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TYLER
Tyler walked through the halls that lead to Rylee’s room with a bag full of deli sandwiches in his arm. The entire way through the hospital he did his best to convince himself that not telling anyone about Cody was best for everyone. They were here to celebrate Rylee, Nick, and their new baby.
He was sure that Paige would hear about it soon enough from Melanie. Today was all about the Talons.
He turned a corner and there, in the hospital room, was his beautiful wife holding the tiny baby. Paige looked so natural holding that tiny little baby. He stopped and waited a minute to secretly take in how happy she looked.
Paige looked up to see him and a big grin slid across her gorgeous lips. “Hi, babe! I’m so glad you’re here.”
Tyler hurried into the room, handing Nick the bag of food. “Hey Dad! How’s it feel?”
“Unreal. It is literally the only word I can come up with to describe it. And I consider myself to be a fairly eloquent speaker.” Nick beamed. “Thanks for bringing lunch, Ty.”
“Yeah, thanks so much Ty!” Rylee called from the hospital bed. “The lunch they brought was—”
“It wasn’t anything close to what Rylee is accustomed to. And, plus, your wife hasn’t eaten anything but vending machine food since last night.”
“Hey, no worries.” Tyler held his hands up in front of him. “When new parents request food, you don’t question it. But I was happy to do it. Especially for my Paige.”
Tyler turned his attention to his wife and the newest addition to the Talon family.
“Hey, babe. I missed you last night and today.” He kissed his wife on her cheek.
Paige looked up at him, smiling, her eyes glistening. “Tyler, I’d like you to meet baby Lila Talon.”
Tyler ran his hand over the pink blanket that Lila was swaddled in. Her little pink face scrunched up like she wanted to cry, but instead she let out a sound that was like a coo mixed with a heavy breath. His heart warmed and his eyes burned.
He’s seen other teammate’s babies, and even his own niece and nephew as newborns. But today, Lila, she was the most beautiful sight.
For one brief moment, he forgot about the sadness that had fallen on him earlier today. Nothing mattered but this sweet, tiny soul wrapped in a soft pink blanket.
“Ty?” Paige asked. “You okay?”
Looking into his wife’s eyes, his breath caught. It was like a punch to his gut. He took a moment to catch his breath. The sad feelings came rushing back, he must’ve gone pale, because everyone was staring.
“Ty, maybe you should sit down and eat lunch. You don’t look so good.” Nick suggested. He motioned to an empty chair. “It’s normal. Trust me, Lila made me feel like that the first time I laid eyes on her too. She takes your breath away. Makes you wonder how something so small can make you feel so much love.”
He managed a smile, choking back the sadness that was rising in his heart until another time. Today was a day for little Lila Talon. He had tomorrow to digest his feelings about Cody.
“I’m not really hungry, but I do need a coffee. Anyone need anything from the cafeteria?” Tyler headed towards the door. He needed some space to regroup.
A hand clamped down on his shoulder as he entered the hallway.
“Wait for me, Ty. I’ll join you.” Nick said, hurrying to his side. “What is up with you?”
“Me? Nothing. Why?”
“You asked us if we needed anything from the cafeteria, then ran out of the room before any of us could answer. I don’t think the women noticed, they were too busy fawning over Lila, but I sure did. So fess up.” Nick turned to face Tyler.
Tyler stopped walking and faced Nick. It’s true that Nicholas Talon was his boss, the General Manager of the team, but he was also Tyler’s friend.
“I know you don’t want that cafeteria coffee. It’s as bad as it sounds. Even your wife has been drinking the vending machine coffee. Let’s go down to the coffee cart in the lobby, I’m buying.”
“Nick,” Tyler protested. “You’re the one who just had the baby. I should be buying you coffee.”
Nick put his hand up as the elevator descended. “Nonsense. Plus, I’m sure Rylee will enjoy a little girl time.”
Once in the lobby, they ordered from the coffee cart and sat down at a small table.
“So, what’s going on with you?” Nick asked. “And don’t even think about shrugging me off, I know you aren’t right.”
Nick hadn’t been at practices lately, but still knew Tyler had been off for a while.
“I don’t know, man. I got a lot going on upstairs. It’s throwing me off my game.”
“So I’ve heard. Is it Paige?”
“Sort of.” Tyler told Nick about how he’s been considering it might be time for a family.
