Nora:we said our goodbye. I can’t do it again.
Sutton:*hug emoji* I’ll let you know when the coast is clear. We want to see you.
Andi:we can bring stuff to you. Stuff equals liquor and chocolate, btw.
I smile. I have the best girlfriends.
Nora:no. I’ll come to the Rec. I want everyone to see that I’m okay. I don’t want everyone to hate him again because he left.
Thea:but are you okay?
Nora:not really. But I’m happy for him.
I realize that’s true. I want Alex to feel like he belongs somewhere, and if that is coaching for the Grays in the city that has been his only home for the last several years, then that’s what I want for him.
It’s ridiculous to think that he would have gotten attached to Rebel in the short time he’s been here. I’m glad he was starting to feel happier here and developing relationships, but maybe it’s better that he left before any of that got deeper.
I turn on my computer in my home office, planning to get some work done before I head down to Perks and Rec.
We have our first game in just a few days. It’s not like I don’t have plenty to do. I am throwing a crawfish boil for thousands of people, for one thing. I also want to be sure that we have plenty of merchandise on hand. I expect people will be excited to buy T-shirts, stuffed Rougarou and otter toys, and other team merchandise after experiencing this first bonkers hockey game.
I actually manage to get caught up in my work for a couple of hours and when Sutton’s text dings on my phone, I’m surprised how quickly the time went.
My stomach dips as I reach for my phone.
That ding means Alex’s goodbye is over. And he’s gone.
Fuck.
That hurts.
He was here for such a short time. I’ve lived here all my life. Going back to things as usual, back to my typical routines, living my life without him here should be easy.
But I haven’t even stepped a foot out my door and the town feels different knowing he’s gone.
Dammit.
I need to reassure the whole town that I am not heartbroken and that we should all be happy for Alex. I will also need to convince them all, including the players, that Revelers hockey will still be successful even without Alex Olsen.
I feel more confident about that now that I’ve seen how the videos from the scrimmage spread online and how much fun everyone had.
Still, not having his star power on the roster is definitely a loss.
And I just don’t care.
I want Alex to be happy. If the Revelers and the Rascals have a slower build now, we’ll just have to deal with it. All we need is people to come see the teams play. People will love it once they experience it.
I’ll go to my cousin Dane and beg him to keep the arena if I have to.
We’ll campaign extra hard for Harley.
We’ll run commercials. We’ll take out ads. We’ll do a bachelor/bachelorette auction with the players. We can do a calendar. Or maybe we should have them each dance and lip-sync in online videos, and have people vote for their favorites.
I’m still brainstorming ideas to spread the word and get our players out there when I walk into Perks and Rec.
“Nora!”
“Hi, sweetheart!”
