Bash finally put down his utensils. “I love him, too,” he said in English. “It breaks my heart, too. Maar mam, wat moet ik dan doen?” But, Mom, what am I supposed to do?
If Gerard wouldn’t listen to Sophie, would he listen to Bash? Bash didn’t think so.
Sophie looked stricken and frightened.
Bash took her hand. “Heb je met zijn artsen gesproken?” Have you talked to his doctors?
“Ja, ja. Heel vaak.” Yes, yes. Many times. She drained the remainder of her wine in one long gulp. “Hij wil ook niet naar hen luisteren.” He won’t listen to them either.
“Then he’s made his choice,” Bash said. “What can we do?”
Sophie looked very sad when he said that.
That painful conversation kept coming back to Bash whenever he was in Massachusetts. The knowledge of his father’s self-destructive tendencies made it hard for him to focus on his classes or on hockey.
It was a very real possibility that Gerard might drink or work himself to death.
If he did, aside from the emotional pain that it would cause Bash and his family, it would mean that Bash would be expected to return to the Netherlands, perhaps permanently, after graduation.
Gerard was still very clear that he wanted Bash to take over Koning Kapitaalgroep after he died. He had made his peace with Bash’s “hockey hobby,” but he was convinced that Bash would eventually retire from hockey and return to the Netherlands, where he would pick up the reins from Gerard when Gerard was old and content.
Bash wasn’t sure he could reject his father’s dying wishes if those wishes were to take over the company.
He took his anger at the situation out on the ice. Never against other players, as that wasn’t his style, but against the puck, against himself.
He pushed himself harder than he should have. Though Cort had joined the starting line, Kurtzman still knew how to use Bash and would put him in at key moments in games.
Then, Bash was unstoppable.
He was the Basher once again. Injury be damned. Nothing could stand in the way of him and the puck, his puck and the goal. He played hard, trained harder, and collapsed into bed every night, exhausted and sore.
He only saw Adonis in passing. They texted almost constantly. There was the usual horny texting, but more of it was them talking about their days. Bash found that he enjoyed hearing about Adonis’s day. He found himself hoping things were going well for Adonis. Hoping that Adonis would get the good news that he would be on Team USA. The Netherlands wasn’t sending a team to compete in ice hockey in the Olympics. Bash had briefly toyed with the idea of going to watch the Olympics if Adonis got on the team. Then he wondered why he would want to do that. They had never defined themselves as friends; they were only hooking up. What reason did Bash have to go support Adonis in the Olympics?
There were other, more pressing, things to worry about.
The most pressing of these things was Cort Styleton.
Something was up with the freshman. Bash couldn’t prove it, but he was confident. Cort’s performance in practice and in the games had drastically improved, but his recklessness on the ice had returned. He played as if he were invincible, heedless of his own safety. By the end of most games, there were new bruises or blood on his face.
October was done, and November steamrolled the campus and the athletes. Bash’s body was now constantly sore. He taped his shoulder every game and every practice. The amount of tape he added grew every day. The Americans took a week off for Thanksgiving, which felt weirdly pro-Colonialist to Bash, but he needed another break.
He wouldn’t be going back to Amsterdam for this break. His mother had tried to convince him to, but Robbie had invited Bash to join his family for their big American Thanksgiving dinner. Bash was more than happy for the excuse to stay in the U.S.A. and avoid his father. He used the excuse that he needed to study for Finals.
On the last Friday before Thanksgiving Break, the Bellford Ravens faced their rivals, the Ashwell University Krakens, in an important conference game.
While their scrimmage had been held on Ashwell’s campus, this game was played at Bellford’s Rink. The game between Bellford and Ashwell was often considered the most important of the season, largely because of their long-standing rivalry.
Bash felt like his blood was buzzing before the game when the team gathered in the locker room. Kurtzman delivered a rousing speech, then passed the floor to the co-captains. Robbie went first, stirring the team into a raucous frenzy with his words. You’d think he was prepping them for war in a Shakespearean play. Then he yielded to Bash.
Speeches weren’t high on the list of Bash’s skills. He kept it short. He reminded his teammates that this was just another game, that they shouldn’t let the rivalry with Ashwell go to their heads. He said that they’d played well so far this season, that they could tighten it up in a few areas, but that he had full faith they would.
Robbie jumped in and suggested that Bash sing a Dutch fight song. Bash flipped him off, everyone laughed, and Kurtzman hollered for them to get on out there.
Bash was about to pop his helmet onto his head when he saw his phone light up in his cubby. There were multiple unanswered texts on his screen.
Normally, before a game, he’d ignore any texts.
But two texts were from his sister, and one from Adonis.
