Page 11 of The Home Game

“So how’d things go yesterday?” Dominic Olson asked Matty as they skated lazy laps around the rink, waiting for some of their teammates to arrive for the informal practice this morning.

The season wouldn’t officially begin until mid-October but things were beginning to ramp up already. Matty couldn’t wait. Hockey was the best time of year.

“Yesterday?” Matty asked.

“Your real estate agent was showing the house to some guy, yeah?”

“Oh, yeah,” Matty said. “Uh, it went fine, I guess.”

Dom lifted an eyebrow. “No offer?”

“Nah. Sounded like maybe it wasn’t the right place for him.”

“Oh, bummer.”

“It’s fine. Really, it’s not supposed to go on the market until next week, anyway.” Matty shrugged.

“Are you having second thoughts about selling it?”

“No. Not really,” Matty said.

Though he couldn’t stop thinking about the idea of Antoni and the kids moving in.

God, the place would be perfect for them. The kids would love the tennis courts and the artificial ice surface in the basement. There were plenty of bedrooms and a big backyard to play in. Matty could hang up a tree swing and …

He sighed, realizing he needed to slow his roll.

Just because he wanted a family to do stuff like that for, it didn’t mean he was going to be able to do that for Antoni’s kids. The guy was practically a stranger and Matty had never even met those kiddos.

But, gah, it sucked to see people hurting and not be able to help.

It was why Matty liked going to the children’s hospital and cuddling the babies in the NICU. It made him feel useful.

The team did volunteer work there all the time, meeting with kids, signing autographs, handing out merch … but going on his own was Matty’s favorite. When he wasn’t on the road, he went once a week to cuddle the sweet little babies.

It made Matty feel so good to see them go from fussy and squirming to sleeping quietly against his chest. Some of the nurses called him the baby whisperer.

He wondered what Antoni’s baby was like. He hadn’t mentioned a name or anything or how old it was.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Dominic asked, sounding concerned. “You’re on another planet today, man.”

“Umm, yeah, I’m okay,” Matty lied. “Maybe just didn’t sleep well.”

That part was true. He’d tossed and turned all night thinking about Antoni’s van breaking down or the kids having to sleep in some rundown motel, scratching from bedbugs.

But hopefully Antoni could find something better than that. Matty didn’t have any doubt that Antoni would try his best. It was clear he loved those kids like crazy and wanted to do everything he could for them.

But it was also pretty clear he was running himself ragged already. If something more went wrong …

“You sure?” Dominic shot Matty a suspicious look. “Because you’re usually bouncing all over the place and being the funny man.”

Matty shrugged. “Like I said, I’m tired. And I was … thinking about some things.”

“You don’t think.” Dom narrowed his eyes.

Matty made an indignant noise and thwacked Dom’s chest with the back of his glove. “Fuck you, dude. I think about things plenty.”

“Sure.” Dom didn’t look convinced but he tapped Matty’s shin with his stick. “Hey, you want to do some face-off drills? My speed and offensive production aren’t where I want them to be, so the least I can do it is win as many fucking face-offs as possible for the team this season.”

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