Chapter 28 Adam
TWENTY-EIGHT
ADAM
The first thing they did when they got back to Iowa was identify the things in Adam’s apartment that he cared about and move them into Skylar’s studio.
Between the two of them, there was precious little to move up to Minneapolis.
Between Adam’s pickup and Skylar’s SUV, they’d be able to bring it all.
They spent a few days selling Adam’s furniture and other household stuff they wouldn’t need in Minnesota online, and then they took what they couldn’t sell to the thrift store.
Adam debated what to do with the Nighthawks painting and decided to bring it up to give to his dad so he could have a memento of Heathens, too. It was time for Adam to move on from it. For a while, he’d felt as lonely as the painting. He wasn’t lonely anymore.
“It should be harder to clean out an apartment you’ve spent ten years in,” Adam said as the two of them pulled the apartment door closed for the last time.
Adam would give back the keys to the apartment and the bar to the company he was leasing from by the end of the week.
There was only one more thing left to do before everything felt over.
They got in Adam’s pickup, the final few boxes in the truck bed, and headed toward a pit stop before returning to Skylar’s studio. Adam and Ron were still in touch, and when Adam asked if he could drop something off with him, he’d shared his address.
Ron’s house was a small craftsman with a well-tended garden in the front yard. He opened the door for them before they had to knock.
“Both of you,” he said warmly, clearly not expecting Skylar to be there as well. “What a good surprise. Me and Gil’s cat, Sadie, were just talking about how nice it is to have some company. Come on in.”
The aforementioned cat was a giant tabby sitting on one of the four chairs at the kitchen table. Ron directed them to sit and got them drinks. Lemonade with a splash of Sprite in it. “I can put some grenadine in yours,” he offered Skylar, which he accepted.
“Grace and I talked about it, and we wanted to give you the Pride flag that hung in the bar for all those years. A way to hold on to some good memories.”
Ron looked like he might cry, but he held it together.
“Thank you.” He took the flag from Skylar and stood to hold it up.
It was big and high quality, meant to be outside in the elements year-round.
“Gil and I spent so much time at Heathens not only because we liked to share a drink or two, but because it was always a kind place to be. It felt personable, warm. This is really special.”
“Shutting the bar down was hard for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of the people we’ll miss,” Adam said. “I think I told you I’m moving up to Minnesota, and Grace is headed out to Vegas. You have to promise to stay in touch, and we will too.”
“And I’ll get you tickets to any Northern Lights game you want if you make it up to the cities,” Skylar promised.
“You always had a big heart for a couple of old guys.”
They stayed for another hour, reminiscing about the bar and going through a scrapbook that Gil’s sister was helping Ron make. Adam missed his brother, and he missed his friend. Life was full of too many endings.
The next couple of weeks were a whirlwind. Getting the bar wrapped. Helping Grace pack up a U-Haul and clean her apartment. Getting a few final climbs in and experiencing the mortification of his group at his gym getting him a farewell cake.
Skylar loved the cake.
And finally, it was their last day in Iowa.
Beck came to help them pack up their cars and brought lunch.
He’d shaved his playoff beard into a respectable mustache that Adam was digging, but he knew Skylar hated.
Skylar didn’t have enough places for them all to sit with just the furniture that came with his apartment left, so he ended up on the floor, on the other side of the coffee table from where Adam and Beck were sharing the couch.
“Tell me about your new place again,” Beck asked, and Skylar launched into a description of the apartment they found in Lowertown, St. Paul.
“It’s actually in the train station,” Skylar said.
The two of them had waffled back and forth on whether to live in Minneapolis or St. Paul, and while Adam had grown up on the western side of the Twin Cities, he’d always appreciated the vibe of St. Paul.
It had more of a small-town feeling than its sister city.
Plus, it was closer to the Xcel Energy Center and the practice rink.
Their lease was for a year, and Skylar had made it clear he wanted to buy them a house after it was up.
“I’m sorry about your playoff exit,” Skylar told Beck, mouth full of burrito bowl.
Beck sighed. “I have a lot of great memories of my career,” he said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself of that. “I didn’t get to go out on top, but I got more years of playing than most guys get, and that’s not nothing.”
“You had a career to be proud of.”
“What’s next for you?” Adam asked.
“Uh…I’m not fully sure. There might be an opportunity. I’ll have a lot to tell you in a bit if it all works out. Keeping things close to my chest for the time being.”
“That’s going to drive me freaking nuts,” Skylar said, dramatically collapsing back on the floor.
The small studio was mostly empty now, save for the furniture that didn’t belong to Skylar and would be staying with the apartment.
“How much do I have to bother you in order for you to just tell me now? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!”
Beck picked up the bag their food came in, crumpled it into a ball, and chucked it at Skylar’s head.
“No,” he said, impervious to Skylar’s strategies.
Adam loved watching Skylar with his friends and teammates.
He loved Skylar because of his tenacity and kindness.
The hard work he put into every aspect of his life.
The way he treated not only Adam but everyone around him.
Since October, he’d been able to watch Skylar find a confidence in himself separate from his talents and abilities.
His swagger was more grounded now, settled.
He wasn’t going to go so far as to declare Skylar mature, but he was sure getting there.
“Right, Adam?” Skylar asked him, bringing Adam back to a conversation he had tuned out of, staring blankly at Skylar.
“Can you repeat that?” Adam asked.
“He’s just as bad as you, jeez,” Beck said.
“Leaving is equal parts scary and exciting.”
“Yeah. I can agree with that.”
They tossed their empty food containers and made a few final trips to finish loading their vehicles.
“Let me know when you get there safe,” Beck said.
“Yes, Dad.” Skylar gave him a lingering bro-hug.
“And stay out of trouble.”
“I will not guarantee that.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Adam said, offering Beck a handshake but getting pulled into a hug.
“I’m going to annoy you so much this summer, don’t worry,” Skylar promised.
They got in their vehicles, and Skylar called him as he got his GPS set up and phone plugged into the charger.
“Speakerphone the entire way up?” Skylar asked, since they were driving separately.
“Anything you want, baby.”