PACK: Could we pick this up later, Nix?
Later.Not after playoffs. Not someday. Just later.
My stomach relaxed.
NICO: Yeah. Later’s good.
Three dots appeared, and this time, they didn’t disappear.
PACK: Good. Don’t want to lose my chirping skills.
NICO: No worries. You never had any.
PACK: Rude. I’ll text you when I get rid of the inmates.
My eyes burned, and I sagged against the counter. When I could see again, I replied.
NICO: I’ll be here. Try not to let anyone set anything on fire.
PACK: No promises.
PACK: Hey, Nix?
I held the phone tighter.
NICO: Yeah?
PACK: I’m really glad you answered me today.
Something in my neck let go. It had been tight for so long I’d stopped noticing.
NICO: Me too.
I didn’t move until the screen went dark. Nothing was fixed or decided, but for now, we were talking again. And we sounded like us.
41/
packy
Montreal’s defenseman took aim,and I was half a stride late closing the gap. My legs felt like they’d been filled with cement.
Third overtime. Tied 3–3 since the second period. Conference championship on the line.
Someone has to score. Please, God. Let it be us.
The Lynx’s shot cracked like a pistol, and the puck rang off the post a second later. Logan grabbed the rebound and streaked toward the Lynx’s zone. We stayed with him, covering the lanes. Behind us, Lynx skates tore through the ice so close I could hear their guys breathing.
We crossed the blue line and closed in on the goal. A Montreal forward raced past Logan and cut inside, blocking his angle. Instead of forcing it, Logan slid the puck to me.
But I was too far out, so I snapped it to Abdulov. A Lynx defenseman was all over him by then, so Abby redirected the puck toward the crease just as Holky reached the front of the net.
Everything seemed to slow as Holky took the pass on his backhand. The goalie shifted as Holky deked left and flipped the puck top shelf with a wrister. The puck hit twine.
For a moment, the world went silent. Then the horn blared as the ref’s arm shot up. My mind struggled to believe it.Did we really?—?
A massive wave of sound hit as twenty thousand people went wild. Holky threw his stick into the air, and as it clattered across the ice, we swarmed him. Crashing into each other, we collapsed into a tangle of pure joy.
While we whooped, the rest of the Warriors jumped over the boards and added to the pile. Holky was at the bottom, and Dog was yelling, “You did it! You fucking did it, babe!”
