Take the shot Pt. 02

"Mom, dad. We have something very important to tell you and..."

"Oh my god! Are you pregnant???" The sheer delight on my mom's face was comforting and disheartening at the same time.

"Mom, mom. No. No, Inga's not pregnant."

"Hush dear. Let the boy speak." My dad playfully chastised my mother.

I held Inga's hand and could feel the cool sweat she had developed. "There's no easy way to say this, so we've decided to just come right out with it." I turned to Inga, and she swallowed nervously.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bower. I love your son more than life itself, which is why I... well we... felt we had to be completely honest with you." My parents looked like they were on the edge of their seat. "I'm a transexual."

"I'm sorry dear. What was that?" My mom was trying to process it.

"I was born a boy but have identified as a girl since I was 11. It took a while for my dad to understand, but eventually both my parents encouraged me and helped me with my changes. As a favor between fathers, Annet was gracious to take me under her wing and help me understand the nuances of living fulltime as a woman. In some ways, I owe her my life."

So Annet's not your aunt?" My father asked and Inga shook her head lightly. "Is... is Annet a... you know... the same as you?"

"Yes Mr. Bower. She's also a transexual. I'm only sharing that with you because she agreed that you two should know."

I was worried when my dad sat back in his chair and huffed. "You'd never know." He lifted his palms.

"Are you happy Timmothy? Are you truly ok with this... arrangement?" My poor mom was trying not to be offensive.

"You tell me mom. How many times have you gone on about how much I've changed since Inga came into my life?" I looked lovingly at Inga. "She makes my life complete. I can't imagine not spending the rest of my life with her."

Inga started to cry and kissed my cheek. "Mr. and Mrs. Bower, I love your son. You have raised the most amazing man and he's captured my heart and soul."

I guess my mom had enough, because she shot up from her chair and lifted Inga off hers, into the biggest hug you could have imagined. "And I love you too dear. My Timmy has never been this happy and I have you to thank."

The two women hugged and cried, while I watched my father carefully. He was quiet and that wasn't always a good thing. "Dad? You, ok?" My question seemed to get his attention and that of my mother and Inga. We all went quiet now. He looked up at the ceiling and blew out the air from his lungs. "Dad? I prompted him one last time.

"I'm going to assume that the two of you have talked about some of the difficulties you may encounter should word get out?" I nodded my head. He looked at Inga and a small smile broke out on his face. "Mind you, the only way people are going to know is if you two tell them, because sweetheart you are one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen, and I'm delighted you have found my son's heart."

My dad put his hand out and when I went to grab it, he yanked me from my chair and smothered me in the biggest hug (not the bro kind, the loving father kind). Soon the four of us were entangled in a group hug with tears flowing from everyone's eyes.

Out of the excitement my mom stopped and looked at Inga. "What about grandchildren? Would you two ever consider adopting?" My mom wanted grandchildren so bad.

"Don't you worry mom. When the times right, M has a plan." I must give my parents credit, as they caught on way quicker than me.

"So, your child will have DNA from both families? Oh, my goodness! That's crazy!" And my mom started crying again.

**

After the awkward rookie laps, I shot a few pucks and relegated myself to the red line to do my pregame stretches. It was a dream come true, albeit temporarily. I had been called up for at least 3 games with the big club. It was near the end of the season and with the playoffs out of reach, they sometimes used these games to evaluate the talent from their farm team. It was a Saturday night, in the Scotiabank arena and I was wearing the real Toronto Maple Leaf's Jersey. At roughly 10k per game it was a huge financial boost as well. I looked up and saw my parents watching me with the ultimate pride on their faces. Beside them was my fiancé and her parents, who were already here visiting. We had planned an engagement party, as they were anxious to meet their future son-in-law. The moms got a long of course and the dad's had the hockey connection, so they were golden. After a sweet wave from Inga, I then saw my sister and her boyfriend Gary. I wasn't excited about my sister dating, but I had to admit that Gary seemed pretty cool. M was making a big deal, waving and hollering at me, causing her boyfriend to go red in the face and Inga to laugh hysterically.

"Tim Bower." The voice pulled me from my moment. Just on the other side of the red line was Nathan Grant. Remember him? He was the hot shot, soon to be first rounder, that I played all those years ago in the national U18 tournament. He did go in the first round and has been a member of the Nashville predators ever since. Last I heard he was making 6.9 million a season, so I guess you could say he was doing ok.

"You remember me?" I laughed.

"Hard to forget the guy that burned me in overtime to lose a national championship." He was smiling the whole time.

"Yeah well, it looks like things turned out ok for you." I joked with him.

"It's good to see you out here. I always figured you'd get here sooner or later."

"It's just temporary. You know, let's look at the talent pool since we missed the play offs."

"You don't strike me as a quitter Tom. You never know. Good seeing you. Good luck."

"Thanks Nathan." As he started to skate away, I called him one last time. "Hey Nathan!" He looked back at me. Next time... take the shot!"

He laughed and skated away.