Chapter 7 "Dinner With Friends"
At 7:30 on the dot, Adam and Amy were pulling up in front of Merchants Grill. They were in Amy's car, as Adam's was still being worked on after the accident. They walked arm in arm into the restaurant and looked for Julie and Scott. Adam caught Julie's eye from across the room. She waved energetically and the couple made their way through the crowd to join them.
Scott was a total gentleman and stood when they approached the table. He shook Adam's hand and gave Amy a big brother type hug. "Amy, you look great," Julie said. "I love that color on you."
"Thanks, Julie," Amy said. "Same to you. Your hair is gorgeous."
"Thanks."
Pulling out Amy's seat, Adam took a good look at his girlfriend. He had spent the duration of the car trip telling her how beautiful she was, cast and all, and now he couldn't help leaning over to whisper in her ear, "Jules is right. You are amazing." Amy smiled up at him, but did not respond. Julie and Scott were both looking at them pleasantly, and she decided to wait until they were alone to thank him.
Before long, after the waiter had been around and the orders had been placed, Julie and Amy stood up almost in unison and announced, "We'll be right back boys." They headed off in the direction of the ladies room, their heads together in low conversation.
"That was subtle," Adam commented, now alone at the table with Scott. He knew perfectly well that the girls were leaving so that Adam would have a chance to talk things out with Scott, or at least begin to.
Scott nodded in agreement. "Well, subtlety was never one of Julie's strengths." He took a drink of water, then got straight to business. "Something bothering you?" he asked.
Adam was startled by the forwardness of the inquiry. Scott's eyebrows were raised in question, waiting to hear Adam's side of a problem he had already heard bits and pieces of from Julie, who herself only had guesses. Finally, instead of answering, Adam started his own line of questioning.
"Did you always want to play hockey?" he asked. "In college, I mean. Or beyond."
Suddenly, Scott understood. He knew Adam's problem had something to do with hockey. Julie had established that much. But she had never connected Adam's dilemma with the scouts she had begun to see swarming at their games, or with the reality of their graduation looming near. But Scott saw the connection immediately, because he had felt the same thing. Hockey had been his life growing up, and he put up with so much just to be able to play the game. He practiced constantly in the off season, and sought out tutors during the school year help him keep his grades up so he could stay on the team. He even put up with the other players on the Eden Hall team, most of which were aggravating, self-centered fools. But when his senior year approached him, and he was constantly badgered about his future, he started to seriously think about it. Did he really want to be playing hockey the rest of his life?
All these thoughts were swarming around his head when he realized that Adam was looking expectantly at him, awaiting an answer. He tried to iron out some of his memories so he could communicate them.
"In the moment, hockey was always a part of my life. It was a daily reality. But when I thought about the future, things were always hazy. I wasn't sure if I saw hockey in my future." Scott took a deep breath and a moment to rearrange his thoughts. Adam was listening intently, and he really wanted to help. "Let me guess, Adam. You're not sure you want to play hockey for the rest of your life. Am I right?"
"On the spot," Adam told him. "And it's not that I never want to play again, I just wonder if there's something else I should be doing. Something…bigger."
Scott nodded, understanding. "The thing about the future, Adam, is that it is constantly in flux. What is true today may not be true tomorrow. Yesterday you thought that hockey was your future, and today you're thinking that might not be the case."
"That's pretty much it," Adam said, impressed. "Would I be right in assuming this is familiar ground to you?" Scott chuckled a bit, agreeing. "So how did you come to any conclusions?"
Scott's face straightened, and he was serious again. "I love hockey, always have. I think I just needed to realize that whatever decision I made about the next few years of my life was not permanent. I could always change my mind. That's one of life's little gifts. You can always change your mind, change your life."
Adam was thinking about this when something in the corner of the room caught his eye. Julie and Amy were standing together, trying to avoid being seen. When Amy realized they had been caught, she shrugged her shoulders and grinned apologetically. She and Julie started to slowly make their way back to the table.
"Thanks," Adam said to Scott as the girls approached. "It's something to think about at least." He and Scott stood when the girls reached them and Adam couldn't help but joke, "Did you get lost?"
"Funny, Banks. Really witty," Julie countered.
"You two deal with entertaining yourselves while we were gone?" Amy asked.
"We managed," Adam said. "It was rough though."
