“What?”Dad asks, and I point at his glass.
“Where’s the beer?”
Mom pales so much so quickly that I actually catch it in my peripheral vision.I turn to her.“Not for me.For you guys.”
“We thought…” Mom blinks.
“We thought it was fine to go dry this year.None of us needs the empty calories anyway.”Dad pats his non-existent belly, and my already tenuous mood darkens.
“You guys aren’t helping,” I mutter, and I feel bad because they’retryingto help.But fuck.I sigh.“I need some air.”
“You just got here,” Mom pleads.
“I’m not leaving.I promise,” I reply and head for the door again.Across the hall from the entrance, Grady and Landon sit on the floor in the den with Randie between them.Landon’s mom and dad are talking with Uncle Devin by the fireplace.Tucked into the corner, in a big armchair, is my grandmother.She waves me over.
I want to go outside, but I will never deny Donna Garrison.She’s not technically my grandmother but she’s always insisted I call her that.My blood grandmother, my dad’s mom, died from liver failure when I was very young.My parents took care of her, and I don’t have any specific memories from that time, but I remember the vibe, and it was a very dark time.
“How is my grandson?”Donna asks, and she extends her arms without getting up.She’s not the most agile anymore.She has fairly bad arthritis in her back and her hips.I bend down to accept an embrace from the second-best hugger in the family.“You look so handsome in red.”
I smile and smooth my cardigan when I pull back.“Thanks, Grams.How are you?Where’s Grandpa?”
“Oh, you know Henry,” she waves a hand with a dismissive smile.“Has to help in the kitchen.No one makes stuffing like he does, even when he’s given Leah and Cole the recipe and explicit instructions.”
I smile.“Sounds like him.”
“Such a control freak.He’s lucky he’s cute.”She rolls her big blue eyes, but then her smile softens, and her eyes do too.“Glad you came home, Theo.I missed you this summer.”
“I missed you too.I just… had to deal with things.On my own.”
“You look good.Settled.Are you?”She wants to know.“And if you aren’t, you better tell me.”
“I’m good.I wish the team were doing better.”
“You’ve kicked that losing streak, and you’ve been getting better every game.You seem to be easing back in well,” she says, because of course, Grams watches every game.“Your gramps and I want to come to a game in person, but we wanted your approval.I know it can be stressful having family there.”
“You guys can come whenever you want.You’ve got other grandkids there to see, too,” I say.“Don’t wait for my approval.”
She smiles and nods.“We’ll be there for the next home game then.”
I grin.They didn’t see me play live much when I was in Vegas or Quebec because it was too big a trip for them.It will be cool to have them at a game.I hope I play well.She cups my cheek and smiles in a way that makes me feel like she’s wrapping me in a hug.“I learned a little while raising a gaggle of hockey players.And the thing that I know for certain is you’ve earned your spot, Theo.In that league and in this family.And you didn’t lose it last year.Not even close.So don’t be too hard on yourself.”
She grabs my hand and squeezes it.A wave of complicated emotions swamps me, so I just nod and kiss her cheek and then tell her I’m going to get air.I head across the room, but the sight of Mae talking to Eli Casco has me stopping.She’s grinning like she’s chatting with the most famous celebrity in the world.And Eli looks so friendly and at ease, clearly telling some story, Mae is engrossed in.I think back to Lola suggesting I ask her dad about my performance issues.Maybe I should?I don’t really like opening up to anyone, but bottling everything up is partially responsible for why I turned to booze, according to the bucket load of therapy I’ve had over the last year.
“Hey,” Grady says, and I didn’t realize he’d walked up behind me.“You good?”
“Yeah.Sure,” I say and look at him.“Why isn’t anyone drinking?”
Grady blinks and then levels me with a stare that says “duh.”I sigh.“I don’t think it helps, but Aunt Rose really thought it was the best idea.”
I try to calm down at that.Mom doesn’t want to make this worse for me, and if she needs the extra reinforcement of no alcohol around, then I should just let her have it.“It doesn’t.It just makes it feel like there’s an elephant in the room, and you guys don’t trust me.But it’s fine.I’ll earn the trust back.”
“We trust you, Theo,” Grady assures me and folds his massive, freckled arms.“I’ve seen how hard you’ve worked on and off the ice.”
I nod.My eye catches Mae as she says something to Mr.Casco.He laughs, and she beams.“Mayhem is going to talk his ear off.”
Grady grins.“I think she’s happier than I am that Landon and I got serious.”
“Shut up.”I laugh.He smiles at me.“Have the press calmed down?”
