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Planning something for Seth's birthday was difficult on the road. They'd all been so busy lately, and Jamie was kicking himself for only just remembering Seth's birthday was coming up. So, he'd been wracking his brain since Friday trying to think of something special to do for his boss on short notice, to no avail.
"It doesn't have to be much," Joey had said, when Jamie confided in him. "He is going to be busy anyway with the Elimination Chamber events and appearances and what not."
Jamie reckoned Stephanie and Hunter were doing something of their own too, some big corporate party where they got to proudly show off Seth as the face of the WWE before his title match with Ambrose, but that party would be less for Seth's birthday and more for bragging and schmoozing. He wanted to do something just for Seth. Where Stephanie and Hunter's party would be that big, impersonal, formal family dinner, Jamie's something, whatever it ended up being, would be that intimate little get-together with those closest to you.
Joey suggested he and Jamie go in together and get Seth something, but Jamie scoffed at the idea.
"What do you get the man who has everything?" He asked, non-rhetorically. Joey just pursed his lips, brows threading together, and muttered, "Hm."
Jamie had never been much of a gift buyer anyway. He was one of those kids who'd make the little "IOU" coupon booklets to give as gifts, stapled stacks of notebook paper with "IOU 1 foot rub" or "IOU dishes done for the week" handwritten in his blocky scrawl, but he didn't think Seth would be as receptive to that as his mama had been.
He finally decided there had to be cake. A birthday without a cake was no birthday at all. Of course, that's where he got hung up. Sure, it was easy to shove a few candles in store-bought cake, but, while a store-bought cake might've had the same ingredients as homemade, it didn't have the same heart.
Stressing over when he'd even get the opportunity between Pennsylvania and Texas to bake a cake, he found himself dialing his mama's number to vent.
She let him pour his frustrations out before saying, "Baby, quit your fretting." There was a sharp finality to her voice that told Jamie either she had a solution to his problem, or, he was going to get a talking to about worrying himself unnecessarily.
"Any way you can swing by and visit?" She asked cryptically.
He was only about a six hour drive away, and he had a few days off.
"I think I can manage. What're you up to, Mama?" Imagining her scheming brought a smile to his face - she always got this mischievous glint in her eyes - and he started to relax a bit, knowing she had some plan up her sleeve.
Instead of an answer, she just said, "Just come on by and I'll get you fixed up, sweetheart."
Leaving Seth under the watchful eye of Joey, Jamie drove down to West Virginia after the taping of SmackDown. He'd meet back up with Joey and Seth Friday morning, which meant he'd miss Seth's actual birthday, but not the big bash Stephanie and Hunter had planned for Friday evening at their place in Connecticut before they all headed down to Texas. It'd be worth it, though. His mama always had the best ideas.
Still, he was more than a little upset he wouldn't be there on the twenty-eighth. He'd promised Seth before he left that he'd make it up to him.
"I'm truly sorry, boss," he'd said, "but I'll have something real good for you when I get back and we can celebrate - just you, me and Joey."
Seth snorted. "It's not a big deal. You guys will be at the Authority party, right?" The question was delivered dismissively, as if he didn't care one way or the other, but Jamie knew Seth wanted the answer to be yes.
"Of course," Jamie had said, and patted Seth on the arm. "But this'll be a little get-together with just your good friends."
Ever since Payback and the fist bump, Seth'd been a lot more affectionate and open. Joey had supposed Seth was starting to see them as replacements for the brothers he'd lost, but Jamie hated to think of it that way. He preferred to think Seth had realized Jamie and Joey were his friends, flat out, and not just bodyguards or substitutes. Though, even he couldn't deny he could see the ghosts of Ambrose and Reigns haunting Seth's heart if Jamie looked real close. Under the guise of just complaining about Ambrose and Reigns' general existence, Seth would get so worked up over their fiercely rekindled friendship - his jealousy at not being a part of that relationship any longer seeped into every heated syllable of his rants.
Which was another reason Jamie was so intent on doing something nice for Seth's birthday. Last year was one of the final occasions Seth had spent any meaningful time with the men he'd once called brother, and Jamie knew Seth was thinking hard on that and letting old regrets creep up. He didn't care how much Seth said he'd never cared, Jamie knew Seth would've done things differently if he could've, if only to retain Ambrose and Reigns' friendship.
So, Jamie was heading down to see his mama, knowing she always had the best plans and hoping Seth appreciated what they came up with. Driving through the night was a bad idea, however. He rubbed at his eyes, dry and itchy from exhaustion, and turned up the radio. Something pop-y and upbeat pumped through the speakers and he tried singing along, slowly getting the hang of the lyrics until the chorus came naturally.
