Their New Beginning (Oh Captain, My Captain 5)

Regina stands up. “No, you haven’t.”

“Yep,” I nod. “I have. I’m going to be sixty years old with eight failed marriages, living in some condo out in the desert.” I love my mom, but that woman has more marriages than Elizabeth Taylor. She meets a man, falls in love after ten minutes, and then runs off to a chapel to get married. Regina and I have bounced around so many homes in our lives, it’s crazy.

“Squirt, quit that right now,” Regina orders me. “Jax loves you, and you’re not Mom.”

“He didn’t even talk to me today.”

“Well, give him time. Maybe he’ll come around. Think of this though: you don’t have a prenup, so at least you get some sweet money.”

I gasp. “Genie. How can you say that? I didn’t marry Jax for his money. I couldn't care less about that.”

She smiles, walking over to me. “That right there shows you’re not Mom.”

I close my eyes understanding her point.

“It was one time, right?”

I nod. “I fell into bed with the first guy in six months that said I was beautiful.”

“It happens.”

“Not to me. Not to my marriage. What does that say about me, Genie? That I’m a whore.”

“Hey!” she barks at me. “Don’t ever call yourself that. You’re not. If you want your marriage to make it, then fight for it. Fight hard. Mom never did that; she just moved on to the next guy. You haven’t even batted your eye at a guy since you met Jax. Did you love this guy?”

“No, I love Jax. I made a mistake.”

“Then go fix it.”

After I leave my sister’s office, I don’t know where to go. I drive aimlessly and end up in front of the rink. I know that Jax still has practice, and that he doesn’t particularly like me coming, but from time-to-time, I do.

I pull up to the security guard, flashing my family badge, and drive to the parking garage. I park right next to Jax’s Mustang and head through the back door. I find a seat near some other fans, but higher up.

I spot Jax first. I can always find him on the ice; it never fails. It’s usually because of his smile; this time, it’s because he isn’t smiling.

The team is all bunched in the middle of the ice, doing a shootout.

Jax is last to shoot. He races toward the goalie and slings the stick back, shooting the puck over the goalie’s right shoulder. The team slaps their sticks on the ice, but Jax still doesn’t smile.

“Mrs. Godwin.” I turn and see Mr. O’Connell, the Gambler’s General Manager, coming over to me. “What is the pleasure of having you here today?”

I stand and shake his hand. “Um, just stopping by.”

“I’m sure Jax will be glad to see you.”

I’m not sure about that, I think as I sit back down. He takes the seat next to me.

“So what are you doing out and about?”

“Oh, an old man like me needs to stretch his legs every once in a while,” he jokes.

Mr. O’Connell is possibly the sweetest man around. Most people think GMs are ruthless and cutthroat, but he’s different. He does his best to keep a team together. He doesn’t just trade them away. That’s why this team has been together so long. However, that still doesn’t mean Jax can’t be traded, and I know he worries about it.

“I don’t see an old man,” I try to joke back, but it isn’t there.

He looks at me cautiously. “Jax’s contracts negotiations should be starting up soon.”

I nod.