Prologue
Voicemail left for Logan Kemp by Crystal MacMillan
November 1st, 1995
“Hey, Logan. Sorry I haven’t called before now, but you asked me to let you know when Rob and Shar’s baby was here, and he’s not here yet, I’ll say that first. But we think he’ll be arriving in the next week or so. Not totally sure, but Shar’s been having contractions. Sorry, probably more than you want to know. Uh . . . yeah. Just wanted to keep you in the loop. Hope you’re doing well, and all the stuff with the Blizzard is good. I don’t know, this is weird right? We’re old enough to have friends having babies. Well, probably weirder for you. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, I . . . well. You know what I mean. Kay, bye Logan.”
Voicemail left for Crystal Macmillan by Logan Kemp
November 2nd, 1995
“Hey. Thanks for the message, and sorry I missed you. Had a pre-season game. You probably know that, er, maybe not? Not sure if you follow the Blizzard. I wouldn’t expect you to, not because I’m playing there or anything. But really good to hear from you. It’s crazy being back in Calgary but not really being back. If that makes sense? I see my family and everything, but all my friends are there at Douglas. Yeah. All of that is pretty weird, but it’s my fault it’s weirder for me, so you don’t need to apologize. Just saying it how it is, I guess. Uh . . . I don’t know what Shar and Rob need, so if you have any ideas. I searched on the web and saw maybe diapers would be a good idea. Not sure if they have a brand they like or something—no, they haven’t even tried them yet, right? How could they? Shar’s not picky anyway, but . . . I don’t know, maybe she is. So, yeah. Let me know if you have any ideas. You can email me if that’s easier? [email protected]. My old one, not my school email. I don’t know why I said that, you probably didn’t ever have my email anyway. Okay. See ya later. And thanks again. Bye.”
From:Crystal MacMillan [email protected]
To:Logan Kemp [email protected]
Date:November 7, 1995, 10:42 AM
Subject:Gift for Rob and Shar
Hey, I asked Shar whether they needed anything specific. And she told me about this pillow that was supposed to be really great. But I called around to a couple of stores, and I think they might only sell them in the States. My parents wantedto do something for her, and my mom is driving down to Kalispell for my brother's hockey tournament this weekend, so I'm going to have her grab it.
Shar told me her parents got them a small freezer, so Maddie and I were thinking about getting some meals together for them for after the baby comes. I'm a terrible cook, so probably store-bought. But that's something you could help with, too, if you want.
Or, yeah, diapers and wipes. Sorry. That's probably not very exciting. I didn't mention you specifically because there were a couple of people asking, but I realized I didn't know if you wanted them to know you were getting them something. I meant to tell Shar I talked to you after the baby shower, but didn't want to make things more awkward. You tell me. I don't have to say anything if you don't want me to.
This might be prying . . . but have you talked to Rob at all since you came back? Have you talked to any of the guys? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. Let me know if you want to contribute to the meals or something.
Crystal
From:Logan Kemp [email protected]
To:Crystal MacMillan [email protected]
Date:November 13, 1995, 9:16 PM
Subject:Re: Gift for Rob and Shar
Hey. Thanks for that. I'd love to give some money for meals, and I'll also buy some diapers. I'm cool if they know it's fromme. I'll give a card or something with the diapers. I'm not trying to be anonymous. My ego's too big for that, but I'm sure you already know that. Just kidding (kind of).
Are you guys going shopping at some point? Maybe I could meet you there and pay? Is that weird? Sorry. I don't want to put you in an awkward situation, but it would be great to see people from Douglas. I miss everyone. I'm super busy and playing hockey, so life is good. But, you know, like you said, everybody's going to be moving in different directions soon. Wild.
Logan
P.S. Talked to Rob once. Haven’t caught up with the rest of the team yet.
Chapter
One
Grocery shoppingwith hockey players was a bad idea under the best of circumstances. Spending time with a one-time faculty member and Sharla’s ex immediately disqualified this evening as a good time, and yet here I was pushing a squeaky cart into Co-op. At least Maddie was there. My one saving grace.
The automatic doors sighed open for Chase and Logan, burping out warm bakery air over the four of us. Fluorescent lights hummed. A little kid in a puffy parka zoomed past in boots, nearly clipping my ankle. Calgary in November turned the entrance to any building into a minefield with people trying to avoid the frigid temps or peanut butter snow slush (if we were lucky).
“Crystal!” Maddie waved me away from the produce section.
“Freezer aisle?” Chase, the one-time assistant coach for the Douglas University Outlaws and Maddie’s forever person, pulled the cart from my hands.
