“Fine. Other than work, everything okay at home?”
“As far as I know. I’ve hardly been there. Kitty and I are going to the watch party at Sorrento’s after work. Big wives get together, I guess.”
Ben looked thrilled. “You’re doing the whole girlfriend watch party thing?”
“Yeah, is that wrong?”
He took a breath, looking away from the screen. “No, hon. It makes me really happy. I’ve never—never mind.”
“What? Tell me!”
He rolled his lips. “I’ve never had someone who would watch for me like that.”
“I watch most of your road games, Jockey. As long as it’s not messing with work.”
“I know, but I’ve always been jealous of the guys getting cute texts from their girls while they watched together. And the fact that it’s you makes it that much better.”
I puffed out my bottom lip. “I really never saw this side of you coming.”
“Don’t tell anyone my secret,” he joked. “What else are you girls going to do? Drink wine? Gossip? Paint your toenails? Test out each other’s vibrators?”
I cracked up. “You’re demented. You went straight from being the sweetest human to being a middle schooler.”
“Well, you didn’t answer the question,” he pushed. “What are y’all gonna do?”
“Drink beer, fart, and talk shit about you guys.”
* * *
I stood by the untouched veggie tray, decked out in my Miknevicius jersey and staring blankly at the game. Were these things this hot when they wore them on the ice? No wonder they called them sweaters. Or maybe it was because the cliques seemed already established and I was lurking on the outskirts.
Sorrento’s wife Jeanine was one of my allies in the Princes WAGs group, but she was hosting and couldn’t devote all her time to me. I was impressed with the group as a whole. Babies were balanced on hips and passed around, and older kids wrestled in front of the TV that showed the game. I’d just recently surrendered the smallest Sorrento baby, who I was using as a social security blanket of sorts.
Kitty saw me standing alone and swooped in. “Okay, I’m going to get you a glass of wine, and you’re going to tell me why Irina hasn’t been fired yet. Red or white?”
“I’ll come with you.” I poured myself a short glass of red wine and Kitty and I wandered back toward the viewing area.
“So what’s the deal with her, anyway?” Kitty asked.
“Honestly, she’s awful, Kitty. I feel bad complaining about her, though. I don’t like to attack other women.”
“Oh, come on. It’s just us. It’s not an attack when you do 90% of the work and she just flirts with the crew all day and runs to Russ whenever things don’t go 100% her way.”
“That is an accurate assessment of how it is,” I agreed. “It’s frustrating. I’m working my ass off. I’ve asked if we can hire someone else so I don’t have to work so hard, and she says it’s not in the budget.”
“I could pull some strings, you know,” Kitty said. “I have a fair bit of influence over these people.”
“No, please don’t say anything. If I ruffle any feathers, I’ll be the one blamed for everything. You know how it is for women.”
Kitty scowled. “Sure do. That’s why we’ve got to stick together.”
“But Irina’s one of us,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but she’s not exactly being a good sister in the cause, is she? She’s taking credit for your work while you get paid less and work longer hours.”
I hesitated. “Still. Don’t say anything.”
A blonde head whipped around from a chair behind the couch. Sydney Leroy, who I recognized from my first night as a WAG,while I was still faking. “Can you two pipe down about your petty work drama?”
