Page 97 of Kitty Season
Giving me time to calm myself, she doesn’t come in with a rescue bid straight away, But when there’s no controlled movement at all, she gives my leg a gentle tap with the tip of her skate. “Can I help?”
Without waiting for a reply, she grunts and inelegantly rolls off the bench and onto the ground, then positions herself at my feet in an awkward looking squat. “Fate might have cruellydenied your hockey dreams, but that doesn’t change the fact that you belong on the ice. You’re a natural. You know that right?”
The thundering of my heart eases, and I try to think of something nice to say in return. I’m stupidly emotional, though, and all I can come up with is. “Thanks, Lotte.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” She smiles shyly, finishes one skate then crab crawls to start on the next. “As heartfelt as that sentiment was, I may also be buttering you up.”
“You may be, or you are?”
“I am, Brady. I am. I have a proposition.”
2 monthslater
“We’ll do some more scans over the coming weeks, but I must warn you not to get your hopes up, Brady. Given your age, the nature of hockey, the closeness and severity of your concussions, I can’t see how it will be safe for you to return to the game.” Dr. Carmichael finally looks up from the doodles covering the sheet of paper before him, and meets my gaze. I can’t blame him for avoiding it. Confirming a young person’s dream is over can’t be enjoyable. “Second impact syndrome is rare, but real and fatal. Ultimately, no one can tell you what to do, but you need to decide what’s more valuable. Hockey, or your life.”
None of this comes as a surprise. Thankfully the mood swings that could have cost me the two people I love the most are a thing of the past, but other than that, my recovery has been slow and frustrating. Reading or watching screens too long guarantees a headache, and my short-term memory is sketchyat best. “So hockey is likely out, I get that, but what about coaching?”
For the first time today, the tiniest hint of a smile appears on his face. “As long as you wear a helmet on the ice, and keep it no contact, I can’t see a problem. In fact, I think it would be great for you. Physically and mentally.”
“There’ll be no contact,” Quinn blurts so loudly the doctor jumps a little. “Promise. He’ll be working with kids mostly, and we have another coach for the teenage program. Brady will just be the pretty face.”
“Excellent.” He claps his hands together and stands. Does that mean we’re done? “I might have to look you up.” Dammit. “I have an energetic seven year old on the spectrum. Inclusive teams that don’t treat kids like idiots are hard to come by.”
“They are.” I nod. “Our friend Lotte, who designed the Green Line Ice Program with me, has Tourette's and ADHD. We have Cory, an education major and gun winger who has a sister with Down Syndrome, and a professor from our college acting as a consultant. She’s on the spectrum, too. Understanding and supporting all kids is what it’s all about.”
“Sounds like you have it all sorted. I must admit, as a B’s fan, having their hottest young players helping out during the off-season does sweeten the deal.”
“I wouldn’t say hottest,” Troye says, absolutely not meaning it. “But Noah and I are pumped. I can’t wait for my kids to kick his ones’ asses.” Man parents would be put off by a suggestion such as this, but hockey fans are a different breed, and clearly, Doctor Carmichaelisa fan. The guy’s giddy.
Like a future without hockey, witnessing people’s reactions to Troye has taken some getting used to. With his bad boy looks and sassy mouth, the media have eaten him up since his signing. He’s legit a big deal.
Unfortunately, he knows it.
Troye
“Are you sure this isn’t too … incestuous?”
Noah sighs and rests his head against the window he’s gazing out of. “Dude, we’re teammates, not brothers. And I’ll be sleeping next door, not in your bed … Pretty sure there’s no room even if I wanted to,” he adds with a snort. I slink up beside him and plant a sloppy wet kiss on his cheek.
“There will always be room for you, baby.”
“Thanks man. I need that.”
Of course, it’s then, as Noah wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into a bro-hug, that my moms walk in. And of course, because they’re the coolest, they think nothing of it. “Troye, have you seen the view of the garden from the lounge?”
“Mmm, can we call it a garden?”
“If there’s a tree, it’s a garden.” The tree Delphi speaks of is a potted pear tree that’s seen better days, and the garden, a tiny patio wedged between the Brownstone’s side wall and the fence. The apartment we’re looking at is in Noah’s building. It’s a fair bit smaller than his and Lotte’s place, and a rental. Boy Wonder may have had the balls to buy his first home at twenty-two, but for someone that’s never owned more than the clothes on his back … Yeah, my balls ain’t dropped that low yet.
The fear of financial strain, even as a tenant, must be evident. Fifi and Delphi exchange a telepathic glance and must telepathically agree to divide and conquer. Fifi join’s me by the window, her arm resuming the position Noah just relinquished, while Delphi herds Noah back into the lounge. “I know it’sdaunting darling, but you have an amazing hockey career ahead of you. You can do this.”
“Not too long ago, Brady thought he had an amazing hockey career in front of him, too. Things change. What if?—”
“What if the sky falls in? What if you wake up tomorrow with two heads? What if you trip and accidentally land the Stanley Cup and then Maple Leafs win the cup?—”
“What is your deal, woman? Don’t even joke about that.”
Fifi laughs and tucks herself deeper against me. “Sorry. You’re right. That was a bridge too far, but you get my point. You can’twhat ifyour life away. Imagine if your mom and I listened to all those doubts when we decided to foster you. Or buy the farm? Yes, Brady won’t be joining you in the NHL, but he’s taking his misfortune and carving out an incredible career for himself. When Quinn graduates, the world’s her oyster, and you my boy, you have fulfilled your dream, you have a contract that affords you the rent, and you have the love of two incredible people that will do whatever they can to build a future with you. No morewhat if’s. From now on it’s only why not’s.
