The Courage to Grow - Chapter 1

We find ourselves in the northernmost city in Europe. A small, yet great city, where the sun barely shines in the winter, and shows a lot of herself in the summer. A place where history and modern asthetics mix and form a bond in a unique way. This is the place on Earth called Oulu in the modest Scandinavian country of Finland.

On the outskirts of town, near the Oulujoki Rover, there's a one-story house, with a wooden fence, and a garden near the outer walls of the house. The house itself has a peach colour to it with a dark tile roof, like a lot of homes in Europe. It's a smaller house compared to the others on the same road, which had a lot of two-story homes. There is a big window to the left of the main door, and we see a big figure in it. A tall and healthy-looking caribou with grey and silver fur and wooden brown antlers looks to his garden on a drizzling May morning. He's wearing a white long-sleeved checkered shirt with denim jeans, his hoof feet standing on the hardwood floor. There are signs of age showing around his eyes, along with grey patches in his combed ash blond hair. He snorts lightly as he sips more of his morning coffee and returns to his kitchen, preparing breakfast.

As we look around the house, there is memorabilia of his life. From portraits of the time he played professional basketball with the London Jets and Helsinki Norsemen, to pictures of his mother and late father, a lot of this caribou's life was on display. Then there's a portrait of his own family, with his ex-wife and son, reminding him how far he's gotten in his life. His marriage lasted 10 years. 10 years of joy and sadness. He still wished it didn't end in a court room. It was an ugly ending to a long relationship that seemed good at first, but in the end, it was depressing, and it especially hurt their son.

His name is Blake Aleksi Toivonen. 42 years old, born in Lapland, and a former EFBL player. For the past 8 years, he's worked on his reputation as a player agent for players across Europe. But now, he's planning to move on to the next chapter in his life. Roughly three years ago, Blake sent out an application for immigration to the US. It was a long and hard process, as he needed to prove his self-employment among many other factors that were required for legal immigration. He is striving to reach out into the Furry Basketball Association, the best league in the world, something he never quite reached as a player. But now, as he's become a veteran agent, he can experience the vibe of the FBA, if he succeeded.

But he would not be alone on this journey. His son Erik has applied at Universities in the US, hoping to come over on a scholarship from his Finnish high school for outstanding academic athletes, and jump into college basketball, just like his old man. The final paperwork for Erik was lying on the coffee table.

The caribou puts his eggs and spinach salad on a plate, walking towards the living room to eat on the couch, looking back at the family portrait. With a sigh, he sits down and grabs his utensils to start eating and watching the local morning news. Mr. Toivonen can relax for a while, as some of his potential new clients are still sleeping over in North America. Just watching TV seemed to be a good way to spend the next hour.

Then his smart phone rings. Once, twice, vibrating each time. Blake leans over to grab it, and flicks it on. There were 3 email notifications. Swiping down to see who it was from, Blake read over the senders. The emails were from a few FBA draft candidates, including Seba Koscuisko and Benjamin Durby. Along with the emails came attachments to the filled-out questionnaires he sent out to players interested in hiring him. Smiling, Blake put the phone aside and began clearing his plate. As soon as he was done eating, he put the dirty dishes into the dish washer and went straight to his office. Work was starting sooner than expected, but Blake didn't mind.

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Hours went by, and Blake completed emails and phone calls in a timely manner. It was almost 5 PM now, and Blake was awaiting Erik to come home for the weekend. The divorce lawsuit has granted Blake's ex-wife Mila custody over Erik, and as much as Blake wanted to have Erik at home with him, it was for the best. Being a frequent traveller, Blake was home for a few weeks before heading back en route across Europe to his clients. He loved seeing new places on a frequent basis, but as he got older, Blake wanted to spend more time in his native Finland and see what it had to offer, and be closer to Erik, who was longing to be out of his mother's home.

The doorbell rang and Blake got up from his chair to walk to the door. Opening the door, there was Erik, wearing his black backpack and carrying a small blue duffle bag in one hand. At 7 foot 3, Erik seems just like his father. He has the same light brown eyes and ash blond hair as his old man, except he loves his hair longer with some bangs laying over his forehead. With a light smile, Erik leaned in to hug his father with one arm.

