The stands in the gym were half full. Mats were spread out on the gym floor, covering two-thirds of it. Kids sat on the side, cheering on their teammates, while refs circled the wrestling pairs. I spotted Violet’s scrawny body folded over another little girl. Determination narrowed Violet’s brown eyes. Her dirty-blond hair was braided and her singlet made her look even smaller than seven years old.

My nephew was done wrestling and he couldn’t sit like the other kids. They stood just off the mat, shouting instructions at Violet, but her focus was unwavering. The ref prowled the mat, evaluating her performance.

I smelled the soft floral scent of Kate’s favorite shampoo before she spoke. “I think she’s going to win by a pin.”

My gaze flicked to my wife and stuck. Her hair was pulled back in a haphazard bun and she wore a dusty-blue ZooMontana sweatshirt that swallowed her body down to her thighs. The jeans she had on hugged her legs all the way to her ankles and on her feet were gray and pink athletic shoes. She looked like the first time I’d seen her. Vibrant. Refreshing. And more interested in the wrestling than the people.

“She’s doing good.”

Kate’s lips curved. “She’s on a rampage. She lost her first match and dissolved into tears.”

“They all do. When they’re this young, they leave it all out on the mat. The older ones just won’t admit they feel like crying when they lose. How’d Corbin and Caleb do?”

“Corbin got a medal. Caleb’s wrestling for school, so he and Sophie are in Lewistown.”

I turned my attention to the kids on the mat. They were so little, but the basic skills were already there. If I’d gotten here earlier, I could have seen how far my niece and nephew had come since I’d watched a tournament last year. If I could attend these more often, I would recognize kids and witness how much they’d grown.

But…work. More regrets that did me no good. “My meeting ran long.”

“On a Saturday?”

My attention flicked back to Kate. Her steady gaze was on Violet, but the hard set to her mouth was new. “It was the best time to meet with the developers we hired to help us integrate centralized financial reporting.” I uttered the words with the same emptiness all my excuses seemed to have lately. I had a lot of power at King Oil, but I couldn’t control people. I had to be accommodating when it came to people and contractors. The days of being a dictator were over. But I felt the need to tack on, “Once it’s fully implemented, it should cut down on the time required to gather data for future mergers and acquisitions.”