Page 74 of My Wife
I sign, “Mrs. Kirby is our neighbor. Practically a friend,” I say for KJ’s benefit … and maybe because sometimes this feels like home. At least, I’m here often enough.
“After she said all that nasty stuff to you?”
“I’m leading by example. Teaching KJ that we’re gracious, forgiving, and generous.”
He grunts. “You’re aggressively positive.”
“Are you suggesting I want to fight your neighbor?”
“No, you’re just so optimistic. You don’t have to try so hard.”
“Don’t I?”
“I’m saying you don’t have to give cake to the lady who said hurtful things.”
“Mending fences. Plus, you’ve said that you don’t like me and I still made you a cake.”
He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m a jerk.”
“So you admit it?”
“Don’t be mean.”
I wink.
Color rises to his cheeks.
I say, “Just honest.”
“I bet in school you were a suck-up, the teacher’s pet.”
I gaze at my shoes. “More like the classroom ghost.”
KJ tugs on my hand.
“Don’t want to keep him waiting for our visit to see Elizabeth.”
“Mrs. Kirby’s dog?” Liam asks.
“He loves dogs. We should get one.”
“No.”
“You don’t like dogs? I bet you don’t like ice cream either. We’ll have to do something about that.” Flashing him a wink, we disappear down the hall.
20
LIAM
In ice hockey,pivoting is a basic move to quickly and strategically change direction without losing momentum. In other words, the player doesn’t have to stop to recalibrate.
But for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m running out of steam. Like I might need to break the boards and leave the rink.
Yesterday, Coach Badaszek had us run pivot drills, which made me feel ten years old. No, five years old. According to family lore, I was practically an infant when Dad strapped skates on me for the first time.
He played for Winnipeg after Germany. Hendrix plays for the Titans, another Canadian home team. I’m the family outlier.
My first memory of skating is when I was four—just a little older than the kid. These drills are juvenile, and I can’t stop thinking about them. Why did Coach waste valuable time when we could’ve been practicing advanced plays?
