The Hockey Captain's Exception

Damaris’s POV The five hour drive back home is very silent. I don't even turn on the radio or blast music in my car as I normally would, especially on a long trip as this. I don't feeling like listening to any person’s voice. The voices in my head is loud enough for me. I only make stops for bathroom breaks. I don't even buy snacks to munch on. I've been moody ever since I got the email saying I was fired from my job. That's the fourth job in two years that I simply couldn't keep. It's bad enough that I don't even know what I want out of life, and now the only stable thing in my life which is my job has been ripped away from me. At 24, I'm moving back to my parents house after two years of failed stable employment. I graduated from the University two years ago and I chose to stay back instead of going back home. The city I schooled at is a five hour drive from my hometown so I could only visit a few times per year due to how demanding school was at the time. I already received job offers immediately after I graduated so it only made sense that I stayed back to build my career. But the jobs were never stable. It's either the company is downsizing a few months after I'm employed, or a better replacement is brought in without giving me a heads-up. The excuse of the last job was that my boss thought I'm too expressive and trying to outshine everybody. How does that even make sense? Anyway, I'm currently unemployed thanks to them. I had no choice but to make the painful decision to move back into my parents house temporarily to figure out my life and what I really want to do. It's embarrassing to me. My parents don't mind but I can't help but feel like I let them down in some way. I take the next turn and within seconds, I'm pulling up to my parents drive way. I turn off the ignition and my mum is out the door before I could even get out. “Hey, honey” she says in that warm voice that always calms me down. “Hi mum” I say as she engulfs me in a long hug. I've missed my mother. Due to the distance, I don't get to see my parents as often as I would love to. I guess I have the the next couple of months to make up for that. “How was the journey?” she asks as she smoothens my hair. “It was good, mum” I reply. She moves to the trunk and begins taking outy luggage. I move to help her and together we make our way into the house. It feels exactly like home immediately I step in. I walk straight to my old bedroom and my mum follows behind. It looks the same. Nothing really has been changed and I'm grateful for that. I leave the boxes by the door and sit on the bed. My mum is seated next to me in seconds. She takes my hand in hers and I turn to stare at her. “You're welcome home, baby. I know how you might be feeling but I just want you to know that your dad and I will always open our arms to you. You mean the world to us and the hurdles you're currently facing can never change that. This is life, Damaris. Everyone goes through tough times at some point. As much as I hate that this is happening to you, I'm glad that you thought it wise to come home. We'll figure it out together, okay?” she says, giving my palms little taps. “I just feel like a disappointment, mum. I know you and dad had high expectations of me when I graduated and I couldn't even keep one job” I feel the tears well up in my eyes and I try to blink them away. “That's not true, Damaris. Your father and I will never pressure you into doing anything. It's okay to fail sometimes. It's all part of the process. Damaris, you're still young. You're still figuring life out. I mean, we all are. No one's got it all figured out. It's okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are actually needed because they guide you in your next course of action. I don't want you feeling like a failure. You are not and will never be, okay” she says and I hug her tightly. We stay that way for a few minutes. “Alright, I'll leave you to freshen up. I made your favourite. Your dad would be home soon” she stands up from the bed and moves towards the door. “Okay. Thank you, mum” I say to her. She smiles at me and leaves the room. I slum backwards to the bed and let out a long breath. I'm helping mum set the table when the door opens. That must be my dad. I try to focus on setting the table. I'm too ashamed to even look at him. He walks in and mum goes over to greet him. I still have my head down. The moment I look up, my eyes meet with his and I hold his gaze. He looks deeply at me and I almost break down at the spot. “Come here, baby girl” Those exact words made the tears I've been trying so hard to keep at bay spill down my face. He stretches his hands out to me and I practically run into them. I cry softly on his shoulder and he pats my back. I lift my eyes to meet his as he wipes the tears off my face. “That's okay, pumpkin” he says, looking lovingly at me. “I'm sorry, dad” I say inbetween sobs. “There's nothing to be sorry about. Now, stop making a big deal out of this. You're always welcome here. This will always be your home. Darling, take as much time as you need to figure things out. Your mum and I are here to help out” he places a kiss on the top of my head. He has always done that since I was little. “Alright, let's eat. We don't want dinner getting cold now, do we?” mum says from behind us. I smile at them both as we all have our seats and shortly after, we begin eating. “How was practice today, honey?” mum asks dad. “Well, it was good. A bit intense though. We have an important game coming up in couple of weeks so the boys are getting prepared for it. The opposing team is a strong one so we need to be well prepared” my dad answers. My dad coaches New Jersey Sentinels. The strongest ice hockey team in the city. “I guess that calls for more time training” mum says “Exactly. The team is doing great already. But we can not relent though” Dad says. I eat my food silently until Dad calls out my name and I shoot my head up. “I was thinking, Damaris. How about you come work for the team for the time being? until you figure out what you really want to do” Dad suggests. “Okay… but what am I going to be doing, dad?” I ask “Administration. We actually need someone to coordinate the team. Our team's operations coordinator just went on maternity leave last week and we need someone to fill in that position as soon as possible. It'll be temporal until you decide what you want to do” Dad explains “Dad, I don't know anything about hockey. I'm not sure I'm the best fit for the job” I reply “You don't need to. Like I said, you'll be handling the administrative part of the team. I just feel it'll help keep your mind active. Staying home all day might not be the best option for you at this point” he looks to my mum and back at me. I contemplate his offer and honestly, it's not bad. I was actually thinking of what I'll be doing for the next couple of months in my parent's house. This is an opportunity to keep myself busy during my time here. I sure don't want to stay home doing nothing. “Alright, dad. I'll take it. I also think it'll help keep me busy for the time being” I answer “Are you sure you want to do this, darling?” mum asks from across the table. “Yes mum. I'm sure. Thanks, dad” I turn to my dad. “Anything for my little girl” he says with a smile. “I'm not little anymore, dad” I feign annoyance “Whatever. You'll always be my little girl” he insists and I playfully roll my eyes. Dinner passes by slowly as we catch up on our lives. I guess being back home might not be so bad after all.