Page 9

A call comes through and I answer it. Right now, most of my phone calls are ones I need to pick up and not the dumb bots that call repeatedly.

"This is Charlie."

“Hey Charlie, it's Steve Hartman.”

My new general manager.

I nod, smiling. Steve is a legend in the NHL, having had a stellar career and then coaching several of the pro teams before he agreed to help us build the Utah Yetis. My goal is to build the professional sports realm in Salt Lake and the ultimate dream of mine is to have a professional baseball team here as well.

"It's good to hear from you, Steve. What can I do for you?"

“We're moving into the building today, but I just wanted to reach out for those checks you need to sign. We have a couple of contracts to go through, and then I think we'll be ready to prepare for the expansion draft.”

Because this will be a new team in the NHL, in less than six weeks, we'll be picking players from the rest of the teams in the league. That will make up the team for our first year, at least until trade time happens.

"Great. I'll be down that way tomorrow morning and we can go over everything necessary to get the ball rolling."

"Thanks, Charlie. I appreciate the opportunity to be here. Building a team will be quite the challenge."

“One I know you can handle.”

I hang up the phone, grateful to have Steve there to help guide me through the parts of this that I don’t know or am just learning.

Ava has moved the girls into different drills and she's walking around, giving feedback to each one. She must’ve played lacrosse as a teenager or in college. I’m not sure how I missed that. Maybe she started in high school?

"We can all use a good challenge in life," I say, laughing to myself as I think about what Steve said.

Every part of my investing life has been a stretch for me, making it so I have to learn and grow from each situation. If only my dating life were as predictable.

As long as I have my work, though, I should be set for the next ten to twenty years. Fitting anything else into my life won’t last. Even if I wanted it to.

5

AVA

Practice was great last night and adding Emily to the mix is going to strengthen us for our games in the local tournament this weekend and the out-of-state tourneys that have the girls already on college watch.

Charlie tried to talk to me after we got done, but I thanked him for his contribution and busied myself cleaning up the equipment. It would be nice to have a shed at the field, but the parks and rec department would have to allow it. So I usually just add the lacrosse buckets to the equipment room inside the rec building.

I guess I could ask Charlie to get the city to put something up, but that feels gross. I've never been good at taking things from people because I don't like to feel like a peasant when I've worked and scratched my way to this point. The best thing about college was I didn't have to pay since I got a scholarship.

The biggest question is how the man I used to know has the money to throw around on things like a travel lacrosse team. The Charlie I remember wasn’t really interested in anything but hockey and baseball.

Maybe it’s nice living as a bachelor and being able to spend money on what he wants. I doubt my life would be much different if Gran wasn’t here. I’d probably still live in her house, if it didn’t need to be sold according to her will, and would probably start gathering cats and gardening or something.

I drive over to the Silver Strand Rehab Center attached to the hospital. It doesn’t matter how much I try to avoid having thoughts about Charlie, they just keep invading my brain, especially since I saw him here yesterday.

What are the chances that his niece plays lacrosse? So much for thinking I’ll be able to avoid him for the next few months. Seeing his stitches was bad enough, but now I’m going to have to see his face throughout the summer.

I focus on the smile on my face. Gran will know exactly where my head is if I'm not careful.

With a quick wave to the ladies behind the desk, I walk down the hall to room one thirteen, the one Gran has been in since she fell a few weeks ago.

"Hey Gran, how are you tonight?"

She gives me a toothless grin, which is kind of scary. Her dentures are sitting on the table next to the bed. "I'm good, Ava. How are you, honey?"

I lean in and give her a kiss on the cheek before taking a seat on the chair next to her bed.