Chapter 33: Chapter Thirty-Two

Five years later…

I was in the team locker rooms getting dressed after our last skate for the season. We had won the Stanley Cup in the national play offs, and I’d been named player of the year. It had been a heady feeling especially with my family in the stands. My ring was locked safely in my bedroom safe although a lot of my teammates openly wore theirs.

The last five years had been good to me. I was given a contract almost immediately after being drafted and I was eighteen when I started playing for the Rangers. I was one of the youngest players ever and it came out then that after my training session with the Rangers on my birthday, the coach had kept an eye on me, and Alexander had sent him tapes of every game.

I had graduated from NYU completing my Business Management degree online and two years earlier I’d moved to the Chelsea area into a beautiful three-bedroom condo on the top floor with a private terrace and deck on the roof.

I’d been smart the first three years I’d lived in Brooklyn. I didn’t have to pay rent so my salary went towards food and my car, and I’d saved until I could buy my first apartment and that’s what I kept doing. I now owned four apartments in New York that I rented out and as soon as my target was reached, I bought another one. It was my nest egg, for one day, after hockey.

Endri was doing really well with his art. He’d had a few gallery openings and now he was a sought-after artist and he spent most of his time locked away in his studio just sketching. He also had his own gallery where he showcased all his work.

Castiel was still in medical school, and we saw him only during his breaks. He was doing well, acing his exams and he was still set on becoming a neurosurgeon. We all video called together each Sunday to talk about our week and keep the family updated on our lives.

Miles had made a big name for himself in the video game world. He was designing and writing games and he had his own gaming development company. He had also gotten married to Natasia, a girl he’d met while in college. They had designed a game together for extra credit and have been inseparable ever since. She was an amazing woman, keeping Miles grounded and she was pregnant with their first child.

We all got along and liked her very much and she was down to earth and plain. She rarely wore make-up, and all the money and fame didn’t faze her at all. She didn’t let Miles stray from the road and I could see that he was happy and settled. Some days I was jealous of what they had but I was also happy for him.

Alexander still lived on the farm where we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas and when our schedules allowed, we went to visit him. He was hardly there during skating season, and he attended all my games. My brothers also lived in New York, and we got together regularly, and they also attended all my home games.

I had nothing to complain about. My life was perfect except for the few run ins I had with women trying to get to me, puck bunnies as we called them, they only wanted to be seen with you because of the fame and glamor. I stayed away as far as I could.

Alexander had a girlfriend for four years now but so far, he hadn’t mentioned marriage at all. He was still wary, but we liked Cherise as well. She was good for him, and he seemed more relaxed. She had also lost a child to suicide and that’s how they had met, at a counseling group for grieving parents.

I wasn’t really in a hurry to leave because I had an interview scheduled, an exclusive and I wasn’t looking forward to it. The only bad thing about NHL Hockey was the fame, I didn’t like it. I liked my privacy and doing my own thing and flashing cameras and people coming over to you for selfies wasn’t my idea of fun.

“Good afternoon,” I said as I walked into the interview room and found the reporter already waiting for me.

“Kage Hawthorne, a pleasure to meet you, I’m Lindy Gold,” she said as we shook hands.

I sat down across from her at the conference table, I’d already done the photoshoot in my house and on the ice the day before with their photographer and now I just had to get through this interview and then my duties were done for the off season.

“You were recently awarded the Ted Lindsay trophy; how did that feel?” she asked me.

“It’s an honor to be awarded to play the game I love. There’s nothing that compares to that feeling of skating, putting the hard work in and making it,” I answered.

“What was life like for you, as a player, during the playoffs?” Her notebook was poised, and she never once took her eyes off me.

“During the playoffs everything felt more intense. Every game is taxing, mentally and physically. You have to give your best on and off the ice. After each game you feel drained but the excitement of that win recharges you and it’s hard not to let it get to you, dreaming of holding that cup.

Her pen rested on her pink lips, and I couldn’t not look. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she caught me, and she cleared her throat. “Do you have any superstitions, before or after a game?”

“I’m not sure if it counts as a superstition but right before we leave the locker room, I hold on to this silver chain I have. It used to belong to one of the best men I’ve ever known, and I close my eyes and think about him,” I said as thoughts of Joe inadvertently popped into my mind.

“According to our sources you’re on the list of eligible bachelors in the NHL, no plans to settle down in the immediate future? Is there someone special in your life?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t say eligible at all but yes, I’m single and no I don’t have any interest in settling down just yet. Hockey keeps me busy and away from home most of the time. I’m not planning to give that up,” I said as she smiled at me.

“You’re the adopted son of legendary Alexander Hawthorne, is that how you became interested in hockey?” she asked, and I briefly closed my eyes.

“Turn the recorder off,” I said to her.

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked me and clicked the recorder off.

“What does my adoption have to do with this interview? I agreed to do this with the knowledge that I wouldn’t have to answer personal questions,” I said to her.

“Fans want to get to know you, being adopted is nothing to be ashamed about,” she said.

“I don’t want to talk about my adoption or my birth parents,” I said to her.

“Fine,” she said and clicked the recorder on again.

The interview lasted another half an hour with questions about my schedule, what I liked to do in the off season, my likes and dislikes, favorite food and so forth. It was completely boring, and I was uncomfortable with the idea that she had researched me to the point of being aware that I had been adopted.

“Thanks for the interview,” she said as she packed up her notebook and pen.

“You’re welcome,” I said and left the conference room feeling nervous all of a sudden.

“Hey, wait up,” Lindy said following me down the hall.

“Did you forget something?” I asked her.

“I wanted to know if you’d like to have a drink with me some time,” she said.

“I don’t do the whole dating thing or going for drinks or dinner, I was honest when I said the eligible part was wrong,” I said to her.

“Never?” she asked me.

“No, never.”

“Wow, someone did a real number on you,” she said.

“I have to go,” I said and kept walking down the hall.