Page 27 of Checking the Center

"We did," I agreed. "But this week really has changed everything for me. The song was the best explanation of how I feel. It's like I see the everything differently just knowing you're alive."

"Rock," she whispered, half giggling, half crying.

"Speak up!" Someone in the crowd yelled, and I realized then that the microphone was still on. I thought about making a gesture, but this wasn't hockey. It was pickleball. And I was trying to win the heart of the woman I was falling in love with.

"I'm not asking for forever. Not yet at least," I told her, taking her soft delicate hand. "But I'm asking for a chance. Can you give me that?"

Drea stood, pulling me to my feet in the process, and she stepped close, putting her arms around me and tilting her chin up to look into my eyes.

"I can give you that," she said, and then she rose up onto her toes to kiss me hard. "But only if you promise never to sing again."

"That bad?" I said, partially offended.

"It wasn't good," she told me. "But, actually, I loved it."

"Good, because Broadway is in my blood."

"Wonderful."

"You got the girl," Avalanche called from the court. "Can we play some pickleball now?"

"Let's rumble!" The old woman in the track suit shrieked.

And for the rest of the day, I played the best—and only—pickleball I'd ever played, knowing the woman I loved was cheering me on, and that later, we'd go home. Together.

I didn't know what the future would bring, but I was pretty sure Drea Coppersmith would be a big part of it.

THE END

EPILOGUE - JULIUS RAMON (ZAMBONI DRIVER)

ANOTHER MATCH.

And my heart is happy.

I spend a lot of time with this team. But they don’t see me as one of their own, not really. I drive the Zamboni, I sweep the ice. And I stand in the shadows, silently living a whole new life through these men.

Because when they skate, I don’t see them.

I see my own shadow. The man I once was.

And though I love the game, and I hold these boys close to me, looking after them like sons, there is one thing about the Wilcox Wombats I cannot abide: Almost all of them are still alone, putting the game over all else and calling it happiness.

I know better than most… nothing rivals the satisfaction found in loving another person completely.

I had that chance, and I let it go.

And while I might not have much control over anything beyond the Zamboni when it comes to the Wombats, I have a bit. And I’ll use it if I have to in order to make sure none of them make the same mistake I did.

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