Chapter 45 #2
“No, you were exactly that good,” I said.
“You just needed time. The transition to this level is hard. I know what it feels like to get shoved from major juniors onto this stage, and it is overwhelming. The pressure I felt my first couple of seasons?” I whistled, tired just from thinking about those days.
“I never wanted to hold you back. I just wanted you to have that extra time and development that I never got.”
Chris swallowed, and he looked at me. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. And, yes, we probably could’ve brought you up sooner.
A lot sooner. There was a ton of debate about it because—I mean, like I said, that raw talent and hockey IQ were obvious.
But Gil and I agreed that letting you tear it up in the minors for another season would give you the confidence to really shine up here. Which it did.”
Chris chewed his lip.
“I think he’s right,” Garrett said softly. “I watched you play on TV, and the difference in your play from before the draft and when you made the Phantoms? That was incredible, Chris. It really was.”
The blush in Chris’s cheeks deepened, and he glanced at his father, then at me. “Now I really feel like an ass for throwing it in your face.”
I shrugged. “You were already pissed after that clown Arlen stirred the pot like he did.”
“Ugh.” Chris rolled his eyes. “Is it too much to ask for him to get hit by a bus?”
Garrett and I both snorted.
“Well, if he does,” I said. “Let’s hope it’s not one of the buses here at the arena. Because at least that means he’s not here harassing players anymore.”
That got a genuine laugh out of Chris.
I raised my eyebrows. “So, we good?”
“Yeah. We’re good.” He clapped my shoulder. “Guess this is why we keep making you captain.”
“Well, someone has to be the adult in the room.”
Garrett scoffed. “And they picked you?”
Chris laughed and I elbowed Garrett.
A moment later, Travis leaned out of the room. “You gentlemen ready?”
We all exchanged glances, nodded, and turned to Travis.
“Let’s do this,” I said.
“Fair warning,” Travis said to Garrett, “this will be broadcast live. Reporters will edit clips for their own stories and whatnot later, but there’s no going back and erasing anything.”
Garrett gulped and I thought he lost some color.
“You good with that?” I asked.
He seemed to think about it, but then he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Just, uh… thanks for the warning.”
With that, Travis took us into the room. Inside, there was a long table set up with three microphones. In front of that, a gaggle of reporters waited, cameras at the ready. I was pleased to see that Jack Arlen’s face was not among them.
They watched us file into the room and take our seats. I took the far end with Garrett between Chris and me.
“You sure about being front and center?” I murmured.
“I can’t decide between sitting next to you or Chris,” he whispered.
“Fair enough.” I touched his arm. “You ready for this?”
He made a face.
I chuckled. “Yeah. I can relate.” I looked past him. “Kanes, you ready for this?”
Chris nodded. “Let’s do it.”
I turned to Travis and gave him a nod, and he got the press conference rolling.
“This question is for Kanes,” one reporter said when called on. “We all saw the footage of you reacting to the discovery of your father dating Saints. Can you tell us what prompted that reaction and how you feel about the situation now?”
Chris’s face colored as he leaned closer to the microphone.
“I was blindsided by it. That was why I was so upset. Once I calmed down and talked to”—he gestured at us—“I realized that was all it was—that I’d been blindsided.
I was embarrassed and it all just—it felt disgusting, having my family’s personal business turned into gossip like that. Really, really public gossip.”
“So the issue was not with Saints and your father,” another said. “Just how you found out?”
Nodding, Chris said, “Exactly. It’s still weird, you know? People being interested in my personal life. And it just felt…” He glanced toward Travis and hesitated, but then said, “It felt intrusive. Humiliating.”
I was happy to see that several of the reporters seemed genuinely chagrined. Others… well, their profession did attract its share of vultures.
Another reporter was called on. “Saints and Mr. Kane,” she said, gesturing at Garrett to make sure we knew which Mr. Kane she meant. “How exactly was your relationship discovered, and why was it being kept such a secret?”
To my surprise, Garrett beat me to the punch.
“It wasn’t meant to be a big secret. It was just a new relationship, and we wanted to figure it out ourselves before we brought anyone else in.
” He swallowed, and he reached over and put a hand on Chris’s forearm.