"Moi, Papa." Erik greeted his father, speaking his native Finnish tongue.

"Moi, Erik." Blake returned the favour as Erik turned back to wave to his mother, who was still in her red VW Jetta. With a light-hearted wave, Mila waved Erik and Blake good bye before she turned around to head home. Blake saw the cold stare of his ex-wife through the windows, but at this stage, it was no longer a bother. With a light chuckle, Blake closed the door behind him as Erik sat down on the couch after putting his bags in his room.

"(How was your week?)" Blake asked his son the usual question.

"(Good. Just good.)" Erik said, a little distracted by the TV. "(There is not much to do before finals. You know how it is after basketball is over.)"

"(Yes, I know, Erik.)" Blake poured himself a glass of orange juice before sitting down to his son. "(Have you been studying for your finals?)"

"(Yeah, Papa. But Mama won't shut up about it. You know how much I work to graduate and be able to move to the USA.)" Erik sighed, leaning back on the couch, feeling frustrated with how things have been going recently.

"(I know, Erik, and your mother does that, because she loves you.)" Blake reminded his son as he took a few sips from his drink.

"(I know, Papa.)" Erik replied with a slight groan. "(But she's really been on my nerves about school lately. It's like she doesn't trust me.)" Blake could only chuckle from that statement. During their marriage, Blake tried to be on the road as much as possible, because Mila's distrust for him was too much to bear. She was possessive and wanted to make sure Blake wasn't cheating on her in a different country, but her ex-husband was a disciplined man, and eventually, the breaking point was met, and Blake filed for divorce. To this day, he thinks it was the right move, from the way his son was talking about his mother. Blake leaned forward to the coffee table and slid the few sheets of application paper towards Erik.

"(You need to fill these out. Just this and then we'll be on our way to America soon.)" Blake nodded. Erik sighed and looked around for a pen. Before he could get up, his father held one in front of him.

Erik took the pen and began to fill out the papers. Blake sat relaxed with his glass of juice as he waited for his son to finish. 5 minutes later, Erik handed the papers over.

"(Thank you, Erik. I'll bring those to the post office tomorrow.)" Blake said as he folded up the papers and slid them into an envelope with care. Erik leaned back, smiling. "(Yeah, can't wait to go to America. Mom has no clue, Haha...uh...)"

Just as Blake was finishing up closing the envelope, he stopped dead in his tracks. With a stern look, he turned his head to Erik, who was holding his head, not believing what he just told his dad.

"(You haven't told your mother?)" Blake asked with an unimpressed tone of voice. "(Erik, this is not a laughing matter. She may not be the best mother in the world, but she cares about you just as much as I do.)"

"(Papa, I'm 18. Why does she have to know this?)" Erik pleaded in defence.

"(Because she is your MOTHER, Erik! You might be of age, but that doesn't mean you stop telling her what you're doing with your life.)" Blake remained calm, as much as a father can with his son.

"(Whatever.)" Erik mumbled as he shook his head.

Blake wasn't phased by the behaviour of his son.

"(Erik Veeti Toivonen! I will not tolerate your behaviour towards your father.)" Blake pointed towards Erik, as he had a unimpressed expression on his face. "(You're coming with me to your mother's tomorrow, so you can tell her about all this.)"

Erik's expression changed, as he sat up, holding his arms up in utter disbelief. "(But Papa...)"

"(I said we're going, and that is final.)"

"(Fine!)" Erik shouted back, his voice identifying the bad mood he's in. With a grunt, Erik sat up from the couch, shaking his antlers as he made his way towards the room, slamming the door behind him.

With a sigh, Blake got up from the couch and went on his way to the kitchen to make salad for supper. This was not the ideal way to start the weekend with his son, but it had to be done. The past year or so, Blake told his son to tell his mother about the move to the USA, but Erik intentionally forgot. Blake had mentioned the move to his ex-wife some years ago, but she seemed disinterested. This was different. It involved their only son, and it was important to him that his mother knew. She had to know. She was still family after all. Even after years of bad blood.