Epilogue III

Reign, two years after the draft…

"Number 18, Riley Thorn!"

The crowd goes crazy, cheering for my wife. I watch with the same fascination and obsession as always while I watch her skate to the middle of the ice. She wears the dark blue and gold well, but it's my last name on her back that always gets me. It has since high school, and even in her last year of college after I made her marry me. I wasn't waiting until graduation because I knew our lives were about to blow up. And they did.

After being drafted to the NHL, I started playing right away. We moved to New Jersey and Riley started her own venture. She may have graduated with her degree in psychology, her heart lying with veteran affairs, but she wanted to do something else first. Riley plays for one of the six Professional Women's Hockey League teams. Our seasons sometimes overlap, but we continue to show up for each other.

After our move and building our first house, things settled down for a while. Our families visit and so do our friends. We're still a media commodity, our love story often gets brought into the conversation anytime we have a press conference. I never shy away though from showing the world that Riley is mine. The camera pans to me, in the crowd, cheering for my wife. I wave at everyone.

"Look at Mommy, go," I tickle our two-year-old daughter, who is bouncing on my lap. She laughs, her blue eyes, identical to mine, glance at me before going back to the ice. She waves and screams and giggles for her mom.

Riley glances over her shoulder, giving us her pretty smile. I love you , she mouths before having to turn around for the start of the game. The audience grows louder with the start of the game. My eyes never leave her. Riley was born to play hockey and I get excited just watching her. She's a force on the ice. Riley skates to her opponent. She bends, her stick ready, and the puck drops.