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Shane looked over the last of the preparations for the planned luncheon. All of the food and tables, with enough chairs for the expected invitees, were in place.
The Centaurs had been fortunate to secure their place in the 2026 cup final by beating out Columbus in the fifth game of the Conference Final, and earning a well-timed week off to rest and recover. It fortunately coincided with the premiere of the documentary film spotlighting the Irina Foundation and the Game Changers Hockey Camps. The film was set to kick off the Inside OutFilm and Video Festival in Ottawa with an exclusive VIP screening the night before the official showing. Tickets for the event sold out despite their high price point. All of the monies raised from the night's festivities would go to support the work of the Irina Foundation in funding suicide prevention and mental health initiatives across North America.
The film “Changing the Game” was filmed over two summers of hockey camps in Ottawa and Montreal. To celebrate the release, all of the coaches were expected to be on hand for at least the VIP event. Shane and Ilya had wanted to make it an even more festive affair and encouraged them to bring along their extended family members. After all, how often would they see their child or sibling in a movie on the big screen? So it was decided that the day before the big launch, the Hollander-Rozanovs would host what could only be called a “family reunion” in the same backyard in their Ottawa home, where they had wed only a few short years earlier.
The caterers set up in the morning and cleared out well before 11 am. Most everyone would arrive for the catered lunch in the early afternoon and stay for the evening when Ilya would bring out the grill and turn things over to Zane Boodram. Bood had insisted that if there were any grilling to be done for such a large and important gathering that he would be the one to do it. Ilya knew better than to fight him on it and was working with Shane on some way to pay him back for doing them such a massive favor.
In addition to the events around the film, Shane and Ilya had worked with the Hollanders and Drovers to arrange special nights out for the parental figures. A Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day dinner experience for each group to make up for the fact that, due to the nature of the hockey season, these holidays were rarely celebrated in person.
Shane glanced at the corner of the yard, where a bouncy house had been set up for the kids, and rolled his eyes fondly. Ilya had insisted that there be activities for the children who would be in attendance. The Pike kids would be there along with Wyatt Hayes' nephew and the niblings of Kip, Ryan, and Harris, as all of their sisters were coming and were bringing their kids to cheer on their uncles by marriage or by blood.
Satisfied that everything in the yard was as perfect as it was going to be, Shane headed to the kitchen to see how Ilya was coming along with the beverage bar. Ilya had insisted on catering to everyone's coffee, tea, and soft drink preferences and was still doting on one of the coffee machines as Shane approached and wrapped his arms around his husband's waist.
"It looks fine. At some point, we have to just step back and accept that we're as ready as we'll ever be," Shane said.
Ilya turned in the embrace to face Shane, "Who are you, and what have you done to my husband who worries over every last detail?"
"Still me. I'm just trying to do as my therapist suggested and let go of some of the smaller details. It's hard, but I'm trying."
Ilya planted a tender kiss on Shane's forehead, "I know, moy lyubov, and I am so proud of you. You have come a long way and put in much work."
Before Shane could respond, Anya alerted them that someone was approaching the door. A quick check of the time confirmed that their guests should be arriving from this point on. Shane reluctantly released Ilya and went to answer the door.
Surprisingly, the first to arrive was Ryan Price with his family and, of course, his husband, Fabian Salah. The elder Prices, Ryan's sister Colleen, and her children had all made the trip from Nova Scotia to support Ryan. It was the second time this year that Ryan's parents had made the trip to Ontario, as they had previously been to Toronto to cheer on Fabian as he was presented a Juno award for Best New Album.
Shane ushered in an enthusiastic Fabian, a sheepish Ryan, and the awestruck Price family.
"I hope we're not too early," Ryan said, shuffling nervously. "Mum and Fabian were insistent that we get here early enough to see if you needed any help so we could pitch in."
"Welcome," Shane said. "Everything is under control and already set up. Come on in and relax. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Water?" he asked as he led the way to the kitchen, where Ilya was standing next to the milk frother, steaming milk for lattes.
Ilya had no sooner stepped away from the steamer than he found himself wrapped in the arms of the younger of the two women who had just entered the kitchen. He raised his arms in surrender while Shane looked on with raised eyebrows.
"I'm so sorry to just hug you like that without asking first, but I'm so thrilled to meet you. I'm Colleen, Ryan's sister," the woman said.