“I get that. Look how long it took me to even find the person I wanted to be with. I never expected to have a baby. I went through a time when I thought it was never going to happen for me. And there are other ways — I’m sure you know that.”
“Yeah, we’re not there yet.” Truth was, Tyler had been considering the other ways for a while, but knew Paige would bring it up when she was ready.
“Besides that, what is going on with you today, because I can tell there is something behind that confident persona of yours. Rylee is here for forty-eight hours, so I have all the time in the world.” Nick sat back and stared at him.
Tyler let out a long breath and stared into his coffee. “I’m sure you’re going to hear about it from the team, but I don’t want to spoil today for anyone.”
“Ty, I’m a big boy, I can handle whatever is going on and still go back to smiling at my new baby girl.”
“Fine.” He knew this conversation would not be over until he fessed up. “A little boy I visited with last season passed away last week, and I didn’t learn about it until this morning. I’m going to do anything I can for the family. And I know it sounds silly, but it is like a punch to the gut, and I’m having a really hard time getting over it.”
Nick stared at him. “It’s not silly. Those special fans touch our hearts, and when they are so young, it’s that much harder. I’ve been there once or twice in my career too. It’s okay to feel how you need to feel.”
“Nick, you can’t tell Rylee and Paige yet.”
“You don’t think that Paige will hear soon enough?”
“She will, but today is not that day. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Paige as happy as she was while she was holding baby Lila.”
“I hear you.” Nick looked at him and nodded.
Tyler knew his wife would be there for her best friend, they were like sisters. She had stood by Rylee through so much. But at what cost to her own mental health? Only time will tell.
“So, as I understand it, you being less than Tyler effin Kidd in practice lately is all the stress at home? I’m not judging, just trying to get facts straight.”
Tyler chuckled. “I’ve never found it harder to separate my work life from my home life before.”
“My friend, this is only the beginning. Just wait until you actually have a little one to worry about. That’s a whole new can of worms! Not that I know much about that yet, but I am sure to be getting a crash course!”
LATER THAT NIGHT, TYLER was cleaning up the dinner plates and tossing out the pizza box, because after a day like today, pizza seemed like the perfect answer. Paige grabbed glasses and a bottle of wine and retired to the living room.
Tyler chuckled as he joined her on the couch, “I can’t believe you’ve been in your pjs since we got home.”
She admired her flannel sleepers with a shrug. “They’re comfortable. And it eliminates one step when I’m ready to go to bed.”
He lounged on the couch, welcoming her into his arms when she snuggled close to him. Her head rested on his chest, keeping them both upright enough to drink their wine.
“So, I’ve been meaning to tell you how proud I am of you,” he wrapped his arms around her. “And to ask you if you’re okay. I know today had to have been a lot.”
“Yeah,” she looked up at him. “I had my moments. But the way that little girl made me feel while I was holding her– they were emotions that I never knew existed. And you’d think holding her would’ve made me sad, but out of all the emotions I was feeling, sad was not one of them.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I know exactly what you mean. And she smelled so good. Do all babies smell like that?”
“They do! I think it’s like the new car smell.” She teased.
“Wow...” Tyler scoffed at his wife’s attempt at humor.
“You know what I mean.”
“The scary thing is, I do.” He laughed. “I just can’t understand how something, I mean, someone so tiny, and so new to the world, can evoke such strong emotions from everyone that meets her. I mean, she doesn’t even know the effect she’s had on us, or how much she is loved by so many people. I know Nick will be a hands-on dad. He’s going to be such a good dad. And Rylee, I think she was born to be a mom.”
Paige was silent.
“I almost can’t wait to see her again. But as content as I feel thinking about that little girl, I am a tiny bit sad, so it’s okay if you are too. I just can’t help but think about what it will be like to be a dad. And then I wonder if we should be doing more to try to have a family? Maybe we should consider IVF?”
Still, she wasn’t reacting. Had he hit a nerve? Did he say something wrong?
“Paige?”
Looking down at her, Tyler realized Paige was so quiet because she had fallen asleep. He laughed to himself. He wondered if she heard anything he said.
Slipping from the couch without waking her, Tyler put the wine glasses in the sink and turned off the lights.
He took a moment to admire how beautiful and perfect she looked even while she slept. He’d make this happen for them, one way or another; money was no object. He’d do anything to make this beauty happy, and today, with Lila, she was a happy he hadn’t seen in a very long time.
Gently, he picked Paige up from the couch and without waking her, carried her to bed.