w 1 t n e s s

thirty-three

halle

I waited until after the last All Star event to tell Tyler what I'd found. We were relaxing on our hotel balcony when I pulled the laptop out. I opened Facebook, selecting the messages button.

"Ty. I have some updates." He turned to look at me. I bit my lip, nervous for some unknown reason. "I put my Facebook down as a contact for anyone with relations to your parents, and I managed to find a few people in common. I found your grandma. And two of your aunts. So far your grandma and one aunt has responded." Tyler blanched.

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes. Here, I'll let you read the messages." I positioned the laptop so Tyler could scroll. My eyes flicked over the messages at the same time his did.

Message to: Janet Faust

Halle: Hello, Mrs. Faust. My name is Halle, and I was doing some family research for my boyfriend. Your name was connected to his mother's. I am wondering if you know a woman by the name of Theresa Dewalt?

Janet: Yes, Theresa was my daughter. May I ask the relation to your boyfriend?

Halle: My boyfriend's name is Tyler Dewalt. Theresa was his mother.

Janet: Oh my goodness. Are you absolutely sure that's correct? I haven't been in contact with my daughter for twentysome years. I was never informed she had a child. How old is Tyler?

Halle: He's 20. He is longer in contact with Theresa either. Would you happen to know anything about his father, William Dewalt?

Janet: Yes. They were high school sweethearts. Ran off after they graduated together and I never saw either of them again. This is amazing news, if Tyler is my grandson. I'd love to meet him. Is there a way we can arrange that?

Halle: I'll reach out once I talk to him about this.

We'd continued on, talking about Tyler's aunt and uncle, both siblings of his mother. They all lived in the Pittsburgh area in Pennsylvania. We'd been able to confirm that Tyler was definitely related to them through the connection on the website to Tyler's aunt. Now, Tyler finally had a chance to see what I'd been doing for the past month.

"She...she wants to meet me?" Tyler looked dumbfounded. I nodded. He sat back, in shock. "I didn't think you'd find anything. Wow. She was there the whole time and I never knew."

"She didn't know about you either. Sounds like she's pretty excited to find out about another grandchild."

"I want to meet her. As soon as possible." I knew the determined look in his eyes. I'd already picked out some possible dates.

"You have four days off next weekend...anyway you could swing something by and we can go to Pittsburgh then?"

"I'll try."

&&&

It didn't take a lot of convincing to get out of one optional practice for the team. The coaches had allowed for the family exception, only on the fact it didn't interfere with games. On February fifth, the two of us were on a plane to Pittsburgh. I was nervous, but I couldn't imagine what was going through Tyler's head. Twenty years of not having a family, and suddenly this happened. Everything he knew was changed. I just wanted to see him happy.

I drove the rental car, not trusting Tyler's driving skills when his knee was shaking like a wasp nest. Thankfully, the address Janet had sent me was several miles into the suburbs of Pittsburgh and not in the city. The drive would've been relaxing if the event wasn't daunting. Tyler clutched at my hand the entire way. It seemed like his nerves grew as we drew closer.