He nods slowly. “So you’ll be practicing every day is what you’re saying.”
“Definitely.”
“Get yourself in shape for the game Friday. That means you maintain your spot on the injured list Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday, last possible moment allowed, we’ll pull you off IR.”
My heart pounds in my ears. “You sure, Coach?”
“Definitely. We don’t have to play you the average fifteen minutes. Even a good five minutes’ worth of game play could make a difference.”
“You’re thinking of putting me on second line?”
Before he can respond, Pascal, Javier, Tae, and Trevor skate up to the coach.
“I’m not going to be bullied.” Coach holds up his hands as if to sayBack off.
“Hear us out.” Pascal holds up his stick. “We already know how to work well with Crank. It makes the most sense to put him back on our line. Less memory work for him and gives him the ability to focus on increasing his stamina.”
“Not to mention we can all practice with him on our own time,” Javier adds.
“We’ll get him up to speed, Coach,” Tae adds.
Coach looks at every one of us, and his gaze stops at me. “You good with this?”
“Yes.” No, I’mecstatic.Getting back to hockey is more than a dream. I may be thirty-three, but I’m not ready to call it quits just yet. Plus, I don’t want a life in biz ops. It’s nice being able to talk hockey with potential benefactors, but it’s not the same as being on the ice. When I am ready to retire, I’d like to coach vision-impaired youth.
“Fine. Show me what you got at Thursday’s practice. You’re lucky we’ve got home games this week.” Coach skates away.
I turn to my line. “Thanks, guys.”
“Pathetic.” Pascal shakes his head. “Imagine losing stamina in three measly months.” He holds up his thumb and first two fingers, looking at me with mock disappointment.
“Guess you better get me in shape,” I taunt.
“Bring it, pretty boy. You’ll be hurting so bad you won’t even be able to skate to the ice bath.”
I laugh. This is what I’ve missed. The camaraderie, the encouragement. Yeah, Iwillbe wishing for that ice bath to come to me instead of the other way around when this is all over, but hard work is never a bad thing.
“Let’s do this.”
The guys pound me on the back, and we dive right back into practice.
42
Val
“Val, you have a visitor,” Stella says over the phone.
“I do?” Ineverget visitors at work. There’s a time or two I’ll be called to occupy someone who has to wait for one of the agents, but that’s it. No actual visitors.
“Yes. Should I send him to your office, or do you want to come up front?”
Him?“Um, you can send him to my office.” I don’t need the whole place staring at me. My blinds have been closed all day because cramps hit me out of left field, and avoiding prying eyes means I can lie down on my sofa as needed.
I want to curl up there now with a warm rice sack right where it hurts. Instead, lo-fi Christian music flows from my computer desk and over-the-counter pain meds keep me from breaking into tears. Now’s not the time to let Aunt Flo win. I rise to my feet because I should be hearing a knock soon.
Right on cue.
“Come in,” I call out.
