Page 2 of Loving Ladybug: Part One
Pick up Chello’s on your way home? I already placed the order.
Aww. How sweet. I’d been planning on splurging and grabbing something from his favorite restaurant. Chello’s was mine.
Me
Of course. Love you.
I finished up the inventory and went to Tony’s office to grab the skates. They’d cost me more than I’d ever spend on skates for myself, but Austin hadreallywanted these. Maybe one day they’d be his sponsor.
“Those skates are too good for him. The Philadelphia Aces had years to sign him. They’re not going to magically call him today,” Tony grunted, looking up from his computer.
“One can hope. Good night, Tony.” I picked up the box. Tony might be right. But that didn’t mean there weren’t other teams waiting for the deadline to either sign Austin or give him a chance if the Philadelphia Aces passed.
Sure, him getting signed wouldn’t solve all our problems. After all, getting drafted hadn’t. Still, him becoming part of a hockey team, any professional team, would alleviate a lot of stress.
And I didn’t mean financial stress. I was fine with being poor, but happy. It was the mood swings since Austin graduated a month ago that gave me whiplash.
“Hey, Ladybug, going already?” Clark called as I walked down the hall to grab my backpack out of my locker.
Clark Edwards bounded over to me like a brown-haired golden retriever that hadn’t been walked all day. He was this drop dead gorgeous, dark-haired, alpha forward for the Knights. The kind that should, and did, sell underwear, with muscles honed from years of hockey, tossing hay bales, and fixing tractors.
He also wore these nerdy black glasses, had a penchant for ugly sweaters, and knew everything there was to know about the Defender League movies and comics.
“Yeah, heading off. We could work out tomorrow, either after I’m done with camp or first thing?” I offered. I enjoyed working out with the Knights and learned so much from them.
Clark was last year’s wonder-rookie, the kind that was signed from a community college team in farm country and made the Knights’ lineup straight away. Something that didn’t happen often. A lot of people called himWonder Boy.
“After you get off would be perfect. Oh, the few of us that are still in town are having a little get-together tomorrow night at Dimitri’s,” he told me. “After that, I’m heading home.”
“Austin’s bartending at Tito’s tomorrow night, and I’ll probably be called to sub.” Disappointment leaked into my voice. Dimitri’s parties, even the ‘little get-togethers,’ were always a good time. Austin liked it when I brought him.
“Youcancome without him. We all know how much you love Austin. We’re not going to steal you.” He laughed. Clark looked at the box. “Oh, did you get your new goalie skates?”
“Not yet. These are a surprise for Austin.” I opened the box and showed him. They were maroon with gray stitching, which I’d had to order custom.
Clark whistled. “I hope he knows how lucky he is. If you work at Tito’s tomorrow, let us know and we’ll stop by.”
“Sure. See you tomorrow.” I waved. They always tipped big.
“Bye, Ladybug!” He smiled and hustled off.
I left the building and headed for the subway, hoping that when I got home Austin had some good news.
Chello’s in hand, I walked to our apartment from the subway. It was a worn-down area, but it worked for us. We needed a place convenient to the University of New York City that we could still afford. UNYC had offered Austin a tuition scholarship and a meal plan, but not much toward living. We didn’t want to take loans, so we lived off-campus and worked. A lot.
Sure, I had little time to enjoy university life. I often went to class, hockey practice, and work, exhausted–especially since transferring to NYIT from community college. With him graduated, I could now focus more on myself.
One year to go.
My phone rang–my boss from Tito’s, possibly calling me in for tomorrow. “Hey.”
“Hey, I need you to work tonight,” Ernie told me.
“I have tonight off.”
I entered our ramshackle building, which didn’t even have a working lock on the main door.
He huffed, “I know, which is why I’m asking you to work.”
