Page 4 of Coast to Coast

“Pops!” he answered excitedly, looking over at me, “Mama?” he questioned.

“That’s Calliope. Can you say Calliope, Crew?”

His face screwed up in concentration, “Pee?” He asked uncertainly, and when everyone laughed, he buried his head shyly in his mother’s shoulder.

“Hey, Crew, do you want to play blocks with me? I wanted to build a tower,” I said, sitting on the floor before the toy blocks. We sat on the floor, and I built several short towers that Crew knocked over before he got bored and pulled a book off the shelf.

“He’s probably ready for a nap. He’s been climbing and running for the last two hours,” Kylie said.

I sat on the floor, trying to keep my knees together in the pencil skirt, wrapping my ankles behind me. Crew pushed the book at me. “Moo cow,” he said, pointing at the cow on the cover before settling next to me on the floor and flipping the pages of his book. He continued to talk, and I did my best to understand what he was saying. His language was still a lot of babble, with some keywords mixed in.

Kylie collected Crew and offered to take him home for a nap so we could continue with our interview. Tom would be in Boston through the end of August, with training camp beginning early in September. The baseball season would end in September, though the Minutemen were first in the league and almost guaranteed a playoff bid. Kelsey explained that she would be fully available to help with the transition through October, but after that, I would be his full-time provider while he was with Tom. When he was in Boston, I’d be on call. I would have a suite in both homes, first-class travel, and a credit card would be available for incidentals.

“The only thing we ask is that you don’t date our teammates, and the NDA will also extend to what you learn about them,” Sam said. “It would be immediate grounds for termination.”

“I don’t intend to date anyone, but can I ask why?”

“You will have access to athletes, not just our teams, but others. Many women would take this job to meet an athlete; we’d like to protect Crew from having a distracted caregiver and eliminate messy drama.”

I nodded in agreement, “Makes sense. But what will you do to protect me from them?”

“I’m pretty good at defense,” Tom said, his deep, booming voice making me jump. The man barely spoke, but when he did, he commanded the room. I met his gaze, seeing the resemblance between him and Crew. The little boy had his father’s eyes.

Tom was at least an inch taller than Sam, whom I estimated to stand at least 6’3”, but where Sam was lean, Tom was hulking and just plain massive. At sixteen months, Crew already looked to be on the bigger end of the growth curve. He also seemed very comfortable with his circle, and while he was a little shy at first, he was confident.

“When would I start?” I asked.

“Because we are still in Boston, we’d start by having you spend a few afternoons with him this week. Sam pitches on Friday. We can all attend the game together. It will give you a good indication of what he’ll be like on your own at a hockey game.” Kelsey explained.

“Am I expected to put him in Blizzard’s attire?” I asked, dreading wearing anything but Boston’s colors.

Sam interrupted, “He wears our jerseys. Always.”

TOM

Ihad Crew for the night, and while he had been getting more comfortable staying with me, he pushed the limits wherever possible. I was on my eighth read of his favorite book, and my disappointing barnyard animal impressions were not cutting it.

“Come on, buddy. It’s time for sleep.”

“Again?” He asked, pushing the book towards me.

“Last time. Then night-night.”

“O-tay, Dadda.”

When I read the story this time, he fell asleep before I finished. I quietly slipped out of his room in my rental apartment and headed down the hall to watch the baseball game. Sam was pitching, and I tried to do my best to support him by watching whenever I could.

We’d extended a conditional offer to Calliope, and she’d accepted. This was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. Without a reliable nanny, there was no way I would be able to spend time with my son during the hockey season. Kelsey had been great about traveling as much as possible last year, but it wouldn’t be possible with their new baby.

I continued watching as Sam pitched five shutout innings. Our situation was far from ideal, but I’m glad it was him as Crew’s stepfather. Kelsey was an incredible mother, and she had committed to making our situation work. But we wouldn’t have been here if she had ended up with someone without Sam’s integrity. I tried thinking back to life before Crew before I got the call from my agent about a rumored baby. Things could have gone so much worse.

My mother had berated me, reminding me she hadn’t raised a kid who didn’t remember to wrap it. I shuddered remembering the conversation and then had flashbacks of sitting with her at the kitchen table as she first demonstrated putting a condom on a banana and then made me do it while she watched.

My father had walked out when I was four months old. And from the moment I saw Crew, I knew he was mine. There was no doubt. I also knew immediately that I would do whatever it took for him. Had Kelsey and Sam fought me, I would have given it back twice as hard. With Sam’s resources, I would have ended up broke, but I wouldn’t have gone down without a fight.

Fast-forward to today, when my boy calls me Dadda, and he calls Sam Pops. We’ve already navigated many potentially sticky situations. Because we’ve succeeded, Crew has a huge extended family filled with so much love.

While Kelsey was pregnant with Crew, I started my career by playing in the WHL and setting myself up for the future. It was hard not to look at where I was now without realizing what I had traded to be here. I wasn’t there when my son was born. I didn’t see his first smile. I still swear that Kelsey lied and told me I was the one who captured his first steps.

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