Page 38 of As You Ice It

Nathan:Why would your brain go straight there?

Alec:Please ignore them both.

Camden:More of an existential crisis.

Van:Is that different than a quarter life crisis

Logan: Shut up Van.

Felix:Respectfully, Van, shut up.

Logan:How can we help?

Wyatt:You guys make it very hard to sleep

I’m grateful Wyatt pops in because it distracts the guys long enough for me to type out perhaps the longest text I’ve ever written. When I hit send, there are a whole string of texts welcoming Wyatt, who doesn’t say much in the group chat since he moved to Boston.

Camden:I have a few things to share. (And no need to insert a crack about me not sharing, Van.) First, the reason I’ve been rushing home lately is because my old billet dad is living with me. He has early onset dementia and long story short—his family didn’t want to care for him. It’s been good, but a challenge. Second, I think I want to try again with Naomi. If she’ll have me.

Van:*faints in shock*

Eli:WOW. That’s WOW DUDE.

Felix:Man. There’s a lot to unpack. I’m sorry and also happy for you.

Logan:I’m sorry about your billet dad’s condition. Is that the right word to use?

Camden:Thanks. That works, yeah.

Alec:How’s your billet dad doing?

Camden:He’s in good spirits. He isn’t really aware of it, so he just kind of lives in a weird past/present hybrid.

Van:I’m sorry. That’s rough

Eli:So rough you got Van to use punctuation

Van:It was a one time thing

Logan:Do you need anything? What can we do?

Camden:I’ve got a caretaker who stays with him when I’m at practice and home games but need to find another one for our road games. The first one bailed. I have interviews set up, so I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Van:Not to be rude but can we talk about your woman now

Eli:RUDE

Felix:Reminder: we’re adults. Which means we can text using punctuation AND without using all caps. Except occasional all caps for emphasis, as demonstrated in the previous sentence.

Eli:DOUBLE RUDE

Van:Go to bed netminder

Logan:Guys, focus. Camden is talking to us about things.

Alec:Let us know if you need anything with your billet dad.

Nathan:I’d be happy to help.

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