Addictive Collision by Sierra Rose

to date again?” I asked.
    “It’s been five years since cancer took my wife. I’m ready to open my heart to another person, if I can find someone willing to play bellhop with my emotional baggage. I want the chance to experience that joy again, the chance to fall in love. Patty wanted me to be happy, and I think it’s time to move on.”
    I touched his hand. “I know it’s hard.”
    “I think the hardest thing was coming home to an empty house,” he said.
    “I can imagine. I sort of felt the same way when Tom moved out.”
    “She wasn’t there to greet me, to ask me how my day was. Then, when I ate dinner with the girls, the chair opposite mine was empty. I couldn’t stand the thought of being so alone. When I went to sleep, the bed felt so big, and I only had the pillows to hug for comfort.” He touched his head. “You must think I’m really corny.”
    “No, not at all. I’ve been through it myself. Being by myself for the first time was a bit overwhelming at first, almost crushing. I’m sure the two of you created many wonderful memories together. You should wrap yourself up in those when you feel alone.”
    He sighed. “Memories of her are really all I have left...well, those and our girls. They look like their mother sometimes, like little pieces of her. Anyway, losing her changed my entire life. I was devastated for years. I couldn’t date because I couldn’t stand the pain, but something inside told me I’d survive. When it got to be too much, I just hit the gym and bench-pressed or boxed my troubles away.” He paused, then continued. “I won’t dwell on her, but I wanted you to know.”
    “Patty was a lovely person, I’m sure. I know for a fact that she had good taste,” I said with a comforting smile.
    “Thanks,” he said.
    “I have lots of emotional baggage too. I thought I’d met the man of my dreams, but he stopped finding me attractive a long time ago, and that was pretty much the end of it. He ignored and neglected me for so long. I should’ve known there was something going on, that he had a lover on the side.”
    “It wasn’t your fault, Morgan,” he said. “Any man would be a fool not to find you attractive.”
    “Well, not any man,” I said. “Oh, hey, I saw a picture on your mantel, you in all your football gear. What were you? Seventeen?”
    “Something like that. I love that picture. I was a quarterback. There’s no greater adrenaline rush than running out onto the field. I’ll never forget it. The crowd cheered, the band played, and the cheerleaders were rooting for us. The whole atmosphere was charged. Those were my glory days, I guess.”
    “Tell me more.”
    “Well, I was a bit of a Bo Jackson, played both baseball and football. I started for the Mount Oak Central baseball team as an eighth-grader and earned five varsity letters.”
    “Wow.”
    “I played quarterback, lineman, strong safety, placekicker, and punter in a primarily option, run-oriented offense. My father was the head coach, so I had to be good.”
    “Quite the jock, huh?”
    “Yeah, but my football dreams fell short. I got married instead of going to college, and that caused a real rift between Dad and me. He was so livid when he found out I had gotten Patty pregnant. When I landed the post office job, I was thrilled to be able to bring home a stable paycheck, but to this day, Dad’s still pissed at me for doing what I wanted to do. I loved football, but it was really more his dream than mine. I love my kids and wouldn’t change it for the world.”
    “Right. You can’t live someone else’s dream,” I said, patting Foster on the hand. I could feel his sadness and pain, and I hoped he could someday mend the broken bridge between his father and him.
    “I mean, I loved sports, and it might have been my dream at first, but things changed. Things just...happened, and I had to go with the flow,” he continued. “I was happy, and I think that’s what matters most, but Dad doesn’t see