Watching her body change as she grows our baby and brings her or she into the world.
Something that I know she wants too. We’ve talked about our future together and what it’ll hold.
To no surprise, Maisie wants the big wedding, and her version of a white picket fence is a house with creaky floors that needs love, with a library and a big backyard for babies to play.
Just like the one we’re standing in right now.
We might not be ready now, not with her getting her master’s, but one day, when that time comes, it’ll be the happiest day of my life.
I’m already building a life with the woman of my dreams.
Until it’s time for the next step, I’m going to watch Maisie follow her heart and her passion into becoming a librarian, and I’m going to keep working on mine.
Turns out, hockey isn’t the only thing I’m passionate about.
It’s helping kids like myself, the ones who are in an already broken system without the resources that they need. The kids who are aging out without having the knowledge and skills they need for the real world they’re being thrust into.
It’s been nearly a year since I officially started Hawthorne Haven, and I’ve poured every ounce of myself into it.Maisie gave me the courage to jump, headfirst, despite being afraid I’d fail, and it was the best decision I ever made. A decision that I made with her by my side.
After working behind the scenes for months, with the help of Doug and countless others, including advice from Mrs. Aucoin, I was finally able to open the doors to HH.
A nonprofit that focuses on helping children who are in the system not only have access to basic necessities but also connects them with therapists and counselors to help with any trauma they may have experienced.
Or to even just help ease the transition.
I know what it’s like to be terrified, all alone, when being dumped at a group home where I didn’t know a soul. I had no idea what to expect or what would come next… and that in itself was scarring.
I never want a kid to have to face that alone, and that’s exactly what HH is all about.
Making sure these kids don’t feel alone. That they know they always have us in their corner.
If they’re being placed in a new home and the state didn’t provide them with the necessities, we take care of it. We make sure to bridge any gaps to make sure it’s one less thing for them to stress or worry about.
I didn’t start with any funding besides what I put in. I’ve spent my entire career squirreling away anything that I got from contracts, endorsements, deals, scared to touch a fucking penny.
But in putting the foundation together, I realized that these kids… they need it more. I can do something profound by investing in their futures instead of letting the money wither away in my accounts.
I’ve never lived lavishly, and I never will, so why not take that money and put it toward something good?
It feels surreal to say, but working with HH and all of the kids and parents I’ve met… it’s like all of the shit that I’ve been through was for a purpose. Now I’m using that purpose for good, to make a child’s life better, even in the smallest way, so they don’t have to feel the way I did. Alone and hopeless, like there wasn’t anyone out there who could understand what I was experiencing.
It’s been so fulfilling. Nothing at all close to what I imagined my life would be like, but I’m so fucking thankful that I guess fate intervened.In the right way, for once.
“I’m going to go help Lennon and Mama with some of the food. Are you going to be okay?” Maisie says, her eyes bouncing from me to Devereaux and Legros, who are standing a few feet away, looking about as uncomfortable as I am right about now.
Fucking Legros.
Jesus, I can’t seem to get rid of him. Trust me, I’ve tried.
I nod and dip my head, capturing her lips in a kiss that leaves her breathless and her eyes slightly glassy. “Yep.”
“Behave, Coach.” She gives me a pointed look once she realizes that it may have slightly been for his benefit. “Or there will be consequences.”
When I lift a brow, she shakes her head. “Not the fun kind.”
I’m still grinning when she walks away to go help her mom.
Even though it’s the last thing I want to do, I walk over to Devereaux and Legros and give them a nod when they look up.
