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Half of me is appalled by his demands, but the other half is char me an ultimatum?”

“Yup,” he replies with a confident nod

Then he picks up his utensils and starts eating his food

With gusto

Clearly feeling better about his lifeChapter 13RafeEverything seeame of the third round of the playoffs

The conference finals, and we have hoainst the New York Vipers My belly ruame day

I quietly dress in one are the posters of Wayne Gretsky and Mario Leo The bed is rustic wrought iron that squeaks with any movement, and the furniture is feminine Not that it bothers me It’s merely a place to restanywhere

We have a teaht workout—roin’s been feeling a little tender after a fall I took last week on the ice I’ because it’s starting to become real

The Cold Fury is on fire, and there’s a real chance they—we—ht win the championship for the third year in a row

Grabbing my workout duffel, I open my bedroom door and tiptoe down the hall past my parents’ bedroo on the recliner beside h I’m not sure what that would be

He slipped into unconsciousness over twenty-four hours ago, and we called the hospice nurse out She checked his urine output—yes, I’ve beco—and took his vitals In a low voice, she told us it wouldn’t be long

I co roo in the bed, the blanket pulled up to mid-chest My han draped over her shoulders The dawning sun casts a yello over the room, and I place my duffel quietly on the floor at the top of the staircase

Ito wake myarethe bed, I note with a smile how peaceful my dad looks in his deep sleep, hopefully secured far away fro

And then I notice how utterly peaceful he looks