Page 63 of The Game Changer

“Are you excited?” I ask Bridget, she’s like a second mom to me, seeing as how Julia and I have been friends for so long.

“I am, I can’t believe this is happening already. It feels like just yesterday the two of you were entering high school, and now look at her, she’s about to get married! And what about you, I hear you’ve got yourself a man these days.”

“Yeah,” I say a little dreamily. “John and I have been dating for a few months now.”

“JC, yes?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I say on a giggle. “It’s so weird to hear him called that,” I tell her.

“How is he doing?” she asks. “Is retirement treating him okay?”

“He’s got his good and bad days,” I tell her honestly. Having been a hockey wife for all the years her husband, Matt, played and is now the goalie coach for the Eagles organization, she understands what it’s like to be with someone just going through retirement.

“I can only imagine. I know firsthand what it’s like when they retire after a long career. It’s a huge transition, and I experienced it when it was on Matt’s terms. Experiencing it when it wasn’t when they wanted to retire is an entirely different game. There’s that resentment of things being taken away from them, not to mention what he must be going through with the concussion side effects.”

“I can’t attest to what it was like before his retirement and during his playing years since we didn’t start dating until around the time he had to make that decision. It’s been hard on him, but I also think that he’s come to terms with it.”

“Does he have any plans for work of any kind?” she asks, just as Sara and Julia reappear. “Oh my goodness,” Bridget gasps, seeing her daughter in a wedding dress. We watch as she steps up on the platform in front of us, facing the mirror. We can see around her, to see her reflection, as well as the back of the dress. The first one she’s tried on is form fitting. It has a halter style neckline, with open arms. It is fitted from top to bottom, where it stops just before the floor.

“You look amazing!” Bridget gushes as Julia turns to face us.

“Thanks, Mom,” she says, looking down at the dress she has on. “What do you both think?” she asks.

“What do you think?” I ask. I like it, but don’t love it, but want to know her thoughts first.

“I’m not sure. It’s gorgeous, I just don’t think that it’s the one,” she says, biting her bottom lip.

“Then it’s not the one,” Bridget states.

“Let’s try the next one,” Sara suggests, leading Julia back down the hall and into the dressing room.

“Back to our conversation,” Bridget says to me.

“Of course, I think you’d asked about John and his plans.”

“Yes,” she confirms.

“He’s working on a campaign to help other players hopefully avoid going through what he’s gone through. I know he was trying to get some other former players on board to tell their stories, along with some leading medical professionals to be a part of the documentary. I think once he gets that done, he wants to start a foundation that helps aid in the research into making helmets better at absorbing the impact they take when hit into the boards or the ice. He wants to make the game safer for everyone else.”

“That sounds great. I’m sure he’ll do an amazing job bringing awareness to the issue. Lord knows that more needs to be done to protect all the players, from the peewee kids just starting out at four and five years old, all the way up to our professional athletes in their twenties and thirties.”

“I’m really hopeful it brings him clarity and peace after retiring, not that he didn’t have a long successful career, but he definitely feels like he was cut short by not getting to play for a few more years.”

“I’m glad that the two of you found one another. Have your parents met him yet?”

“They have. They loved him, even if my dad had to have the ‘what are your intentions with my daughter’ talk that dads like to pull with their daughter’s boyfriends. I was a little worried that my dad would have an issue with our age difference, but he didn’t.”

“Nothing wrong with an older man.” She smirks.

“He can be my sugar daddy,” I joke.

“Whatever floats your boat.” She laughs right along with me, our giggle fest interrupted when Sara and Julia return to show us another dress.

“Oh, honey!” Bridget gasps as Julia steps up on the platform. “I love it.”

Julia looks at me via the reflection of the mirror. I have a feeling she might have found her dress by the look on her face. It fits her perfectly, has a sweetheart neckline, is fitted through the bodice and then flowy to the floor. It only pools on the floor by a few inches in the front and a couple more in the back.

“What do you think?” I ask as I watch my best friend in the entire world’s face light up even more.

---