“I want to.”
Damn if I’m not grateful for that.
When I click off with Nova, I pull up to the ordering window.
“Lettuce, no tomato.Double pickles.Triple hot sauce.”
“Triple?”the woman asks, sounding startled.
“Yeah.”
I take the paper bags to the hospital, navigating through the halls with my hands full.
I enter Coach's room, settle into the chair that barely holds me, and pull out the dinners.
“Jay’s thumb is bugging him on his threes, but he won’t admit it.I’m trying to take away some of his reps without him noticing, which is hard as fuck.Atlas’s free throws are up ten percent.He draws more fouls, we might get somewhere this year.”
I bite into my burger, chewing and swallowing before I go through my mental notes on every other player on the Kodiaks.
Who knows if Coach can hear me, but I wouldn’t put it past him.
And when he wakes up, he’s going to be pissed if he’s out of the loop.
The phone rings, the shrill sound too loud in this place.I grab it.Harlan.
“I understand you’re going to the all-star game.”
“I understand you might be divorced by next week.”
Nova told me about her sister finding out—that we were together, and that Harlan kept it from her.
He sighs.“Mari’s upset.She’ll get over it.”
“That what happens when you fight?”
“I’m not sure.We don’t usually fight.”
Coach’s breathing is even.His eyelids are paper-thin.He’s always been hard and tough, but now he looks fragile.
Fragile things don’t last in this world.
“LA put together a solid offer.They called me with it this morning.”Harlan’s words cut into my thoughts.
“I wasn’t sure you’d still be pursuing that given everything going on.”
“My responsibility is to this team, and your stock is rising.The more you’re worth, the more we can get back for you.”
I expect to feel anticipation.Instead, the emotions swirling are complicated.
LA is still the top team in the West.But Nova’s here.Coach is here.The guys I’ve gotten closer to this year, whether I meant to or not… I’d be leaving them.
“This is what you wanted,” he reminds me.“Their GM’s going to have it over to me in writing in a couple of days.”
I clear my throat.“Let’s talk about it after this weekend.”
He’s quiet for a minute.“We’ll talk after.”
I shift back in my chair and hang up.
