Page 84 of The Husband Hour
Matt closed the file and clicked on the next interview.
“I want to show you my conversation with a neurologist.”
A doctor’s office, plaques on the wall, a neat desk. The neurologist had white hair and a very direct gaze. Again, off camera, Matt led the subject of the interview through questions. This time, there were visuals, slides of the brain, normal and diseased side by side. Lauren leaned forward, barely breathing.
The sound of Matt’s voice off camera: “And can you explain exactly what CTE does to the brain?”
“In CTE, a protein called tau builds up around the blood vessels of the brain, interrupting normal function and eventually killing nerve cells. The disease evolves in stages. In stage one, tau is present near the frontal lobe but there are no symptoms. In stage two, as the protein becomes more widespread, you start to see the patient exhibit rage, impulsivity. He most likely will suffer depression.”
Lauren stood up and started pacing.
Matt closed the file. “Does any of this sound familiar to you, Lauren?”
She didn’t bother answering. He knew it did.
“This isn’t the film I was looking for, Lauren. I’d love to hear that Rory was just a gifted athlete turned selfless hero. But he was damaged. He was making irrational decisions by the end, wasn’t he? As if his mind weren’t his own?”
She turned to him, breathing so hard and fast she couldn’t speak.
“I’m not trying to diminish his accomplishments,” said Matt. “His talent. His bravery. I’m not saying that he failed. I’m saying the system failed him.”
She nodded. “Maybe.”
“Not maybe. Definitely. And I need to get this film finished, for other guys like Rory out there. And other women like you.”
She didn’t say anything, just moved her head in a slow, hesitant nod. It was all he needed to start staging the room.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Matt clipped the mic to her top and tucked the sound pack behind her, out of view. She wanted to rest her head on his shoulder, to have him hold her. Her emotional scale was really out of whack.
Matt sat in the chair facing her.
“Are you ready?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
“Let’s jump ahead, to the summer of 2011. How did Rory react to the news that he didn’t get an offer from the Kings?”
She’d known nothing about it until his agent mentioned it—at their wedding. Jason said something about how she shouldn’t worry, that someone else would make an offer and he would land somewhere. “This is just a speed bump.”
Lauren was furious that Rory hadn’t told her.
“What’s the point?” he’d said. “I’m done with hockey.”
“No,” she said to Matt. “I didn’t know about the offer until his agent brought it up. He was just a month away from basic training.”
After their honeymoon in Jamaica, they had only two weeks together before Rory left for boot camp at Camp Darby in Fort Benning, Georgia. She crossed each passing day off her calendar, the deadline looming like a guillotine.
“Did he perceive that you were supportive of his decision to enlist?”
“I think so. I tried to give him that impression. I mean, I was scared, but who wouldn’t be?”
She kept her negativity to herself. Rory was more excited and confident than she had seen him since she moved to Los Angeles. Maybe this is what he needs, she told herself. She had to trust him.
Lauren hated to admit it, but Emerson’s words just before she walked down the aisle stuck with her. No, she didn’t agree one bit that she could “barely handle” being a hockey girlfriend. She thought she’d done a good job, maybe even a great job, of keeping things working for the past five years. And if she had moments of worry or doubt, well, who wanted to see the man she loved get pounded bloody? Who wanted to know—not suspect but know deep in her heart—that head injuries were making her fiancé a different person? The chronic headaches. The insomnia. The recurring flashes of anger. She was afraid for his safety in the military, but the truth was, the NHL wasn’t exactly safe. He’d admitted as much himself.
“I bet I get banged up less over there than I did right here at the Staples Center.”
