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her favorite shows, so he sat and watched them by himself in the dark? No, he kept those things to himself and did the only thing he could think of and moved away. He forked over the cash, signed on the dotted line, and began his life of solitude.
    Luckily Teal Manor came furnished, because JD didn’t want his and Darla’s furniture as a reminder either. The mansion came complete with large opulent armoires and cabinets he had no use for and an ornate ten person mahogany dining set he never sat at. He ate all his meals in the recliner in front of the TV and had become an expert at balancing a bowl of cereal on one leg and the remote control on the other. The four other bathrooms, besides the one in the master, went unused as well. He kept the doors to the spare bedrooms closed. He didn’t go into any of those rooms and they just collected dust. Once a week his housekeeper Veronica—who drove in from Red Valley so he paid her double—cleaned and dusted them and that was the only activity they saw.
    Frankly, he didn’t need all that space. It was eerie sometimes when the sound of Mel’s paws on the floor echoed throughout the massive house’s walls. It was a home meant for entertaining guests, throwing lavish parties , and showing off its magnificent grounds. Playing touch football on the manicured lawn, enjoying a glass of brandy in the library followed by a ten course meal in the formal dining room…
    It was a shame for such a magnificent house to go mostly unused , but JD didn’t dwell on it. The reason he’d chosen this house was strictly for its remote location. If a smaller house on twenty acres had been for sale in the area, he would have purchased it instead. Fortunately, cost wasn’t an issue. He’d had a lucrative career playing hockey and could afford to throw his money around. And why not? You couldn’t take it with you.
    T eal Manor lived up to JD’s expectations of it. It was secluded, quiet for the most part except for the birds, and so far off the beaten path that no one ever bothered him. Darla hadn’t been big on nature, so he knew it wouldn’t remind him of her. She was a city girl, right down to her French manicured toes.
    JD kept all of the windows in the house closed tight. It was as if he was afraid to let any fresh air inside in case it brought with it new life. He kept the sunlight out too, and made sure the heavy drapes were always pulled shut. Once a week, Veronica would open them, babbling on about something in Spanish. He couldn’t understand what she said and didn’t really want to know. She was good at her job and saved JD from having to clean a 3500 square foot house himself.
    A few months after the move, the phone calls from his agent and teammates tapered off. What could he say to them? Everyone wanted a piece of him and he had nothing left to give.
    For a while, JD’s only reason for getting up in the morning was to feed his dog, Mel. It still was his only reason for getting up in the morning, he supposed. Only now, he actually stayed out of bed and accomplished something. He ran a few miles on the treadmill, he watched the news, and he ate when he was supposed to. It wasn’t much, but it was something . At least he was eating and taking care of himself. He could have easily let himself go and drown in the bottom of a bottle of liquor, but he didn’t. He ate regularly, exercised and looked after his dog.
    What was that saying that people liked to throw around? Oh yeah. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger . Well, JD didn’t feel strong. He felt cracked and dry and brittle, as if he’d crumble and his bones would shatter if someone so much as looked at him the wrong way.
    There had been several times when he’d tried to shake himself out of the rut , but the next day he always fell right back into the dreary routine. There wasn’t much else to do besides veg out in front of the TV and it was just as well. The mindless chatter on the boob tube kept his mind from