“Oh.”Phil sighed and stretched, sinking just a little deeper into the water.“Yeah.Yeah, I think so.”
“You love hockey.”
Phil smiled up at him.Ben gripped the edge of the tub.His knees felt a little weak.“I do.But hockey doesn’t love me back.It never has, and when I was younger and healthier, I could put up with it.But now…I’m never going to be hurting for money.Haggling out another deal for a year or two or getting sent halfway across the continent if the Sea Lions won’t keep me…it’s not worth it.If I keep going, I’ll only break my body more.”
“Phil…”
“What?”
“It’s my fault.”
Silence thrummed heavily through the bathroom, thick and heavy in the air as the steam from the bath, while Phil processed the statement.
“What do you mean?”
“Your knee, you having to retire, the team being the mess it is…everything.I’m not really a hockey coach.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tom: I’m Tom Crowler, and this is Phil Easton, and we’re here at the All-Star Game in Dallas, Texas, answering your questions.
Phil [reading from a notecard]: Tom, what’s your go-to karaoke song?
Tom: [looking at Phil] Um…
Phil: Mine’s usually “Country Grammar” by Nelly ‘cause you don’t have to be good at rapping or singing to do a Nelly song.Tom’s not much of a karaoke guy.You do the next card.
Tom [reading from a notecard]: Phil, how do you like to unwind?Oh, no, he’s going to say—
Phil: Fishing!Meditation for mind and body in the great outdoors!How about you, Tom?What do you do to relax?Remember, cardio doesn’t count!
Tom: Ugh.
Top comments:
puckpuckstick: Who’s here in 2024 watching the most codependent duo in hockey history?
SFClions: Tom’s haircut is so adorable here.Baby!
firecrackers_spark: When you take your hockey robot to the All-Star Game, but he malfunctions when you ask him to have a personality.
phileastfanclub: @firecrackers_spark—Bro I am a fan but even I can’t tell which of them you’re talking about.
(From “Get to Know Your All-Stars,” posted to YouTube by the official NHL account, 02/04/2017)
Even as a shiver of dread wound its way down Phil’s spine, all he could think wasthank God, he’s a terrible coach.
He liked so many things about Ben—his quiet, restful presence around the house; his acerbic humor; his tendency toward thoughtfulness rather than decisiveness; and his hands-off approach when it came to helping Phil with his injury.He never forced Phil to accept anything, although, as Phil’s quasi-boss, he could.Ben only asked, then let Phil make his own decisions about what he did or didn’t need.He acted the same with Charlie, presenting the options Charlie had and letting him make his own choices.On one level, Phil had known all along that none of those behaviors matched any hockey coach he’d met before.On another, hearing it out loud filled him with horror.
He tried to think of something to say in response, but before he could find words, Ben continued.
“I’m an investigative journalist.The GM hired me to look into…some stuff.”
“What stuff?”
Ben winced.“He thinks, uh… Well, he thinks you’re being sabotaged.”
The thought was so outlandish that Phil once again fell silent.
