So when does this real adult party start?
Melissa:
Ryan said whenever the game ends
Rhonda:
The attention to detail is staggering
Anne:
Did he say what time approximately?
Melissa:
You guys, don't shoot the messenger! He hasn't texted back in a while, so I’m assuming he's probably in the game
Rhonda:
I'm in. Just text and I'll make sure to put on a bra
Anne:
I can pick you guys up
Tina:
Let me know if you want to ride lol
Melissa:
Sweet. I think Jenna said she'd be there getting footage, so we'll probably hear from her around the same time we hear from Ryan
Jenna could practically hear the crickets after that last message. They'd included her on the text thread, so at least that was something. She'd apparently done a decent enough job convincing them that she was grown up enough to handle that they were still connected with Country and his friends.
But now, reading through these messages, she wasn't sure if she was convinced herself. Watching Country skate earlier had opened a fire hydrant of memories.
While she'd spent plenty of time in ice arenas over the years since she'd broken things off, every player had idiosyncrasies, and Jenna still had Gentry’s memorized.
The way he always let his left skate float a little further up the ice than his right when he glided to the bench. The opposite of most right-handed players. The way he always tipped his chin before a no-look pass as if that extra motion would convince the defence he was on the up and up. The way he never slumped over his knees when he finished a shift. They were his nuances, and yet they felt tied to her own soul, like a welded joint.
She'd left the rink before the camera had even been disassembled because she couldn't bear the thought of standing there and witnessing a different version of the next string of events. Country walking up the stairs with his hockey bag slung over his shoulder, his hair damp, flicking water droplets onto his forehead. His eyes scanning the seats until they locked onto hers then lighting up with that lopsided smile as he set his bag against the railing and climbed down to pull her into his arms. The kiss on her forehead, her cheek, her lips.
Jenna pressed her head against the seat back and pinched the bridge of her nose. After a few deep breaths, she looked back at her screen and typed.
Hey, just seeing this. Game is over. I think I'm going to head home. You girls have fun and make good choices
The next step was to turn off her phone and click it to her hands-free holder on the dash, but she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. The emotions roiling inside her were reaching high pressure, like a thunderhead about to burst. She should turn it off. Put the car in reverse and start the drive home. But her hands clung to the phone until she saw a message come through from Melissa.
Melissa:
Did they win?
Don't answer. Put the phone down. Start driving.
Yep. Four to two
Anne:
