Page 98 of Dancing in the Rain

Peyton gave her a long look. “If you’re done, take your bowl to the garbage and empty it and put it in the dishwasher.”

With tight lips and a wobbling chin, Chloe did as she’d been told then disappeared up to her room.

Peyton sighed. Chloe was going through a rough time. But even so, she couldn’t get away with being a total brat.

“I don’t need you to walk me to the bus,” Chloe announced when she returned with her backpack. “I’m old enough to walk by myself.”

Peyton kept her face neutral. This was probably true. It wasn’t far. It was a safe neighborhood. Sara had kept walking with her probably more out of habit than necessity. Her insides tightened up, though, thinking about it. No matter how safe the neighborhood, terrible things could happen in the blink of an eye. If anything happened to Chloe…

“Humor me,” she said. “Let me walk you one last time.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine.”

Peyton grabbed her jacket and followed Chloe out. Halfway there, she stopped on the sidewalk and said, “Okay. You go on.”

Chloe gave her a curious look then a shrug. “See you later, Auntie P.”

Peyton returned home, the house once again strangely empty. Today she was having lunch with her friend Jax. They’d been good friends when they’d worked together, and at Sara’s funeral they’d talked about getting together to talk shop one day.

—

Drew greeted Jack Shipton with a firm handshake in the restaurant where they’d agreed to meet for lunch. He hadn’t seen Jack in years. “Good to see you, man.”

“You, too.”

They took their seats and made some small talk as they looked over the menu. Drew ordered a coffee and the Cuban sandwich and Jack said, “That sounds good. I’ll have the same.”

The server took their menus away with a smile.

“So,” Jack said. “Dougie North mentioned you might be calling me. Said he gave you my card.”

“Yeah.” Drew’s insides were twisted up like pretzels, but he tried to appear casual, leaning back in the seat of the booth. “I had some other personal stuff going on the last few weeks, so it took a while for me to get back to you. I’m honestly not sure what you can do for me, though.”

“Let me tell you a bit more about my business,” Jack said. “I started this consulting company a few years ago, after my own retirement. I had a hard time after I left hockey, and I knew some other guys did, too. Retiring from a pro sports career is a whole different thing than retirement for most people, especially when it’s a choice that’s forced on you because of injury.”

“Yeah.” Drew grimaced. “That’s me.”

Jack nodded. “When I retired it was my choice, but even though I was ready it was still a hard decision. For athletes, much of our identity is wrapped up in our sport. We usually dedicate so much of our life to it, starting at a young age, that we don’t usually acquire interests in other things. Some guys who go to college and get a degree in something are smart, but not everyone thinks about their future when they’re a teenager and healthy.”

“Me again,” Drew said dryly.

Jack smiled. “I don’t think other people really get it. How devastating it is when you lose your whole identity. I mean, lots of people struggle when they retire. It’s hard when you no longer have a purpose in your life, when you’re not contributing anymore. But for athletes who’ve devoted their whole lives to their sport, it’s even harder.”

Drew nodded slowly. “Wish I’d talked to you about this sooner,” he said jokingly. But not really joking. This guy got how he felt. He wasn’t a complete weirdo.

“You probably felt like you didn’t accomplish everything you wanted to in hockey, right?” Jack asked.

“Yeah.”

“Which leads to a feeling of loss and disillusionment when we can’t play anymore.”

“Yep.”

“So, do you have any ideas of what you’re interested in doing?”

“Not a goddamn clue. I’m beginning to think there’s nothing I can do.”

Jack nodded. “I get it. Sometimes we have blinders on and can’t see that the same skills that made us successful hockey players can also make us successful in other careers.”

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