Page 91 of Out Of Time

“It’s Remi and Max,” she said.

Nicole’s face lit up with a huge welcoming smile, and the beautiful golden retriever next to her sat up, ready for action, his tail wagging at the sight of new visitors.

“Come in,” she welcomed. “Make yourself comfortable.”

They entered the small office; Max took a seat across from Nicole as Remi went to properly say hello to Shepard.

“Hi, buddy. Remember me?” she asked the happy dog.

“He remembers everyone. He’s a people person.” Nicole beamed.

Remi went to take a seat next to Max.

“Welcome, Max. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Nicole, the facility manager, and Shepard here is the mascot. He is also my seeing-eye dog,” Nicole said, formally introducing herself.

“Hi,” Max said awkwardly, and Nicole giggled. Remi had warned her he was a man of few words.

“Let’s start with some basic ‘getting to know you’ formalities. Break the ice. I know the first visit to a place like this can be overwhelming and a little unsettling even.”

Max nodded his head to agree, and Remi noticed the realization on his face that he needed to use his words more now than ever. “Yes. I’m feeling a little anxious, that’s for sure,” he agreed.

“That’s completely normal. It’s kind of weird when you think about it; knowing you’re going through a drastic life change and having all these tools to help you transition into that life change, but actually doing them and learning them can be challenging. There’s always this want to hold out a little longer. To try and avoid the inevitable.”

“Yeah, I’m definitely in that phase, the denial phase,” Max agreed.

Nicole gave Max an affirming head nod. “Well, I’m happy you came, and that you have Remi here to give you that little push. It’s nice to have that support right out the gate.”

Remi leaned over and squeezed his shoulder, mouthingI love youto him for encouragement.

“So, Max, tell me a little bit about you. What are some things I should know that might help me understand you better, help you transition into this lifestyle better, and help me understand what tools we have here at the facility that might be the most helpful for you,” Nicole asked.

Max looked over at Remi, seeking strength through her. If she could, she would give him all of her confidence in this moment, all of the words that came so easily for her, she would give them to him—she would give him everything, but this was something Max had to do. These were emotions Max had to portray for himself, because onlyhecould get it right.

“So, the biggest thing I think you should know is that I’m a professional goalie for the Anaheim Condors,” Max said, andRemi watched as the smile on Nicole’s face faltered for a split second.

“Wow. That’s incredible. I’ve never worked with a professional athlete before,” she said.

Max cleared his throat and went on. “It’s already affected my career. I played my last game before the holidays. It ended badly. I’m officially on injured reserve for the rest of the season.”

“That’s got to be hard,” she said, her voice dropping an octave from its usual chipper tone.

“It was the lighting in the arena. The contrast. I struggled to keep focus on the puck, and then at the last game the lights came up and it was like my vision had gotten significantly worse in the blink of an eye.”

“Sounds like you experienced a dip. It happens with RP. Your vision can be slowly deteriorating and then you just blink once and experience a major change—a dip. Those moments are hard. I’m sorry that had to happen to you at a game.”

“I freaked out,” Max added.

“I’m sure you did. It’s terrifying. Even if you had known it was coming, nothing could have prepared you for it.”

“I think I may have been able to finish the game if I didn’t freak out over the ‘dip,’ but I couldn’t keep playing, not well or safely, at least. I knew I was becoming a liability to my team, and myself. So, I finally told them.”

“That must have been a hard conversation to have. I’m so sorry. I’m not a huge sports girl myself, but I can only imagine how important your career is to you.”

Max let out a sigh. “It’severythingto me.”

Remi’s heart ached for him.

As if on cue, Shepard got up from his bed next to Nicole’s desk and made his way over to Max’s side. Looking up at him with puppy dog eyes, he laid his head against Max’s thigh.

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