"It has been a while since an attractive woman threw herself at me, but I must inform you that I am a happily married man," Ilya said as Colleen disengaged and took a step back.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist hugging the man who saved my brother's life."
"What's this then?" Shane asked.
"Oh, you don't know? A few years back, your husband helped talk some sense into my brother and got him to realize that life was too short to spend it being miserable and doing something that brought only misery and pain. That conversation turned things around. Having the likes of Ilya Rozanov validate that there was more to life than hockey and making sacrifices to a game that didn't love you back was a real eye-opener for him. Shortly after, he quit the NHL and started pursuing what made him happy. In his case, it was Fabian. Ilya also gave him something else, a chance to work with youth. Just like dad and me," she said.
Color rose on Ilya's cheeks.
"Are you blushing?" Shane asked.
"No. Russians do not do this," Ilya replied.
"Why did I not know this?" Shane asked.
"It was no big deal. At the time, I could see that Ryan was not happy and was processing many things. I just made tiny suggestions and made the offer for him to coach at our camps."
"Well, it was a big deal to me," Ryan said, finally speaking up. "That conversation really changed things for me. It was the first time someone in hockey saw me as more than a weapon and thought I had more value as a player. That happened at one of the lowest points in my life. I was in a lot of physical pain, and I thought I'd lost my chance at a relationship with Fabian. Ilya gave me hope, and an offer to coach kids was the lifeline that I needed. And you know the rest of the story - I went to university and completed a degree and am now a youth counselor."
"And you bring your skills and wisdom to every camp. We can never express how valuable it is to have a qualified youth counselor on staff," Shane added just as they were alerted that another group of guests was approaching the door.
"The New York contingent has arrived," Eric Bennett announced as he and Kyle Swift walked through the door, closely followed by Scott Hunter, his husband Kip, and the Grady family, represented by Kip's parents, George and Margaret, and Kip's sister Megan, with her husband standing next to her alongside their child.
The Gradys had embraced Scott into their family long before his marriage to Kip. They had also adopted Eric and especially Kyle as honorary Gradys - something that healed a bit of the hurt that Kyle experienced from the strain with his own family of origin.
They followed the voices coming from the kitchen and soon joined the gathered Prices.
Shane turned to follow them when the next group of arrivals was at the door.
Troy Barrett and his husband, Harris Drover, were at the entryway along with his mother, Julia Frasier, and her boyfriend, Charlie. Behind him was the Drover clan led by Harris' parents, Sam and Marlene, with Harris' sisters, Anna and Margot, wrangling their husbands and kids, bringing up the rear. The Drovers would be integral to the celebrations over the next few days as they would be hosting the gathering of the mothers at their cidery.
Shane led them to the back yard, where the Prices and Gradys had since migrated. The kids, encouraged by Ilya, had made use of the bouncy house while their parents looked on, amused.
Wyatt and Lisa Hayes arrived next with Wyatt's sister Kristy and her wife Eve, and his nephew Isaac, as well as Max Riley and his wife Leah Campbell. The first year that Max and Leah had coached at the Game Changers Hockey Camp, they were thrilled to learn that fellow coach Wyatt had family in the Vancouver area, and they made it a point to reach out to them. Over the years, the three couples had become fast friends, and none of them wanted to miss a chance for them all to get together in Ottawa. Wyatt pointed out the group of kids and sent Isaac to join them.
A loud squealing from the front door, followed closely by the sound of many little feet running to get to the backyard, heralded the arrival of the Pike kids with their parents, Hayden and Jackie.
"No running in the house," Hayden called after the four of them in vain.
"It's no good trying that here, Hayd," Jackie said with a wry grin. "You know how the kids get when there's even a chance of seeing Uncle Shane and Uncle Ilya. They'll wear themselves out before the evening." Usually, Jackie was a stickler for keeping the children well behaved, but she had learned long ago that the rules were different for her kids, especially around Ilya, who believed the children could do no wrong. Not to say that Ilya was a pushover. No, he was a diligent babysitter and upheld the truly important rules, but he did love to indulge them.
Bood arrived and checked the meat supply for the grilling, while his wife, Cassie, introduced their son, Milo, to the other kids.
Kyle had joined Bood in the kitchen and, like him, was taking stock to ensure he had all the necessary supplies to make mocktails for the evening meal. He also noted that cases of Drover Cider and an ample supply of beer were in several coolers in preparation.
