Getting Back Up

The week went quickly, too quickly for Tyler. He was actually dreading Saturday, something that no teenager would ever feel. He stayed in bed longer than normal, not wanting to start the day.

"Ty, come on. Get out of bed. You have a phone call," Rebecca said as she handed Tyler the phone.

"Hello?" Tyler asked as he sat up.

"Hey Tyler, it's Scott. How would you like to come to the Rangers game tonight?"

"Hell yeah! That's awesome! Thanks so much!" Tyler shouted.

Scott laughed. "No problem bud. But I want you to do something for me."

"What's that?" Tyler asked.

"I want you to have an open mind when you meet your father. He's the reason you're here, and he's sick. He made a mistake and he wants to apologize. You don't have to see him after today if you don't want, you're mother told you that, but just hear him out. Okay?"

"Okay." Tyler agreed.

"Alright, I'll see you tonight. Can I talk to your mom again?" Scott asked.

"Sure. See you later," he said as he handed Rebecca her phone.

Rebecca turned and walked out of Tyler's room so that he could get dressed.

"Hey, I'll leave the tickets at the VIP Will Call...it's on the Broad Street side of the arena. Just give them your name. They'll direct you to where the box is. After the game one of the ushers will bring you down to the locker room to me." Scott said.

"Wow. Okay." Rebecca was shocked by how important he was treating them.

"I'll see you later. I have to get ready for practice. Good luck at lunch," Scott said as he got off the phone.

Rebecca went back into Tyler's room to see him dressed in his Giroux jersey and jeans. "Guess you're looking forward to today now, huh?" she joked.

"Yeah, too bad I don't have a Hartnell jersey. Hope he doesn't mind I'm wearing Claude's jersey. What are you gonna wear? You don't have any Flyers gear." Tyler wondered.

"How about we stop at Modell's after lunch and get something for me to wear?" Rebecca suggested.

"Sounds good." Tyler said as they left his room. Now all he had to do was get through lunch with his father and then he'd be a few short hours away from his first Flyers game.

*****************************************************

Rebecca and Tyler met Brad at the restaurant at one o'clock. Rebecca made the introductions and they went into the building. They were seated at a table in the corner. The waitress brought their drinks and took their order. Brad began the conversation by asking Tyler about school and what his hobbies were. He asked Tyler if he was a big Flyers fan since he had on the jersey. Tyler didn't say much, except when Brad asked him a direct question, and then he only gave short answers.

Tyler wasn't about to give Brad too much information about himself, he didn't think Brad deserved to know anything about his life. He promised Scott that he would have an open mind, but he didn't promise to have an open mouth. He chuckled to himself.

They continued talking through the meal, mostly just Rebecca and Brad. They talked about high school, his family and hers. They seemed to be getting along fine, much to Brad's delight. The conversation trailed off as they finished their meal.

"Thank you for meeting me today Tyler. I know I don't look too good right now, but I used to look alot like you when I was your age," Brad said as he smiled at Rebecca. "God, what I wouldn't do to look like that again."

"You look good, considering..." Rebecca said as she smiled back at Brad.

"You don't have to say that, I know I look horrible." Brad said as he looked down at his hands. "But let's not talk about that again. So, what are you guys doing later today?"

"We're going to the Flyers game tonight," Rebecca said.

"She's dating Scott Hartnell," Tyler bragged.

"Oh. That's...wow," Brad said disappointedly.

"We've only been seeing each other for a couple of weeks," Rebecca said.

"He really likes her. He made her dinner for no reason," Tyler said, trying to get under Brad's skin.

"That's nice," Brad responded, "Well I hope you guys have a good time."

"We will," Tyler said with a snarky tone.

"We should get going, we've got to run a few errands before the game," Rebecca said as she gave Tyler a glaring look.

"Alright, well I hope we can get together again sometime soon. I'll be in town for a few months," Brad said as he glanced at Tyler.

"We'll see..." Rebecca responded. They got up from the table and walked to the door. Rebecca gave Brad a hug and he extended his hand for Tyler to shake. Tyler glanced at his mother who widened her eyes as if to tell him to do it. He unwillingly shook his father's hand and then put his hand back into his jeans pocket.

"Thanks again," Brad said as he walked away.

