EDDIE:Drinking water.Resting.Joey’s fulfilling his hydration duties with great enthusiasm.
His reply is immediate.
SIDNEY:Excellent.Tell Lt.Hydration he’s due for a promotion.
SIDNEY:Take your Tylenol at noon.
SIDNEY:Don’t roll your eyes at me.
SIDNEY:After practice, I can swing by and bring soup IF you’re up for company.
My heart does that stupid melting thing it’s been doing since I met him.I hate how good it feels.I hate how easy it is with him.I hate—
Okay, no, I don’t hate anything about Sidney.I’m just overwhelmed.The old, familiar part of me, the one who had to hold every piece of life together alone when the people who should have been on her side vanished, whispers that depending on someone is dangerous.
But another quieter voice, one I haven’t heard in years, murmurs back a hopeful message.Maybe I don’t have to hold everything alone anymore.
I swallow hard.
Joey glances at me again.So…you gonna say yes to soup?He pops thep, having fun teasing me.
I roll my eyes again and curse.Joey bursts out in a laugh, then hands me a bottle of pills.An ache spikes through my brain.Okay, yeah.It’s time for some meds.Maybe.
Mom.You literally haven’t stopped smiling since you woke up.
Go back to your robots.I wave my hand at the TV.He mimics me and rolls his eyes dramatically but does as told.
I send the message before I can overthink it.
EDDIE:Soup sounds good.But only if there are no new index cards.I’m already haunted by the ones I have.
SIDNEY:Zero promises.
I lean back into the couch cushions, exhausted but emotionally lighter than I’ve been in weeks.
One night off sick didn’t break the world.It didn’t break me.Everything kept moving.Possibly even in a better direction than before.
And for the first time, I don’t feel like my world is shrinking.
I feel like it’s expanding.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SIDNEY
P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E.I sing out each letter as I glide over to my net.My nonsense song was brought to the members of my team courtesy of my stellar mood.Today, while starting off a little rough, is really shaping up to be a great day.Hell, it feels like it’s going to be a great week.
All because of three things: 1.Our home opener is at the end of the week.I’m itching to get back in front of the home crowd and show them that this year, we got this.2.Goals for Good is going national.The head office team had called me with the awesome news this morning as I was driving to the arena.They’ll start booking events across Canada now, with other professional athletes who promote mental health in sports as the headliners.
And 3.is no surprise.It’s Eddie.
The text she sent me had been on my mind all day.I’m breaking ground with her.Getting to know her, even if it is a baby step at a time.The fact that she was updating me on her health and okaying me bringing over dinner felt like a huge win.
It shouldn’t be this distracting.It’s just a few words of sick-bed sarcasm.But after two weeks of silence, followed by a very unexpected emergency visit and then actual communication, my brain is acting like I just got called up from the minors.
Crane!Coach Taylor yells.We’re doing breakaway drills, not dancing.You’re supposed to be stretching.This isn’t nap time.
Oops.Right.
