Page 15 of Playoffs & Promises

A quick search later I have the information for her bakery up, but it's showing as closed for the day. The curse of bakery hours, they open early and close early. She really needs to be open late on hockey nights. I hit the number, hoping she'll still be there and will answer. The call rings, and rings until a recording picks up with the store hours.

I look at Nate. "Quick, what's Maria's number?"

"I don't know."

"How do you not know," I tell him, and then I'm calling Hannah.

My sister picks up on the second ring. "To what do I owe the honor of a call on game day?"

"I need Maria's number."

"Why?" she asks, her voice hesitant.

My patience is gone and I'm short with her as I say, "I don't have time Hannah, her number now."

"Promise me you aren't going to use it for something weird?"

My nerves are ramping up, and I don't have time for her antics.

"Swear it or I'm hanging up," she says.

"Fine. I swear."

"On the Stanley Cup?"

In a firm voice, I snap, "Hannah."

"Sent," she chirps. "Have a good game, I'm watching."

I end the call without saying goodbye as soon as I see Hannah's text with Maria's number.

Two things became apparent just before I hit call on Maria's number. One, it's quiet in the locker room. Two, it's not because my teammates left the room. I look up from my phone to see they've all stopped whatever they were doing to stare at me. Even Coach is in the locker room, to deliver his suit-up reminder, so we'll all be dressed for his pregame speech.

Dan is the one to finally break the silence. "Someone steal your lemon bar, Lou?"

The team cracks a couple of chuckles, but Coach and Nate are eyeing me with a level of awareness that lets me know just how much I've unraveled.

I pull myself together and put my phone away in my locker as I retort, "You wish."

Coach gets everyone's attention and tells us to suit up. Just as I think he's going to leave, he makes sure to look at me as he says to leave everything else at the door.

I turn my back on the team so they can't see me freak out any more than I already have. My chest feels tight, and I can feel my heart starting to pound. I take a long drink from my water bottle to try and cool myself down, before taking a slow deep breath. The team needs me and I can't let them down. I can't not skate. If I don't skate, I don't get paid. If I don't get paid then--

Nate steps closer to me, acting extra casual, but I can still feel the side glances, and the locker room is still quieter than normal as everyone tries to listen in. The team is worse than my gran's sewing circle when it comes to being in everyone else's business. That woman knows everything going on in my hometown and then some.

"You good to skate?" Nate asks me.

"Fine," I tell him and take another drink.

He backs off, but he's keeping a close eye on me as I start to pull on my pads. When Nate reaches for his helmet a cup of water falls out and Dan starts laughing from his spot by his locker. Nate shakes his head and promises to get him back. It's normal for the two of them and it helps to distract me a little as I pull on the rest of my gear.

Coach comes in and gives his speech and the lineup for the game. He doesn't even pause as he says my name which I appreciate as my nerves still haven't settled. We leave the locker room and I can hear the roar of the crowd in the tunnel, it grows louder as I near the ice. Dan moves to the side, he's first to lead to the ice, but last on. Giving us all a fist bump as we pass.

My skates hit the ice, and with a burst of speed I take off around the ice.

Skate, shoot, score. That's what I'm here to do tonight. Lemon bars or not.

As I loop around our team's goal I wave to the crowd. There are fans, super fans, fans that don't know they're fans, and the other team's people. I take note of a woman in the crowd holding a pink poster with a heart and my number in blue glitter next to my face. The woman with the poster likely falls into the super fans category and I make a point to wave to her. I can use all the positive energy from the fans tonight to outweigh the cursed lemons from before.

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