“I mean, it was a little weird, but I already knew you were super into my uncle.”Charlie pointed at Phil with his chopsticks.“Kinda gross, by the way.He’s myuncle.”
“Huh.”Phil said.“Guess we should have talked to you way earlier.”
“You’re not only doing it for the guardianship thing, are you?”Charlie asked.“‘Cause if it’s just for me, we’ll figure something else out.”
Ben studied Phil.Would he take the out?They didn’t need to be married to be together.He’d followed a romantic impulse this afternoon with the proposal, which had been a first for him, but technically, they could cool it on the actual legal commitment.
“Too late,” Phil said.“Had my lawyer get us a license and everything.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I want to.”
Ben couldn’t see what his face was doing, but he knew it didn’t make him look intelligent or dignified.
Charlie glanced at him and wrinkled his nose.“Ew.When’s the wedding?”
The courthouse had appointment slots available online.When they finished dinner, Ben got his laptop from upstairs, and they picked a date together.
“The All-Star Break is perfect,” Phil said.“Hockey media will be out of town, and so will the whole team.”
“The court will know because of the guardianship stuff,” Charlie said skeptically.“People will find out.”
“Yeah, eventually, but only when your uncle isn’t my coach anymore.”
Phil smiled encouragingly at Ben, probably looking forward to a time when Ben no longer had to coach him.It was then that they both realized there was no clear answer as to when that time would come.
“At the latest when I retire,” Phil added weakly.
With the formalities decided, Charlie went up to his room to call some friends from the shelter.He promised not to tell, but Ben resolved to go to the police the next day to fast-track the end date of his coaching career.It wasn’t fair to Charlie to make him keep secrets this big.
“Hey,” Phil said as Ben cleared away the last remnants of dinner and wiped down the counters.“Do I get to give you a wedding present?”
“If this is about me cleaning the kitchen again—”
“No, I’ve understood that’s a mental health thing.”
“You bought us the rings.Isn’t that enough of a gift?”
“It doesn’t have to be totally equal,” Phil said.He hugged Ben from behind, effectively halting his progress on the counters.“You offer me things I can’t buy.”
Ben smiled and ducked his head so Phil wouldn’t see.“Such as?”
“Well, let’s see.There’s the list of silly things about hockey—that was a highlight in my life once I stopped being pissed about it.”
“I have more.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Mm.I didn’t get into the fights last time.You look likeLooney Tunescharacters when you fight, sliding all over the place on your ice skates.”
Behind him, Phil shook with laughter.“I was watching highlights the other day.Remember when Tom got in a fight in St.Louis?”
“Do I remember when you broke your knee?Of course I do.”
“It’s not broken.The ACL is just mostly gone.And it’s coming back.Anyway, that was a really dumb fight.”
“And it looked it too.Anyway, you were stroking my ego.What else do I do for you?”
