Page 152 of Slew Foot
It had taken a trip across town to the bakery to talk to the owner’s mother, an ancient German lady who didn’t look impressed by his sad attempts to speak her language.
But eventually they got on the same page about it all and, in two days, there would be a plum cake for him to pick up.
At least, Rafe hoped nothing had gone seriously wrong in translation. The bakery owner had promised him although they didn’t typically make that style of cake, there was no reason she couldn’t use her mother’s guidance and her own skills to create what he was looking for.
Now all they could do was wait.
“I’m very glad you texted me,” Catherine said with a smile as she walked Mickey up to his apartment following an appointment with an audiologist a couple of days later.
“Well, everyone keeps yelling at me to accept more help,” he said with a sigh.
She smiled. “That’s because we care about you. And I know it’s a hard lesson to learn. But I’m glad you’re learning it now.”
Mickey wasn’t entirely sure he wasglad, but it had made Catherine and Rafe happy when he’d asked her if she could drive him to his appointment.
Unfortunately, so far, there was no improvement in any of his symptoms.
In fact, the vertigo had been particularly bad this morning, which was why he’d texted her in the first place. It was frustrating, but everyone kept telling him to keep up hope, so Mickey was trying.
Not very successfully, but he was trying.
It was late afternoon when Mickey unlocked the apartment door, and he was surprised to see Rafe and Tanner weren’t home. Practice had ended hours ago. Rafe had mentioned something about running an errand but what could he have to do that was taking so long?
“Before you go,” Mickey said to Catherine as he remembered something. “I have your pans from the meals you and Aubreymade if you want to come in for a minute while I grab them. That was very nice of you. Rafe and I both appreciated it.”
“Oh, it’s no problem at all,” she said. “And I can certainly take the pans back, but I’ll let you in on a clever little secret. I buy them all from the thrift store. It’s a trick I learned years ago from one of the other hockey wives. Rather than buy a bunch of disposable containers, pick up inexpensive glass and ceramic pans from a resale shop that you won’t have to worry about getting back.”
“That is clever,” Mickey agreed as he pulled out the dishes she’d given him.
“Those women were wonderfully supportive whenever I was struggling,” she said. “And many of us are still friends to this day. I do like that your generation has dubbed us SAPs instead of WAGs though.”
Mickey grinned. “I do believe that started in Toronto.”
“It seems to be spreading though,” she said. “I heard it referenced on a national broadcast recently.”
“That’s good,” Mickey said.
“There’s a community app for it, right?” she asked. “Something Charlie Monaghan developed.”
“Yes. The S-A-P-S App. It stands for Spouses and Partners Support, I think. I haven’t joined it though.”
“You and Rafe would both be welcome, right? Since you’re dating NHL players.” She smiled.
Mickey smiled too. “Yes. Although it feels a little different when you’re also an NHL player, I think.”
He felt an ache in the pit of his stomach as he thought about what would happen if he was no longer one. If he had to retire from pro hockey at the age of twenty-four. If he had to adjust to the role of simply being a spouse or partner of a player.
If Rafe kept playing without him.
His smile fell and Catherine must have known what line of thinking he’d gone down because she reached out and took his hand. “It’ll be okay, Mickey. Whatever happens. I’m not saying it’ll be easy. But you will learn to adapt, if necessary.”
He let out a shuddering sigh and nodded.
“And you’re not alone. You’re learning to reach out for help, yes?”
“I’m learning,” he agreed.
“Well, that community might be another good resource for you.”
