Page 59 of Stick Side
“You aren’t late,” Shawna said as she bustled toward them, evidently having seen them trying to confirm the time. “I just have the perfect person I want to pair you up with. If you’ll follow me?” She motioned them forward with a wave of her hand before guiding them over to a young girl he guessed was around ten and a woman who looked so similar that she could only be her mother.
“Penny. Angela,” Shawna said, “I would like you to meet Benjamin Logan and Melody McGuire.
“Benjamin Logan,” Penny said from behind large circular glasses that reminded him of the ones his second-grade teacher, Mrs. Carter, had favored, “born in Mount Carroll, Illinois, and recruited to play for the Washington Capitals after three years with the Harvard Crimson. You’re ambidextrous, able to shoot both left and right, but you have grown to favor your left in recent years.”
Ben felt his eyebrows rise as she continued to rattle off his stats. He wasn’t sure even he knew his facts and figures as well as this girl seemed to.
After what seemed like forever, Penny blinked, readjusted her glasses, and explained simply, “I’m gifted.”
Ben glanced over at Penny’s mom, Angela, to see a combination of pride, embarrassment, and simple acceptance play out over her features. He imagined she was well used to her daughter startling strangers with her ability to spit out impressive quantities of trivia.
Melody touched his arm. “I didn’t know you went to Harvard.”
“Go Crimson,” he acknowledged as humbly as he was able.
“For architecture,” the adorable little know-it-all supplied.
Ben nodded in acknowledgment. “I might have gotten in on an athletic scholarship, but I finished the year with a 3.7 GPA,” he said. It hadn’t been easy to keep up with Harvard’s academic standards while living and breathing hockey, but somehow, he’d done it.
“It’s too bad you weren’t able to finish,” Penny commented. “You would have been crazy not to sign with the Capitals, but my mom is always telling me how important a degree is.”
“Actually, I did get my degree,” he revealed with no small amount of pride. “After I got signed by Washington, I took summer classes during the off-season until I had all of the credits I needed to graduate.”
It was Penny’s turn to look surprised. “I didn’t know that.” Her furrowed brow suggested she was trying to determine which resource had let her down and left her with this gaping hole in her knowledge.
“Wow.” Melody looked a little awestruck. “You continue to amaze me.”
“I’m not just a pretty face,” he said with a wink.
His remark was flirty and superficial, but he found himself warmed by her praise. He couldn’t deny it felt good to know he had somehow managed to impress a person as remarkable and accomplished as Melody.
“You’re definitely more than a pretty face,” Melody said as she smiled back at him and leaned into his side. He wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her an affectionate squeeze. It felt so good to touch her, even in innocent, fit-for-company ways.
“Okay,” Penny said, pulling herself together and reclaiming the attention of the group. “So, you’ve got brains and brawn. How about you?” she asked as she turned to Melody.
Penny’s mom covered her face with her hands in a way that suggested she was well-acquainted with the futility of trying to stem the tide of her daughter’s words. Even gifted kids didn’t always know what constituted polite conversation.
“Well,” Melody mused with a smile that suggested she hadn’t been at all offended by Penny’s directness, “I think it’s fair to say that I’m more brains than brawn. I have a Ph.D. in physical therapy, and my take on athleticism is yoga and power walking.”
“Hmm . . .” Penny hummed. She inclined her head in thought. “Better brains than brawn in an escape room.” Of course, Penny seemed to know exactly what a physical therapist did, the little smarty pants.
“How about you?” Ben asked. “Do you have brains and brawn?”
Penny fluttered her eyelids so forcefully he feared she was about to have a seizure. “Do I look like an athlete to you?” Her skeptical regard made it clear she wouldn’t hesitate to call him a liar if he answered in the affirmative.
He chose not to touch that one directly, commenting instead, “You must be at least a little bit athletic if you’re part of the Learn to Skate program.”
Penny huffed dramatically, making him feel a bit like a fool she was being forced to suffer. “My mom thought it would be good for me to learn a sport. Since my leisure activities are not only sedentary, but solitary, I suspect she was also trying to teach me how to be more of a team player.”
“Hockey is good for all of those things,” Melody volunteered, lending her support to Angela’s assertion.
Penny just shrugged. “Credible research tells us that exercise is good for the brain. It stimulates chemical changes that enhance learning and thinking.”
“And mood,” Angela contributed with enthusiasm.
Penny twisted her lips. “And mood,” she agreed.
“Irrespective,” Penny continued, “I never would have capitulated if Learn to Skate wasn’t a no-contact league. Hockey can be a brutal game. As if I would risk my noggin like that.”
