Epilogue
Bodhi
Two Years Later
The kitchen island is covered in flour when I walk in, and a collection of dirty bowls, pans, and measuring cups litter the countertop.
As soon as Gemma sees me, she squeals and tries hiding the container of cookies that Honor is filling. “Close your eyes, Daddy! It’s a surprise!”
I immediately do as she asks, stopping at the open archway. “Is it my birthday?”
A little giggle comes from the nine-year-old, who’s grown way too much. It’s a sound I’ve missed while traveling for work. “I can’t tell you what it’s for. It’s a surprise, silly.”
“Yeah, silly,” Honor chides in amusement.
The last time they surprised me with baked goods, it’d been a plate full of double chocolate cookies that were so hard I hurt my tooth on them. To this day, I still don’t know how they did that. “Are these anything like the hockey pucks you made me last Easter?”
A soft snort escapes Honor. I know without looking that she’s probably smiling at the reminder of their first baking adventure.
I’d forced myself to eat two of them before Honor told me I didn’t have to pretend I liked them.
It wasn’t until Gemma went to bed that she threw them out.
“Okay,” she says, clicking the container closed. “You can open your eyes.”
When I do, Gemma jumps down from the stool and barrels toward me. I barely have time to brace myself before she’s crashing into my legs for a tight hug. “I missed you,” she says.
I kneel down and wipe flour off her face. “I missed you too, Cookie Monster.”
I’ve spent most of the week away doing last minute prep for the Fairbanks Fireflies, Connecticut’s official NHL team in the Eastern Conference. Our roster consists of a perfect mixture of seasoned and new players, which means the veterans will be able to train the rooks from day one.
Over the course of two years, I’ve helped find the perfect players who will mesh well on and off the ice. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my experience in the league, it’s that creating a stable team can only happen if everyone treats each other like family.
The family I stepped away from, who surrounded me for a decade of my life, was sad to see me go when I announced my departure from New York.
Some of them thought I was joking. It wasn’t until Sebastian wished me luck coaching that they realized I was serious about moving on with my life.
It was bittersweet to turn in my jersey and say goodbye to the locker I’d claimed on day one.
It was even more bitter watching my teammates react to the news once they understood I was really going.
But as I helped build the next phase of my professional life, I realized that it wasn’t the end at all. It’s the beginning. A new team. A new family. A new purpose.
Honor officially put her notice in a year after I left, after we got her studio up and running and a website built.
It was a slow start getting clients, but her reputation for action shots got her gigs at local schools and colleges to cover sports games, and word of mouth only grew her business until her schedule was packed with other photography bookings for weddings, senior pictures, and everything in between.
Sometimes, I worry she’s too busy, but I can see how much she loves doing it. So, I make sure to bring her water and food whenever she locks herself away in her studio for hours on end to edit and organize without coming out.
I brush hair away from Gemma’s face. “Why don’t you go change and wash up and then you can fill me in on everything you two did when I was away,” I bargain. “Then maybe we can go get—”
“Ice cream?” Gemma asks enthusiastically. Something tells me she’s already had her fair share of sugar today, but I’m not inclined to care. Mostly because I could go for a shake after a long day of meetings and flights.
I chuckle as I stand. “I think we can manage an ice cream run.”
As she runs out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room, which she instantly claimed as soon as she saw the bright mural on the wall, I turn to my beautiful wife.
Eight months ago, we got married in a backyard ceremony with an intimate group of friends and family after being engaged for only four months.
People told us it was too fast—that we’d need more time to plan.
But neither one of us wanted anything extravagant.
We knew we loved each other and wanted those who we were closest to with us to celebrate.
Having my parents, Joe and Helen, Coach Erikson and Sylvia, Gemma, and a small group of teammates and friends there to watch me marry the love of my life made it one of the best days of my life.
“How did your appointment go?” I ask Honor, rounding the counter to give her a hug. My lips press against the crown of her head as her arms wrap around my waist. “Did you decide after going over the details?”
She releases a breath that seems like she’s been holding in all day. Her body melts into me, and I tighten my hold until there’s no space left between us. “I think so,” she murmurs, almost sadly. I can feel the rings that I put on her finger rub against my lower back as she fiddles with my shirt.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, honey,” I apologize, cupping the back of her neck and massaging the nape. “The flight got delayed twice because of mechanical problems.”
She peels away from me with a small smile. Has she been sleeping? Eating enough? Her eyes are glazed with exhaustion that wasn’t there when I left. “It’s okay. I took the car and only got honked at once this time.”
Honor got her license back almost a year ago. It took a little while to become comfortable behind the wheel again, but she got used to it.
“People here are friendlier than New York drivers,” I remark easily.
She snorts in agreement. “I went through the questions that we came up with, and Dr. Hobart took her time going over every single one. I asked about the recovery process and the statistics of it helping. I think I’m…
” She nibbles her bottom lip and looks up at me through her lashes.
“I’m going to go ahead with the surgery to remove the cysts.
If there’s even the slightest chance that we could have kids—”
Her voice breaks, and I pull her back into me and rest my chin against her head when I see the tears well in her eyes.
Ever since we moved in together, we’ve talked about the possibility of another baby.
We’ve done a lot of practicing with some valiant efforts made to try for one, but with no luck.
I know it’s taken a toll on her, especially thanks to the people who love asking when we’re going to have children since getting married.
It takes everything in me not to tell those people to fuck right off.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” I tell her, threading my fingers through her hair. “I’ll make sure I’m here for the recovery. We’ll get through this together.”
My beautiful, resilient wife takes a deep breath and nods. “Together.” She looks up at me. “There’s something you should know. Gemma called me—”
Little footsteps come running down the stairs and into the kitchen, cutting Honor off. “What’s wrong with Mommy? Is she sad?”
My heart bursts at the word I’ve only heard my daughter use on rare occasions. Mommy. Throat bobbing as I try swallowing my shock, I smile at her. “She’s okay. We were just talking.”
Gemma glances between us thoughtfully, an air of innocence about her. “Ice cream makes everything better. We should go get some so she’s not sad.”
Without saying a word, Honor walks over and hugs Gemma tight against her. “I’m not sad, sweetie. Not anymore.”
If I thought my heart was full before, it has nothing on watching them hug.
Gemma looks from Honor to me. Then she asks, “But we can still get ice cream, right?”
Honor laughs. “Yeah,” she says, swiping a tear away from her cheek. “We can still go.”
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