I was cautiously optimistic for Jamie as we boarded the plane and headed to Colorado. I wanted to see Jamie happy and try to start a relationship with her mom after all these years. I still couldn't help question why though. Why didn't Jamie's mom, Becky, try and find Jamie herself? It wasn't like it was that hard. Jamie had been in the same place for twenty years of her life. It would have been easy for Becky to find her. It wasn't like Jamie had moved several times over the years. I was to be on my best behavior and try to behave while Jamie searched for her own answers. I was just there to support her during this time.
We landed at Denver International then rented a car before heading east towards Sterling. After the long drive we pulled into the driveway of a modest little house off the main drag and parked the car. I stretched my tired legs and took a deep breath of some cold ass air.
"So much for getting someplace warmer," I sighed.
"Soon enough baby," Jamie laughed. "Just two days."
I glanced around the neighborhood as we started up the driveway.
"This sure is a long ways away from Hollywood," I sighed.
"Please be nice," she quipped.
"I'm just stating a fact," I offered.
She gave me the look. The one that said please be nice so I don't have to get mad at you. I sighed softly before taking her hand. We reached the front door and knocked. The door opened and there stood the spitting image of Jamie just older. She smiled as she saw Jamie for the first time in a very long time.
"Jamie?" she cheered and questioned at the same time.
"Can't you tell?" I joked with a little bite to it.
Jamie shot me another look before she answered. They both stepped towards each other and hugged tentatively before she turned and looked at me again.
"Owen?"
"The one and only," I sighed.
"You sure did grow up into a handsome young man," she offered.
"Thanks, I guess. Time will do that to you though."
"Yes, indeed it does," she said before offering me a hug.
I took it reluctantly before we separated and waited.
"Come inside and get out of the cold."
She opened the door further and let us inside. It was very clean and orderly as I glanced around. She led us inside to the kitchen table before offering us a seat.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked.
"Water," Jamie said quickly.
"Owen?"
"Water is good for now," I replied.
She went to the fridge and grabbed two waters before returning to the table.
"How was the flight? It wasn't too hard to find the place was it?"
"It wasn't too bad," I offered. "Pretty much a straight shot from Denver to here."
"That's good," she said.
It was awkward sitting there. We all knew the reason for this trip. It was to meet each other of course, but the underlying reason was to find out why. Why did she take off all those years ago and never try to contact Jamie again? Becky avoided the question for the time being.
"How have you been Jamie?" she asked. "I heard you just got back from a long trip to Europe again."
"I did," she smiled. "It was long an exhausting this time. I didn't have Owen with me this time so it seemed to drag along."
"Owen travels with you?" she questioned.
"Last spring he went with me," she replied. "The trip flew by. This time it was boring. The hours were long and the work was a pain in the ass."
"How long are you home for?"
"A couple of weeks then I'm going out again."
"Are you going with her this time?" she asked me.
"That's the plan. I don't have anything going on now that the season is over."
"That's right," she smiled. "You got some playing time I hear."
"Yeah, I started the last two games."
"That sounds exciting," she said quickly.
"It's a lot of work," I sighed.
"Oh?" she questioned.
I started to explain and paint a picture of what it was like getting ready for the game on Sunday. She listened with interest as I talked a lot about the prep work.
"Do you mind?" I asked, pulling my can from my pocket.
"No, not at all. John used to dip all the time. Have at it."
"John?" I questioned.
"My ex-husband," she sighed. "Ten years for nothing."
I nodded.
"He was a good man," she offered. "Once we moved from Hollywood to Vegas, we drifted in different directions. It's been five years now that I've been divorced."
"Is that who you left my dad for?" Jamie asked suddenly. That surprised me that Jamie was so forward now.
"Well," she sighed.
"Sorry if I'm being forward," Jamie offered. "But this was going to come up sooner or later."
"I know," she sighed again. "I left with a man named Jimmy and we went to Hollywood. We spent a year together trying to get me discovered. It was a hard road and the stress made us fight a lot. He ended up leaving me. I met John shortly after and dated him for a couple of years. We married and continued to try to get my name out there. We spent another year or two trying and nothing was working so we gave up."
"That's when you moved to Vegas?" I asked.
"Yes. The city was booming back then and I got a job on the strip in one of the shows. I hoped it would lead me back to Hollywood. That didn't pan out as you can see. John and I wanted different things out of life and it made us fight a lot. We split up for a while then got back together to try and make it work. It just wasn't meant to be and we called it quits after that."
"Why did you leave my dad then?" Jamie asked. "Was he not a good man?"
"He was a good man Jamie. Don't question that."
"Why did you leave us then?"
"I had always dreamed of being a movie star when I was a little girl. We were going to move to Hollywood but you came along. He wanted to stay close to home and focus on raising a family. The Hollywood thing was just a dream and it wasn't going to happen. I wasn't happy with the life I was leading so I told him we needed to move and get a fresh start. He didn't want to go since he had a steady job and his family there."
"So I ruined your dream," Jamie said hurt.
"No, don't say that," Becky said quickly. "You were never the reason why. It was all me. I wanted to make something for myself and I was tired of being the house wife so I left. I'm sorry I left you Jamie. If I have one regret in my life it was leaving you. I made a big mistake not being there for you and I'm so sorry for that."
"So you ran away from everything and never bothered to contact her?" I asked.
"I regret not being there," she said. "I felt guilty for leaving and I couldn't take it back so I felt the best thing to do was to stay away. I know I was wrong for doing that. Nothing I can say can explain it. It's not your fault though Jamie. Don't let yourself think that it is."