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TAYLOR

Eight months later

T aylor double-checked the airport board to make sure he was right. There, in red letters, it read Flight 492 Minneapolis to Halifax canceled . Traveling around the holidays was a crap shoot in Canada, but he had been hoping the winter storm hitting the East Coast wouldn’t have made it all the way up the coast to Nova Scotia.

He was flying home from Minnesota because they had just played them before their break. Some of the guys took the plane back to Glendale, while others left from Minnesota to spend the holiday with their families.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and called his mom.

“Hi, honey. How’s it going?” his mother answered.

“My flight just got canceled.”

“Awww, what a bummer. I was worried about that.”

“I’ll get on the next flight.”

“Why don’t you book a flight to Florida?”

Her cheerfulness sounded a bit more forced.

His eyebrows crinkled. He did not like surprises. Why did he feel like he was in for one?

“Honey, I need you to have an open mind, but Mitch booked a trip for the kids to Disney for Christmas. We’d be leaving the day after you got here. I think it could be fun?—”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me that?”

“I just found out. It was a surprise for me, too. This is our first Christmas as a married couple, and I think he was trying to do something nice.”

Over the summer, his mom had remarried. Taylor was happy for her. He was a good guy and liked the way he took care of his mom... but just didn’t like the way things kept changing.

He was supposed to go home for Christmas. They would go to church on Christmas Eve. Come home, get a new book and Christmas pajamas, then wake up to a Christmas breakfast and presents under the tree. It was what they had done every year since he was a child. He loved the tradition— that , he knew what to expect. But above all, now that he was an adult, he loved the relaxation.

Being a professional hockey player with autism, he scheduled his down time and protected it fiercely because, during the season, he walked a balance of playing the game he loved and was good at and trying to take care of his sensory needs. Disney... That sounded like a sensorial nightmare.

“Disney . . .”

“Honey, it might not be that bad.”

“It’s fucking Disney . . .”

“I know. It’d mean a lot to Mitch if you came.”

Giving a deep sigh, he ran his hand through his hair. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Okay, call me when you know what’s going on.”

This was too much... too much to deal with in a loud airport. He was supposed to be boarding, getting ready to fly home to the airport he’d flown into countless times, then being picked up by his mom. They would drive through and get a donut and a cup of coffee on their way home. Then he would shower, go to his room, and decompress from his trip. But he was sitting in a loud, busy airport in Minneapolis with people whose flights had all been canceled.

The man next to him coughed, and Taylor could almost feel the germs. The sense of overwhelm was creeping in. He needed to get somewhere quiet, if that was even possible in the MSP airport two days before Christmas. One thing was for sure, he would not be going to Disney... Part of him felt bad because he didn’t want to disappoint his mom, but pushing himself like that only led to burnout and meltdowns.

He made his way down to a coffee shop with open tables. He would order a coffee and a donut and figure out things from there.

“Can I have a small black coffee and a glazed donut?”

“Coming right up,” said the woman behind the counter.

“Excuse me, ye look a bit familiar to me,” a woman with a Scottish brogue said from behind him.

While NHL players didn’t get recognized in the States as much as other athletes did, he was in Minnesota. If it were to happen anywhere, it would happen here.

He turned with his trained publicity smile to greet the fan, but instead, he was greeted by a small, round Scottish woman with wild red hair. She did look familiar, but he was having trouble placing her.

“You do look familiar?”

“That’ll be twelve dollars,” said the cashier.

Turning back, he paid the cashier and stepped aside to let the woman order. He left for a table in the blessed quiet coffee shop to figure out his next travel step, hating this. He wiped the table with his napkin as best he could before reaching into his bag and squirting hand sanitizer in his palms.

“I remember. Ye’re one of those hockey players, eh?”

He looked up at the same woman standing next to his table.

“I think I met ye when I was reading fortunes at the gala for yer team back in April.”

“Yes,” he said, happy to finally have it figured out. “I remember you. How are you doing?”

“Oh, ye know, I can’t complain. Trying to get back to New York, but my flight is canceled, so maybe I can complain,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Mine too,” he said before sipping from his too-hot coffee.

“That man looks familiar as well. Isn’t that yer coach?”

Taylor turned his head to the direction the woman was looking, and sure enough, there was his coach.

The woman waved, and Coach Wagner started his way over to them.

“Your flight got canceled too, huh?” he said, sitting at the table with Taylor.

“It did.”

“How are you holding up?” he asked, knowing this situation would be hard on Taylor, aware of the accommodations he needed during their travels.

“Good. My family was going to surprise us with a trip to Disney, so I think I actually dodged a bullet,” he said before sipping more coffee. “Now I just have to figure out how to get back to New York.”

“If you’re looking for a few quiet days, my cabin is open. My family is having their holiday in the city this year instead of our cabin. It is empty and quiet. Much better for relaxing than Disney.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. It’s just sitting there, empty, right now. It has everything you need for a couple days of R&R,” said Coach Wagner.

“Wow, that actually sounds perfect,” Taylor said, relief settling in after this good news.

“You’re welcome to it, as long as you don’t mind spending Christmas alone. I don’t know how you feel about that.”

“You know me, Coach... Any excuse for alone time in the season is appreciated.”

“Well, it’s yours if you want it. Snow’s not bad there yet. If you rent a car, you can be there in an hour.”

“Seriously?”

Coach nodded. “It’s yours. I’ll text you the code to the door.”

“Thank you so much. It sounds great. I appreciate it.”

“Think nothing of it. There aren’t many players I would offer my cabin to, but I know you, and I trust you,” Coach said with a hearty clasp on the shoulder.

“Thank you,” he said, ready to get out of this airport.

He turned to say goodbye to the woman who had waved over Coach Wagner... but she was nowhere to be seen...

That’s odd.