The evening went smoothly on from there. The four of them laughed and talked and went over old times. After their dinner plates had been cleared away, Scott and Amy started recalling stories of Amy's brother, Brian, whose Eden Hall exploits were something of legend. While they were busy exchanging tall tales, Julie shuffled her chair closer to Adam and asked under her breath, "Was Scott any help?"
"He was actually," Adam was glad to inform her. "You're dating a really smart guy, Jules, hope you know that."
Julie smiled and said, "Yeah, I do know how to pick 'em, don't I?" She examined Adam's face a little more closely and found that Adam did look more relaxed than he had at the beginning of the evening. An unconscious weight seemed to have been lifted from his shoulders. "So, are you going to fill me in on your big secret?" she asked.
"It's kind of complicated…well, maybe not." His problem didn't seem so complicated anymore. "I've just been thinking about the future, and where hockey fits into all that."
"That makes sense," Julie said. "I've been thinking the same thing, sort of. But it's more than that, isn't it. You were really messed up for a while."
"I was thinking about it too much. So much so that playing wasn't fun anymore. You saw all the scouts at the games, didn't you?" Adam asked. Julie nodded and Adam continued. "Those scouts are like ghosts to me, or something worse. They make me so scared about everything. Scared I'll make some stupid mistake and ruin any chances I have at a future I'm not even sure I want."
"Is that why you told Coach that you might not be ready to play again?" Julie asked carefully.
"Yeah. I feel really bad thinking so, especially since Amy was hurt worse than I was, but that car accident was probably the best thing that could have happened." As he said that, Adam glanced across the table where Amy and Scott were still absorbed in their stories. Amy was resting her injured arm on the table, her white cast almost completely covered in a stained glass pattern, courtesy of a few of her art class friends. "My medically ordered break gave me time to think, and to, well, watch from the outside again. I had a lot of fun at the game last night. Kind of made me remember why I loved playing so much."
"Good," Julie said, convinced that her friend was on his way to an answer to his crisis of faith. "So…will you be returning to us next week?"
Adam wasn't sure what he would decide, so he didn't promise Julie anything. She didn't ask him to.
A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed!! V. V. encouraging!
At 7:30 on the dot, Adam and Amy were pulling up in front of Merchants Grill. They were in Amy's car, as Adam's was still being worked on after the accident. They walked arm in arm into the restaurant and looked for Julie and Scott. Adam caught Julie's eye from across the room. She waved energetically and the couple made their way through the crowd to join them.
Scott was a total gentleman and stood when they approached the table. He shook Adam's hand and gave Amy a big brother type hug. "Amy, you look great," Julie said. "I love that color on you."
"Thanks, Julie," Amy said. "Same to you. Your hair is gorgeous."
"Thanks."
Pulling out Amy's seat, Adam took a good look at his girlfriend. He had spent the duration of the car trip telling her how beautiful she was, cast and all, and now he couldn't help leaning over to whisper in her ear, "Jules is right. You are amazing." Amy smiled up at him, but did not respond. Julie and Scott were both looking at them pleasantly, and she decided to wait until they were alone to thank him.
Before long, after the waiter had been around and the orders had been placed, Julie and Amy stood up almost in unison and announced, "We'll be right back boys." They headed off in the direction of the ladies room, their heads together in low conversation.
"That was subtle," Adam commented, now alone at the table with Scott. He knew perfectly well that the girls were leaving so that Adam would have a chance to talk things out with Scott, or at least begin to.
Scott nodded in agreement. "Well, subtlety was never one of Julie's strengths." He took a drink of water, then got straight to business. "Something bothering you?" he asked.
Adam was startled by the forwardness of the inquiry. Scott's eyebrows were raised in question, waiting to hear Adam's side of a problem he had already heard bits and pieces of from Julie, who herself only had guesses. Finally, instead of answering, Adam started his own line of questioning.
"Did you always want to play hockey?" he asked. "In college, I mean. Or beyond."
Suddenly, Scott understood. He knew Adam's problem had something to do with hockey. Julie had established that much. But she had never connected Adam's dilemma with the scouts she had begun to see swarming at their games, or with the reality of their graduation looming near. But Scott saw the connection immediately, because he had felt the same thing. Hockey had been his life growing up, and he put up with so much just to be able to play the game. He practiced constantly in the off season, and sought out tutors during the school year help him keep his grades up so he could stay on the team. He even put up with the other players on the Eden Hall team, most of which were aggravating, self-centered fools. But when his senior year approached him, and he was constantly badgered about his future, he started to seriously think about it. Did he really want to be playing hockey the rest of his life?
