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“Nah. Told him to knock that shit off and focus on his blue line skills. Scouts don’t wanna see any of that showboatin’ shit.” He took a sip of his coffee and looked over at her. “Babe, if you lose any more weight, we’re not gonna be able to find you when you turn sideways. You’re shrinkin’ away to nothin’.”
She smiled faintly, setting her own coffee down and placing a hand on his leg. “Tyler?”
He set his down, too, resting his hand on top of hers, concerned by the tone in her voice. “What’s up?”
“So, I…um, I need a really big favor from you and Ryan. Like, I’m talking monstrous.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, babe, but we’re not into chicks anymore. Besides, you’re, like, really fuckin’ old now. You hit that wall, you know?” When she didn’t even crack a smile, he started to panic. “Amara, what is it? What’s wrong?”
“So, I went to the doctor this week…”
A fog enveloped his brain as he struggled to process the series of sentences that followed, unable to compute them but picking up on random words instead.
Cervical cancer.
Very aggressive.
Nothing they can do.
About five weeks.
You and Ryan.
Take care of JT.
“Tyler? Do you understand what I’m saying?” she asked, as he stared ahead blankly. “Do you understand what I’m asking? I know it’s a lot, but I don’t…there’s nowhere else he can go. I have…I have no one, Tyler.”
“Mar, come on. You’re not even gonna try treatment? What if...”
She shook her head. “It’s way past that point, Ty. It’s…everywhere.”
A lengthy silence ensued.
“Are you scared?” he finally asked quietly, clutching her hand as tears rolled down his cheeks.
“No. Oddly enough, I’ve kinda…I’ve made peace with it. I mean, I certainly have my moments. I can’t describe it, but it’s…I’m OK. I just worry about,” she said, pointing to the ice, where JT was practicing his passing in the defensive zone with Ryan while skating backward, “that one. First his father, and now this. I worry that it’s going to destroy him, Ty.”
“Nah, fuck that. JT’s one of the toughest kids I know. He’ll be OK. We’ll make sure of it.” He hung his head, shaking it a bit and wiping his eyes. “Fuck, Mar.”
“I know.” She lifted his hand to her face and kissed it, keeping hold of it as she brought it back down to his leg. “So, can you talk to Ry about it soon? There’s a lot of legal shit involved in…”
“There’s nothin’ to talk to Rook about,” he interrupted. “We’ll take him. Of course we’ll fuckin’ take him. Love that kid like a son anyway. You know that.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “He loves you, too. Both of you.”
They sat there together, watching the rest of the practice in silence, both of them smiling when JT ended with the Michigan, busting out the “Jagr salute” celly and skating over to the boards, banging against them. He waved to both of them and shouted, “You see that fuckin’ shit, Ty? Baller!”
“Jacob Tyler, watch your mouth!” Amara yelled to him.
“Sorry! Ow!” he shouted back, as Ryan whacked him on the back of his helmet.
“So, you haven’t told him?”
“Not yet. I wanted to make sure it was OK with you guys first.”
“You know there’s nothin’ in this world I wouldn’t do for you, babe. Rook, too. Consider it done.”
“He’s…a challenge, Ty. You know that, right?”
