DUSTIN
Losing hurts.But you know what hurts more than a regular loss?
A loss when you had high hopes. High expectations. It’s not the loss itself that brings you down. If you’re David going against Goliath, you expect to lose.
Anyways, I didn’t expect to lose in the playoffs to the freaking D.C. Cougars.
I also didn’t expect my wife to break up with me.
So on the day after our monumental loss, my heart hurt from a breakup where thesecondwoman to whom I saidI love yousaid it back, then disappeared. My body hurt from playing an overtime game the day before and playing on the ice to over exhaustion. And my head hurt—well, that one I took full responsibility for. Chip, Shane and I did our own special little bar crawl last night. It was a sorrowful event, and the Chicago fans weren’t even angry with us for losing. They were just sad, like our team.
Our loss featured some incredible comeback hockey by our opponents, at least one incredibly lucky shot, and some questionable non-calls by the refs.
But that was the past, and we weren’t out to lament it. Next year would be different for our team. If I was even playing in Chicago next year. But that was a whole other debate.
The night of bar-hopping was mentally disturbing for me on at least one whole other level, as well. Which was that I had at least four separate girls comfort me, saying how morose I looked, and did I want to come back to their place so they couldcheer me up?
After the first few times, I had to bring back my old school assholery, which seemed to have gone slightly into remission while I was with Cat.
I wasn’t going to take off my ring until I at leastheard back from her.
I had to get some more of the story from Phoebe, who I was able to contact thanks to her and Chip’sspecial friendshipas they called it. What I was able to ascertain about her abruptly leaving the country was still slightly confusing to me.
Although I knew there was something about an incriminating video and the possibility of prison time, Mr. Winterborne’s office had not returned any of my numerous calls or emails, and Jackie had been elusive over the past three weeks.
As I sat on my patio, looking out into the May sunshine, my head, heart, and gut throbbing from my hangover, I cracked my knuckles and my lips formed into a smile. This past month, I couldn’t give this problem the full focus it deserved. I was too involved in the season to do anything but try to call in favors from friends. Now, it was time to turn my prodigious powers of getting what I want to figuring out why we lost the visa fight.
Mr. Winterborne, Jackie, Old Man Bells,buckle your fucking seatbelts.I wasn’t sure who was responsible, but I am a free agent this year, and I did not give a fuck what bridges I had to burn to find out what happened to Cat.
I had to grin at my luck because after I ate a hearty breakfast, my phone rang with a call from Jackie.
“Well, well.”
“Well then, sir, good morning. Have a fun night last night?”
“Would have been fun if we were winning.”
“Well, you can’t win them all, right?” Was shehappywe lost?
“I suppose not,” I said, keeping my cool. “So what did you call for?”
“I just wanted to say, Dustin, I’m glad there are no hard feelings after everything that happened between us this season.”
“Me too,” I lied.
“So, truce?”
“I think this is something we should talk over in person. When can I come over to meet with you and your grandfather?”
“Really? You want to come eat with us?”
“Yes, of course. Talk over the season. Also, we’ll need to start preliminary contract talks since I’m a free agent this year.”
“Fine, on one condition. Don’t bring your agent.”
“Done. When can I come by?”
“I’m sorry to say I’ll be in Cabo starting Monday. But one week from today would be good, next Saturday.”
