Page 90 of Against The Boards

“You gonna tell me about him?” he asked.

“I haven’t told Tristan yet.”

“Okay…” He trailed off, and then the realization hit him. “Fuck, Roxie, a hockey player?”

“Dad, you were a hockey player. Tristan’s a hockey player.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “Christ, I was hoping to keep you away from that life. It’s hard on spouses. All right, tell me who it is. I assume he plays for the Bulldogs.”

“Michael Bennett,” I said through my hands.

“Tristan said you hate each other.”

“Yeah...turns out not really.”

He nodded. “Tristan’s been in Russia.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you’ve been living together,” he stated the obvious again.

“Dad, he got me back on the ice.”

“Tristan told me.”

“I don’t want to play professionally again, but he’s been helping me get back into hockey form, see if I can join a rec league or something next fall. I’m still scared to play again, though.”

Dad laid a hand on mine again. I didn’t pull away. “You can get back out there.”

I nodded. “I know, and that’s what Benny’s been trying to tell me. But you know us, Desjardins. We’re stubborn.”

“He’s good to you?”

My face hurt from the size of the smile formed across my lips. “Yeah, he is. He’s patient and sweet...he's a lot like you. You’d like him.”

“I’ve met him, and I do like him. Roxie girl, if you’re happy, I’m glad for you. Men, women, genderfluid, nonbinary, I want you to find someone who makes you happy.”

I was floored. Obviously, Dad had done some research. When I came out, Dad just stared blankly at me and said nothing. I had always assumed that meant he felt the same way as Mom. It never occurred to me that it took my dad some time to process the news.

“Dad, you know what nonbinary and genderfluid are?” I asked.

He steepled his hands in front of his face. “Look, I did a lot of research, okay? I wanted to understand you, understand what it meant for you to be bisexual.”

“I’m still bisexual just because Benny’s a man.”

He held up a hand to me. “I wasn’t trying to say that. I get that. I wanted you to know that I love you, no matter what. It was killing me that we weren’t speaking.”

I wiped a tear from my eye. “Dad…”

“Aw, Roxie, don’t cry,” he said and handed me a napkin.

I dabbed my eyes and checked my watch. “I got to get back to work.”

“I should have told you I supported you then. It was just a shock, and I didn’t know what it all meant. Then you wouldn’t return any of my calls.”

“Do you blame me after the way Mom reacted?”

He shook his head with a sigh. “No, but I want us to be a family again. I don’t want this wedge between you and your mother. And neither does she.”