Coach Patty tells me to be ready for a phone call in the next day or two.
My guess is it’s coming tomorrow since we have a game.
I also can sense he knows something I don’t.
As I gear up to go out on the ice, there’s clapping and cheering from the locker room hallway.
I look forward as the doors swing open.
Led by Dax, the guys are clapping for me.
Everyone except Faust.
He’s just there to be there, hands in his pockets, probably already thinking of ways to stop impossible one-timer shots and how to go post to post to make saves that will be replayed twenty years from now.
Dax drops to one knee and looks between my legs.
He keeps clapping. “Well done, big guy! You shot a full load and it hit the target!”
I lift my foot - which has an ice skate attached to it - forcing Dax to fall back on his ass.
“Dude!” Dax yells.
“Can we at least get some kind of details on this situation?” Turner asks. “This is a big deal.”
“It’s a one-night stand gone too far,” Faust says. “He’s fucked.”
I stand up. “Say that again, Faust. Louder. Get closer to me.”
“Hey, relax,” Rhett says. “This is supposed to be a happy time. Right?”
“It’s a chaotic time,” I admit. “I don’t want to get into it. I’m not dating anyone. I’m not with anyone. It’s not like that. It’s just…”
“What Faust said,” Dax says as he gets back to his feet. “Respectfully speaking.”
“Even still, who cares?” Ben asks. “We just wanted to say congrats. You’re having a kid. That’s pretty cool.”
“Hey, did you get any pictures yet?” Rhett asks.
I catch myself almost wanting to smile.
Like I have a sense of pride… for what?
I have one of the ultrasound pictures with me. Right in the front right pocket of my jeans.
I reach into my bag and hand Dax the picture.
“Looks just like you, Colver,” he says.
The guys gather around.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Rhett asks. “How small that actually is. And then it’s going to grow into a baby and come out and then…”
“Are you going to cry right now?” Faust asks Rhett.
“Please don’t fucking cry,” I say. “Things are fucking intense as it is.”
“Speaking of intense,” Turner says. “Your baby mama. She did not like you at the club, huh?”