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“I’d be honored to.” Caleb got his wallet from his pants pocket and pulled out a card. “Email my assistant. I’ll tell him we talked and what needs to be done. He’ll help get it coordinated.”
The boy took the card, turning it over in his hand. “Wow. Thanks.”
“Thank you. It’s good to meet you….”
“I’m David Eisenberg.”
Caleb extended his fist, which David met. Dimitri and David exchanged a fist bump too. “We’ve got to get going. But we’ll be talking.”
“Thanks, Mr. Carter.”
“It’s Caleb. You take care, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
Caleb turned and waved after they were a few steps away, and David gave an enthusiastic wave back.
On the bus, Caleb and Dimitri took their usual seats, midway back on the right, with Caleb at the window. He held his food but leaned his head against the glass and closed his eyes. He was happy he could maybe help David and spread the word on tolerance and equality. What kept running through his mind, though, was that Aaron would’ve loved that exchange.
Dimitri squeezed Caleb’s arm. “I’ll listen whenever you’re ready.”
It was as if Dimitri read Caleb’s mind.
Caleb nodded but didn’t move. He worked to keep his emotions in check, not so much for Dimitri, but for the rest of the team. The fact that he’d played so well and yet ached this much for Aaron spoke volumes to him about how important he had become.
“We’ll get a couple beers from room service, and then I’ll…,” Caleb said, looking at Dimitri, who simply gave a single nod.
Chapter Twenty-Five
AARON sat alone in his classroom. The final bell of the day had rung a couple of minutes ago and the students cleared out quickly. Aaron had nothing planned after school, so he was trying to focus on grading some papers.
He would watch hockey tonight—that much was certain. The Rangers looked good to close out its series with Boston, and he wasn’t going to miss the chance to see Caleb, who was playing great. As much as it hurt, it meant Aaron had made the right choice because Caleb had rarely looked better on the ice.
A knock at the classroom door pulled Aaron from his thoughts. “Come in.”
“Hi, Mr. Price. I forgot my action figures.”
“No problem, Charlie. Come on in.” Aaron chuckled. Some things never changed. He had brought action figures to elementary school, and kids still did it. Aaron busied himself by organizing the papers that needed his attention.
Charlie quickly got what he needed from his desk and stuffed the handful of figures into his bag. He paused coming back up the aisle. “You okay, Mr. Price?”
Aaron stopped, two clipped stacks of paper in his hand, and looked at Charlie. “Yes. Of course. Why?”
Charlie shrugged. “You don’t smile much anymore.”
Crap. He’d been working so hard to keep his sadness away from the kids. So much for that. Smiles would have to be on display starting tomorrow for sure.
Aaron forced his lips to curve upward in the approximation of a smile, hoping that he wasn’t grimacing. “Everything’s fine. I’m just tired since I’m helping out one of the hockey coaches.”
“Oh, okay.” Charlie perked up hearing he was okay. He quickly headed for the door, but stopped just short, turning back to Aaron. “If my mom thinks I’m tired, she makes me take a nap. Maybe you should do that.”
“I just might,” Aaron said, complete with a genuine smile. Charlie touched him with his concern and the remedy.
“See you tomorrow, Mr. Price.” Charlie took off running. Aaron knew he should stop him from running in the hallway, but he probably had a parent waiting.
“He’s right, you know.” It was Pam, leaning against the doorframe. “I haven’t seen a smile in almost a week, and you’re dragging around like you’ve lost your best friend.”
“That, thankfully, I’ve still got.” Aaron stuffed the papers into his bag, along with the other things he’d need for the evening.
