Page 120 of Icing Hearts

Victory interlaces our fingers and slides them high over my head, while I lock my ankles around his waist.

I sigh. “I love you.”

Tory smiles. “Say it again.”

The End.

Happily Ever After

A gentle peace this morning brings;

The joy-filled sun, will early show his head:

Go hence, to have more talk of these glad things;

Some were pardoned, and some punished:

For never was a story of more glory

Than this of Clara and her Tory.

Romeo + Juliet, Act 5, Scene 3, Re-written

Epilogue

Three-hundred-five days later

A voice booms over the crowd. “With the first overall selection in the 2027 NHL draft, the Boston Bruins are thrilled to select: Victory Amato,” the Bruins General Manager says.

I smile. The nervous bobbing of my knee ceases immediately. I did it.

Cheers erupt all around me, as if we didn’t know this was going to happen. I mean, we knew I was going either first or second. Enough teams showed interest to know that much—despite being at a statistical disadvantage for failing to show my skills much outside of high school. But it doesn’t dull the shine of the moment one bit.

To my left, Clara’s hand tugs at the sleeve of my blazer as we both jump to our feet. She gets the first hug. A long one.

“I’m so proud of you,” she tells me through misty eyes.

I squeeze her waist tight to mine. “Thank you.” We kiss quick. “For everything,” I add.

My fiancé pulls away first, the diamond sparkling as she dabs at a tear with her left hand.

Giulia, Rainey, and my mom get quick hugs on my right side. Dad gets a handshake. I don’t really want to even give him that, but I do owe him.

In one week, Clara and I will be married and we’ll immediately move to our new city—which we’ve just learned is Boston. Far away from my parents. They don’t know how much she hates my father and that I’m not far behind. Things could have been different. But he chose the type of person he wanted to become and so did I.

And the type of person I am, will stop at nothing to protect Clara from the type of person he is.

This moment is monumental. Some of the best moments I’ll ever live will be happening within a two-week timeframe and I remind myself to soak it all in. I shuck my blazer and hand it to Clara, stealing one more kiss before I make my way down toward the stage.

Cheering echoes all around me, amidst the camera flashes and neon lights. The NHL Commissioner shakes my hand first, congratulating me just before I move down the line of the Bruins leadership. Someone hands me a Bruins jersey and I hold it up. The crowd roars in response but one voice rings out amongst the rest which brings me a chuckle. It already has my last name and number on the back and I already know this particular jersey will be stolen by Clara in no time.

I’m quickly shuffled off to my first interview. After the cursory questions about how I’m feeling and what I’m expecting for myself this season, the interviewer asks me what happens next for me.

Now, I smile for a whole other reason, eager for the opportunity to share with the world. “Well, it’s gonna be a busy couple of weeks. In exactly seven days, my fiancé and I will be getting married, then we’re so excited to be moving to Boston and squeezing in a quick honeymoon before training camp.”

“Wow, drafted one week, married the next, all before your nineteenth birthday,” the interviewer remarks. She’s middle-aged with deep-set laugh-line wrinkles and a wedding band. Maybe she knows how I feel because none of the expected judgement seeps into her smile.

“Yeah, June is a good month now.” I smile. “I kind of wish I could hit the pause button and live inside June forever.”

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