“Dad’s having a bad day.I need a few minutes to shower and fix dinner.I was wondering if you could come over and hang out with him.I texted Oscar, too.”
“I’m just getting out of the shower.Let me send Evie a text so she knows where I am when she gets home, and I’ll walk over.”
“I’m sorry.I know you’re trying to enjoy your summer with her.”
“We’re good.I promise.We were going to play mini-golf tonight and get dinner, but there’s still plenty of time for both.”
“You don’t have to come?—”
“Chris, I’m coming.I love you, and I love Coach, and so does Evie.We’re good.I can hang out while you do what you need to do, and Evie and I can go out when you’re settled.I promise.I’ll see you soon.”
She exhaled a strained breath, and I made a mental note to check in with her more.“Thanks, Josh.I really appreciate it.”
“Any time.”
She released a breath, then said bye and hung up.
I didn’t know what it was like to watch someone you loved die slowly.I loved Coach, but it wasn’t the same as being his kid.It was all on Christy as an only child, too.She moved back in with him two years ago and realized he wasn’t doing well.She pushed him to go to the doctor, and they found lung cancer.He was never a smoker, but a lifetime of breathing in exhaust from ice cleaning machines, and not realizing how dangerous it was, took a toll.
I dressed in shorts and a collared shirt since The Dragon was a little nicer restaurant.I thumbed a quick text to Evie letting her know I would be visiting Coach and to let me know when she was home, then I slipped on my flip-flops and headed next door.
Christy’s parents bought the house next to my parents shortly after they were married.Our parents were friends, and when Christy and I were young, we played together constantly.Her mom died when she was only six, and I could still remember my parents having Coach and Christy over for dinner multiple times every week.
Coach found a new love in coaching hockey, stepping up to lead the youth team a year after his wife died.He coached the team until a few years ago, offering private coaching sessions to kids who’d aged out of his program.He loved hockey, and he was the closest to a legend in Amethyst Bay.Former players always thanked him when they were offered scholarships to play in college or were drafted to play professional hockey, crediting Coach Jack Ross with teaching them the skills that got them there.
I knocked once, then let myself into the house, knowing it was unlocked.“Hello?”
“In here,” Christy answered.
I followed her voice to the living room.Their house was laid out in a similar way to mine, but instead of the entryway leading to the kitchen, the hallway was longer and sported a full bathroom, laundry room, and a large closet that had been stuffed with hockey gear forever.
Still was since Christy took over coaching hockey from her dad.She was a star in her own right, a highly recruited forward with a full ride to play in college.She opted to stay close to home and played at SUNY Plattsburgh.After college, teams all over Europe wanted her to play for them, but Christy didn’t want to leave home.She gave up playing to follow her other passion and got a job as an ER nurse.
She was checking her dad’s pulse when I walked into the living room, smiling at me with a tightness around her eyes and mouth.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”She stood, walking straight into my arms for a hug.“Thanks for coming.”
I nodded, kissing the top of her head.“You could have called me before now.”
She shrugged.Christy was like Oscar and me.She didn’t like asking for help, and she struggled to admit she couldn’t do everything.Usually because she actually could do everything, but she didn’t need to.We considered each other family.And family showed up for each other.
“Is that Josh?”Coach asked from his recliner.He looked frailer than a few days ago at Evie’s party.Christy had wheeled him over to the party for an hour.He mostly stared out at the water.
Seeing a man who’d always been larger than life in such a state was hard to take.My parents died in a car accident, here one day and gone the next.It was a shock, but I never saw them suffer or decline.It was a whole different kind of loss.Both sucked.
“Hi Coach.How are you?”
“Any better I’d be twins,” he said, the old line making me chuckle.
Christy hid her tears from her father, a smile lifting her lips.
I winked at her and nodded toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms.“I got this.”
She nodded in thanks, then left me with her father.
“She’s worried about me,” Coach said once a door closed down the hall.
