Page 106 of Actions and Reactions
EPILOGUE
Silas
July
As we waitto enter the theatre where the NHL Awards are being held, I focus on anything but Vinny.
He’s wearing the green tie.
And yeah, he said he chose it because it’s his lucky tie, but I know better.
He wants to drive me into madness.
Tonight is not the night to walk around with a hard-on, and yet here I am.
It was worse last week, I have to give him that. We went to the draft to support Lex, and Vinny wore a bright red tie that we hadn’t used yet.
We’ve used it now, though, and the memoriesfrom that night definitely don’t help my situation.
Lex got drafted by the LA Empire, which brought Uncle Hulk to tears, so that was fun.
“Just promise me one more time,” Annie mumbles next to me.
I look down at her and try to convey the seriousness of my words.
“If you start to embarrass yourself, I solemnly swear that I’ll pinch your arm.”
“You’ll be fine,” Vinny says and rubs her arm soothingly. She leans into him, which is only one of the miracles of the past year.
So, so many others . . .
I’m still frustrated that one of them wasn’t the Pirates getting their third Cup in a row, but honestly, we have nothing to complain about.
We made it to the semifinals, and lost in a shootout in the seventh game.
It was tough on Bear, but he seemed better the other day when we had our end-of-season team celebration.
Another miracle was when Gab made me the director of communications for the Pirates.
It’s a big step, overseeing both marketing and PR, but she believes in me, as does Vinny, and that helps me believe in myself.
I know she has bigger plans for me, even if she hasn’t explicitly said so, but as soon as her girls graduate in one year, Alex will begin her ascent up the ladder of the Rogues and Gab will become GM for the Pirates. Thatmeans Jake will move up to president of the Pirates, and I ...
Well, I have plenty to keep me busy already, first of which is hiring someone to help out with PR.
I’ll worry about what Gab’s plans are after we get back from the week we’ll spend at the cabin, and once I feel like I have my feet under me.
Tonight, though, we’re celebrating another miracle.
For the first time ever, two players from the same team have been nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy—Jules, as he pretty much always is, and Vinny.
The whole gang is here, and this time it includes Wolf and Hawk, which means Annie has been a mess.
“They’re going to be late, because Wolf is late for all these kinds of events,” Vinny continues. “And they’ll come in and sit at our table probably during a commercial break or something. Mom’s gonna fuss over them like she always does, Wolf will grumble, and Hawk will eat it up. Then I’m going to introduce you to them, and they’ll be the first two out of here after the last award.” I see the nerves he’s trying to hide in the almost imperceptible tremble of his lower lip.
I reach for his hand and the doors open right then.
All the guests are as impatient as me, and everyone practically runs to their table.
