“Come on, Iz. Go change, then lunch for my star player.”
“I don’t think coaches are allowed to have favorites,” she argues.
“Of course we are. Parents shouldn’t, but coaches are fair game.”
That gives her pause.
“Do you think Mom has a favorite?”
My face drops because Izzie doesn’t think we’re all the favorite, she thinks Mom doesn’t have any. Because she was checked out for so long that she doesn’t know how to check back in.
“The best parents make it so you can’t tell,” Savannah says, looking uncertain.
“Are you your mom’s favorite? Or your dad’s?”
“I’d say I’m both their favorite, but my brothers would say the same thing.”
“You’re my favorite sister,” I say, getting the tiniest of smiles.
“I’m your only sister.” Iz rolls her eyes.
“There you are.”
I’m surprised by Doug walking in, looking relieved to see us.
“I was waiting outside, like Heather said, but no one else was coming out anymore.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask. “I told my mom I was taking Izzie to my game.”
“Oh…I…she didn’t mention that. I got Isabelle tickets to Disney on Ice for Christmas. It’s this afternoon at three.” Doug looks crushed, like he was actually looking forward to it. “But if Isabelle would rather go to your game, I’m sure I can ask around and find…”
“Didn’t my mom get her books for Christmas?”
“She did, but…We saw an ad for it a while back, and the look on Isabelle’s face was the way I used to look at the WWF, so I got us the tickets. From me.”
“Mom too?” Izzie asks, hopeful. I can see how excited she is for the show, but not about who she’s going with.
“She doesn’t like arenas,” Doug apologizes with a knowing look to me.
“You should go to Disney on Ice, Iz. I’ll make sure you can come to my next afternoon game.”
“But—”
“I need you to watch real close and let me know if you think I could play any of the characters, okay?”
She knows what I’m doing, just like I know how badly she wants to go. Luckily, my sister is too polite to ask Doug if Savannah can take his place.
“What will Savannah do without me?” she tries.
“She’s still invited to my games, even if you’re not there,” I say like that’s a ridiculous question, but Savannah looks like she was about to have entirely different plans for her afternoon. “Unless she was only coming to watch you.” I turn to Sav, not meaning to put her on the spot and make her feel guilty, but that’s how it comes out.
“Of course not. I love hockey.” She smiles. “I can take notes too, if you want. Let you know all the cool plays you can try out next week.”
“That would be awesome!”
“Go shower, Iz, you don’t want to be late,” I encourage.
“Thank you,” Doug tells me once she’s gone.
