Page 20 of Collide
She laughs suddenly, forcing me to look at her to fully grasp the sound. I thought a laugh from Summer Preston was the last thing I’d ever get to hear. I’d made attempts at jokes with her all night and nada, not even a smile. But now that I know what it sounds like, I want to make it happen again.
She looks around my truck with a frown. “It smells good in here.”
“Are you usually in smelly cars?”
“No, I just mean your gear is probably back there.”
I shake my head. “It’s in the truck bed. Can’t have my backseat smelling bad.”
She snorts. Not quite a laugh, but close enough.
“Did you date a hockey player or something?” I find myself asking as I pull onto the road.
She stares out the window. “Or something.”
Ex-boyfriend it is. Clearly, her aversion to the sport is due to a bad experience. It can’t solely be because she dislikes me.
The rest of our car ride is silent until I pull up to her dorm. She’s out and speeding to the entrance before I get the chance to walk her in. I’m watching her head inside when my phone buzzes in the center console and I answer immediately. Missing a call from Edith Crawford is not a position anyone wants to be in. “Hi, Grandma.”
“Did you get my package? I had Eric send it through the post,” she says.
“Yes, all the guys loved them. I’ll send you pictures.”
She knit sweaters for the team and wouldn’t listen to anyone, not even her arthritic hands when she spent the last few months knitting. She said it gave her something other than their diner business to focus on.
It’s been a while since I visited home in Providence, but my grandparents understand that my schedule is so packed I barely have time to come up for air. Asking them to come down for games doesn’t feel right, especially since it’s hard for them to schedule around managing their diner.
The last time I had any family in the stands I was thirteen and both my parents had come. I remember that feeling like it was yesterday. I was full of joy and it was one of the best games I ever played. So good I got recruited to the major junior team as a bantam player. That was also the last game my parents ever attended, and though the stands are filled with screaming fans wearing my jersey it has never felt the same. I have a feeling it never will.
“Okay, I just wanted to check in. Will you be coming home for break?”
Spring break felt so far away I hadn’t thought about it. The only thing on my mind is making sure we make it to conference tournaments without anyone getting ejected, suspended, or put on probation. Which is harder than it seems when the guys are hell bent on doing stupid shit.
“Yeah, I am.”
“It would be nice if you brought a guest one of these days.”
My grandma isn’t slick with her questions, so I know what she wants to hear. She has pestered me about a girlfriend for the past two years, saying she’s getting old and I should use my looks for something other thanmonkeyingaround.
“Just me. But I’ll let you know if anything changes.”
“You know, we would like to be coherent enough to talk to a girl you bring home.”
They love playing the old age card, though they are the most energetic seventy-year-olds I know. They would be in the mountains hiking if it weren’t for my grandpa’s knee replacement.
“I’m sure you two will be as spry as ever when that day comes.” Not anytime soon, because a girlfriend hasn't been on my mind ever, and bringing one home isn’t something I’m willing to subject myself to. Casual hookups are the only thing I can sustain throughout the season, but now that seems impossible too.
“How are things with hockey?”
“Good. I’m coaching a class of mini mites tomorrow.” I omit that it isn’t of my own volition.
“You know, your dad used to volunteer for those when you were younger. Helped keep an eye on you too.”
I laugh. “Probably the reason I don’t get into nearly enough fights now.”
“Let’s keep it that way, I don’t need you losing any teeth,” she says sternly. “Well, I’ll let you go. Call me with some exciting news next time. You are boring an old woman.”
“I have plenty of exciting stories, Grandma.”
