Page 32 of Offside Attraction

“How much do you want?” Rob held two slices of roast beef up between a carving knife and fork. Rhonda nodded, and he dropped them on her plate.

“Thank you.”

“When can we talk about this?” Anne asked, her voice low. Rhonda’s heart jumped into her throat until she realized Anne was looking back at Jenna.

“We can text or phone. Later tonight.” Jenna’s cheeks were flushed. She was positively glowing. They moved through the line as Rhonda continued to fill her plate. Veggies and dip. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Yorkshire pudding.

Suraj grabbed a Yorkshire. “The Oilers had more holes in their defence last night than these puddings.”

Tyler scooped enough potatoes to feed a small army. “Did you see Matthews try to thread that pass? Might as well’ve been sending it to Narnia.”

Brett guffawed, drowning his own mountain of mashed potatoes in gravy. “And Campbell out there flopping like a fish.”

Suraj snorted. “Juggling pucks like a street busker.”

They devolved into laughter, and it was stupidly contagious. Rhonda was almost smiling normally when she reached the end of the line and retrieved her cutlery. She walked to one of three tables set up in the kitchen and dining room, hoping that any weird facial expressions would be ascribed to her inability to process Jenna’s news. Which was true. Until she knew details, the fact that they were expecting a baby in some shape or form felt no more real than the Snowballs hoping to win the cup at the end of the season.

“Rhonda!” Penny, Brett’s girlfriend, stood from her seat and hugged her around her full plate of food. “How are you?”

“So good!” Her voice was too high. It must’ve hit that pitch everyone talked about, the one that cats and babies exploited with their cries, because everyone at the table turned to look at her.

“Carry on. Nothing to see here.” Rhonda shooed them back to their food, hoping it came off naturally. She sat next to Penny and glanced around the table. “I’m heading to Edmonton in the morning.”

“Soooo, you were being sarcastic?” Penny grinned.

“I’m actually staying at a new Marriott. It’s supposed to be great. The restaurant I’m meeting my doctors at is in the hotel.”

Penny nodded. “Well, good, because it’s going to be freaking freezing up there.”

Rhonda laughed, then picked up her knife and fork and started cutting her roast into pieces. She scooped one up with her fork, dipped it in mashed potatoes and gravy, then dropped it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Mmm.”

“Kind of makes me want to take up cooking.”

Rhonda gave her a look. “You cook.”

“No, Brett cooks. Unless it’s a family recipe, I microwave.”

Rhonda laughed. Penny was downplaying her skills, but she decided to let her live in her truth for the time being. She took another bite and caught a glimpse of Darcy from the other table. His back was to her. He was far enough away he wouldn’t hear anything.

“So great that Darcy is back this season.”

Penny nodded. “Honestly, I was a little worried.” She glanced up and lowered her voice. “I heard he was a bit of an asshole.”

“How so?” Rhonda ripped off a piece of her Yorkshire.

Penny shrugged. “Just didn’t make an effort to be a part of the team. Caused problems on the ice.”

“Hmm. Hopefully it’s better this time around.” Rhonda chewed and swallowed. “I wonder why he didn’t join up with C-Biscuit. It’s kind of a long haul over to practice, isn’t it?”

Penny frowned. "He lives in Rosemont, doesn’t he?" She leaned over to Brett. “Does Darcy live in Rosemont still?”

Heat flushed to Rhonda’s cheeks. Fantastic. Another witness to her asking about Darcy’s living situation. Rhonda took a sip of her water, trying to look nonchalant. "Oh, I could’ve been wrong. I had a meeting in Mayland Heights, and I could've sworn I saw him at the apartments there."

Brett shook his head. “No, he’s still in Rosemont. We just did some renovations on his house there. He inherited it from his grandma.”

“Or great-aunt?” Penny asked.

Now that they mentioned it, she did remember hearing something about that. How he’d moved back because he had a free place to live. None of this helped her, but at least she knew he didn’t live in that building. Maybe if he was visiting a friend, he wouldn’t know who else lived there.

---