Page 55 of Playoff
“Well, yeah. They’re your family.”
“Family is a social construct that means fuck all.”
Something slivered down my spine. How horrible was that? Our parents were far from perfect. Far from. They had huge flaws. But they had never abandoned us, and we’d always had our grandparents to fill in the gaps our parents left. To have your parents take off, without warning you and never getting in touch again? I couldn’t imagine. “How could they do that?”
He pulled into the left lane to pass a slow-moving van. “Apparently pretty easily. And the kicker? They took my money with them.”
My jaw dropped and I must have looked like an idiot, but seriously? How could someone do that to their own kid?
He continued. “In a way, they did me a favor. I got a lot of attention from the various law enforcement agencies in Canada. Being a victim myself helped a few of them believe I didn’t know what was going on. Some thought instead it was a double fake, so every time I come to play in Canada, I get a visit asking whether I’ve heard from them.”
“Still? Ten years later?”
He pulled back into the middle lane as we headed west on the QEW. “Probably just a formality now. I’m sure they’ve been tracking my calls and my bank activity.”
I must have picked up on my parents’ attitudes, because I’d assumed Alek had come out of this debacle unscathed. That he wasn’t a victim. My whole image of him was shifting in my head. “I had no idea.”
“Why would you?”
I shrugged. “My parents have hired PIs and lawyers to follow any clue they could get about your family, so I thought we knew everything about you.”
“No one’s interested in something you didn’t do.” One shoulder shrugged, as if it didn’t really matter. But it did. Of course it did.
There was silence for a moment, then his words hit my memory banks. “Are you quoting a Tragically Hip song?”
“Proving my Canadian cred.” The Tragically Hip might be the single most unifying element of Canadian culture. Other than a gold medal Olympic hockey game.
“I’m sure you don’t want to discuss this anymore, and I respect that. I just want to say that I’m sorry, all that really sucks.”
“I appreciate the sentiment. So, any suggestions about food?”
I pulled out my phone again. I checked the signs slipping past us. “We’re almost at Hamilton, right? I’ve heard there are some good places here.”
“Find one that looks appealing to you. I’m not picky.”
It wasn’t hard to find a best restaurant list for Hamilton. The top place looked expensive and hard to get into, but a couple slots down was a place with “tavern” in the name, and the menu looked like it could accommodate the diet a hockey player would follow. A little pricey, but I didn’t think we were looking for a chain restaurant. Not for the guy who drove Lamborghinis and Mercedes.
Alek was fine with my suggestion, so I set it up on the GPS in his vehicle. We were soon off the highway and driving into the city. When we pulled up in front of the restaurant, he expressed his approval. “Looks good. Why don’t you get us a table and I’ll park?”
Fortunately, it was a quiet weeknight for the restaurant, so there was something available. I was led to a table near the fireplace, which was great on a cold night. I’d just unzipped my coat and pulled off my gloves when Alek joined me.
“If the food matches the setting, you’ve scored.”
I smiled, the praise warming me. I did try to please people, and being acknowledged felt nice. But being acknowledged by him felt even better, and that was dangerous.
Chapter 24
Naked is sexy
Alek
* * *
I’d asked Jess to drive with me on impulse. She’d looked sad, and I wanted to fix that. Being near her reminded me of that night we spent together, and I was fond of those memories. I hadn’t planned on spilling my guts to her. Especially since her family had been victims of my parents’ crimes. She wouldn’t be the first person to use me in order to learn about my family. I already knew Jess and her family had ample reasons to try. So why was I risking this?
Jess looked trustworthy, every time I saw her. Her clothing quiet and mostly modest, her makeup discreet. She was nice and smiled kindly at people. But she was totally different when she was in bed, which showed she could put up a front. It would be stupid to think she wasn’t trying to gain my confidence to help her family, even though I wanted to trust her.
For some bizarre reason, I did.