It was around four in the morning when he finally got in. His mama was sitting up waiting for him, mug of milky coffee in her hand.
"Breakfast or bed?" She asked as he stumbled through the door.
"Bed," he croaked, throat a little sore from singing loudly along with the radio for the last three hours to stay awake.
She pushed herself up from the table, knees creaking, as Jamie protested, "Oh, mama, don't get up."
"Come here, baby," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He fell into her arms, letting her head rest on his chest as she encircled him, soft and smelling of cinnamon and smoke. He hadn't realized he'd been aching for his mama's kind touch, but he found he hated to let her go even when he was so tired he was swaying on his feet.
Pulling away first, so he didn't have to be the one to break the moment, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and ushered him to bed.
Light shining in his eyes woke him far too early the next morning, but before he could try to get back to sleep, all crunched up on his thin, twin mattress, he caught whiff of something that smelled delicious. Filtering out the sound of cheerfully tweeting birds, he picked up on the telltale sizzle of eggs and bacon frying in mama's big cast iron skillet. His stomach growled, and he couldn't very well fall back asleep with the promise of hot breakfast waiting if he got up. A quick shower served to resurrect him slightly, and he staggered down the hall to the kitchen feeling a little less like the undead.
Two-fried eggs, bacon and grits graced his plate, and he yawned a "G'mornin'" as mama handed him a cup of coffee.
"Closer to noon, I reckon," she said, "so, after breakfast we'd better get started if we want to give the cake time to rest."
He didn't know how he'd not realized the delicious scent he'd mistaken for breakfast was actually cinnamon and apples simmering away on the stove.
"Oh? Oh! We're making apple stack cake," he said, excited and a little embarrassed he didn't figure it out until now. Of course that's what they were making; together, he and his mama made a mean stack cake. Making a stack cake was definitely a labor of love, and it was something he could infuse with his heart and soul. It was the perfect cake to make Seth.
Mama laughed. "I used your recipe for the filling, so this cake is going to be all you, baby, even if your mama helped you out a little." Jamie's filling recipe was just her recipe with a few more spices and a little orange zest added - nothing too special, but still something.
"You make the recipe your own," she'd said once. "And what you add or change ain't never nothing. It's you. It tells the story of you, and your story is worth telling."
Jamie had clung to that sentiment when he was really down, feeling like his efforts were going unnoticed or unappreciated. Every time Seth had said he and Joey had been no help at all, he remembered what Mama said about every little addition being worth something. It had got him through some rough times. And, now that things were so much better with Seth, he was glad he kept on and didn't give up on him, because his support was definitely a good thing for all of the Authority, Seth especially.
After breakfast, they got to work on the dough, which he hand kneaded as Mama floured his hands and the work surface as necessary. They'd done this together so many times when Jamie was a kid, baking and assembling stack cake, or just cooking, and they had this flow, this natural cadence born of experience and understanding of each other.
Suddenly, Jamie wished he'd brought Joey and Seth along, and something fluttered in his stomach as he imagined baking together with them like this - the three of them crammed in the tiny kitchen of his childhood home, with Mama sitting at the table laughing as Jamie taught Seth to knead dough while Joey intently watched their hands as they rolled the dough between them.
"What's that smile on your face?" Asked Mama, as she patted the dough into a cake tin, her own lips quirking up into something soft and knowing.
"Oh, nothing," he lied, embarrassed for some reason unbeknownst to him. "Just happy, I guess."
She just hm'd and let it drop, but the knowing smile never fell from her face.
They chatted as the first two cake layers baked, about Seth and Joey and work. She asked him how cousin Luke was doing, but Jamie wasn't sure. He'd reconciled with Erick Rowan, last Jamie'd heard, but they hadn't run across each other lately. He felt a little guilty, truth be told, because Jamie was Luke's closest kin and they'd grown up together. He assured Mama he'd check in on him when he got a chance.
When they pulled the layers from the oven, Jamie turned them out and heaped the apple filling in between them. The pans had to cool a bit before they pressed in the dough for the next layers, but soon they got their next layers in the oven. They repeated the process once more, heaping on the fragrant apple filing each time, but leaving the top layer bare. Back when he was a kid, they'd wrap the cake all up in plastic wrap and towels, but now Mama owned a carrier that'd keep the cake while it set. The longer an apple stack cake rests, the better it is - the filling soaking into the layers and the flavor intensifying as you wait the typical two day resting period.
On Thursday they mostly just lazed around, though he did help with a few things around the house - fixing a leak in the shower and carrying some boxes too heavy for Mama up to the attic. It was a nice breather before the flurry of activity coming on the weekend.
