Page 13 of O Goalie Night
I tilt my head and with a placating tone usually reserved for the children I teach tell him, “Aww. Never.”
CHAPTER 6
FOSTER
“Look at her cheeks!”
I do as I’m told and look at the picture on Will’s phone of his newborn niece, focusing on the infant’s cheeks. They’re chubby like she’s storing nuts for the winter. Her eyes are closed and her hairless head seems to be a bit misshaped. Is that normal? I don’t know shit about babies.
“She’s beautiful, man,” I tell him because I know it’s what he wants to hear. We’re in our seats, awaiting take off, on our way to Tampa.
“Isn’t she? I wasn’t planning on going home until Christmas, but I might try to sneak in a quick trip.” Will’s from a huge African Nova Scotian family. When I say huge, I just don’t mean in numbers. He’s got five siblings, all over six feet tall—even his sisters—and at six-foot-five, he’s the biggest guy on our team. When they come up for games, all proudly wearing their Oliver jerseys, they completely take over the friends and family box.
I wonder what that’s like; playing knowing that you’ve got loved ones in the stands, cheering you on.
“The offer still stands, by the way,” he adds, still staring at his phone. “You’re welcome to spend Christmas with my family this year.”
A nod is my only reply. He’s made this offer several times and I’ve never taken him up on it. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it. Will Oliver is the undisputed gentle giant of the team. He loves to take care of us and I understand that he hates knowing I spend every holiday alone. But I’d much prefer to be on my own than spend Christmas being reminded of what I don’t have.
“I hear you got yourself a new roommate, Fozzie Bear.” Austin grins at me from the row ahead, kneeling on his seat to face us. His blond hair, long on top and buzzed on the sides, brushes against the cabin’s ceiling as he leans in, as he awaits my response.
This gets Will’s attention. He looks up from the pictures of his niece and stares at me. “You have a what?”
“As of yesterday, he’s shacking up with Ben’s sister.”
I glare at him. “We are notshacking up. Beth’s housing fell through and she’s staying with me until she finds a new place.”
Will brightens next to me. “Beth’s here? I like that girl. She’s such a sweetheart.”
“You like everyone,” I say dryly. Will’s people skills far exceed my own. Where I get awkward around people I don’t know, he becomes fast friends with everyone he meets. But I like Beth, too. She’s easy to talk to and even easier to be around.
Not hard to look at either, but that’s completely beside the point.
“Well, I still think I should have gotten her at the airport,” Austin says as he stretches his back against theceiling of the plane. “Teachers are so hot, with their hair pulled back in those tight buns and their glasses.”
“She doesn’t even wear glasses.” My tone is clipped. He’s annoying me even more than usual lately, which is saying something.
“I bet she would for me, if I asked nicely.” He winks at me before sitting down, leaving me scowling at the back of his seat.
“That’s really great of you to let her stay,” Will says sincerely.
“It’s not a big deal.”
It’s really not. Beth needs a place to stay and I’ve got lots of room. Ben and Will are the closest thing I have to family. I’d have done the same for any of their siblings.
I know that being alone for the first time in a new city is hard and she has already had a rough start. If I can do anything to make things easier for her, I will.
Since we don’t seem to be taking off anytime soon, I decide to message Beth just to check in. We exchanged phone numbers in case she needs to get ahold of me, but I want to make sure she’s got everything she needs.
Foster: Settling in okay?
The three dots appear almost immediately.
Beth: Yes
Huh. Her short response doesn’t convince me.
Foster: You sure?