Ilya walked in to see the two taking stock of the inventory.
"I told you I would have everything you'd need. Did I lie?"
"Nope. Everything looks good. You used the marinade that I gave you and the spice rubs, right?" Bood asked.
"Yes, Bood. I had Shane watch to make sure I didn't miss any steps," Ilya said, grimacing when his assurance of Shane's assistance left the other man looking visibly relieved.
"Everything okay on your end, Kyle?" Ilya asked.
"Yes, it's perfect. Almost as good as being at the Kingfisher."
Ilya was about to reply when he heard the front door open. He went to the front room to find Yuna and David Hollander carrying a large cake. "Where would you like us to set this?" Yuna asked as David carefully supported the massive confection.
"Dining room for now. The kitchen area is very busy, and almost no one has gone into the dining room. Cake should be good there," Ilya said as he helped his father-in-law ease the cake to the middle of the table, where it should be safe from any wandering hands of children who might be tempted to sample some of the frosting. Once the cake was secure, he hugged both Yuna and David.
"Thank you so much for helping us organize all of this and the other dinners over the next few days," Ilya said warmly.
"You know that we're always glad to help our boys," Yuna replied. "I'm excited to get to know the other mothers."
"And I'm looking forward to hanging out with the other dads," David said.
"We should go find Shane and let him know you're here," Ilya said, leading them through the now-empty kitchen and out to the yard.
As Ilya approached, he heard Shane exclaim, "No way. Ilya really did that?"
"What is it that I am accused of having done?" Ilya asked.
"Eric here was just telling me that you had to tell him to remove his wedding ring, and Kyle confirmed that until that point, he'd thought Eric was off the market. And Troy was telling us how you helped him get out of his own way and finally make a move on Harris. It seems that I married a matchmaker or a bisexual godfather who also recruited coaches for our camp," Shane said. "In fact, with the exception of JJ and Hayden, you recruited all of our coaches, for which I am grateful for your people skills. Speaking of JJ, have you seen him yet?"
David was the one to speak up, "He was just looking for a place to park when we were walking up to the door. He should be along shortly."
David had no sooner finished speaking when the sound of the doorbell rang through the house.
"Why would anyone need to ring the bell?" Shane mused as both he and Ilya excused themselves and headed to the door.
The scene before them was one that had both men shaking their heads in laughter.
JJ was standing on the porch with two very familiar-looking men who were set to join the coaching staff for the hockey camps this summer. Wearing nametags that said "New Coach #1" and "#2" were Boston's Cliff Marlow and New York's Carter Vaughn.
"Cliff! I didn't think you could make it!" Ilya said as he hugged his former teammate close.
At the same time, Shane exclaimed, "Carter! Scott didn't tell us you were coming."
"We wanted to surprise you both. We had JJ pick us up from the airport and bring us here. You didn't think Carter and I would miss seeing all our closest friends on the big screen, did you?" Cliff answered.
Shane called out for Scott, and soon the two New Yorkers were headed to join Eric, Kyle, and Kip while Cliff and Ilya caught up on old times. It was then that Cliff informed him that Svetlana had caught a later flight and that she, along with Rose Landry, should be there before the first of the meats started coming off the grill.
"How do you know that Sveta and Rose will both be arriving at the same time?" Ilya asked.
"Oh brother, do you have a lot to get caught up on. Those two are thick as thieves. Rose spends as much time in Boston as she does in LA these days. Let's just say that when you and Hollander introduced those two, you had no idea what you'd unleashed upon the world," Cliff laughed.
Ilya could only shake his head at the implication and led Cliff to join the rest of the party.
Walking back to the yard, Ilya remarked to Shane, “It’s wonderful to have everyone here.” Shane wrapped his arm around his husband’s waist and gave him a squeeze. “It’s too bad Luca had already committed to coach for that Swiss youth camp.”
“Yes… he is missed. I will text him a picture of everyone later.”
“Definitely,” Shane beamed up at Ilya. “And we’ll see him at our camp later in the summer. We should rent out a theatre and do a showing of the film so he can see it on the big screen.”
“I love that. And I love you.” Ilya kissed Shane sweetly. They held each other and looked at all the families gathered in their yard. The mothers and fathers, sons and siblings, and more importantly, their found family they’d created.