia heads down a hall after Sara.
“Are you excited?” I ask Bridget, she’s like a second mom to me, seeing as how Julia and I have been friends for so long.
“I am, I can’t believe this is happening already. It feels like just yesterday the two of you were entering high school, and now look at her, she’s about to get married! And what about you, I hear you’ve got yourself a man these days.”
“Yeah,” I say a little dreamily. “John and I have been dating for a few months now.”
“JC, yes?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I say on a giggle. “It’s so weird to hear him called that,” I tell her.
“How is he doing?” she asks. “Is retirement treating him okay?”
“He’s got his good and bad days,” I tell her honestly. Having been a hockey wife for all the years her husband, Matt, played and is now the goalie coach for the Eagles organization, she understands what it’s like to be with someone just going through retirement.
“I can only imagine. I know firsthand what it’s like when they retire after a long career. It’s a huge transition, and I experienced it when it was on Matt’s terms. Experiencing it when it wasn’t when they wanted to retire is an entirely different game. There’s that resentment of things being taken away from them, not to mention what he must be going through with the concussion side effects.”
“I can’t attest to what it was like before his retirement and during his playing years since we didn’t start dating until around the time he had to make that decision. It’s been hard on him, but I also think that he’s come to terms with it.”
“Does he have any plans for work of any kind?” she asks, just as Sara and Julia reappear. “Oh my goodness,” Bridget gasps, seeing her daughter in a wedding dress. We watch as she steps up on the platform in front of us, facing the mirror. We can see around her, to see her reflection, as well as the back of the dress. The first one she’s tried on is form fitting. It has a halter style neckline, with open arms. It is fitted from top to bottom, where it stops just before the floor.
“You look amazing!” Bridget gushes as Julia turns to face us.
“Thanks, Mom,” she says, looking down at the dress she has on. “What do you both think?” she asks.
“What do you think?” I ask. I like it, but don’t love it, but want to know her thoughts first.
“I’m not sure. It’s gorgeous, I just don’t think that it’s the one,” she says, biting her bottom lip.
“Then it’s not the one,” Bridget states.
“Let’s try the next one,” Sara suggests, leading Julia back down the hall and into the dressing room.
“Back to our conversation,” Bridget says to me.
“Of course, I think you’d asked about John and his plans.”
“Yes,” she confirms.
“He’s working on a campaign to help other players hopefully avoid going through what he’s gone through. I know he was trying to get some other former players on board to tell their stories, along with some leading medical professionals to be a part of the documentary. I think once he gets that done, he wants to start a foundation that helps aid in the research into making helmets better at absorbing the impact they take when hit into the boards or the ice. He wants to make the game safer for everyone else.”
“That sounds great. I’m sure he’ll do an amazing job bringing awareness to the issue. Lord knows that more needs to be done to protect all the players, from the peewee kids just starting out at four and five years old, all the way up to our professional athletes in their twenties and thirties.”
“I’m really hopeful it brings him clarity and peace after retiring, not that he didn’t have a long successful career, but he definitely feels like he was cut short by not getting to play for a few more years.”
“I’m glad that the two of you found one another. Have your parents met him yet?”
“They have. They loved him, even if my dad had to have the ‘what are your intentions with my daughter’ talk that dads like to pull with their daughter’s boyfriends. I was a little worried that my dad would have an issue with our age difference, but he didn’t.”
“Nothing wrong with an older man.” She smirks.
“He can be my sugar daddy,” I joke.
“Whatever floats your boat.” She laughs right along with me, our giggle fest interrupted when Sara and Julia return to show us another dress.
“Oh, honey!” Bridget gasps as Julia steps up on the platform. “I love it.”
Julia looks at me via the reflection of the mirror. I have a feeling she might have found her dress by the look on her face. It fits her perfectly, has a sweetheart neckline, is fitted through the bodice and then flowy to the floor. It only pools on the floor by a few inches in the front and a couple more in the back.
“What do you think?” I ask as I watch my best friend in the entire world’s face light up even more.
“I love it!” she exclaims. “I think this might be the one!” she tells us as tears stream down her cheeks.
“Oh, honey!” Bridget jumps up from her spot on the couch and wraps her daughter in a huge hug. “You’re going to make the most beautiful bride. I can’t believe we just found your dress! Beckett is going to love you in it.”
“Do you like it?” Julia turns and asks me.
“I do! It is perfect for you!” I tell her confidently. As her mother said, she’s going to make a beautiful bride.
“Now, are you thinking of a veil or no veil?” Sara asks.
“I’m going to wear my mom’s veil,” Julia tells her.
“I actually brought it, it’s just out in the car. Should I go get it?” Bridget asks.
“Yes, we can make sure that it will match the dress before you finalize your decision,” Sara replies.
Bridget lets go of Julia and heads off for her car. “Beckett is going to lose his shit when he sees you in this,” I say. “He’s going to be pawing at you all night, wanting to get you out of this.”
