My phone is already blowing up with holiday greetings as I force myself out of bed to start my routine.
Kat: Merry Christmas, loser.I’ll try to watch the game.
I hit her contact.
“Wow, a call and everything?”she drawls.
“Merry Christmas, shrimp.Surprised you were up so early.”
“Andy was opening presents hours ago, like any self-respecting nine-year-old.”
Kat’s boyfriend has a couple years on me, and as much as that irritates me, he’s a decent guy.He’s raising a kid on his own after his wife died tragically, and I respect the way he looks out for his family.He also loves the hell out of Kat.
I miss my sister.She’s in grad school out east, and I’m here and everywhere.When we play in New York, I send tickets for her and, for the past year, for Daniel and Andy too.
“What else are you doing?”I ask.
“Mmm, nothing special.I’ll fill you in later.”
“Did you get the gifts I sent?”Matching designer sweaters for her and Daniel, plus a fun-sized basketball net with a bunch of limited-edition swag for the kid.
“I don’t think so.”
“It says it was delivered yesterday.”
“Oh.”Her voice sounds weird.“I gotta go, Clay.Merry Christmas.”
I say it back, and we click off.
“Merry Christmas.Happy Hanukkah.Best wishes to you and your family and everything you celebrate.”Miles dances around the court at shootaround, setting elf hats on heads.
He ends on Coach, who glares but holds out a hand.
“Less antics, more shooting,” Coach gripes.
“Why’re you so tense?”I demand.
“Nothing.Management and owners are at it again,” he amends at last, his voice low enough only I can hear.
He means Harlan and James.
I catch a stray ball and square to the basket, letting off a shot that swishes through the net.
“What are they fighting about?”I can’t resist asking.“The team is winning.”
“Harlan wants a deep run in the playoffs and is talking about trading a few pieces to set us up for the postseason.But Parker wants to double down on the winning now because he likes seeing his name in the news.”
The next ball comes to me, and I fire it on to Rookie to shoot.
“So, what’s the problem?Let them fight it out.”
“Problem is I get stuck in the middle like wadded up underwear.”He flashes teeth before turning to the other guys.
Coach is the only one in a bad mood.As fans flood the building, collecting the special “Beary Christmas” T-shirts Chloe had made for the thousands of spectators, there’s a decidedly celebratory vibe.
Jay nudges me.“If we win today, we’ll have as many wins as Vegas thought we’d have through all-star break.”
I know we've been beating expectations, but I try to tune out the noise like oddsmakers.Still, this is momentous.
