The crew was setting up in a small glass-walled conference room overlooking the main ice rink. There were three rinks in the complex, offering a lot of ice time for hockey, skating, and ringette. We often had to navigate the ice with other coaches and their skaters, and as we built our reputation, it was a perfect setup.

We sat side by side in chairs while they unpacked the big lights. Janice Harvey, still going strong, previewed the questions she wanted to ask. Of course she wanted to highlight our relationship—this was a fluff piece to air during the upcoming US Nationals, and the network always wanted personal hooks.

As much as I knew Henry didn’t like these questions, he only objected to one. “I don’t want to talk about my grandfather.”

Mr. Sakaguchi had died recently at a truly freaking amazing hundred years old. It wasn’t unexpected, but it still hadn’t been easy. Honestly, I didn’t want to talk about it either. Henry’s family had welcomed me so wholeheartedly.

I missed those afternoons with Ojiichan while he and Henry did their crosswords and I played whatever game I was obsessed with at the moment on my laptop and tried not to shout too much.

“Of course,” Janice said. “I’m very sorry for your loss.” Her gaze flicked down, and she smiled.

I realized I’d unconsciously reached for Henry’s thigh when he’d tensed, my hand still resting there. I squeezed before letting go and said, “Thanks for understanding.”

“Of course,” she said. “Hey, did you guys get a new house? How much over asking did you bid? My nephew lives in Toronto, and he’s been trying for months.”

“Yeah, we had to go two fifty over asking. It’s insane, but we fell in love with the backyard. There’s a nature preserve behind us, so it’s really peaceful, but we’re still in the burbs.”

“Square footage? What’s the commute? At least this arena’s out of the city.”

A makeup person powdered us for camera while Janice and I talked real estate and Henry surely wished he was back on the ice.

When they were ready to roll, Janice asked, “At this time last year, did you even dream you’d be coaching a national champion?”

I answered, “Honestly, we knew Grace was capable, but we didn’t expect it for another season or two.” I didn’t add that the past US champion had choked—hard—and that luck had factored into Grace’s win. “We’re still learning and growing as coaches, and we’re hitting that next level with Grace. She’s improved so much this season. We think if she does her best, she can win again.”

“And I’m sure you and Grace are looking to the next Olympic Games in two years. After all, you’re both Olympic medalists, with Henry of course winning gold in Calgary and silver four years later in Norway. Theo, many were surprised when you retired after Calgary. Did you ever regret it or consider competing again?”

“Nope. I loved touring, and when I started coaching part time, I realized how much I loved helping other skaters. For me, it’s more satisfying. It made me fall in love with skating in a new way.”