Page 78 of Two for Holding
Jax shoved the feelings down and smiled brightly.“So can we meet the kids?”
Despite it being a school day, a few of the kids hung around Mara’s office, very conspicuously trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on in there.
“Late night last night.I let them have a sick day,” Mara said with a shrug.Jax wondered if there was more to the story, but her closed-off expression forbade him from asking.
Some of them couldn’t have been older than twelve or thirteen, and Jax abruptly remembered none of these kids had a home.
His parents might have been kids themselves when they had him, they might have been disorganized and chaotic and shit at remembering to pay the bills on time, but he’d never for an instant doubted whether they loved him.He’d never been scared to come out because of them.He’d only been scared because of hockey.
Mara drummed everyone together while Breezy and Mooney grabbed the sticks and pucks they’d brought with them from the car.The shelter had a courtyard out back, a shitty asphalt patch with two rickety basketball hoops.It would do, but Jax made a mental note to ask about getting a landscaper in here.Kids needed trees, for oxygen or something.
“All right, any questions?”he asked once they had gotten through explaining the rules of street hockey.
“Yeah,” said a short, skinny boy with an Afro probably meant to make him appear taller.“What’s the point?”
Jax blinked.
“I mean,” the kid continued, “you guys are gonna get filmed playing hockey with us, great for you, but what good does it do us?”
“It doesn’t have to do yougood.”Breezy’s expression was utterly crestfallen at the thought.“It’s justfun.”
Mooney’s eyes might as well have permanently rolled to the top of his head at this point.“We’re not only playing hockey; we’re sponsoring you guys.We’re giving you clothes, sports gear, notebooks, school supplies, whatever, from the team store.Also, you get seen playing with us on the team Instagram or whatever and next thing you know, you’ve got hockey fans all over the country donating you shit.”
“Stuff,” Mara corrected out of the corner of her mouth.
“Right.Stuff.”
The kid still looked skeptical.“All of it have that dumb-ass sea lion on it?You know sea lions are the laziest animal.It’s no wonder you guys never win anything.”
Breezy’s face crumpled in devastation.“Sea lions are awesome.They can stay underwater for twenty minutes.”
Jax stared at him.
“What?There’s a fact sheet in the locker room.We have a donation box for a research center underneath it and everything.”
“Okay.”Jax grabbed a stick and a puck.“Everything they said is true.We’re gonna get you guys noticed, and we’re gonna try to help.But also—” He took aim and shot.The puck slammed into one of the basketball hoop stands with a loud clang.“—hockey’s really great if you ever feel angry.”
The kids—teenagers, most of them about the same age as Jax’s sisters—were ruthless once they got the hang of things, enthusiastic and energetic.On the court, Breezy shone.His easygoing nature and cheer worked there in a way it hadn’t beforehand.In another life, Jax could see him as the rare PE teacher all the kids at school loved.
They wound down after half an hour, most of the teens already heading inside or helping Mooney liberate the snacks and drinks they’d brought from the car while a few stragglers asked Breezy for tips on checking.He did great, making sure to teach them how not to hurt anyone, first and foremost.
“So how did you know?”
“Huh?”Jax turned to Mara.
She studied him, assessing.“How did you know how angry they all are?Most people who donate expect everyone here to fall all over themselves being grateful for every little bit of help we get.”
Jax swallowed.
He thought again of Tom, half asleep under the sheets, tugging Jax closer and at the same time announcing his intention to push him away if he ever dared be himself out loud.
“I know how I’d feel if the people who should love me no matter what turned me away for…this,” he finished lamely.
Mara gave him a sad little half-smile, and he thought she knew.But if he was doing this, it wouldn’t be with rumors and half-baked non-statements.
“I got lucky.”
“I’m glad you did.Worked out pretty well for my kids.”
