Page 115 of My Wife
“In that case, I should ask, is your real name Liam?”
“You know the answer to that question.”
Turns out, she knows a lot about me—what I eat, when I go to sleep, though recently later than usual since we often text at night. How I like my laundry folded—the woman must have nerves of steel to wash my hockey gear. She somehow hides the protein powder the team nutritionist insists I take in a berry smoothie so delicious, that I can’t taste it. And she isn’t stingy with her smiles even when I don’t deserve them.
“I also know that you and your brother live and breathe hockey.”
“That’s about where our similarities end.”
“You’re both tall.”
“I’m half an inch taller.”
“Same nose.”
I grunt. “He’s a goofball.”
“Ah. You’re definitely not that.”
“Are you saying I don’t know how to have fun?”
“Decline to comment.”
Maybe I’ll have to change that, but we’re nearly to Brookking Sound. Home of the Ellis family hockey legacy.
“Did your sister play hockey? Sisters intimidate me,” Jessica admits.
“In that case, Ingrid will not disappoint. She’s type A. But likable. No nonsense, efficient, brilliant.”
“And gorgeous.”
“Pregnant too. She has three kids. This will make four.”
“This means KJ has cousins around his age.”
“Yeah,” I answer softly because how will he be able to communicate with them? Then again, he’s been doing fine at nursery school according to Jessica.
“Is your sister a stay-at-home mom or?—?”
“Somewhere, someone has a bet running about whether she’ll leave her job in marketing when the new addition comes along.”
“Given your moodiness, I thought you came from a broken family. They’re perfect. So why the chip on your shoulder?”
Taken aback, I pause before formulating a response. “It’s not a chip. More like the weight of the past.”
“What makes you say that?”
I’m afraid she’s going to find out soon enough. Brookking Sound isn’t the kind of place to keep secrets. “When you saidbroken family, your voice cracked like you’re speaking from experience.”
“Starting during my third week in kindergarten, I was placed with multiple foster families. Some better than others.”
Jessica doesn’t say another word. I’m afraid to ask because of what it’ll do to her smile.
30
JESS
This partof Canada is in a different time zone, but I can’t stop thinking that it’s strange o’clock.
