“Where are you going? The food hasn’t even arrived yet.” Gene tries for endearing, but he’s too slimy to pull it off. “Sit down. We haven’t finished yet.”
“Yeah, we have. We were finished a long time ago.” Travis fishes some cash out of his wallet and tosses it on the table. “Goodbye, Dad.”
33
HANNAH
“Hi.” I wave to Ruby and then Nick’s son and father on the other side of her.
“You made it!” She stands and hugs me before we take our seats. The guys have a game tonight and Ruby invited me to sit with her. Invited is actually the wrong word. She texted to ask if I was coming, and when I said yes, she demanded it. Not that I mind.
“How are you? How are things?” She gushes, leaning over the armrest as she fires off each question. “When’s your competition? Tell me everything. I’ve been cooped up writing for weeks, and I feel like I’ve missed so much.”
I let out a small laugh. “Good. Good. Four weeks. And… that’s it. That’s everything.”
“I need way more details. And you didn’t mention the most important detail.” Her knowing stare makes me blush.
“Travis and I are also good. Very good.”
Her shoulders pull up to her ears, and she lets out a happy squeal. “I just love you two together.”
“Same. Speaking of happy couples, have you and Nick set a date yet?”
“No. Not yet. July, maybe. Or we might just go down to city hall, honestly.” She stares down at her ring. “I thought I’d be excited to plan an elaborate wedding, but I just want to be married to him.”
“I get that.”
“You don’t have any regrets about the way things happened with you and Travis?”
I think for a minute then shake my head. “No. I can’t really picture it any other way.”
“Aww.” Her happy smile likely mirrors my own.
It’s sappy but true. We’ve talked about getting our marriage annulled and starting over to do it in the usual order – dating, engagement, etc., but as corny as it sounds, I like being his wife and I like that our story isn’t traditional. It feels more us.
“Oh, here they come.” Ruby stands as the lights in the arena dim and the purple spotlight shines down onto the ice. The music pumps and the crowd cheers as the guys skate out.
Travis is the third guy to take the ice, behind Danny and Conrad. They’re wearing promotional warmups for college night over their game jerseys, and my husband looks very good in the university’s maroon color. His dark hair is slicked back but that one unruly piece hangs forward on his forehead. He circles behind the net with the rest of the team and then glances up to find me in the crowd. I stand on my tiptoes and wave my hands over my head, but he doesn’t seem to need any help. He flashes a cocky grin and a wink that I could make out from any distance.
Ruby and I take our seats again once the lights come back up and we continue catching up on all the things – her writing and upcoming book tour, potential wedding plans, the guys’ hockey schedule, my new sponsorship with a popular sports drink, and the scholarship Travis and I are working on together. I guess a lot has happened.
By the time the game is about to start, I feel like we’ve worked a month’s full of conversation into thirty minutes, but I could keep talking to her forever.
“We should get together soon,” she says.
“Definitely.”
“But really. I know how busy you are, and me too, but I like hanging out with you.”
“Same.”
I’ve kept working at the kids’ gym a couple nights a week. It’s a good reminder of where I started and all that I’ve worked for. Their joy and excitement keep me going when I’m so tired I don’t think I can. Between that and training, there isn’t a lot of room for more. But I vow to myself that I’ll make some to see Ruby more often.
There is a short ceremony and acknowledgment of the local college for tonight’s promotion, then the players on the other team are announced. The lights dim once more when it’s time for the Moonshot players to take the ice.
I stand with the rest of the arena as the purple light show flashes over the ice. The lineup is announced, starting with August Penn as tonight’s goalie, then Conrad Shepard, Danny Marlowe, and then…
“Number eighty-eight, Traaaaavis Bennett-Waaaalsh!”
