Page 39 of Replay

They looked at Fitch, who shrugged. “Pretty sure that’s the story. And no, Katie didn’t sound angry. But if she’s right, I doubt your mother and she will ever be very close.”

I still wanted advice. “So you can’t fix it when your mother and girlfriend don’t get along. What do you do when they both want something different?”

“Then you find out who’s more important to you.”

Oh, that didn’t sound like fun.

Fitch asked if I was okay when we drove home. “You’re very quiet.”

“I’ve got a lot to think about.”

“Katie and your mother?”

“Yep.”

“So, you’re not giving up on Katie?”

I shook my head. “No. We were pretty young when we dated, but since then—yeah, I’m still not that old, but I’ve seen a lot of people. I’ve met a lot of women but there’s no one like Katie.”

“That’s a good point.” Fitch used the fob to open the gate to park under the condo. “People might argue you didn’t know anyone else when you were in high school, but that’s not the case now.”

My cheeks heated up. I had done a lot of hooking up. I was young and making serious money and playing a sport. I tried to make sure everyone had a good time, and I didn’t promise more just to get someone in bed. I’d sort of dated a couple of times, when it hadn’t been just a one-night exchange of O’s, but it hadn’t gone anywhere. A lot of people thought my Star Wars obsession was immature.

“What’s so special about her?”

“You met her. Can’t you tell?” Wasn’t it obvious that she was a great person?

He held up his hand. “I’m not insulting her. I just wondered why she was right for you, compared to anyone else.”

I frowned while I tried to put it in words. “I’m not smart.” Seeing Fitch start to speak I rushed on. “I was held back a grade. I always struggled with school. And I was short, and we didn’t have a lot of money, so I wasn’t very popular. Until I got good at hockey.”

Fitch nodded slowly.

“I still struggled in high school, but everyone wanted me to do well so I could play. I got Katie as a tutor. She was different, from the beginning.”

She’d made things so much better.

“She believed in me. Not as a hockey player, cause that didn’t seem to matter to her. But she made me do all the assignments, told me I could do it, and I believed her. She even got my math teacher to let me do my exam on the chalkboard so I could walk around while I was taking the test. Since she noticed moving helped me focus.”

“Did it work?”

I nodded. “Katie is the only person who made me feel smart about something other than hockey. She believed in me, not the guy on the ice.”

Fitch had a soft smile, and I realized I must have sounded pretty sappy.

“Plus, she’s pretty and sexy and smart—what’s not to like?”

Fitch turned off the car in the parking slot next to mine. “She sounds like she was a good fit with you. But things might be different since you broke up with her.”

“I don’t think so. I’m the same, and even though she said she might have changed, I don’t believe it. We just…work.”

“So what are you going to do about your mother?”

“I’ll concentrate on getting Katie back, and not worry about my mom and Katie getting along. Cause if Katie doesn’t give me another chance, I don’t have to pick one.”

Daniel shook his head. “I don’t know whether to commend you for not obsessing over a problem that might never happen, or caution you for putting off an altercation because you’re wimping out.”

“I’m going with commend me.”

---