Page 34 of Ice Block

Zack and Larsy stand quietly, staring at me withpityafter my confession.Damnit, I shouldn’t have brought this up.Larsy breaks the standoff between us all and hugs me.

“I know you hate hugs, but you need one. I’m so sorry for what you’ve gone through. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen toMaggie.” He steps back, seeming to reluctantly release me.Maybe I did need that.“People leaving sucks. Especially someone passing away like your mom. But God forbid should anything happen to Olivia, I’d still rather have my heart ripped out than never have been with her at all.”

“Same with Kara,” Zach chimes in. “Even if I knew I could only have her for one week of my life, I would still take that time to spend every moment with her. Listen, I know what you’ve gone through is something we’ll never understand, but…have you ever thought about talking to someone about all this?”

I scoff, folding my arms over my chest. “You mean like a shrink?”

“Yeah, Vladi. Like a therapist,” Zack says as he puts a hand on my shoulder. “The league and the players association actually have a lot of resources these days. I went to talk to someone about my brother’s drinking problem. It was affecting my whole family, and I was constantly stressed about it, which made Kara stressed because I was having a hard time balancing being a good husband and father, and trying to be a good brother while not being an enabler to him. It fucking sucked.” Zack massages the back of his neck, looking at our cluster of balls down the fairway. “It really did help me to talk to someone. Someone who is there to advocate for you alone, and help you find ways to cope with things like this.”

I let his words sink in, a lightness spreading through my chest. I never knew Zack went to therapy.Could I do something like that?“You did this? You…you talked to someone about it?”

He nods with a tired smile. “I did. And it was one of the best things I ever did for myself, my marriage, and my relationship with my brother.”

“Vladi, we see the way you look at Maggie, and there’s no denying the way she looks at you,” Larsy reassures me. “If youwant that, we just want you to know we’re here for you. In whatever way you need us.”

I thought I came here to golf with them, not have my damn life analyzed. I straighten my posture, my eyes fixed on anything but them.Fuck it if they aren’t right. And fuck them for being good teammates, friends, and, I grunt to myself, cracking my knuckles again, the family I have always needed. I never wanted to deal with my past outside of offering my pain to the ice, but this damn woman has my brain all sorts of fucked up. I have some major thinking to do.

“Thank you both. I will consider it. Now, can we get on with this damn game so we can finish golfing before the damn sun melts my skin off?”

23

maggie

After a long day lounging in the sun and another group dinner, I wander to the bar to have a few drinks and clear my head a bit. I’m so confused about this damn goalie; why the hell is he toying with my mind and Melissa Joan Heart?Is he secretly a fan of Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Was the show Clarissa Explains It All super popular in Russia?I take another sip of my third Coco Loco of the night, trying to dull my mind of the thoughts of him. My damn heart is at war with my mind and body, and I fully blame Melissa for all this confusion.

“Maggie James? Is that you?” a female voice calls across the bar. As I see her approaching, it’s literally the last person I expect to see here.

“Shelly?! Oh my God! What are you doing here?” I scream as she gives me a big hug.

“My family owns this resort. We’re here for our annual company retreat for Harbor Glow this week.”

I shoot straight up in my chair, my mind finally catching up to what was right in front of me. The artwork in the room. “Holy shit,Shelly,yourfamily owns the resort? That’s so fucking cool! Miguel!” I shout down at the bartender who’s been serving me, “A Coco Loco for my friend here!” He looks my way, giving me a nod, his expression changing as he makes his way toward us, realizing who is sitting next to me.

“Ms. Phillips, always a pleasure to have you here. I’ll get your drink right away.”

“Miguel, how many times have I told you to call me Shelly?” He shakes his head as he walks away to make her drink. She turns to me, grabbing my hand with a mournful look I don’t expect on her face. “Maggie, I am so sorry about the campaign getting cancelled. I waslividwith my father. We got in a huge fight about it, but him and his damn antiquated ways of doing business overruled me. He actually threatened to fire me. Me! His owndaughter! All over a campaign. Jackass pulled me out of all creative decisions for the rest of the launch.”

My stomach sinks, my own pain mirroring hers.Looks like I wasn’t the only one ousted over that.“Shit, I’m so sorry Shelly. I had no idea. Why didn’t you reach out?”

“I couldn’t. Heforbademe. Said I got too—how did he put it?—too friendly with our service provider,” she says in a deep voice, imitating her dad. “He claimed I wasn’t thinking with my business brain. One of his finer pompous asshole moments, I can assure you. Why can’t I have a drink and get along with people I’m working with? God, he’s so stuck in the eighties.”

Miguel steps over with her drink, and she takes a giant gulp, slamming the glass down on the bar.

I stifle a giggle. “Wow. So, I guess the retreat is going well then?”

She throws her head back in laughter. “You have no idea. The shareholders are all men. Men in their sixties and seventies. They think they have such an intense understanding of women’s beautyproducts. My grandmother, God rest her soul, founded this company.Sheknew what she was doing. Her son only looks at dollars. I love my dad, because he’s my dad, but also could strangle him with that decorative fishing net hanging on the wall over there.”

“Trust me, my parents are both lawyers, so I’ve been there. Cheers to parents!” I say, sarcastically raising my glass to clink with hers.

“So, Maggie,” Shelly takes another drink, “what are you doing here at the resort? Are you on vacation? Relaxing, I hope?”

“Kinda. Do you remember my friend Olivia? I think you met her at happy hour a couple of times. She’s getting married. Well, actually…she’s already married. This is just a repeat of the ceremony with a big celebration this time.”

Shelly squeals and claps her hands in excitement. “Yes! I remember her; I love a beach wedding! You know my family does own the resort, so if there’s any issues or anything, shoot me a text and let me know! I really owe you big time.” Her excitement quickly fades as she looks at me, her eyes narrowed and full of regret. “Maggie, I just want to apologize again. I loved your ideas and all your designs. They were so creative, so different. I told my dad this company was dying, that we needed something fresh. Herefusedto listen. They didn’t even use the product we spent millions in R&D on! They just went back to the same formula they’d been using for years. And now, the new campaign is out with the old product. And guess what? Our sales are awful.”

“Yeah, I heard through the rumor mill things weren’t going well. I got pulled off the entire campaign, and Bill, also in his sixties, took over. A bunch of sixty-year-old men trying to market a line of female anti-aging products, and it’s not doing well? Imagine that!” I tease as we both snort and take another big chug of our drinks.

Shelly leans in toward me, glancing around the crowded bar. “Can I tell you a secret? You can’t tell a soul.”

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