Page 88 of Delay of Game
Shit. Where had the time gone? I tallied back to when I first met Astrid. Soon, I wouldn’t have any reason to see her anymore besides parent-teacher conferences. Or if she dated Fieste.
“When are they coming?”
“This weekend. They’re staying for ten days, which is more than enough time to sort through the last of the photographs and heirlooms and sign all the paperwork with a realtor. Mom is looking forward to spending some time with Aunt Mercy, too.”
“They’re staying with you?” I asked, all too aware that they would. Scratch off swinging by her house. Which wouldn’t even be her house soon. “Where will you go once it’s sold?”
“Lily has a spare bedroom. She lives downtown, so it’s a bit of a commute. I’ll look for my own place after that.”
So, not only would I have no reason to see Astrid anymore, I also wouldn’t be close enough to stop by, even if I had a reason. She’d be downtown. Closer to Fieste, closer people her own age. Still, the information rotted in my stomach.
“That’s great,” I said with no conviction.
“Is it?” she sighed. “It feels sort of like everything’s falling apart when it should feel like it’s all coming together.”
My throat constricted. “Once the walls are painted and the furniture is back where it belongs, that’ll change. We can knock that out this weekend.”
“I watched your game last Sunday. You looked great.” She set down the stencil in the center of the table, careful not to brush my shoulder. “Nice win.”
Despite Coach Simmons’ change up, we had a good game. A nail biter of a win, but a win.
“Do you think this is helping?” she asked, setting aside a slab of cut clay and grabbing another.
“I don’t think it’ll make things worse,” I admitted. “It’s certainly not hurting.”
Coach Simmons swapped a handful of players out with their practice team counterparts and surprisingly, hadn’t caused a riot. If anything, the team seemed more even-keeled.
“And our next game should be an easy win. We need it.” I cleared my throat, eager to change the subject. “How’s Aunt Mercy?”
She smiled, eyes skittering to meet mine as she let out a laugh. “Good. She’s asked about her Jimmy a time or two.”
“I need to get back out there.”
Mom, Mila, and Fieste filtered back into the studio, interrupting the peace in the pottery studio once again. Before Astrid and I even had the last of the slabs cut, my teammates joined us, and any expectation of talking to Astrid again was out the window as I answered dumbass questions like, “Why can’tI make my handle a snake?” and “Can I carve a wolf into my stein?”
By the time we’d collectively made over sixty steins, not only was I starving, but exhausted. Using Mila as an excuse, I fled back to the house and put her to bed in relative silence, only to find Astrid and Fieste gone when I returned.
THIRTY-ONE
GRACIE
Ethan pulledhis truck to a stop in front of my house, turning the car off rather than let it idle.
“Thanks.” I unbuckled my seat belt. My head ached and after a full day of school, followed by four hours of socializing, I wore out just about the same time as Rob. While he’d had Mila as an excuse to slip away, I feigned a headache.
“Do you think I should head back or…” Ethan worried his bottom lip.
“Or gominglewith my friend?”
“I wasn’t going to phrase it quite like that,” he said with a mischievous grin. “And honestly, I’m more worried that Rob will beat the shit out of me when he finds out we left.”
“He won’t.” I laughed. “Besides, this was all Rob’s idea. He has no one to blame but himself.”
I reached for the handle when he cleared his throat. “You’ll let him know I didn’t stick around, right?”
“You’re that worried?”
“Terrified.” He gave me a quick grin behind a fair amount of trepidation.
