by Mary Smith
Copyright 2019 © Gone Writing Publishing, LLC
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New Hampshire Bears’ Roster
Coach: Taden Long
Forwards:
15 – Hamilton Baer*
56 – Alden Brockman
11 – Ladd Hanes
28 – Edgar Hopp
81 – Zerrick Justice
88 – Finlay Mackey
67 – Gage McLoyd
16 – Vance Pemberton
53 – Jarvis Richter
62 – Jackson Plumley
65 – Kyson Wick
86 – Bas Zorn
Defensemen:
6 – Cabel Dirks
8 – Conner Caddell
32 – Walker Lange
2 – Dag Limon
5 – Ivan Rodin
7 – O’Dell Tillman
57 – Shade Wooten
Goalies:
50 – Teo Elgin
33 – Nathan Paxton
* - means Captain
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
What’s Next?
About the Author
Chapter One
Cabel sat on his back porch looking out into his yard. Practice didn’t start for another hour and truthfully, he didn’t even want to go. There were particular times in his life he’d break his neck to get there, but after playing hockey—professionally—for almost twenty years, he knew a change would be coming soon. It hurt him to think about not playing hockey anymore, especially with the Bears, but reality had set in and he was thirty-eight now. Hockey had opened and given him many opportunities. Some he wouldn’t have had any other way unless it would be through hockey.
He knew today would be the worst of them all. Today was known as Trade Day. Oliver Matthews would go down in history as the greatest owner ever. He hadn’t traded a player in almost four seasons, but today a few players were going. The general manager had quit a couple seasons back, and Oliver wore both hats. He already told the team he began interviewing for a new GM.
It still didn’t stop the happenings of the day.
He held his cell phone tightly as he stood to get ready for the day. No matter what happened, he knew the life in the PHL, trades and moving were part of the job. Period. Cabel moved around earlier in his career, but for the past nine years, he remained in Manchester, New Hampshire. Plus, his family loved it here.
Making his way to the arena in his Hummer, he ran a mental checklist of what he had to get done today before the game. Leia, his oldest daughter, had a dentist appointment. Bria, his youngest, had soccer practice after school. He promised Chloe he would handle the girls this afternoon since she’d be working late and Lex, her wife of a couple of years, was still out of town.
He strolled through the players’ entrance and into the locker room. There were already a few members of the team joking around as he sat down in his stall to check his phone.
Leia: Dad, I hate this school.
Cabel hung his head. Leia’s school troubles were becoming an everyday occurrence. The sad thing about the situation was he knew Leia’s troubles were beginning to cause issues at home.
Cabel: You’re bigger than they are. If there’s trouble, go back to the principal’s office and I’ll come get you.
He felt bad as her father because all he wanted to do was to protect her. Bullying in the schools caused him not to sleep well at night. He knew he and Chloe would have to sit down again and discuss this.
“Pops, you look blue?” Edgar Hopp sat down in his stall.
Cabel looks up. “I’m good.” He partially lied, but he tried to look at the bright side of everything.
“Did the mysterious girl you won’t tell us about finally break up with you?” Shade Wooten, who was sitting next to him, asked. “Don’t try to deny it because we all know it’s true.”
Instead of answering or confirming the rumor mill spinning around his personal life, he stood up and began to change into his gear.
“Oh, the ol’ silent treatment again.” Alden Brockman chided from the other side of the room. “It doesn’t work, Pops. We all know you have a female sliding in between your sheets every night.”
Keeping his back turned, he rolled his eyes at Alden’s outrageousness. It shouldn’t surprise him since Alden said whatever was on his mind. The guy didn’t have a filter. At least, one he didn’t use.
“Females wanting to come into the locker room.” A lady’s voice shouted from the other side of the door.
The room chuckled. They knew Janan and Nova were the only females allowed in the locker room besides those in the media. And Janan was the loudest.
“Come in,” Hamilton Baer yelled for his wife to enter.
Janan Long-Baer and Nova Long strolled in but the mood quickly changed. Their faces were sad, and the room grew silent.
“We made two trades,” Nova announced.
Cabel knew it would come. He glanced around the room. Several were missing, so he couldn’t be sure who the two would be.
“Who?” Hamilton asked.
They looked at each other before facing the room again. “Remington and Keaton.” Nova’s sad tone echoed through the room.
All the air left the room and as much as Cabel—and several others—wanted to argue and defend keeping the Bears two top players, none bucked against the co-owners.
“Where are they going?” Cabel calmly asked.
