He was standing now though, and he had his phone up to his ear and he was whispering. The fact that he didn’t want to let go of my hand or speak freely punched me with an intense bittersweetness. I wasn’t sure what I did to deserve his friendship, but I was damn grateful for him.
I squeezed his hand to let him know I was awake, and he gave me a small smile and turned his call on speakerphone so I could hear too.
“What number are you usually? 19?”
“Uh, I usually go with 17 if it’s available,” he answered.
“I’ll see what I can do for ya.”
I looked at him in question… Had he been traded? I was dreading having to say goodbye to him… Actually, now that I thought about it, I hadn’t even asked when he was returning to his minor team in California.
“Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.”
“Anything for a friend of Nick’s. I’ll be watching to see if he was right about you. It is a tryout, so don’t blow it, son.”
Griff licked his lips nervously. “Thank-”
Before he could finish, the call was disconnected. That was par for the course with hockey coaches; they were usually men of fewwords.
He breathed out and shoved a hand through his messy hair.
“What was that about?” I asked him.
“He got me a shot in Toledo. Game is tomorrow at7pm.”
“Duke’s team?” I exclaimed. “Oh my God, you guys will play so great together. It’s been…”
“Years,” he laughed. “It’s been years since we played together in your backyard.”
“Wait,” I cringed. “Isn’t that a level down from where you were in California?”
“Eh, doesn’t bother me at all. I thought I was done playing.” He plopped onto the bedside chair like what he said wasn’t a big deal at all.
My mouth dropped open in shock. “Griff, what the heck, why?”
He just shrugged and avoided eye-contact. “I told my old team I wasn’t leaving Detroit.”
I really didn’t deserve him.
“Griff,” I felt my voice crack.
“Nah, no crying over me,” he smiled ruefully. “I’m all good, Sav. I just missed bein’ around you crazy Callahan’s too much. I’m damn happy to be getting this shot. I think it’ll be my last season if it doesn’t work out. We’ll just see how itgoes.”
I gave him a sad smile. Hockey was a tough sport. At 26, Griff wasn’t old… but he wasn’t young either, and he’d been trying to make it his whole life. I could empathize with how tiring it must’ve been.
“Well.” I clapped my hands together. “I doubt I can break out of here in time for the game… but maybe you could somehow rig it up so I could watch it here? Maybe you could bring my laptop from the apartment?” I bit my lip, waiting for his response.
He rolled his eyes playfully and did a little fake bow, totally making fun of me. “Your wish is my command, Callahan.”
40. Griff
As soon as I walked into the Toledo locker room, Duke immediately jumped up from his spot and dabbed me up.
“So happy you’re here, man! You coulda called though. I had to find out from Coach here.” He pointed to the elderly looking guy who I originally thought was an equipment manager… After studying him a bit closer, I realized he was taking a little snooze here in the locker room.
“He likes to catch some Z’s before the game,” Duke shrugged and took another bite of a half-eaten snickers bar in his hand.
A sleeping coach didn’t seem the most promising, but whatever… Coach Petersen said he’d be watching, and that’s ultimately who I was trying to impress anyway.
