All The Missing Pieces [Completed] [Watty's 2021]

chapter 17

After the game tonight, Henry asked to see me before I left. I've been having a hard time lately and I hope it hasn't impacted the way I'm doing my job. Griffin is finally back to the game, so it was great to get shots of him tonight. He's been checking in on me every day since I've been back from my little leave. I'm sure everyone on the team knows what happened but I wasn't ready to talk to anyone about it specifically.

What I did notice tonight was Griffin's number. It's the same as Damon's. He walked up to me as I packed the gear away for the day. "Hey Zoey," I smiled up at him and he adjusted his team jacket. "Did you want to get some dinner or something tonight?" Was Griffin trying to ask me out on a date?

"Griffin, I would love to-- but I'm meeting Henry after. He needed to go over a few things with me." He nodded and awkwardly smiled. I think he was trying to ask me on a date.

"Oh, okay. Well, I hope you have a good night. I'll see you around tomorrow." I watched him as he made his way out of the locker room. I felt a blush creep up my neck thinking about how Griffin tried to ask me on a date.

"Zoey," Felix walked by wiggling his eyebrows. I shook my head and grabbed my stuff to head up to Henry's office. When I got there he told me to come right in.

"What was it you wanted to chat with me about?"

"Zoey, I know there's a lot of emotion surrounding this and I don't want to push any buttons or make anything seem different than it should be--" I looked to Henry in concern. Where is he going with this? "I know the accident anniversary is in a few days. It will have been five years. I would love to do a special event at the game that night to honor your brother." I let out a small gasp as Henry handed me a post-it note with a few bullet points. "It won't be much, I just want to share a highlight video of him, share my experience with him, and if you want to share a story we can do that." I stared at Henry for a few more minutes processing everything.

Damon will be gone for five years in a few days. They want to honor him. "Of course Henry. Damon would have loved any chance to be recognized as a Nordique." I let my fingers tangle with the necklace and handed him back the post-it note. "I think it is a good idea. I like it."

"What I was wondering, now if it's too much let me know. I was wondering if he had a playlist of music he listened to on the ice that we could play all night during intermissions and reviews and what not." I tilted my head trying to remember if Damon had a playlist.

"I think he did. I just may need some time to find it. I know he had a few specific songs he always played."

"Good. That's great." Henry scribbled down some notes and I took in a breath. They want to honor Damon. "I know he was number nine, and Griffin Hodgkins wears that number for his own personal reasons. Maybe later on we can think about retiring that number with the team?"

"Oh, Henry we don't have to think about that. D would have freaked out if he got the chance for that, but I think he would also note and understand that he didn't 100 percent play with you so there would be no reason. I think his college retired his number, though."

"Really? University of Denver did that? Maybe we should invite them to the game?" I gave a small node and Henry gave me a smile. "Okay. I was also thinking of having the team wear warm up jerseys. We could design them together if you want. I was thinking about doing the number zero-nine so no one would get confused with Griffin. I want to include his full name too. Not just his last on the back. And of course your family would get to wear one and keep it."

Henry looked up and saw the tears in my eyes. I tried to hold them back but I couldn't. "Henry this is all so nice."

"Damon was inspiring when we watched his games. I have felt like an asshole not doing something to honor that."