“And who are we getting?” Hamilton added.
“Remington is going to Utah and Keaton to Alabama. We’re getting Jackson Plumley, Connor Caddell, and four draft picks. Two in the second round, two in the third round,” Janan told the room.
The room couldn’t argue now. Losing Remington and Keaton would be hard, but Jackson and Connor were just as good players and had excellent stats. Plus, the draft picks would bring in even more fresh blood.
“Look, guys.” Nova sighed. “We know this sucks but this is a business, and even though we love Remington and Keaton, we’ll love and respect our new teammates just the same. Right?”
“Yes,” everyon
e in the room answered her.
“Have a great practice.” Janan turned on her heels as did Nova and left the locker room.
The sadness Cabel felt was something he felt every time a trade happened. Many didn’t understand how close-knit they all were to each other. Losing Remington and Keaton would be like losing two brothers, but in the PHL, it was a chance they all took and had taken in the past.
As he along with the rest of the team finished dressing, they all stopped when the door opened again.
Bas.
His jaw dropped seeing him. The last time they saw each other was several weeks ago. Bas Zorn’s personal life had been flashed all around the news back toward the end of last season. The Bears’ season seemed as if it went one way but took a massive U-turn at the end. One point. They were one point away from the playoffs and many blamed Bas since he was on medical leave. The team didn’t blame him because they all knew he was in rehab for his alcoholism.
Cabel walked up to him first. He looked him over…making sure he wouldn’t break. Bas’ brown eyes weren’t hazed and bloodshot as they were before. Bas even smelled clean and not of stale vodka and body odor. Cabel visited him a few times in rehab and checked on him a lot when his release came.
“How are you?”
Bas gave a small smile. “I’m excited to be back on the ice.”
“Well, hurry the hell up. You’re late!” Alden yelled from the back of the locker room causing everyone to laugh.
“Come on.” Cabel put his arm around him, guiding him to his stall. He knew Bas didn’t want to chat. He just wanted to get out to practice.
Soon, the team and their coach, Taden Long, and the assistants were ready to run the plays and get the season started.
Cabel found great relief in the hot shower after a long, hard practice session. He remembered not feeling this old when he walked into the arena but walking out, his stiff legs weren’t moving as fast as they once did for him. In fact, no parts of his body moved like they used to, and he knew it.
Driving toward Leia’s school, the pros and cons about retiring ran around in his head. Cabel knew the time was approaching quickly, but he pushed the thoughts aside. What kept him playing? His family and winning the championship. He knew he had enough money to send both of his daughters to college. His house was paid for. His cabin outside of his hometown in Toronto was paid for, and he knew he had enough to retire—comfortably—before he had to figure out the next chapter in his life.
Walking up to the school, he pushed the intercom button. A voice came over it and he introduced himself and the purpose of the visit. The door opened for him, and he went to the principal’s office where Leia waited for him. As he approached her, she lifted her head. His oldest daughter stole his heart and soul the day she took her first breath. He never realized he could love a human being as much as he loved her. Her hair, like her mothers, was a light brown. She kept it tied in a messy bun and hardly ever let it down. Her hazel eyes, also like Chloe’s, weren’t as bright as he remembered. He knew she pulled further and further away from him, and he began to feel as if he failed her as a father. One who could provide and protect her in the ways she wanted.
“Ready, Le?” he asked as he signed the form the secretary handed him.
She didn’t speak as she stood up and headed for the door.
“How’s your day been?” he questioned when they reached the car.
She shrugged. “No one wrote faggot’s daughter on my locker, so I guess I’m outstanding.”
The sarcastic tone rang loudly in his ears. “Leia—”
“Dad, I don’t want to talk. I just want to go to the dentist and go home.” She turned her body away from him.
He knew reaching out to her, at that particular moment, would only cause her to blow up at him. Leaving her alone might keep her calm for a while until she was ready to open up to him.
The dentist appointment went without incident, but Leia continued to remain silent. When they got back in the car, Cabel couldn’t handle the silence anymore.
“Leia, talk to me. You know you can.”
“Why? What’s the point?” she huffed, crossing her arms.
“The point is, you’re my daughter, and I want to fix your problems. Do you want to go to a different school? Maybe a boarding school?”
“What’s the point?” She raised her voice. “Why can’t you understand? It doesn’t matter where I go, my mother is gay and that’s the problem.”