“He will.” She giggles in agreement with me. “Probably just as much as I’ll be doing the same when I see him in his tux.”
“Y’all better get to making some cute babies ASAP for me to spoil,” I tell her while we wait for Bridget to return.
“I think we want to wait a few years, enjoy being married and young together before we add in the responsibility of parenthood.”
“Do you think when that happens, you’ll quit your job?” I ask.
“Probably. I obviously won’t have to work for us to survive, but for now, I love my job. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Like I said, we just want to be young and in love and the two of us, for now. Maybe start a family closer to thirty,” she tells me, just as Bridget enters the room again, veil in hand. Sara takes it from her and slides the hair combs into Julia’s hair.
“That’s a perfect fit,” Sara exclaims.
“I’m so happy,” Bridget cries, looking at her daughter standing there with her dress on and the veil that Julia has chosen to use as her something old for the good old wives’ tale, something new, old, borrowed and blue.
“Now, let’s get you out of this and we can start looking at bridal party dresses!” Sara suggests.
“Sounds great,” Julia agrees with her.
“Come with me and I’ll show you to those dresses while Julia changes,” Sara offers. I follow her into a separate room, once again filled with racks of dresses.
&nb
sp; “Almost every designer offers these dresses in a full color wheel of options, so it’s a matter of finding the exact shade she wants and then a line of dresses that will work for everyone in the party.”
“Sounds good, do you have a color chart I can start looking at for each of them?” I ask, since I know what their colors are.
“Of course,” Sara says, handing me a binder with all the color charts. “Each rack is a different designer’s dresses and they’re in order with the book, starting with the rack over here,” she explains, pointing to a rack on the far left. “Let me go check on the bride and I’ll be back.”
Bridget joins me and we start flipping through the binder of designers’ color and dress options. I find two that I think would work perfectly. I get up and walk over to check out the dresses on the rack, finding one I absolutely love.
“How’s it going?” Julia asks as she joins me.
“Good, I think this line will work perfectly, what do you think?” I ask, showing her the color option and holding up the one dress that I love.
“Oh, that’s perfect!” she exclaims, her excitement palpable.
“Well, that was almost too easy!” Sara joins in on our excitement.
We sit down and Sara pulls out a booklet that is just on the line we like, giving us all the details on the available options. Julia is able to send a link to the collection online to Beckett’s sisters in Sweden so that they can choose the ones they like best.
“Thank you so much for your help today! I’m so excited for our dresses to come in,” Julia thanks Sara before we head out of the dress store.
“How about a lunch celebration?” Bridget suggests as we all head for the parking lot.
“Sounds good to me!” Julia states. “You good with that?” she asks, turning to me.
“Of course! Want me to text my mom and see if she can meet us?”
“Yes!” Julia agrees, so I pull my phone out and text my mom. She had something going on this morning and couldn’t make it to the dress appointment, but I think she was supposed to be free by lunchtime.
“She’s in for lunch, where should I have her meet us?” I ask Julia and Bridget.
“How about The Mud House,” Bridget suggests.
“Sounds good to me,” I say, typing out the information to my mom.
“We’ll meet you there,” Julia tells her mom as we reach her car.
“Sounds good, girls,” Bridget says before she slides into her own car.
“I can’t believe we found the dresses in one shot!” Julia exclaims once we’re in her car.
“I know, and Beckett is going to die when he sees you in yours.”
“Just like John is going to swallow his tongue when he sees you in yours,” she retorts.
“Maybe,” I say, not able to hold back the smile that tugs at my lips.
“I predict that we’re back at a dress shop in less than a year looking at dresses for you, mark my words,” Julia insists.
I shrug my shoulders, secretly hoping that she’s right, but only time will tell.
Chapter Nineteen
Johnathan
Eight months later
“Mr. Camps,” a reporter calls out my name as I sit at a press table. I never enjoyed this as a player, but it’s something I’ve been forced to get used to the last couple of weeks, now that my project has been made public.
“Yes,” I answer, acknowledging the guy.
“What kind of response have you had from players around the league after you’ve shown them your video?”
“The response has been amazing. I think that anyone who plays professional sports wants to do it as safely as possible. No one wants to have their career taken away from them due to an injury. We put in too much time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears to get ourselves to this level to want anything other than the safest playing conditions possible. That isn’t to say that guys aren’t going to get hurt, because they are, we can’t stop every injury. But, we can stop some of them. Some of that needs to come with stricter rules put in place by the league on hits to the head, stricter punishments when those rules are broken, continued improvements in the gear, specifically the helmets that players wear to absorb the impact when you collide with the boards and glass.”
“What are your next steps with your campaign?” another reporter calls out.
“I’ll officially be starting The Camps Foundation, which will support a few important endeavors that are personal in one way or another, one being the improvement of safety gear for players.”