He also decided to cancel his flight out and drive to Connecticut, worried the TSA might confiscate Seth's cake. The drive was a little long, but he'd rather be tired when he got there than lacking the cake.
In the afternoon he called Seth to wish him happy birthday, singing the birthday song into his voicemail when Seth didn't answer. Just for good measure, he texted him happy birthday as well.
Later, he called Joey to check on things, but just got his voicemail as well.
"Hope everything's going okay there without me," he told Joey's voicemail. "I'll see you'uns tomorrow and, uh , make sure Seth is having lots of fun on his birthday. Bye."
Joey texted him a few hours later, telling him everything was great and that Seth was out with Stephanie and Hunter, doing some press event. Jamie wasn't sure that qualified as fun, but he reckoned Seth probably liked it okay. He did love being World Heavyweight Champ, and all it entailed.
Since it was a long drive up to Connecticut, he left as early in the morning as when he'd arrived. Mama had baked him corn muffins to take, but he ate one with a cup of coffee before he took off, loathe to leave despite wanting to get back to Joey and Seth again. He enjoyed Mama's tired smile and sleep mussed hair, more streaks of gray threaded through her dark strands than last he'd seen her.
A vague sense of sadness crept over him as he ate, and the muffin caught on a lump rising in his throat. It was that type of sadness that's a little like homesickness, except the home you're missing is long gone, years into the past. Jamie was struck with the thought that maybe that was the way Seth felt about Ambrose and Reigns - that seeing them doing alright without him made him feel homesick for some place to which he could never return.
And, thought Jamie as he watched the way the new laugh lines around his mama's eyes crinkled as she smiled, even if you could go home, something would always be a little different from when you last left.
"Come back soon, baby," Mama mumbled into his chest as she hugged him up tight before he climbed into the car. It was still pitch black outside, the only light coming from the kitchen and shining out the front door, the stars blocked by the tall trees surrounding the house. The cake was in a cardboard box and buckled up tight in the passenger seat, packaged like precious cargo.
"I will," he replied. "And maybe next time I'll bring my friends."
She said, "That'd be nice. I'd love to meet them."
And, then, after one last hug and kiss, Jamie's car crunched down the gravel drive and back to the highway.
He was sharing a room with Joey in a hotel the next town over from Stephanie and Hunter's place. Seth had been invited to stay at the house, however, and, according to Joey, had jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with Hunter. So, Jamie carted Seth's cake to his and Joey's room with no fear that Seth would see it prematurely.
"Hey," said Joey, as Jamie bumped open the door with his hip and set the cake box gingerly on the second bed. "Welcome back. What did you bring me?"
Jamie chuckled dryly. "It's for Seth, really, but you can share."
Glancing up from his phone briefly, Joey continued to text and said, "Speaking of, we've got to meet him in a few hours. Party starts at six."
"What'd you'uns do yesterday anyway?" Jamie asked, curious.
"You notice your accent always gets thicker every time you visit your mama?"
Jamie had noticed. The longer he spent with his mama, the easier it was to fall into old speech patterns. But, it'd fade after a while.
Joey continued, "Anyway, we went out and had some drinks. I think I got a little sappy. Might have told him he's the best boss ever, or something like that. I was drunk."
"That's not too sappy, that's the truth," said Jamie.
"See, it doesn't sound sappy coming from you, but from me... I don't know. I think it's because I get all choked up. Adds to the sap factor. Can't remember if I got choked up last night, though. Probably."
"Aw, well," said Jamie, "you know Seth. He likes when people get all emotional over him and tell him he's the best."
Joey laughed. "True."
Jamie took advantage of those few hours to take a nap, exhausted from his early start and long drive. He dozed off thinking about when he'd get a chance to give Seth his cake. Probably tomorrow morning before they left for their afternoon flight. Apple stack cake made a good breakfast.
The party was just as Jamie suspected - less about Seth's birthday and more a big to-do to show off Seth as the face of the WWE. In between Seth's photo-ops and flitting around chit-chatting with schmoozers, Jamie found the opportunity to ask him to breakfast in the morning.
"Why don't you guys just come to breakfast here?" Seth countered.
There was no getting around it. Jamie sighed. "Remember when I told you I'd have something good for you when I got back?"
Seth looked confused for a second. "Oh, yeah," he finally said. "Something for my birthday."
"I wanted to do a little get together, remember?" Jamie asked, jogging Seth's memory.
"With just you and Joey. I remember." Seth smiled a little and considered it for only a short moment. "Oh, fine. I'll be there at nine and we can ride to the airport together. How's that?" It was getting harder and harder for Seth to pretend he didn't want to have anything to do with Jamie and Joey beyond what they could provide as his security. He cared about them.