*******************************************************

Rebecca and Tyler arrived at the Wells Fargo Center an hour before game time. Tyler had wanted to get there early to make sure they got close to the glass to see the pregame skate. He wanted to see all the guys up close. He waited impatiently for the team to come out onto the ice, but it gave him time to take in the sights and sounds of the arena.

They watched people make their way to their seats and join them near the glass. They had managed to position themselves right in the corner glass at the end of the tunnel that the Flyers exit onto the ice. Tyler thought there was no way that Scott wouldn't be able to see them.

The music in the arena got increasingly louder as Claude Giroux led the team out onto the ice. As he passed by the bench he knocked a stack of pucks onto the ice with his glove. The fans cheered as the line of Flyers made their way onto the ice. Tyler had the biggest smile on his face when he saw Scott jump out onto the ice. Tyler pointed out every player on the ice to his mother. She was only interested in watching Scott.

Scott skated around the ice, glancing up to the box that he expected Rebecca and Tyler to be in. He wasn't too concerned that they weren't there yet, they may just get there in time for faceoff.

"Hey, isn't that you're woman over there?" Claude asked as he skated by Scott. He motioned to the glass by their bench.

"Yeah..." Scott answered, happy that they were there. He picked up a puck off of the ice and skated over to Tyler and Rebecca. He tossed the puck over the glass to Tyler and put his glove in the air to wave to the both of them. He turned away to go back to practice.

When practice was over, Scott skated to the bench but waited until all the other players went into the tunnel to exit the ice. He moved to the end of the glass so that they would be able to hear him, "Thanks for coming guys. We'll try and get a win for you," he smiled at them.

"Good luck," Rebecca smiled back at him.

"Thanks for the puck," Tyler said.

"No problem. I gotta go, see you after the game," he winked at Rebecca.

Rebecca and Tyler made their way up to the club box listed on their tickets. Tyler was amazed that they had food, drinks, and a private bathroom. He loaded a plate of food and sat down in one of the seats at the front of the box. They sat and ate while they waited for the game to start.

The team returned to the ice a short while later. During the game Tyler tried to explain as much as he could to his mother. He was too distracted by the game going on below him and the crowd cheering. The Flyers managed to pull out a win against Henrik Lundquist and the Rangers.

"Ms. Caruso? My name is Jeremy and I'll be escorting you to the locker room for Mr. Hartnell," said a man wearing a black fleece sweatshirt with 'How You Doin' embroidered on the left chest and an earpiece connected to a walkie talkie on his hip.

"The locker room?!" Tyler shouted. He almost ran out of the room before turning back to wait for his mother and Jeremy. They walked down the escalators to a pair of doors with a very large security guard in front of them. Jeremy flashed a badge and the guard opened the door to a staircase that only went down. They followed the staircase to the bottom, which led to a long narrow hallway.

Jeremy led them down the hallway to a door and asked them to wait outside for a moment while he went in to let Scott know that they had arrived. He reappeared shortly after and said that Scott would be out shortly. Tyler stood in awe of all of the people walking in and out of the locker room, occassionally getting high-fives from the staff.

Five minutes later Scott emerged from the locker room. He had already changed into a tshirt and jeans. He walked over to Tyler and greeted him with a fist bump. He turned to Rebecca and kissed her on the cheek and asked if she enjoyed the game. She nodded in agreement.

"Want to meet the team?" Scott asked Tyler.

"Of course!" Tyler exclaimed. Scott opened the locker room door to allow Tyler and Rebecca to pass by him. Scott followed the pair into the room, immediately noticing that the jersey she was wearing was his. He felt a wave of emotion as he imagined her wearing nothing but that jersey, until he heard Claude whistle at Rebecca.

"Yo, watch it," Scott scowled at Claude.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," he apologized and asked Rebecca for forgiveness.

"It's alright, its flattering having young guys whistle at me," she said as she winked at him.

"I'm standing right here..." Scott said as he put his arm around her waist. "Let me introduce you to the guys," he said as he moved her away from Claude. He took Tyler and Rebecca around the room introducing them to the team, each of them signing Tyler's jersey for him. When all of the introductions were finished and Tyler had managed to form complete sentences again, they left. Scott walked them to their car.

"Are you coming over?" Tyler asked.

"That's up to your mother," Scott answered.

"That's fine..." Rebecca said as she looked into Scott's eyes. She wanted nothing more than to have him spend the night.

"I'll be right behind you..." he said as they got into the car.