Cabel took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and not yell at his daughter. “Your mother isn’t the problem. Yes, she’s gay, but it’s who she is, and we’re her family, and we love her no matter what. The problem is bullies, and that’s where we need to direct the anger.”
“No, Dad, you don’t understand. High school isn’t like it was in the seventies with all the discos and stuff,” she snapped.
“First, I’m not that old. I never went to a disco. However, I understand the issue, and we’re going to fix it together. Head on. Just like we always do, and we will do it together.” His tone was firm in letting her know he would never leave her side.
“I know.” She hung her head. “I love Mom, but I don’t know how much more I can take.”
A stabbing pain hit Cabel’s heart. He hated seeing his daughter this way. He couldn’t stand it. He had to do something. He wrapped his arms around his little girl, who wasn’t little anymore, and held her tightly.
“I’m okay, Dad.” She pulled away from him. “Let’s go get Bria.”
“Leia—”
“I’m fine, Dad. Let’s go.” Turning her back to her father, he knew she was far from fine.
Driving to his youngest daughter’s school, he racked his brain, trying to figure out some way to move forward with Leia. Nothing came to mind. Chloe and he would have to sit down and figure this out together. As he waited in the car line for Bria to come out, he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
Cabel: We need to talk. Tonight. It’s important.
Chloe: About Leia?
Cabel: Yes.
Cabel: I’ll be there after work.
As he looked up, his energized daughter bolted down the sidewalk toward his car. He wished he had a tenth of her energy.
Hopping into the back of the Hummer she beamed. “Dad, guess what?” Her voice squeaked in a high pitch.
“What?”
“I passed my spelling test.”
“That’s outstanding, sweetheart.”
“Can we get ice cream after practice? Since I passed.”
Cabel chuckled. Bria loved ice cream and would do anything and everything to get it. “We’ll see.” He glanced over at Leia, who now had earbuds in and a sad expression on her face.
He needed to fix this—fast.
Pulling into the driveway, he saw Chloe’s SUV sat to the left as he parked his Hummer on the right. Leia jumped out and ran to the house faster than he ever had and he considered himself pretty fast. Bria held his hand as they walked in together.
“Chloe,” he called strolling into his house. Even though they’ve been divorced for years, they were still friends. Some even called them best friends.
“Here.” Her voice traveled from the living room.
When he turned the corner, his ex-wife sat on the couch, tapping on her phone. He watched her for a few seconds. He remembered when she used to wear her light brown hair long, but recently she cut the length shorter and cut out around her ears too. The style fit her well.
“Mom, guess what?” Bria immediately jumped into telling stories of the spelling test, her soccer practice, and her day at school.
“Sounds amazing. You need to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for dinner.” Chloe kissed her cheek.
Cabel waited until Bria was out of earshot. ”Hey.” He sat next to Chloe.
Her hazel eyes moved to him. “Hi.”
“Lex home? You want to wait for her.”
“No, I think you and I need to figure this out.” She sighed.
“She texted me too.” Chloe looked up at the ceiling. “I never wanted to cause us this type of pain.”
Cabel took her hand in his. He knew she didn’t mean to cause any pain to their family. The day Chloe admitted to Cabel she was a lesbian and always had been, he never grew angry or mad at her. He knew. Deep down, he always knew, but he couldn’t stand her not living her life either. He never wanted her to hide her true self. They had been friends since the fifth grade, and it only grew stronger over the years. He loved her and always will. “This is about teenagers being cruel about the unknown.”
“They’re calling her the faggot’s daughter.” A tear slid down her cheek. “Our daughter is going through hell because of me.”
“I honestly don’t know what else to do. We’ve gone all the way up to the school board. We’ve moved her to two different schools. We can talk boarding school—”
“No.” Chloe stopped him. “We’re not sending her away as if she’s done something wrong.”
“Then what is your suggestion?”
She released her hand from his, stood up and picked up her large purse sitting on the floor. “Look at this.” She pulled out a pink notebook.
Flipping through the pages, he realized it was Leia’s journal.
“She has a plan.” Chloe pointed out on the page.
Cabel read through her step-by-step plan of running away, getting a job, and starting her life over. At that moment, he felt like he failed his daughter. He knew he and Chloe were good parents but reading this detailed—and well thought out—plan, he had failed her. “Shit.” He shut the book, tossing it onto the coffee table.
“Exactly.” Their silence filled the room for a moment before she said, “We need to talk to her.”
“Yes, I agree.”
“Yes, we have to because I don’t want her to run away or something worse. Cabel, I don’t want to lose our baby.” She sobbed.