I settle back into the cushions and let Ms. Monzon take me to an alternate reality where librarians deserve to find love and I can ignore the lack of romance happening in my everyday life.
5
Jabari
A soft knock sounds on the door, but I still wince. “Come in.”
Raimo and Javier stroll in, dressed in suits. They’re probably on their way to celebrate the win. It means a lot that the guys pulled a W, but I hate not being part of it.
“How you feeling?” Javier whispers.
Scared. Worried. Anxious.“Fine.”
“What did the doctor say?” Raimo asks.
“Severe concussion.” I leave off the swelling of the brain and the lesion.Andthe fact there’s a small gray spot in my field of view. My vision looks wavy when I try to focus on something. Concussions are the worst.
“So, like, are we talking longer than two weeks for you to return?” Javier questions.
“Yeah.” Thank goodness I remember not to nod. I don’t want to move my head any more than necessary.
The nurse left the room dark, though she kept a small light above the sink on. Which is exactly why I see twin views of concern on Javier’s and Raimo’s faces. Well, they’re a little wavy, but their worry comes across, nonetheless.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine after I get some rest. They told me no screens and to do my best to take it easy.”
Raimo scoffs. “You without your face in your phone?”
“Hey, I have a lot of work I do on my phone. I check my stocks, monitor my fueling...” My voice trails off. Okay, so I play a lot of games on my cell, but only when I’m bored and want the time to pass quickly.
Like now.
No screens might kill me faster than not being on the ice.Yeah,right. You love thegame.Ibreathethe game. Knowing I’ll be out at least four weeks makes me want to break out into a cold sweat.
“Anything we can do for you, Crank?” Javier rubs the back of his head.
“Nah. My nutritionist will continue bringing meals, and my cleaning crew will keep everything running like clockwork.”
“Yeah, but if you do need anything,anything,” Javier repeats, “call me.”
“Me too,” Raimo adds. “Steff and I would be happy to bring you a meal or just keep you company.”
“You guys are practically newlyweds. You don’t want to hang around me.” And I don’t want to see them coo over each other.
“Hey, we could always set you up with a lady, so you won’t feel like the odd man out.” The laughter in Raimo’s voice is prominent.
Is it wrong to want to wipe off the smug look I’m sure is on his face?
“Yes!” Javier whispers excitedly. “Who do we know that we can set him up with?”
“Guys...”
“It can’t be just any woman. She needs to be special,” Raimo muses.
“Without a doubt. And love hockey,” Javier says.
“Of course. She would not be for him if she did not love the sport as much as we do.”
I blink, then blink some more. Is the gray spot growing? Raimo just spoke, but visually speaking, I can’t reallytellit’s him talking. His face is fuzzy and blurring the details that are unique to hisfacial features. I gulp. Maybe I need to tell my doctor about this. This can’t be a normal concussion symptom. If it weren’t for the concussion, I would do a search right now on my cell and see what the internet spits out at me—or AI, since it seems to be running most search engines now.
