Chapter Thirty-Three

BRYCE

Friday morning was a drawn out, casual affair. People woke up and ate as they wished, digging through leftovers for breakfast. One brave soul stood at the stove for a half an hour making pancakes for whomever wanted them.

Dakota’s friends and Bryce’s family treated both houses as if they were one and the same, going back and forth between them in search of food or friends or a quiet space to sit.

Somehow, Dakota managed to avoid being alone with Bryce all day. Not that it had been difficult to do with them each playing host to their guests.

Bryce felt like he had at his wedding, when he’d spent more time chatting with near strangers than he had with his new bride.

When he did manage to catch Dakota’s eyes as their paths crossed throughout the day, Dakota stared at Bryce as if he might never get the chance again.

Bryce couldn’t put the night out of his mind. It had been everything he’d always thought love was supposed to be. If what he felt for Dakota wasn’t love, then nothing was.

So what did that mean for the future? His thoughts whirled around his brain, caught in a loop of options, each with its own unacceptable price. No matter what he chose from this point on, he was going to lose something important.

He’d promised Dakota a decision by Saturday. It wasn’t fair to either of them to put it off longer. It was no use, the decision was too big, and Bryce couldn’t make it by himself. He needed someone to talk to.

But who? He wasn’t used to talking to anyone about his personal problems. And as far as retiring was concerned, who could he trust to give him an unbiased opinion?

The guys needed him on the team. He’d been watching this season and supporting them as best he could over text and phone calls, but it wasn’t the same as being in the locker room, on the road, and on the ice with them. Their performance was lacking some spark.

Bryce couldn’t help but feel his indecision was part of the reason. Jake would be a great team captain, but with Bryce set to return at any time, he couldn’t fully settle into the role.

His brother and sisters had valid reasons for needing him to keep working.

Keith had an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the expansion of the gym he worked at. The current owners wanted Keith to come on as a partner. Julie had given her stamp of approval on the business plan, but it involved a cash investment from Keith and some endorsements from Bryce, the details of which had yet to be worked out.

Amy had announced she was pregnant again, to everyone’s pleasure, especially Atticus, who was thrilled he wouldn’t be the youngest anymore.

It was obvious they were going to need a bigger house, and Amy was talking about finally quitting work, between the new baby, Atticus’ need for more attention, and Ophelia’s increasingly demanding soccer schedule.

Chewing thoughtfully on a turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich Dustin had handed him, unasked, as he’d passed through the kitchen, Bryce followed the sounds of televised cheering into the great room.

There was a videogame tournament happening in the room. Scarily-accurate animated versions of the Thunder faced off against the Penguins on the big TV. Their virtual bodies slammed into each other as Jake and Joshua battled Robbie and Ophelia for victory.

Jake played himself, as usual. Ophelia played as Bryce. The gesture was oddly touching, but watching his animated body on screen always felt weird to Bryce.

“Fuck yeah!” Ophelia yelled as her avatar slammed a puck past the Penguins’ Marc Fleury and deep in the back of the net.

“Ophelia!” Bryce said in mock astonishment.

“Shit.” She jumped up, dropping the remote, and on screen, Joshua took advantage of virtual Bryce’s inattention and took the face-off. “Don’t tell mom,” Ophelia begged.

“I would never,” Bryce promised. “But try not to encourage Jake, he already has a potty mouth.”

Jake reached over the back of the couch and quickly gave Bryce the finger.

“Oh, come on, Kessel!” Joshua yelled at the screen. “Stop passing the puck to Crosby. He’s got two guys on him!”

“As usual,” Robbie said, twisting his arms around with the remote as if he could make the puck go where he wanted by force of will.

Nikki walked into the room, looking relaxed in casual clothes. “Hey guys, we don’t have to leave until tomorrow morning right?”

“Right,” Jake answered without taking his eyes off the screen. “It’s a fricken Thanksgiving miracle.”

“Anyone want to go to an ECHL hockey game tonight?”

Ophelia and Joshua shouted yes. “Why not?” Robbie asked. “Could be fun.”

“You and Dakota in?” Nikki asked Bryce with a soft smile.

“I can’t answer for Dakota, but I’m in.” Bryce realized as he spoke that Nikki would be the perfect person to talk to.

No one knew him better, and she had no financial investment in his career anymore. They’d settled everything amicably in the divorce, and she had her own career as a successful fundraiser for some of the larger non-profits.

“Hey, Nik. Can I talk to you about some things?”

“Of course.” She stepped in closer to him. “Is everything okay?” she asked quietly.

“Everything’s fine. I just need to figure some things out, and I’m having trouble doing it on my own.”

She crossed her arms and shook her head. “I never thought I’d hear those words coming from your mouth.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on.” She led him out of the room with a hand on his arm.