"Cap here pulled off some miracle plays," Chase says, grinning at me. "The kid's got eyes in the back of his head."
"Always did," Tyler agrees. "Remember that game where you threaded that pass through three defenders?"
"The one where you totally missed the net?" I fire back.
"I was under pressure!"
"You were wide open."
Everyone laughs except Maya, who's studying her menu like it contains the secrets of the universe. She hasn't looked up once since we sat down.
The waiter comes, and we order. Emma gets some elaborate pasta dish she's been craving. Chase and I both order steaks. Donny goes for the chicken parmesan. Tyler orders fish and immediately gets roasted by Chase for it.
"Who orders fish at an Italian place?" Chase demands.
"Someone with taste," Tyler shoots back.
"Fish. At an Italian restaurant. That's like ordering a salad at a steakhouse."
"I order salads at steakhouses," Emma says, and Chase looks personally offended.
"That's different. You're pregnant. You get a pass."
Maya orders wine and drinks half the glass in one go. Tyler's eyes track the movement, his expression flickering with something I can't read.
Ethan entertains himself by throwing breadsticks on thefloor, and every time Tyler picks them up and hands them back, Ethan thinks it's the funniest thing in the world.
"Kid's got an arm," Donny observes. "Might have a future in hockey."
"Over my dead body," Emma says. "He's going to be a doctor or a lawyer or literally anything that doesn't involve getting hit with sticks."
"Where's the fun in that?" Tyler grins.
"The fun is in having all his teeth at thirty."
Food arrives, and the conversation flows easily. Stories about the season, Emma talking about nursery plans for the new baby, Chase explaining some complicated play strategy that goes over everyone's head except mine, and the other hockey players.
Donny tells a story about their rookie getting lost in the arena before his first game and somehow ending up in the opposing team's locker room. Tyler adds details that make it funnier, and even Maya cracks a small smile at the mental image.
"I still remember when Jackson got lost in that arena in Quebec," Emma says, laughing. "Mom said he ended up in the Zamboni room."
"I was nineteen," I protest. "And the signs were all in French."
"You took French for three years!"
"Doesn't mean I can read it."
Maya is refilling her wine glass. Third time since we sat down. Tyler's watching her more carefully now, that calculating look I recognize from playing against him.
"So Maya," Tyler says during a lull in conversation. "What brings you to Hartford?"
"Just needed a change of scenery."
"From Pinewood?"
"Yeah."
"Interesting timing. I heard the hospital there had somedrama recently." His tone is casual, but his eyes are sharp. "Something about a supervisor getting accused of assault."
