My mom was quite the lady. I couldn’t believe she’d gone out of her way to make sure I had something perfect to wear to my next event without having to dip into my savings.
I dialed up her number but ended up getting her answering machine. I left a short message thanking her for the perfect gift.
9. TJ
I hadn’t received a thank you yet… I mean, I knew there was a chance that would happen, but jeez, that was kinda cold, no? I was pretty thrifty, some would say cheap, so it really wasn’t every day that I spent half a grand on a girl and used my “almost-pro” status to call in favors to get things donequickly.
It was Grey’s fault really. After helping Ellie tear down for a couple hours yesterday, I finally rejoined him, Max, and Canyon on the golf course. I decided that I needed the help, so I confided in him about my feelings for little Miss Sassy Thing. He advised that I should go big or go home.
“Ellie really is a great girl,” Grey said. “She’s wifey material, not like the other girls you bring around. I doubt she’d throw a drink in your face like the last girl.” His shoulders shook with laughter as he leaned down to place his ball on the tee. “It really started out that bad though? Me and Jules just thought you’d balance each other out.”
“It was disastrous dude.” I took a swig of my beer. I decided not to tell them about the whole panic attack-compression snafu that I think helped me gain ground with her. For some reason, saying that part of the story out loud would make me feel like I was betraying her. I threw Max a nod, “It’s actually your baby’s fault I started off on the wrong foot.”
“Ah, shut it, don’t put your ineptitude on Frankie, bud. He’s a chick magnet, she never woulda come up to you if it wasn’t for him,” Maxadded.
I guess he had a point about that.
“Balance each other out?” I asked Grey to clarify.
“Well, yeah… Shit,” he muttered. His golf ball went way off course and Canyon cackled next to me and marked it on the scorecard. Pretty sure the kid was almost winning. Grey grinned at Canyon and turned to face me. “You’re just… a lot and she’s like a hyper-organizer.”
I think he could tell I was confused by the look on my face because he explainedfurther.
“Dude, you missed the warm-up of almost every game last season when you helped coach because you were always running late. She pulled together our whole wedding in half a year and made everything run smoothly,” he said.
“A lot? You guys think I’m a lot?” I asked incredulously. I was still stuck on that part of his explanation. “And you guys aren’t?”
That cracked them up for some reason and I sat there shaking myhead.
“Yes, I was late a bunch, but that’s because I was always arguing with my ex or trying to get Paige’s help about said arguments with her. It’s not my fault I attract the crazies,” I defended myself.
Canyon visibly shuddered. “That girl was awful.” He showed his true age by mispronouncing girl like “gurl.” He was only nine, but he always acted like one of the guys, so I occasionally forgot how young he truly was.
Grey pointed down to his son. “True.”
I couldn’t argue with them there. I tried to be the perfect boyfriend for her, but as Paige said, it seemed like she wanted more of a “yes man” than an actual human being who had thoughts and feelings.
“Dude…ok, I’m channeling Paige,” Max hummed to himself and closed his eyes. Goalies, man- always weird ones. I shot Grey a look as if to ask, seriously? But he just shrugged.
“It’s like the great Whitney Houston once said,” Max began, “Each time with you it’s the same script, different cast. At some point ya gotta look at the common denominator; you gotta look at yourself and ask what you’re doingwrong.”
I hung my head. “So, I’m the problem.”
“Aren’t we all?” Grey countered with a laugh. “What I suggest is making a romantic gesture. You have preseason camp in what- a week or two?” He squinted trying to remember the preseason dates. He had retired a bit ago but had played multiple seasons in the NHL.
“Yeah,” I sighed. Trying to lock down a girlfriend while playing hockey was proving to be difficult. I was always cut off from exploring more because I always had to leave. But watching other guys have girls waiting for them after games or having someone call them to receive a pep talk after a tough loss, or even just having someone to check-in with when our planes landed made me feel like I was missing out. I wanted it so badly. I wanted mutual care, mutual respect… I wanted fricken cuddles, okay? But for some reason, I always messed it up or they freaked on me.
“Well, Ellie really loved those cupcakes at the wedding, she convinced Jules we needed to have them,” Grey saidthoughtfully.
“Those were good,” Canyon confirmed with wide eyes. “I had like ten,” headded.
Grey patted his head and whispered, “Sugar consumption that mom doesn’t need to be remindedabout.”
I sat there shaking my head against the idea of the cupcakes though, because I came up with the perfect one.
“Y’all seem like the rookies. I know just what she’d want,” I told them.
But I guess I’d beenwrong…
