Page 16 of The Slapshot and the Single Mom
“I know, Maggie.” She holds up a hand to stop me from explaining my reasoning again. “I know. You don’t have to keep telling me. I agree that he should know that we’re here for him without having to buy him something every time we see him. And I know you don’t want him to attach feeling loved tosomeone buying him things since his dad always does that. But …” She lifts her hands and lets them flop to her thighs. “I hate seeing him like this, and it’s hard to feel helpless to do anything to make it better.”
“I know, Mom.” I feel this way every time he spends any time with his dad. As awful as it sounds, I almost wish his dad would just leave us alone entirely. Hell, I’d even deal with him not even bothering to give me child support if it meant Liam could get off this emotional roller coaster Kyle has him on. I don’t know, really, but it seems like wholesale abandonment would be easier to deal with than this death by a thousand cuts.
“I know you do,” she whispers, giving me a look so full of sympathy that tears start forming in my eyes. She takes a deep breath and lets it out again. “Okay. Well, I need to get home. Why don’t you bring him to our house tomorrow, then you can stay for dinner after work. Your dad’s going to be fixing a spot on the deck. Maybe Liam can help him, get his mind off things.”
“That sounds good, Mom. Thanks again.”
She gives me another hug, says goodbye to Liam who glances at her and lifts a hand in response, which is better than nothing, I suppose. With one last wave and smile in my direction, Mom leaves.
When the door closes behind her, Liam pauses his game, and we both stare at each other for a few moments. Then he stands up and walks over to me, his steps slow and heavy, and he leans into my torso. I wrap my arms around him and just hold him, doing my best to hold back my own tears.
After a moment, I rub his back. “What do you think, dude? Wanna go to the park and play basketball then get some icecream after?” He shakes his head, and that’s when I know this time’s really bad. “Do you want to talk about what happened?” I ask quietly, and he shakes his head again.
I think for a second, trying to decide what to do. “Wanna order a pizza, have a living room picnic, and watch a movie—your choice—then we can either ride our bikes for ice cream afterward, or we can do a grocery delivery order with all the ice cream sundae ingredients we want.” Yeah, sure, I don’t want him to think gifts are the only expression of love, but pizza, a movie, and ice cream is different, right?
I’m not going to think about the possibility that it’s teaching him to eat his feelings. It’s an excuse for us to spend time together in a non-demanding activity. We can chill with a movie he wants and cuddle on the couch until he feels better.
“Can we have popcorn too?” he asks in a small voice.
“Of course. Why don’t you go pick the movie, I’ll start the popcorn and order the pizza, okay?”
He pulls back and nods, giving me the saddest smile I’ve ever seen. “Thanks, Mom.”
CHAPTER TEN
Jack
I keep hopingMaggie will reach out. But one day turns into the next and turns into the next, and a week later I find myself at the Salmon again, hoping I might bump into her by chance again.
No such luck, though, and since I didn’t even bother to invite Connor to come with me, I end up being one of those sad sacks sitting alone at the bar. Not even Ryan’s working tonight, and I don’t know tonight’s bartender Jenna as well, nor do I feel comfortable complaining to her about my problems.
Once again I find myself in the position of just waiting—waiting for Max to work his magic, waiting to see if the breast cancer foundation will keep me on or drop me, waiting to see if Maggie will reach out to me this time.
She did say she’s busy, though. She has a kid, a dick of an ex, and an asshole of a boss. It’s understandable that I wouldn’t be anywhere on her priority list. Still, I was hoping …
Finishing my second beer, I signal to Jenna that I’m ready to close my tab and leave. I might be forced into a waiting game with everything else—if Molly can’t convince Savage to post an official apology and retraction and Max can’t convince my sponsors not to drop me, I’ll be filing a law suit. I’ve already reached out to the Emeralds’ legal team and they’ve cautioned patience just like everyone else. If there are provable damages to my career, it’ll make my case stronger. Honestly, I’d rather not have to go that route. If he posts a retraction, I think that’ll help Max do his job. But it’s possible the harm is done and no amount of apology or retraction will salvage my reputation in the public eye enough to make my sponsors happy.
But I don’t have to wait for Maggie to reach out to me. I could text her.
The idea of being seen with Maggie regularly helping to rehab my reputation floats into my head again.
It’s something proactive I could do.
Heading back to my car, I pull out my phone and send her a text.
Hey, stranger! What are you up to?
Feeling satisfied about taking action onsomething, I pocket my phone, get in my car, and drive home without checking to see if she’s responded. But by the time I’m in my condo, I can’tnotlook.
To my delight, she has.
Maggie
Momming. You?
Momming?
Yeah, you know. Being a mom. Doing mom things.