“In retrospect, there are people I should’ve told sooner than later.
Chris—and the rest of my family—shouldn’t have had to find out that way. ”
He and Chris exchanged looks, and Chris patted his dad’s hand.
Garrett cleared his throat. “It’s, um… It’s also not how I wanted a lot of people in my life to learn that I was bisexual. Some people knew”—he tipped his head toward Chris—“but others didn’t. It, um, made for a very uncomfortable conversation with my father.”
Surprise and discomfort rippled through the gathered reporters.
“You said Grandpa took it well, though, right?” Chris asked.
Garrett nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah. And it was yet another lesson in realizing that when I keep things hidden, all it does is hurt the people I love and hurt me. I should’ve told him years ago.
That… is kind of a pattern with me—not talking about things until they blow up in my face—and it’s something I plan to work on going forward.
Being open about things before they get opened for us like they did this week. ”
“How did it come out, though?” a reporter pressed. “The relationship between you and Saints?”
I took the reins this time. “Apparently we weren’t as discreet as we’d hoped. Instead of approaching us about it, someone took the initiative to post a fake AI-generated video of me confirming the relationship.”
I sensed Travis bristling, but I didn’t look at him. He was probably sure I was going to drop Jack Arlen’s name. It was tempting, not gonna lie, but in the interest of not getting sued into oblivion, I restrained myself.
That didn’t stop anyone from digging, though.
“Who created the video?” a voice asked. “Has the responsible party been identified?”
I looked pointedly at Travis. I didn’t dare say anything, and anyway, as the team’s PR director, this was his responsibility, not mine.
Travis shifted his weight and cleared his throat. “The individual in question has been identified, admitted to creating and posting the video, and has had their League press credentials permanently revoked.”
That prompted a ripple of hushed conversation.
I managed to keep a poker face despite wanting to grin at the knowledge that I’d never have to deal with Jack Arlen again.
Fuck that guy. And fuck the team’s owner for needing his idiot stepson to cross a big enough red line before he finally did something about it.
A reporter then asked Chris, “So, Kanes, is it true that you and your father were estranged prior to this season?”
My hackles went up. Didn’t matter that I was used to their audacity—I fucking hated it.
Chris shifted in his chair. “We, um… We had…” He swallowed.
Garrett took the reins. “I made a lot of mistakes as a father, and I’ve been working hard to make up for that.
I’m grateful that Chris and my other kids have been willing to give me room to do that.
” He shrugged tightly. “They had every right to be angry and not want anything to do with me, but…” He gestured at Chris.
“We’re getting there. All I can do is continue to do everything I can to show them I’m a better man and a better father now.
” He paused, then added pointedly, “Which is why Liam and I wanted to come out to Chris on our own terms. Privately. I’m just incredibly fortunate that this hasn’t been as much of a setback as it could’ve been. ”
“It’s not a setback,” Chris said quietly. “It wasn’t your fault.”
They exchanged smiles, and Garrett squeezed his son’s shoulder. Several cameras snapped. I had a feeling that image would be all over the internet before we even left this table.
The questions continued. Some were about the dynamic between Chris and me on the ice.
Others were about my relationship with Garrett—not too personal, but trying to suss out a few details.
All the while, even with the cameras and microphones pointed at us, I was more relaxed and calm than I’d been in a long time.
This press conference was just tying everything up in a neat little bow, and then the reporters would have their stories and we could all move on with our lives.
Chris and I would keep playing together.
He and Garrett would continue repairing their relationship.
Garrett and I would keep dating. All was as it should be.
As the press conference wound down, I basked in that calm. In this settled feeling. Even as some renewed nerves twisted in my stomach, I was both relaxed and determined. This was right. Now was the right time.
And before long my opportunity came.
“If that’s all the questions,” Travis told the gathered media, “thank you to these gentlemen for their time.”
No one asked any more questions. Before Travis could fully wrap up the press conference, though, I said, “There is one more thing.”
Everyone stilled. All eyes were on me, including the two men sitting next to me.
I took a deep breath and looked at my boyfriend and my teammate. Was I sure?
Yeah. Yeah, I was sure.