Page 144 of Shattered
Grinning, I greet my oldest nephew, Max.
“Hi, handsome,” I smile, hugging my fifteen-year-old nephew. He’s the spitting image of Travis, and being the star quarterback on the varsity team as a sophomore, I know he’s breaking hearts left and right. He lives and breathes football, though, and says he doesn’t have time for dating.
“Hi, Aunt Savi,” he smiles, towering over me already at six foot two, and I’m pretty sure he’s not done growing. “Uncle Knox ready for tonight?” He asks, taking a seat.
“He’s always ready,” I laugh. “You two are a lot alike when it comes to focusing on the game. Do you know the socks he’s wearing on his first win of the season are the pair he has to wear every game day? He even has to put the left on first and then the right. It’s like Groundhog Day every single game day. Nothing changes, and the routine has to stay the same.”
“Got to stick with what works,” he laughs. “He probably wears the same pair of underwear, too.”
“Really?” I ask, surprised. It’s crazy how far their superstition actually goes.
“Yeah,” he grins. “I do,” he shrugs. “I wash them, of course, but they have to be the same pair. There’s a guy on my team, though, who won’t wash his during the playoffs,” he chuckles.
“That’s gross,” I say, wrinkling my nose.
“Yeah, I have my limits, and dirty underwear after several uses is one of them.”
“I totally agree.”
His seven-year-old sister, Quinn, walks up to me just then. With her dark hair and green eyes, she’s a little mini-me of Sophia. “Hi, beautiful.”
“Hi,” she grins, hugging me and sitting down next to her brother, just as I catch the bundle wrapped around my legs in a fury.
“There’s my little guy,” I beam at my three-year-old nephew, Grayson.
“Is Uncle Knox on the ice yet?” He peers around me, his green eyes wide with excitement.
“No, not yet,” I laugh, “but I’m sure he’ll swing by to say hi and give you a puck after the game.”
“Really!” His eyes light up with excitement, and my heart melts at the sight.
I hug Travis and Sophia as they take their seats next to me and we get settled in.
Miles and Olivia appear on the other side of Max, and I smile as I watch my brother help Bee get situated with her popcorn. Anyone who looks at the two of them can easily see how much he adores her.
I catch Bee’s eye and give her a wink. She grins my way, her feet swinging happily in her seat as she munches on the popcorn resting between her legs.
The lights begin to dim just then, turning our attention back to the ice as the spotlights begin to zigzag over the ice.
We cheer for our team as they appear one by one and, like a magnet, my eyes stay peeled to number twenty-two. He taps the glass, and Grayson excitedly waves at him. Knox grins andcircles around, flinging a puck over the wall for Travis to give to him.
“Did you see that!” He says excitedly, bouncing in his seat and clutching the puck his dad handed him to his chest. “I’m going to be just like Uncle Knox one day and skate as fast as him.”
“He’s been obsessed with hockey ever since his first game last month,” Travis chuckles in my ear. “I think we are signing him up to play next year.”
“I love that,” I grin. “Who knows, he could be the next Knox Stone.”
“Not if he skates like his mother. Ow,” he laughs, rubbing his arm where his wife just smacked him.
“I heard that,” Sophia giggles.
“I’m not complaining. I’ll be your soft landing any day.” He kisses his wife, and she instantly melts against him.
We stand for the anthem as the singer walks out onto the ice before taking our seats again. Excitement and nerves flood my body as the players begin to line up. My eyes become glued to the ice as the puck drops and the game begins.
The players move with grace and speed as I watch on the edge of my seat. Ten minutes into the first period, Knox gets a breakaway. My fingers dig into the arm beside me, and I ignore my brother’s chuckle that I’m bruising his arm with my grip.
Knox stick handles the puck down the ice with ease before his arm goes back and he slaps the puck hard toward the net. The goalie sticks out his hand to catch it, but misses by mere inches as it sails right by and lands with a silent swoosh.
Jumping up, I cheer with the crowd. He skates behind the net and, looking in my direction, his hand goes over his heart to where he keeps those he loves close. A reminder that even in the darkest times, there is always a light to be found.
And if you let it in, you’ll realize that the shattered pieces of yourself that you once thought were impossible to put back together don’t seem so broken in the eyes of the one who has seen your light all along.
THE END