All these thoughts were swarming around his head when he realized that Adam was looking expectantly at him, awaiting an answer. He tried to iron out some of his memories so he could communicate them.
"In the moment, hockey was always a part of my life. It was a daily reality. But when I thought about the future, things were always hazy. I wasn't sure if I saw hockey in my future." Scott took a deep breath and a moment to rearrange his thoughts. Adam was listening intently, and he really wanted to help. "Let me guess, Adam. You're not sure you want to play hockey for the rest of your life. Am I right?"
"On the spot," Adam told him. "And it's not that I never want to play again, I just wonder if there's something else I should be doing. Something…bigger."
Scott nodded, understanding. "The thing about the future, Adam, is that it is constantly in flux. What is true today may not be true tomorrow. Yesterday you thought that hockey was your future, and today you're thinking that might not be the case."
"That's pretty much it," Adam said, impressed. "Would I be right in assuming this is familiar ground to you?" Scott chuckled a bit, agreeing. "So how did you come to any conclusions?"
Scott's face straightened, and he was serious again. "I love hockey, always have. I think I just needed to realize that whatever decision I made about the next few years of my life was not permanent. I could always change my mind. That's one of life's little gifts. You can always change your mind, change your life."
Adam was thinking about this when something in the corner of the room caught his eye. Julie and Amy were standing together, trying to avoid being seen. When Amy realized they had been caught, she shrugged her shoulders and grinned apologetically. She and Julie started to slowly make their way back to the table.
"Thanks," Adam said to Scott as the girls approached. "It's something to think about at least." He and Scott stood when the girls reached them and Adam couldn't help but joke, "Did you get lost?"
"Funny, Banks. Really witty," Julie countered.
"You two deal with entertaining yourselves while we were gone?" Amy asked.
"We managed," Adam said. "It was rough though."
The evening went smoothly on from there. The four of them laughed and talked and went over old times. After their dinner plates had been cleared away, Scott and Amy started recalling stories of Amy's brother, Brian, whose Eden Hall exploits were something of legend. While they were busy exchanging tall tales, Julie shuffled her chair closer to Adam and asked under her breath, "Was Scott any help?"
"He was actually," Adam was glad to inform her. "You're dating a really smart guy, Jules, hope you know that."
Julie smiled and said, "Yeah, I do know how to pick 'em, don't I?" She examined Adam's face a little more closely and found that Adam did look more relaxed than he had at the beginning of the evening. An unconscious weight seemed to have been lifted from his shoulders. "So, are you going to fill me in on your big secret?" she asked.
"It's kind of complicated…well, maybe not." His problem didn't seem so complicated anymore. "I've just been thinking about the future, and where hockey fits into all that."
"That makes sense," Julie said. "I've been thinking the same thing, sort of. But it's more than that, isn't it. You were really messed up for a while."
"I was thinking about it too much. So much so that playing wasn't fun anymore. You saw all the scouts at the games, didn't you?" Adam asked. Julie nodded and Adam continued. "Those scouts are like ghosts to me, or something worse. They make me so scared about everything. Scared I'll make some stupid mistake and ruin any chances I have at a future I'm not even sure I want."
"Is that why you told Coach that you might not be ready to play again?" Julie asked carefully.
"Yeah. I feel really bad thinking so, especially since Amy was hurt worse than I was, but that car accident was probably the best thing that could have happened." As he said that, Adam glanced across the table where Amy and Scott were still absorbed in their stories. Amy was resting her injured arm on the table, her white cast almost completely covered in a stained glass pattern, courtesy of a few of her art class friends. "My medically ordered break gave me time to think, and to, well, watch from the outside again. I had a lot of fun at the game last night. Kind of made me remember why I loved playing so much."
"Good," Julie said, convinced that her friend was on his way to an answer to his crisis of faith. "So…will you be returning to us next week?"
Adam wasn't sure what he would decide, so he didn't promise Julie anything. She didn't ask him to.
A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed!! V. V. encouraging!