"Perfect," said Jamie, just as Seth was called away again to do another photo-op.
The next morning Jamie borrowed some plates and utensils from the hotel kitchen in anticipation of Seth's arrival. Joey had peeked in the box the night before and was pretty excited to try the cake after Jamie had explained what it was. With just a smidge over two days of rest, the cake was going to be delicious, and Jamie was looking forward to seeing the look on Seth's face when he took that first bite.
At little past nine, Seth's familiar knock sounded on the door and Joey beckoned him in.
He plopped down on the bed like he owned the place. "Alright," he said, flapping his hand to indicate he wanted to move the proceedings along, "I'm here. Let's do this get-together thing."
"Well," Jamie said, "you know I went down to visit my mama in West Virginia and that's why I missed your birthday - by the way, did you get my messages?"
Seth's face scrunched up like he'd eaten a lemon while someone was tickling him. "Yeah," he said, voice tight with suppressed laughter. "Remind me not to invite you to karaoke night - if we ever have one." It was a subdued insult for Seth, and Jamie felt warmth bloom in his chest.
Laughing Jamie said, "Aw, well. I know I'm not too hot a singer. My mama always said I can't carry a tune in a bucket. But, you've always got to sing happy birthday even if you can't sing worth a lick, I've always thought."
Joey raised his eyebrows in agreement. Seth laughed a little along with Jamie.
"And," Jamie continued, feeling a little nervous, "another thing you always got to have on your birthday is a cake. So -" He paused to pull the cardboard box off the cake carrier. "I made you one."
Seth eyed the haphazard stack of cake and apple filling through the plastic curiously. "It looks - what is it?"
"Apple stack cake. Using a recipe passed down from - from, well, forever ago. With a few tweaks from yours truly." He popped the lid off the carrier and the sweet, mouth-watering smell of cinnamon and apples filled the room.
"Wow," said Joey.
Seth stood up and got a little closer, nose crinkling as he inhaled the delicious scent of the cake. "Oh my god. That's - you made this? For me?"
"Yep. Happy birthday. Well, belated birthday." Jamie's nervousness had evaporated and he was standing proudly as Seth examined his cake.
"Apple stack cake, huh? This anything like your - who was it, Joey?" Joey shrugged and Seth just went on. "Your Aunt... Baby's apple dumplings?"
"Oh, no. This is much different than dumplings - and better, if I do say so myself," said Jamie, trying not to seem affronted that Seth would misconstrue dumplings with stack cake.
"Uh, thanks, Jamie. It was really nice of you." Seth sounded a little awkward, unused to showing gratitude. He clapped Jamie on on the shoulder, but Jamie pulled him in for a hug. Seth didn't hesitate to hug back.
"It was nothing," said Jamie, when he pulled away. The warmth that had settled in his chest grew and stretched, comfortable and soft like a lazy cat napping in a patch of sunlight. "Just what I'd do for anyone I called friend - anyone I cared about."
Joey quietly cleared his throat and tried to surreptitiously wipe away tears. "Yeah," he blurted out, like he didn't think he'd get the chance to say his piece, "this was all Jamie, but - but, you know I care about you too, boss. Happy birthday."
"I -" Seth choked out, eyes flitting back and forth between Jamie and Joey. Swallowing heavily, he tried again. "Thanks, guys. I - I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome, boss." Jamie was beaming, smile so wide his cheeks would start to hurt if he kept it up. Handing Seth a borrowed knife, Jamie prompted him to go ahead and cut the cake.
Jamie swore he saw Seth swoon when he took his first bite. He definitely heard the little moan Seth let out as he swallowed that bite.
His fork clicked against the plate as he eagerly went in for some more.
"Okay," said Joey, enthralled with Seth's enthusiasm. "I've got to try some."
Seth tried to talk with his mouth full, but decided to finishing chewing first. "This is - wow. This is amazing, Jamie," he finally managed.
Jamie didn't even bother with false modesty. "It's pretty darn good, huh?"
"Yeah, it's 'pretty darn good,'" said Seth, rolling his eyes and smiling indulgently.
Jamie and Joey continued to happily watch him eat for a few more minutes, until Seth, color rising in cheeks said, "Uh, guys, you going to help me eat this or...?"
Seth didn't have to tell them twice. They all dug in, the only sounds the clinks of their forks on the ceramic plates and the sound of chewing occasionally punctuated with quiet, pleasurable sighs. It was a homey, the sounds of people Jamie cared about enjoying food he'd put his heart and soul in, food that reminded him of home and Mama and family. Seth and Joey both had similar smiles, this faint little quirk to their lips that set Jamie's heart fluttering giddily.
When they were together, it really felt a little something like being home.