Page 6 of Dump and Chase

"Why not?”

“You’re going to ditch your dad’s wake?”

“He’d want us to have fun.”

I took a second to ponder that. Yeah, Ethan was right. “He would.”

He called us an Uber since I’d just downed a generous glass of wine, and I sent a text to Wolseley and Jill.

Going for burgers with Ethan. Breaking the ice. Go home without me.

“Uber should be here in five minutes,” Ethan said, watching its progress on his phone screen.

I finished the last of my wine, and we walked around the outside of the hall so no one would see us. While we were waiting, my phone pinged.

Don’t do anything stupid.

Jill was always looking out for me. But she didn’t need to worry.

* * *

We’d missed the lunch crowd at the North Star diner, so it was just us and a few other booths. The last time I’d been there was with Ethan. I’d avoided it ever since because it had always been our place. As teenagers, we’d liked it because the food was good and cheap. As adults, it was special because we’d shared our first kiss here. And many celebrations had taken place in these booths. When he was drafted, after his first year playing professional hockey, when I got into college, and when he told me he loved me.

The server came around and we ordered our usual. Bacon cheeseburgers, fries, chocolate milkshakes, and gravy for Ethan’s fries.

“So Leah graduated?” Ethan asked.

“Yes. Last year.”

“And she’s at Newman’s?” he asked with an arched brow.

“She makes more money at Newman’s than she’d make as a dietitian.”

He blinked a few times. “That blows my mind.”

“So I can’t blame her.”

“And your mom and dad are good? I barely saw them today.”

“Yeah, they’re good. Dad retired at fifty-five and keeps busy in the garden. Mom is working part-time so Dad won’t drive her crazy.” I couldn’t tell him how Mom and Dad felt about funerals. “I guess you plan to stick around a while to help your mom out?”

“At least a few weeks, but probably longer. I don’t want her to have to deal with this all alone and Ava is no help. She’s taking this hard.”

“I know you don’t need my help, but if there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to ask.”

As we stared at each other, I couldn’t help noticing a few lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before. But then I probably looked a little older too.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’m guessing the team has changed a lot in three years?” I asked as I dipped a fry in ketchup.

“Some of the old-timers have retired. Some guys went into free agency and are gone. But our core group is still there.”

I tried not to reminisce about those days and the fun I’d had hanging out with the other girlfriends and some of the wives. A lot of them were new to the city too, so we did outings together and charitable work. Many of us didn’t work—I’d dropped out of school for Ethan so I couldn’t get a physio job, and some of the wives had kids to look after. But I also couldn’t forget the lonely times when Ethan was on a road trip and I didn’t have much to do. I took some courses here and there, but I should have finished my degree. Instead, I was waiting for something, I’m not sure what, but it certainly never came.

“You’ll say hello to them for me?”

“Of course.”

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