Epilogue

Down the stairs to the rink. One last time.

My brothers in front and behind me. The smell of fresh tape and rubber. The sound of blades on concrete as we march down each step. I tap the team mantra for luck.

Respect

Courage

Determination

I get it now. It’s about so much more than the game. It’s about how you live your life. How you treat people. What you do with your time.

The most important thing? That whatever you do, you don’t waste it.

When I skate out onto the ice, I can feel the support of the crowd and my teammates. We press our helmets together and vow to make this last game one to remember. We just missed out on the play-offs, but at least we get to play out the season on our own turf.

My family are out there watching. My mom, dad and Sam. And Nate.

I look for them and find them all standing together. Nate’s family have season tickets, of course, but I managed to get my family in tonight and it looks like Nate’s mom made sure she squeezed them all in together.

Yeah, it’s still weird sometimes. My dad is trying, and that’s the important thing.

He actually told me he’d read an autobiography by a hockey player whose dad was overbearing and made him hate the game. I got the closest thing I think I’ll get for now to an apology and I’m learning to let go.

Everything is in front of me now. My new job as an assistant coach teaching kids in New Jersey. The grad school Nate helped me apply for grants for with my more than respectable B in Sports Nutrition and an A in Sport’s Training.

Nate’s moving out of his parents’ house, somewhere between Jersey and school. We won’t get to see each other as much as we’d like, but we’ll figure it out, because it’s worth it and I can’t imagine my life without him in it now.

The players get in position for the first face off and the adrenaline starts pumping, forcing my body to ignore the cold.

Puck drops. Everybody moves into action. Blades scraping ice. Breath clouding in front of our faces. For the last time, let’s make this count.

THE END