Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
It was funny that Jimmy liked to remind me of partying days. The truth was, I’d worn a lot of hats back then. Hockey player, breadwinner, husband, son, caregiver.
There were times in my twenties that I was in charge of my dad’s medical situation. I hadn’t even been living in the same country, but I’d made it happen ’cause I couldn’t count on my mom to take him to his treatments.
I told Bryson the story about the year my dad had suffered a series of strokes that had put a hold on his chemo. Just as he’d been cleared to resume treatment, my mom disappeared. She’d shown up within twenty-four hours at a campsite in the Upper Peninsula where she’d gone to commune with nature and find herself…in a bottle or ten. I’d just played a grueling game in Vegas and touched down in Toronto at midnight when I got the messages. I couldn’t get a flight fast enough, so I’d jumped in my truck and drove on dark, icy roads in the middle of winter to get there.
I’d had forty-eight hours to take care of my dad, arrange reliable transportation for his next round of treatment, and a flight for my aunt who’d agreed to pick up my mother. I saw Jimmy before I returned to Toronto to catch a plane to Vancouver. Yes, I drank a lot that night, but I’d just wanted to get off the merry-go-round for a few hours.
Don’t ask me why I went there. I hated drudging up crappy memories, but Bryson had a way of lulling me into spilling secrets out of the blue. With my head on his lap, his fingers in my hair, and the television muted, my defenses were so low, I was like a Labrador retriever paws up, looking for belly rubs.
Bryson had paused thoughtfully. “There’s a great quote in To Kill a Mockingbird. ‘People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.’ I think it’s true. Preconceived notions can be hard to shake.”
I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird that night and the next time Jake came home, I finally confronted the little shit.
Here’s how it went down.
It was late November, and the holidays were looming. Our first game of the season was coming up after Thanksgiving, but Jake was six weeks into his…and Bryson had plans to fly out to eat turkey at a swanky hotel with his ex and watch back-to-back games. So why the fuck was Jake in Elmwood again?
Better question: why was he busting my balls?
“Niall, remember the play. No ad-libbing out there. Denny, take the corner shot and—”
“Shouldn’t he just shoot…any shot?” Jake interrupted.
I flashed an irritated look his way. “No, he should do as he’s told.”
“A goal is a goal.”
I rounded on him, teeth clenched. My “shut the hell up” energy was strong, and it worked long enough for me to give the boys instructions and sic Jake on Court’s new replacement, Quinn, a newly retired pro from California.
After three months of constant practice and regular scrimmages, the Hawks were beginning to gel. I’d shuffled the roster a bit, revamped my lines, moved Adam out of the goal, put him on offense, and given Micah the job. He could play air guitar to his heart’s content as long as that puck was on the other side of the ice.
Niall and Denny had become an excellent duo. I could count on Niall to feed Denny the puck, but his timing wasn’t always spot on, which meant Denny had to have every shot in his arsenal at his fingertips. I’d been working on this for weeks and finally felt as if my best player was syncing with his teammates.
But of course, Denny’s mojo was off now. He missed half of his shots at practice and you know…I blamed it on Jake.
This had to stop.
“Hey, I want to talk to you,” I called out, hiking my workout bag over my shoulder as I followed him outside after practice.
Jake looked up from the posse of boys surrounding him. They were all laughing…Niall, Abe, Adam, and even Denny. It was the clutch your sides, tears rolling down your face laughter that made anyone watching smile in spite of not knowing what the joke was.
Some of the fight went out of me at the sight. It was nice to see them having fun and bonding. That was what I wanted, right?
Jake high-fived the boys, then met me on the sidewalk. “I’m walking home.”
“Me too.” I fell into step beside him and waited till we were half a block from campus to open my mouth again. “What was so funny back there?”
Jake snorted. “I was telling them about a D-man who was singing Disney songs on ice last week. I might have embellished the story a little, but I wanted to get Denny out of his funk.”