Page 61 of Out Of Time

“And you’re sure there’s nothing you can do to stop this from happening? I mean, modern medicine is wild. There have to be other options.”

“The only thing I can do is prepare for it. That’s why I’m telling you,” Max said.

“And then what? What happens next?” Brown asked.

“I have to tell the team that this is my last year.”

Brown stopped fidgeting with the beer can.

Max placed his hand on his knee to steady it.

“When do you plan to do this?” Brown asked.

Max bit at his bottom lip, his red beard longer than normal and in desperate need of a trim.

“When Istopmaking the saves,” Max said, his voice shaky, his words cracked and laced with a sad underlying certainty that this day would come, and it would be sooner than later.

“And what am I supposed to do with this information?” Jack asked. Max thought he sounded hurt, or confused, and Max could handle those things, he could handle anything as long as it wasn’t pity.

“Be ready,” Max said.

“Be ready for what?” he asked.

“Be ready to take my place when I can’t stop the puck anymore.”

It had already been a long day, with three houses cleaned, two call-offs, and her phone reminding her it was time to check in on Mrs. Keller. Not to mention Max had been out on the road, and every time he took the ice and got the start over the Condor’s backup goalie, Remi felt her stomach drop with nerves for him. She knew he could still play, and still win at this point, but that didn’t stop her from holding her breath each time the other team skated the puck up the ice and took the shot.

He had lost a few games and won a few.

He had even warmed the bench a few times as well.

Knowing what she knew now, about his vision, she couldn’t seem to watch him play without thinking about his future with the NHL. Worst-case scenarios of what that would look like for him emotionally, mentally, and physically constantly played on a loop in her head. Max had a long road ahead of him, and Remi was ready to put all the miles on her body walking that road beside him, hand in hand, no matter what happened.

“You’re here early,” Mrs. Keller said, opening the door for Remi to enter with her cleaning cart. The smell of somethingputrid hit Remi’s nose the second she crossed the threshold into the small, stuffy apartment, and while she had cleaned the apartment many times before, something about being there today brought on an overwhelming feeling of dread.

She was probably just tired. On top of everything, she missed Max, and knowing he got back into town today only made this job seem harder. She couldn’t wait to be home and showered, but most of all, she couldn’t wait for the beautiful crash that came when she fell into Max's arms to sleep.

“I don’t think so, Mrs. Keller. In fact, I’m late,” she said with a forced smile as she took in the state of the apartment. It had only been two weeks since she last cleaned, and it was absolutely trashed.

“No, no. You’re early. It’s seven. You never come this early. You’re lucky I’m awake,” Mrs. Keller argued, and at first, Remi thought she was referring to going to bed for the night, but then, Remi really looked at Mrs. Keller, and it was obvious the woman was not okay.

“Mrs. Keller, its7 p.m. It’s evening,” she said slowly and kindly, as if talking to a fragile child.

Mrs. Keller paced the small square of carpet that wasn’t covered with trash, laundry, and debris. Remi pushed boxes aside with her foot and very gently placed a hand on Mrs. Keller’s arm, still managing to startle the old woman. “Mrs. Keller, are you feeling okay?”

“Oh, I was just going to watch my program on the TV, but you’re more than welcome to stay and watch it with me,” the old woman said through glazed eyes. Her lips looked parched and cracked in the corners.

“Mrs. Keller, it’s Remi, your housekeeper.”

The older woman ignored her, looking right through her as she sat down on the only livable space left on the small sofa.“Just set it on the table and go,” the confused old woman said, making no sense.

Remi felt panic flood her. Something was wrong. She looked around the small apartment for anything amiss, aside from the normal chaos. It was a mess, but it was always a mess. It wasn’t any worse than Remi had seen it in the past.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out to see Max calling.

“Hey,” she said in a panic, answering the phone quickly.

“Hey, is everything okay?” he asked, taking notice of the worry in her tone.

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