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My day with the Cup is a week after Cal's. Cal's day with the Cup was pretty fun, and it was really fun to see all those local kids get a chance to see the trophy in person. But my day is gonna be a lot more of a low-key, private affair.
We fly out to my parent's home in Colorado, and they meet Cal for the first time. I had a lot of 'splainin' to do – although they weren't upset about me coming out of the closet, they couldn't believe I'd never told them that I'd been in the closet all along.
“I can't believe my own son felt like he couldn't tell me that!” my Mom shrieks with sorrow. She looks so shameful and guilty. I feel awful.
Cal elbows me and whispers. “Tell her the truth, man!”
“Ha, yeah,” I say, scratching my neck anxiously. “About that.”
Mom and Dad both look at me, waiting for my answer.
“The truth is, guys, I didn't realize it until I met Cal. I kinda stretched the truth a bit in that press conference, but I stand by what I said. A lot of athletes are in the closet and are way too afraid to come out. But, since us, a few have! I don't have to tell you that, you've seen the news.”
“Yeah,” Dad nods. “Hey. I'm proud of you, alright? Both of ya. You guys were fantastic. Plus you're both clearly a success and nobody can argue that.”
“Thanks, Dad.” We all hug each other.
Of course, they wanted to hear the story of how I got so close to Cal ... so I had to tell 'em everything. Err, minus the saucy details, of course. But being on the road with another guy, you grow close to him. And if he grows close to you, and there's an openness there, and a willingness ... you never know. Love can find a way.
“D'aww,” Mom and Dad say. I'm so embarrassed I hide my face in my hands, but Cal just cracks up and slaps my back with a hearty laugh.
“He's so bashful, isn't he?” Cal asks my parents.
“Sure is. Always has been,” Mom says.
“He's one driven but shy sonofabitch,” Dad says. Mom whacks his shoulder, giving him the eye over that 'bitch' part.
“I didn't mean it like that!” Dad protests.
Stanley Cup party with family heart-to-heart conversations. Heh – maybe not the highlight of our day with the Cup, but it was sweet regardless.
A few hours later, Mom and Dad have all our friends and family come by the house for something of a lunch party with barbecue. Cal gets to meet all the people I grew up with, which is pretty cool.
But when mid-afternoon comes, it's time for the real event I've planned. Me and Cal say bye to everybody and take off with the Cup – we're going hiking in the Rockies and we're bringing the Cup with us to the top.
“You're so lucky,” Cal gushes. “Your parents are so nice and awesome, man.”
“Yeah? I guess so.”
“Trust me. They're great.”
“I'm glad you like 'em. They like you, too.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, definitely.”
We go up a trail I used to frequent as a kid – Dad always took me there in the summers when I needed a getaway from hockey. At the top is a clearing and a fantastic view of Boulder from the mountains. I raise the Cup and hold it over my head, looking over Boulder.
Then I give it to Cal. He starts to pick it up, but a sudden rattling that circles the bowl grabs his attention and makes him stop.
“Whoa, what the heck? There's something in here.”
He peers into the Cup. Then he looks up at me, one brow tweaked upward.
“No way,” he says under his breath.
“Yes way,” I chuckle and drop on my knee.
Cal pulls out the gold ring inside the bowl and looks at it, then looks at me. “Ty! What the hell!”
“Will you marry me, Cal?”
He bursts into laughter, shaking his head with disbelief. I'm waiting for my answer for what feels like an eternity. My heart pounds at my chest like a jack-hammer, and I'm not totally sure I've got this in the bag ...
“Fuck yeah, I will!”
I jump up to my feet and kiss him, the Stanley Cup crammed between us.
Whew!
***
OKAY, MAYBE SOME PEOPLE would say it was too early to propose – but that was my dream, after all, I always pictured my proposal the same way. That same spot, overlooking Boulder and with Denver in the distance, with the ring in the bowl.
And maybe that's why I missed that shot, all those years ago? Because when I think of how I wanted to propose to my girlfriend back then – I had this idea in my head, but it didn't really fit her. She hated the outdoors, after all. Dragging her up that mountain would've been a pain. And she didn't care too much for hockey, either.
I mean, I'm sure she would've been happy if I'd won the Cup. She'd be happy for me. But would she really want to pick the Cup up and raise it over the city? What possessed me to want to do that with her, when she obviously wouldn't have cared for it?
I'd never told anyone this, not even Cal – at least not until after I proposed – but that's what flashed through my mind the second before I took that shot that missed. I was passing the Cup, with the ring in it, but it wasn't to my then-girlfriend.
It was somebody else up there with me. A guy.
I couldn't see his face clearly. I didn't know who he was, and I wouldn't make that connection with Cal until way later.
But that thought, that guy, ripped through my mind the second before I took that shot.
And I knew then that that puck wasn't going in. That things hadn't gone the way I'd planned. That I was somehow off the life path laid out for me.
Who knows what that image was? A flash from the future? Divine inspiration? My soul telling me to keep searching?
I'm not sure. All I know is, I had to go through a lot of pain to get to this point. And it's finally starting to pay off.
***
WE HIKE BACK DOWN THE mountain and head out to stay at a cabin in the woods. Callan can't believe it. He keeps holding his ring up – even though it's a gold band and there's no diamond to sparkle in the light of the setting Sun.
“I never saw myself getting married. I'm so excited, man! I thought I was gonna have to wait until like, after my career ...”
“Heh heh.”
“What do you think the guys will say?!”
I shrug. “Honestly? I don't know, but I don't really care, either. All I care about is that I'm gonna have you for the rest of my life.”
Cal laughs and puts his arm around me. “Aw. You big fuckin' sap.”