I don’t need to turn around to know which of my brothers has come to cheer me up, and the sound of his sweet voice does just that. With the first genuine smile I’ve managed all day, I turn to face my only younger sibling. “Leo, you know you can call the show by its name. Just say you want to watchKeepi—”
“Eh! Nope!Our showis perfectly fine, thank you,” he says, flouncing down onto my bedroom sofa and grabbing the remote.
I sit on the opposite end of the sofa and plop my feet in his lap. “Fine, let’s get to it then. We have a few episodes to catch up on. You going off to college has really put a pin in our TV time.”
Leo takes a foot and starts to massage, doubling down on his ‘best brother’ title. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t act like you miss me when I’ve been here all day, and you haven’t even bothered to say hello.”
“I didn’t know you were here!”
“How was I supposed to know you wouldn’t come downstairsall day? You’re never holed up in your room like this! I finally decided you must be on your deathbed or something, and I ought to come say my goodbyes before it’s too late. Can you imagine if I let you die without saying goodbye? You would haunt me for the rest of my life if I let that happen!”
I roll my eyes, kicking him in the side with my free foot. “Oh, whatever, asshole. I’mfine. I just needed a little alone time.”
“Yeah, I can see that. You’re usually ready to go and fully dressed with your jersey on hours before the game.”
Looking down, I realize I’m still very much in my coziest, holiest old shirt. “I don’t think I’ll make it to the game tonight—”
“What do you mean you aren’t going to the game? You have to go so I have someone to talk to. Pleeeeassseee…”
“Okay,” I sigh, giving the best smile I can. “I’ll go, but just because you’re here.”
Leo pushes my feet off his lap and pulls me to sit beside him, before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Are you okay?”
I burrow myself under his arm, fighting my earlier tears. “Yeah, I think it’s just that time of the month.”
“Okay, Sis,” he says, but I can tell from his tone that he didn’t believe my lie. “In that case, you’d better start getting ready. Nonna is planning to leave in an hour.”
“Fine, but you better not watchour showuntil I’m back in here.”
“You’d better hurry then!” He gives me one last squeeze before pushing me up. “I’m giving you twenty minutes to change, then I’m starting the next episode whether you’re back out here or not.”
I chuckle as I scurry into my closet to throw on my outfit for the night. I usually dress casually for the games since there’s no reason to try to impress anyone with my brothers there, but the thought of seeing Teddy gives me an idea. I skip my usual leggings and sneakers that I pair with my custom Santori jersey, and opt instead for a belted dress and knee-length leather boots. It’s not quite as sexy as what the skate chasers wear, but a bit more elevated than my standard. Before walking out, I throw my hair up in a messy ponytail and put on a bit more makeup than my usual natural look.
“Damn girl, are you trying to get half the men in the arena killed? Gabri and Nikki are going to have their hands full taking care of everyone who looks at you a little too long. Who are you trying to impress?”
My face flushes as I snatch the remote from him and sit down. “I’m not trying to impress anyone! Sometimes dressing cute makes a woman feel better. You wouldn’t understand.”
Leo laughs. “Whatever you say. You look fantastic, though!”
We get thirty minutes into our show before we’re called to leave. All five of us pile into the car, and the steady conversation is a perfect pick-me-up for my mood. My parents’ banter, along with Leo’s jokes and Nonna’s occasional inappropriate comments, keep me laughing so much that I almost forget the cause of my blues. That is, until the game starts. Then it becomes impossible to forget my melancholy.
Traffic held us up a bit, so we missed the pregame announcements. Thank goodness I didn’t have to see his picture towering over me from the Jumbotron, but even without seeing his face, there’s no mistaking who’s playing goalie.God, how did I miss that it was him all this time? Even in full equipment, he’s undeniably Teddy.
All I can do is shake my head as I stare at the man in question, currently in the trenches as the opposing team hits him with a series of attempted goals. With each block, the crowd gets louder, chanting his name.
Williams! Williams! Williams!
Since finding out who he is, I would be lying if I said the thought of having that last name never crossed my mind. Even knowing I could never belong to him, I dreamed of the what-if. But a dream is just that, a dream. Our relationship was short-lived, but it was fierce. The kind of connection that has you believing that soul mates really do exist. That there could be someone made specifically for you, someone who transcends time and space in every lifetime in order to find you. I was never one to fall for such celestial bullshit, but for a moment, I believed. More than believing, for those few weeks I knew Teddy Williams, I felt it.
“That new goalie is something else, isn’t he?” Nonna asks, breaking my daze.
Leo speaks up before I can. “Fuck yeah, he’s something else! Have you seen his stats from the Phantoms?”
“Language, Leo!” Mama shouts from where she’s sitting on the other end of our suite.
“He’s impressed your brothers,” Papa pipes up. “They seem to really respect him too, which is an almost impossible feat.”
The crowd erupts when Teddy blocks one last attempt, passing the puck to Gabri and ending the series of assaults. With only seconds left in the game, he effectively assures us the 1-0 win.
