“Yeah,” I say. I set down my beer. “I know a place.”
ELIDA
The cocktail bar is perfect - dark wood booths and low lighting. It’s the kind of place that exists for intimate conversations. We slide into a booth near the back and order cocktails without checking the menu.
“So,” he says. “What did Mercer say?”
I smile into my drink. “He came over looking like he’d rather be doing literally anything else. Said the guys wanted someone to say something and apparently they picked him.” And then hesaid - you made us way better. Don’t tell anyone I said that.And walked away before I could respond.”
He laughs, then shakes his head slowly, still smiling. “Huh. Good for him.”
“I was surprised.”
“He’s not a bad guy. He just needed-”
“Longer than most.”
“Yeah.” He picks up his drink. “Don’t we all.”
“Calloway mentioned the scout news. At my goodbye dinner. You’ve been trying to tell me.”
“You had a lot going on.”
“That’s not an excuse and you know it.”
“What did you want me to say, Elida? You were with someone else and then you were leaving and I was trying to-”
“To what?”
“To be good about it. The way you deserve.”
I think about the text he sent me -you deserve good things.
“Thank you. For that. All of it.” I take a sip of my drink. “I ended it with Jake properly. Today.”
Something barely perceptible flits behind his eyes.
“This place has been good,” I continue. “Really good. Better than I expected when I stepped off that plane in January not knowing anything about Minnesota or college hockey. But I want my old life back. Or a version of it. A better version. A clean slate.”
His eyes are unreadable. He takes a slow sip of his drink and looks at the table.
“What about you?” I ask. “What are you going to do?”
He looks up.
“Most likely Belfast Giants. EIHL. It’s solid. Calloway recommended it and it’s a good stepping stone.”
“Belfast,” I say.
“Belfast,” he confirms.
I turn my glass slowly. “You know the SHL has better teams.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Significantly better than anything in Belfast.” I keep my voice light. “Objectively.”
“Apparently Belfast has good connections,” he says, carefully.
