Lucy slides off the stool and stands beside Faulker, close but not too close.
“Good luck,” she says to both of them.
“Thank you,” Hank replies.
Faulker looks down at her. “We will return.”
She nods, satisfied.
“Our numbers and schedule, team, and what a game day looks like compared to the average day are listed on the counter,” Lenzin points to the counter. “If you need it.”
The door closes behind them, and the house is quieter again.
Lucy looks at me. “Are we going to the bookstore or your school?”
“Today, we aren’t on a schedule.” I walk over and show her the schedule. “Our roommates, Deacon and the others, they are.”
I read her their schedule.
Game day
8:30 am-Morning skate
10:15- 11 am- Cool down and treatments
11-12 pm- Meeting
12 pm - Dismissed
5:30 – 6 pm- Return for game
Regular practice
9 am- Focused workout.
10:30 am- Skills, drills, and scrimmage
11-12 pm- Stretch and recovery
12:30- 1:30 pm- Lunch
1:30- 3 pm- Skills work or films
“Do we have a schedule?” she asks, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“We do,” I reply, a smile tugging at my lips at the way she instinctively includes herself in our plans. It feels good, this sense of partnership. “We just need to align them. My school and yours will have similar hours, and when I’m working at the bookstore, we can figure out the details together. Noelle, my friend and boss, mentioned you could tag along when you’re free.”
“I’m not busy,” she asserts, her confidence shining through.
Grinning, I reach for a pad and pen, the paper crinkling under my fingers as I begin to jot down our plans. “We’re on break from school for another ten days, and then from Monday to Friday, we’ll be at our schools until around three-thirty or four. My shifts at the bookstore vary, but we’ll definitely be there on weekends.”
Her little brows furrow a bit, and then she nods as she gets it, things changing, her life now different.
“We should start by listing things we need, a calendar so we can write down our schedule, and perhaps your favorite foods?” I ask.
Her excitement is palpable as she leans closer to see what I’m writing.
I’m watching Lucy sleep beside me as I confirm a doctor’s appointment for a follow-up and referral to an orthopedist, and I’ve added Lucy’s name to the list of childcare centers near the school since my college doesn’t offer childcare.
