I let out a breath.“I told Mia I’d ask for a trade to Vancouver, or Seattle.Or retire.”
Silence for a moment.Then her voice went up.“Justin, really?After just a few weeks?Are you guys together again?”
I wished.“She said no.”
“Wow.You’ve been holding out on me.”
It had been too fragile to make public.And might hurt Mia with her employer.“I’m not good at talking about personal things.”
“You’re supposed to be working on that.”
“I am.I talked to Dad.Mia and I talked about what happened when we broke up.And I’m talking to you now, before anyone else.”
A gentle sigh escaped her.“Okay, I don’t mean to jump on you.You get to decide what you’re comfortable sharing.But since we are discussing it…what’s up?”
“She’s still tied to her family.Pretty sure she’s afraid I’ll have regrets.”
“Will you?”
“My biggest regret is leaving her eleven years ago.And leaving her now, the way her life is?”I filled Jess in on the changes to Mia’s circumstances.
Jess hmmed.“You’re okay with taking on someone else’s kid?”
“Do you think I’d be good as a stepdad?”
“I think you’d be great as a dad or stepdad.”
Her confidence was reassuring.“Arne is a good kid.He wants to play hockey.”
I could almost hear Jess rolling her eyes.“Okay, so the kid is not a problem.But what are you going to do?”
“I have to go to Toronto to see what the team wants.Which means I might not be back in BC before you and Alek get here.I’ve gone through the boxes in the house that are mine, done the tools in the shed, the yard stuff.The pots and utensils in the kitchen are all good, but you can check over the baking things.”
“Don’t worry about it.The house will be fine.”
“We’ll have to decide what to do with it, if I don’t retire or get traded and if you don’t end up staying here.”
“We will.We managed while Grandma was in the home.”
“We need to do better.The yard doesn’t look the same.The house doesn’t feel right empty.”
“Justin.”Her voice was soft.“You did good.It will never be the same as when she was there.That’s okay.”
I huffed.“She’d be disappointed.”
“She’d be thrilled that you want to live there.And understand if you didn’t.She just wanted us to be happy.So, are you coming back to BC this summer or staying in Toronto?”
“Should I come back to try to change her mind, or give her the space she asked for?”
She didn’t answer for a moment, and when she did, her voice was soft.“If someone asks for room, you have to listen to them.”
A long sigh escaped.“I was afraid of that.”
“Sorry.But at the end of the day, she has to make her own decisions.You’ll be okay?”
Okay was relative.“Yeah.This isn’t over.It’s been eleven years and I still love her.I can give her space, but I’m not giving up.”
“And her family?”