Too Much of a Good Thing

“Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you…” James heard singing in his ear. Was he dreaming or was someone actually singing a happy birthday song to him? He peeked out of one eye and saw his beautiful Jo with that smile he adored. She was still in her pajamas which was just a baby blue satin cami and shorts. She got out of bed as soon as he opened his eyes. She tugged him up and lead him to the kitchen where he found a variety of breakfast foods and a birthday cake in the middle of the island. She lit up the #18 candles and sang the happy birthday song once again.

“Make a wish,” she said. “And don’t wish for three more wishes!”

He closed his eyes, only having one wish on his mind. He blew out the candles and looked up at Jo.

“Well that was fast,” he said.

“What was fast?” Jo asked mindlessly while swiping a finger on the edge of the cake.

“My wish. It came true so fast.”

Jo tilted her head, licking her fingertip that now had chocolate icing on it. “Should I even ask what you wished for?”

“I wished for a gorgeous girl to be standing in my kitchen on my birthday,” James grinned. “I didn’t think it’d be granted that quickly.”

Jo hopped off the stool and wrapped her arms around him. He always had the right words to say. Even on the day that was supposed to be all about him, he still managed to think about others. James kissed her on her cheek before finally diving in the plates that were in front of him.

They had breakfast together and saved the cake for later. James mentioned about the party Rich Clune had set up in honor of his birthday. Since the party was later on in the day, Jo suggested that they take a stroll at the Centennial Park since it was a nice, wonderfully sunny day out.

James sported his casual sneakers, shorts, tshirt, and cap on backwards while Jo went for a similiar ensemble minus the cap. They walked hand in hand while James held on to Stella’s leash. They snapped a couple of photos together by the greens all around them. Those who recognized him walked up to him and asked for an autograph and a photo or two. Some even knew that it was his birthday and greeted him.

After a good thirty minutes of leisurely walking, they sat by a bench where Jo rested her head on his shoulder with their hands still connected. Stella situated herself on Jo’s lap and fell asleep as the warm breeze blew by. James busied himself by posting a picture of him and Jo on his private Instagram account where only his closest friends and family would see. It felt a little odd since he had never posted a picture of them together anywhere as he tried to keep his relationship out of the media to avoid gossipers and rumours.

“What should I caption it?” He showed the picture to Jo. She leaned over and thought about it. It was a cute picture; two of them next to an array of yellow flowery shrubs. Their smiles reached their ears, eyes crinkling at the corners and everything. They were smiles that could not be faked.

“Hmmm...I don’t know. Maybe ‘birthday selfie?’” They both laughed.

“It’s not a selfie if you’re in it too,” he pointed out.

“Well you know I’m not good with captions and everything,” Jo playfully pouted.

“Got it.” James nodded and typed away on his phone. “Done.”

“Whaddya put?” She leaned over again. He handed her his phone and she read what he had put down as a caption.

Not good with captions and everything.

“James!!!”

“What?” James said innocently.

“I should totally get credit for that,” Jo pouted once more. James kissed the pout off her lips and tucked his cellphone back into his pocket.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her close to him.

“This is the best birthday ever,” he admitted.

Jo thought that was the sweetest thing ever.

“How can you say that when the day is not over yet?”

James shrugged. “Just being with you...just being with you when everything is alright again is what makes it the greatest.”

They hadn’t really talked about their weeks of fighting since Jo got back from California. In a way, it was as if Jo just left all their problems behind there. She knew from the moment she got back to Tennessee that whatever bad thing that happened between them would stay in the past. Their break was a chance for a clean slate and it had been working out ever since.

Stella whined in her sleep which Jo found super adorable. She carefully placed the tiny pup on James lap, making sure she didn’t accidentally wake her up. She took her phone out and took a picture. She showed it to James and he asked for her to send it to him. James noticed that Jo had changed her wallpaper to the picture of them together. Before, it had just been a one of those default wallpapers that came with the phone. He smiled to himself. Jo never really saw his phone but if she did, she would find that his wallpaper was a picture of them as well. What she also didn’t know was that he still kept the photos that she had sent him when they were thousands of miles away from each other after they had met at Coachella.

What a long way they’ve come. Two years into their relationship and both would have never imagined that they’d be sitting on bench somewhere in Nashville on his birthday together.

James’ phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and saved the picture that Jo had sent him. His phone vibrated again and it was a text from Rich.

Party is at 8. Would’ve been earlier if Eric kept his mouth shut.

He laughed.

Their teammate, Eric Nystrom, had called James the night before his birthday and asked him if he was going to the party Rich was throwing for him. Little did Eric know, it was supposed to be a surprise party.

Rich Clune and James had been friends since they were both drafted to the Dallas Stars in the same year. He lived with him for a couple of months while he was finding a place of his own.

