Page 80 of Prayers for the Prickly

“He’s never going to grow out of that, is he?” Janie said. “The clown thing?”

Was that a hint of wistfulness I saw as he reached for one of the bread rolls the waitress set on the table.

I could already smell the garlic and butter and reached for one, too. His smile looked tight when our hands bumped, and I could tell that anything to do with Dash seemed to be an issue for both of them. Maybe that was another reason he hadn’t heard this story, aside from, well, the hilarity of giving dance lessons to someone only to send them spinning out a window.

“Doubtful,” Gregor said. “Best to just take him like he is or leave him alone.”

His words were met with silence and Brendon fiddling with the napkin wrapped around his cutlery.

“So what did you major in?” I asked Brendon in the hopes of shifting the conversation again in case everything hockey related happened to also have Dash wrapped up in it.

“Geology, otherwise known as rocks for jocks,” Brendon explained.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously, that’s how my adviser referred to it when I told him that was what I wanted to major in.”

“What do you even do with a geology degree besides, um, study rocks?” Gregor asked.

“Teach,” Brendon said. “Get a job for an oil or natural gas company, or even in a mine. Do government surveys, that sort of thing, none of which I was interested in. I just wanted to play hockey and maybe get a chance at the pros. Keeping my grades up was part of the program, so I did it and actually discovered that I loved rockhounding and collecting a rather impressive array of stones and fossils, but I never had any interest of doing anything with my degree beyond that.”

“How far did you make it?”

“Semis, I just never developed the level of aggressiveness the pros were looking for,” Brendon explained. “I skate hard, but that’s not enough, not when guys are willing to risk taking someone out if it means stealing the puck.”

“Yeah, I feel you there, I’d rather enjoy that level from the stands and not be in the face-offs.”

“No shit.”

“So, this is gonna be a regular thing, right? Me seeing you down at the rink.”

“He’ll be there,” I said. “Even after the little ones come, and when they are old enough, they’ll be there, too, cheering their papa on as you guys skate circles around the other team.”

“I dream about the same thing,” Janie admitted. “But kids aren’t in the cards for us yet. Someday, maybe. Right now, we’ve put all our focus on the toy store and trying to figure out how to renovate the space upstairs. After all of us kids in and out of the place growing up, it needs some tender loving care.”

“I’ve got an uncle who tackles old spaces like that,” Gregor said. “He’s the one who did the lighthouse conversion for me and is currently working on expanding the house addition I’d had added on to the lighthouse, as well as the gallery space in my shop.”

“Oh shit, he did the old fabric shop, too, didn’t he, and helped them turn it into the café?”

“Yup.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have his number on you, would you?” Janie asked.

“I’ve got his card, actually,” Gregor said before fishing one out of his wallet.

“Sweet,” Janie declared, “thank you. I’ll give him a call in the morning.”

“He’ll be glad to hear from you.”

While I was enjoying the conversation, my stomach rumbled, and I reached for another roll, only to discover it in my mate’s hand, where one small, pleading look from me saw him lower it from his lips to my plate, where I quickly snatched it up.

Thank you.

I’m gonna have to learn to make those, too, aren’t I?

He winked at me when he said it and I leaned against his arm to finish eating the yummy thing.

Yup.

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