“It’s because men are taught to provide, not to feel,” Maxim rumbled out.
As one, we turned to look at him.
“I’ll be damned. Maximus is a philosopher like our Cruiser,” Naese said.
“Do not ever call me that again if you want to keep all your limbs,” Maxim said. He didn’t change his expression or raise his voice.
Naese skated back a foot, hands out. “Never again.”
Maxim gave him a sharp nod.
“We can debate how our culture fucked us up and anesthetized our ability to be fully human later,” I said. “Right now, we need to get a step ahead of our wives and close this deal between Cruz and Vivian.”
“How do you expect us to do that?” Stolly asked. “And I’m still stuck on Maxim’s revelation that he understands that people have emotions.”
“I will pound you into the ground,” Maxim said.
“No wonder Ida Jane thinks you calling her Fists is an endearment.” Naese shook his head “You have to subtlety of a rock.”
“Gentleman, you can argue, gossip, and plot later. Right now, you’d better skate your asses off,” Coach Whittaker said as he came up beside me.
“Yes, Coach,” we all mumbled.
“Before you go…” Coach cleared his throat. “Paloma told me the women know we asked Lola to help get Vivian to Houston. She said, and I quote, ‘Game on’.” He looked around the group. “I did not appreciate that comment, and I do not like to lose.”
Stolly heaved a sigh. “We can’t beat them. This is their game.”
“So we find a place where we can win,” I said.
They looked at me as if I’d grown three heads. “Come on! We’ve all wooed our women. We can do this.”
“Meet me in my office after practice,” Coach said. “And come with good ideas.”
Once cleaned up, we slouched into Coach Whittaker’s main office in the top part of the arena. This area was clearly designed to impress businesspeople and had little to do with the ins and outs of the exercise, nutrition, physical therapy, and nitty-gritty of winning hockey games.
This office was large and airy with a statement desk made out of some pale wood, a conversation area that had two couches long enough for me to sleep on comfortably, and a full bar that didn’t have any alcohol but held different seltzers, soda, and fresh-squeezed grapefruit and orange juice.
“Get a drink, sit down, and let’s plan,” Coach said. “Lennon’s coming up in an hour, and we have to get all the details down before then so he can’t screw this up.”
“Is that possible?” Naese asked. “I mean, we’ve all screwed up with our wives at some point.”
“True,” I said. “But none of us quit talking to our wives…” I cleared my throat. “Maybe, Naese, you’re the best one to discuss how to rebuild trust.”
The younger man shot me an annoyed look as he flopped down at the far corner of the sofa. He popped open his can of fruit-infused water and drank deep. The rest of us plopped into the comfortable cushions with sighs of pleasure. We were big men; we rarely fit on standard furniture. These couches weren’t just covered in a buttery soft dark leather, they were big enough to accommodate our frames and both soft and firm enough to support our bulk as well.
“So?” Maxim asked. “When I needed to win over Ida Jane, I whisked her away?—”
“Tennessee isn’t really a dream location,” Stolly said.
“Well, we can’t all get time off to traipse around the world,” Maxim shot back.
“I cooked for Millie. And held her hair while she puked. And slept on her too-short couch.”
“Well, I’m not sure the last two work, but the first one could,” I said.
“I think we’re missing the point,” Naese countered.
“What do you mean?” Coach asked.