“Hey, party at Cluner’s is at eight,” he let Jo know. She nodded and continued to pet Stella.

After their day in the park, they went to have lunch and watch a movie to kill time since they had not really planned to do anything. They had dropped Stella off at the apartment and made sure to stock up on her food and water. James was perfectly fine spending his birthday with Jo. After the movies, Jo took something out of her purse.

“Jo…” James drawled out upon seeing the black box she had retrieved from her purse. “What’s that?”

She beamed up at him and handed it to him.

“You know you didn’t have to,” he said honestly. He didn’t expect her to give him a gift. He wasn’t kidding when he said all he had wished for was her.

“I wanted to,” she replied, pushing his hands that now held the box back. “Open it!”

He slowly opened the box and saw a sparkling silver Rolex sitting in its place. His eyes went wide and his jaw went slack at the sight of the luxurious watch.

“Holy shit!” James said in amazement. “This is fucking incredible. I love it. Thank you so much. Wow.”

Jo didn't tell James but the store's profits had went beyond what her and Edith expected. She had generated enough funds to get James something really special for his day. She did not regret her purchase one bit.

“Happy birthday to yoooou!” She sang again before giving him a kiss on the lips.

“I love you I love you I love you!” He pecked her lips over and over.

By 7:45, they had rolled up at Rich’s house. With his new watch on his wrist and his girl right by his side, he felt like a real superstar. They walked up to the door and knocked. It didn’t take a minute before Rich greeted James in his loud and boisterous way. A few guys and their significant other were already there such as Eric Nystrom, Viktor Stalberg, Craig Smith, and the captain himself, Shea Weber. The guys gathered all around the birthday boy, some handing him presents.

Jo walked over to the familiar faces. She had met most of the wives and girlfriends of the team so she felt comfortable around the group of women. They all watched the men gather around, arms around each other's shoulders as they sang an off key tune of the happy birthday song.

An hour passed by and Jo stayed by the girls, letting James have his time with the guys. Rich sat down next to James and picked a chip off the bowl of tortilla chips.

“So you gonna put a ring on that one?” Rich asked, looking at where Jo was laughing with Shea’s wife. He said nothing because he knew that Rich knew the answer to his own question.

“Cause if you are…” he continued, “you better do it soon.”

James looked at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rich smiled. That fucker.

“A girl that hot is wife material for life. She’s not going to be someone’s girlfriend forever.”

He laughed and shoved his friend.

“I’m serious, Nealer. Say another year or two passes, she’ll start telling herself, ‘hmmm I think a ring on my finger would sure look nice.’” Rich attempted to do a high feminine voice.

“I’ll get there soon. I’m just waiting for that right time.” James finally admitted.

“I fucking knew it!” Rich did his best to whisper and not draw attention to himself. “Time is ticking. Better hurry.”

James knew that. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he gets down on one knee. He just felt like he needed to wait it out a little more after all that’s happened between them the past couple of months. After all, good things come to those who wait.

Another hour passed when James called it quits. He was drunk as hell but happy beyond belief. Rich sure knew how to throw a mean party. A few of the guys had already left and he took that as a sign that he should probably leave to. He tried his best to walk over to Jo. His balance was off and his vision was a little fuzzy, the room spinning all around him.

Jo stood up and helped him walk. “Had too much fun, eh?”

“Eh?” James drunkenly laughed. “So fucking Canadian. Am I rubbing off on you?”

“Maybe a little too much.” Jo teased, guiding him to the front door. She yelled out a thank you to Rich for the party who just gave her a wave goodbye as he started to pick up the trash all around his living room. Jo already knew she would be the designated driver for the night and avoided drinking no matter how much some of the girls pushed it.

On their way home, James kept mumbling nonsense which Jo thought was hilarious. He was like a big baby. He kept touching her hair, telling her it was so soft and smelled good.

It was challenging to try and carry his weight out of the car. He already had his eyes closed as they walked up to the apartment. She carefully laid him down on the bed and took off his sneakers. He immediately snuggled up in the sheets. Jo held back a giggle. He was so adorable.

She changed out of her clothes and did her nightly routine before going back over to James to strip him off of his clothes. She threw his clothes in the hamper and crawled in bed with him. Despite his drunken state, as soon as he felt Jo’s presence beside him, he drew her closer to him and got comfortable.

He continued to mumble but Jo could no longer understand what he said. She stroked his cheek and said, “Baby, I love you but you’ve got to go to sleep.”

“Hmmm buhh soooo comforrrtble,” he said onto her arm.

Jo shook her head and let him talk. She stroked his hair, hoping that it would help him sleep. It only made his incoherent babbling worse. He still kept talking, whispering random things in her ear. It took fifteen minutes before his mumbling died down. Jo closed her eyes to finally get some rest when she heard him say one last thing in the clearest way possible.

“I love you, Jo.”