Page 28 of Fake-Off with Fate
“We took the elevator down to the cafeteria together. She ordered a biscuit, two pieces of bacon, and grapefruit.” Thatwasher standard breakfast.
Paige and I lived on different floors, but I do know that she and Harry were on the same floor. “Where did you go on your first date?”
“To the roof of the medical school building.” There’s a glint in his eye that makes me want to punch him. That’s where all the underclassmen used to go to make out.
“Did you just hook up, or did you actually date?” I want to know.
“We dated.” Holding up one finger at a time, he enumerates, “We went to the zoo; we went into the city to see a movie; and we walked for miles by Lake Michigan one Saturday.”
A weird barrage of emotions washes over me. The main one being dread that I might have been the interloper. “Were you exclusive?” I want to know.
“Obviously not, because when you asked her out, she went.” So, they weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. That’s something.
“Did you date her after I started seeing her?” I ask like this might somehow lessen my culpability.
He shakes his head. “She was suddenly unavailable to take my calls.”
I’ve spent years being mad at Harry and there was no reason to. In fact, he had good reason to be mad at me. “I’m really sorry, Harry,” I tell him. “I didn’t know.”
He turns the tables on me and with heat, demands, “How could younothave known? We were together all the time.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I tell him, “I don’t know. I mean, I was eighteen. I was into me and wasn’t paying attention to everything else going on around me.”
“Clearly.” Yet he must believe me because he says, “I suppose it doesn’t really matter. It’s all water under the bridge.”
After a moment of silence, I confess, “It’s going to be weird not hating you.”
“Tell me about it,” he agrees.
On the surface, we seem to have made peace, but I know it’s going to take some time for us both to forget our past feelings. Walking in through the locker room door, I tell him, “I’ll catch you later, okay?”
He nods his head once before crossing the corridor to his locker. I hurry to open mine and get changed for practice. Then I head into the office to talk to Dale. He’s on the phone but he motions me to sit and wait.
Once he hangs up, he asks, “How’s my captain doing this fine morning?”
Ignoring his question, I tell him, “I had an interesting supper last night.”
“With the mayor?” He looks perplexed like such a thing isn’t possible. “Did he tell you all about the history of Maple Falls and their love of otters?”
I wasn’t quite sure how the Ice Breakers came upon their mascot but now I know it has something to do with the town’s history. Shaking my head, I tell him, “The mayor didn’t come. His daughter did.”
“Who’s his daughter?”
I spend the next few minutes telling him about Ashlyn and the news that the town is facing tremendous upheaval.
He looks nothing short of panicked. “If any part of the arena or surrounding area isn’t owned by who we think it is, we could be in real trouble. We might even need to find a new stadium.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “I suppose that’s true, but Ashlyn has an idea to try to raise enough money to buy the land back for the town.” Dale’s interest is clearly piqued, so I tell him about the bachelor auction.
“All the single guys should do it,” he declares excitedly. “Heck, I’d do it too if there was any chance some woman would buy a date with a rough-looking fifty-something-year-old coach.”
“Please,” I joke. “I bet you could raise at least a hundred dollars.” Dale rolls his eyes, while I ask, “Are you giving me the go ahead to confirm our participation?”
“Heck, yes!” he says. “The last thing we need is to have to move all the guys now that the season is almost here.”
We head out onto the ice together. Before practice starts, Dale calls everyone over. Once they gather around, he tells them, “Guys, we’re in a bit of a jam.” He relays the gist of my dinner conversation with Ashlyn and tells them about the plan for us to host a bachelor auction to raise money for Maple Falls.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if we just donated?” Lucian calls out. “I want to help, but I don’t want to spend an evening with a strange woman if I don’t have to,” he jokes. “There have been enough of those, if you know what I mean.” Laughter surrounds him.
