Page 78 of Prayers for the Prickly

Who was that anyway, I found myself wondering, certain I’d met them at the bonfire baby reveal. Oh, shit, yeah, that was his cousin Baxter, I’d been introduced to him and several others with the same jackets, all family members of his that loved to ride their big motorcycles together.

I couldn’t wait for the chance to ride on the back of Gregor’s, once he got it assembled. From what I’d learned from being around his family, he shared his old man’s trait of starting restoration projects with zeal and the best of intentions, only to stall out when he couldn’t find the exact parts and pieces he desired. Alternatives weren’t an option, apparently, even if they worked just as good.

Getting to spend the afternoon chatting with Janie had filled a piece of me that had been empty and longing since Ever left. Gregor wasn’t into gossip and always looked extremely bored and slightly annoyed whenever I tried to share something I’d overheard at the shop. Clearly, he wasn’t interested, but Janie filled in the gaps between several tidbits I had, just little stirrings around town, nothing vicious or mean, while I provided him with breadcrumbs and snippets of conversation about the expo the town was planning, and the selection process to take part in it. Business had been booming for me since Movies in the Park kicked off and as business owners, we kept our ears open for anything that might help spread the word about what we had going on in our shops.

“You were awesome out there,” I told him as he rounded the block to pull in behind his cousin.

“It felt good playing like that again,” he admitted. “With all the gear and everything. Family games we just get out there with skates and sticks.”

“How do you keep score that way?”

“Oh, we’ve got nets we drag out onto the pond with us. Pops keeps them in the shed behind the house. Every now and then, when the netting gets brittle and frayed, he changes it out. It’s the same ones him and my uncles grew up playing with. Kind of a family tradition our kids will have the opportunity to be a part of, too.”

“No one’s ever fallen in or anything, have they?”

“Nope. Ice has to be thick for us to be out there.”

“H-how do you know when it’s thick enough?” I asked, trusting him, but needing a bit of reassurance before I could lay to rest the protective instincts that had suddenly surged through me.

“Uncle Les uses a temperature and depth algorithm, Gramps and Pops do it the old-fashioned way and bore a small hole in it so they can measure the thickness.”

“I think I like their way better, takes the guesswork out of it,” I said.

“Exactly.”

“And the kids, when they learn, will they have all the padding on, like you did today?”

“When they play hockey, they will,” he explained. “But when they’re learning to skate, they’ll just be bundled in layers, including thick snow suits, scarfs, gloves, hats and mittens to keep them warm and toasty when they’re falling down.”

“Ohh, dammit, I know they’re gonna fall, but I am going to hold my breath every time it happens.”

“We both will, but we’ll be out there on the ice with them.”

“I am not that good of a skater. Hockey was never my sport.”

“But you do skate.”

“Passably.”

“Perfect, then we will be out there with them, together.”

“So you can chuckle when I fall on my ass, too.”

“That’s only one possible outcome among many.”

“Sure.”

Parked, I waited for him to come around to my side and open the door. Getting in and out was still easy, but stepping up onto the high curbs the town had installed to help keep shops from flooding could be tricky at times. He held me steady and kept his arm around me as we headed inside to discover a short line, and a cold interior, which meant that the people in front of us and the ones in front of them asked for courtyard seating. I hoped that meant there were booths inside, because there was no way I wanted to sit out in the sun.

Even with the time that had passed inside the skating rink and the two games Gregor and Brendon had played, things hadn’t cooled off much outside, while in here was almost as good as being in the arena.

“Do you have a table or booth for four inside?” Gregor asked when we reached the counter, “Our other party will be here in just a minute.”

“Let me just take a look,” the hostess replied, checking her charts and then stepping away, presumably to check on the dining room herself.

“Hey, sorry it took us a minute,” Brendon said, joining us while we waited for her to return. “Had to park behind the toy store and walk over.”

“At least one of the perks of owning the building is having a designated paring spot,” Janie said.

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