“And the others?” the reporter asks as a follow-up question.
“It’s no secret that my family wasn’t well off while I was a child. My mother did everything she could to make ends meet, and sometimes that meant we had to live in shelters. Since I signed my first professional contract, I’ve donated to many shelters, both here in the Indianapolis area, as well as in my hometown of St. Louis. Through the foundation, we hope to increase those donations. Any reputable shelter can go to our website and fill out an application to be on our list of supported organizations. We have a board ready to start processing applications immediately,” I tell the crowd of reporters. I look off the side of the stage, seeing my mom, sister, sister-in-law, nephew, two nieces, and Jill all standing there, proud as can be, and it hits me just how lucky I am to have all these amazing people in my corner. The last eight months haven’t been easy at times, but they’ve also been some of the best months of my life. “If anyone has any further questions, you can direct them to the foundation offices, thank you all for your time.”
I stand, making my way off the stage, and pull Jill into my arms as I hug her tightly to my body. “I love you,” I whisper into her ear for just her to hear.
“Love you, too,” she muffles into my chest. “You did amazing,” she says, looking up at me, our arms still wrapped tightly around one another.
“Uncle John!” Mason starts calling my name. I look over at him as Stephanie tries to keep him in her arms.
“You can let him go,” I tell her and he practically jumps from her arms, running for me. I let go of Jill and catch him just as he launches himself at me.
“How ya doing, buddy?” I ask.
“Good, can we go eat now?” he asks, causing everyone to laugh.
“I guess so. Were you a good boy? Did you earn yourself some ice cream for dessert?”
“Yes, I’s the bestest ever!” he exclaims.
“That’s what I like to hear,” I tell him.
“Shall we?” I turn to my family, holding out a hand for all of them to go in front of me. I slip my open hand into Jill’s, linking our fingers together. I’ve got my girlfriend on one side of me and my nephew in my other arm, and the other important people in my life in front of me. Life couldn’t get much better than this.
Chapter Twenty
Jill
“Anything else I can get you?” I ask Julia as I hand her a glass of water while we wait in the brides’ room that was set up for her to get ready in.
“I don’t think so. I’m just ready to get this done and over with!” she says, the excitement that her wedding day has finally arrived has kept us going for the last week. We’ve packed so much into the week we’ve already been here in Sweden. She wanted to arrive that early to, one, help adjust to the time difference, and then to have time to get all the last-minute details ironed out. Planning a wedding from halfway across the world wasn’t the easiest thing to do. She had many stressful nights over the last year, but it’s all come together, and things are just so beautiful. I now know why she wanted to get married here.
“Well then, let’s go get you married!” I tell her, just as excited for her and Beckett.
“Is my little girl ready to walk down the aisle?” Matt, Julia’s dad, asks as he enters the room.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she tells him as he walks over and presses a kiss to her cheek.
“You’re a beautiful bride, baby girl,” he tells her.
“Thank you. Have you seen Beckett? Is he doing okay?” she questions her dad.
“He’s fine, antsy but just fine.”
“I wish we would have done a first look,” Julia states.
“Too late for that now.” Her dad chuckles. “It’s go time.”
“Then let’s get this show on the road!” she exclaims. I follow them out of the room, meeting up with Bridget in the hallway. We watch from the wings as the guys approach the front, then as grandparents and mothers are escorted down the aisle. Beckett’s two sisters are bridesmaids and paired up with their respective spouses as groomsmen, leaving me to be paired with, who else, but John. I think it shocked him when Beckett asked if he’d be his best man. I know they became pretty good friends the one season they played together, but I still think it surprised John when the question was posed. I finish fixing the back of Julia’s dress as Bea and Alice start their processional, then take my place in front of her for my turn. As soon as I can, I lock eyes with John. The look on his face as he sees me appear makes my heart skip a beat. He looks so good in his tux, but I’d like to see him out of it just as much.
I make it to my place, thankfully not face-planting or making a fool of myself during my best friend’s wedding. Once I make it to my spot and turn to face the back, the music changes and Matt and Julia appear in the doorway. The guests all stand, causing the two of them to be blocked for the first half of the length of the aisleway. I look over, watching Beckett’s face as he waits to see his bride as she comes into view. I know the exact moment that it happens, as he sucks in a breath and his eyes start to water. He must sway on his feet, as John’s hand comes up and lands on his shoulder to steady him. I can read John’s lips as he tells Beckett to just breathe, followed by him doing just that.
I turn my attention back to the aisle, checking to see how close Matt and Julia are. Once they are within a couple feet of the podium, Beckett steps down, accepting Julia’s hand as Matt hands it over after he lifts her veil and plants a kiss on her cheek. I miss whatever it is he tells Beckett, but it has both him and Julia chuckling lightly while they get settled.
The Game Changer : Indianapolis Eagles Series Book 8 Page 18
