Thankfully,when we get to the suite, it looks perfect, and when I get Savannah into bed and have ordered sundaes from foodservice, I excuse myself and use the bathroom, where I finally open my messages.
Read the last one I sent.
Me:
Good luck tonight.
Deacon:
Thanks, Doc. See you soon.
I sent a thumbs up and a hockey stick emoji instead of the angry face, which best fit my emotions at the time.
After the game, I used a GIF of confetti instead of telling him how amazing he played, how strong he looked, and how badly his warm-up stretchesmade me ache.
Deacon:
Headed back. I’ll try not to wake you and Savannah when I come in.
Me:
Sofie is staying the night with us in our suite.
Deacon:
You and Savannah, okay?
I want to tell him Savannah is fine, but I’m upset with him. But like Paul, Deacon did what he did for very unselfish reasons.
Me:
We are. Travel safe.
“I love this smell,”Sofie says as she sits cross-legged on the couch in a hotel robe with a huge bowl full of chocolate ice cream with a crumbled waffle cone all covered in caramel and cherries.
“My comfort food is Ramen noodles,” I admit. “The kind you pretend doesn’t taste like the Styrofoam cup you nuked it in.”
“The first time I had those was when I was in college. Father was appalled.” She smiles softly.
I pick up my bowl and curl into the other corner of the couch. “You wanna talk about anything in particular, or do you want me to pick a random subject?”
“I will take avoidance for one thousand Claudia.” She smiles as she takes a giant spoonful of ice cream and announces, and continues. “Okay, got it. We have nine games until we have to make sure Noelle does not walk into Lauren’s wedding looking like she lost a bet to a thrift store.”
“I’m sure she’ll look beautiful in whatever she wears,” I say and take a bite. “She’s stunning.”
“That’s the problem, her body is the kind celebrities spend thousands to get, but she avoids showcasing any of it. She needs a dress to cause a scene at the wedding. A revenge dress. A dress that says I am thriving, and also, I could ruin you with a single eyebrow raise.”
I nod. “I think something satin. Jewel tone. Something that fits like she was poured into it.”
“Ooh, blood red.”
Sofie snaps her fingers. “Yes. That is the color of glowing up.”
She talks fast, dramatically, and animatedly. But every time she shifts, her hair falls conveniently over the right side of her face, shadowing pain. She yawns and looks around, “I havemeetings, filming, and apparently an exclusive interview with a goalie.”
“You can crash in my room, or the other, but warning Savannah wakes early.”
“Same, but I wouldn’t want to wake her, where…” She looks around.
