The Dragons skated over as Callum took off his mask, delivering hugs and head pats and stick taps. On the Jumbotron screen, I could see the big grin on his sweaty face.
That’s my man.
Then they called him for first star of the game, and we cheered louder as he lumbered in a circle on the ice in his bulky pads, waving his blocker. When he was opposite us, he paused, searching the audience. I waved back, and Jos jumped up on his chair. When Callum spotted us, he grinned and raised his stick in salute. Then he headed for the gate. The announcer asked the usual First Star questions, mostly of the “How did it feel when you stopped that shot?” variety, while Callum fumbled for synonyms for “great.”
Then, with one last wave and a roar of applause, he stepped off the ice and was gone down the tunnel. The audience lights brightened fully.
Hannah stood and stretched. “I’ll drive the crew back home, Zeke, if you’re going down to meet Callum.”
“I want to go see the players,” Jos pouted.
“Hey, we talked about this,” I told him. “It’s a school night. You and Isaac will be getting home late enough as it is. You got to meet the guys on opening night, and we’re going to the family skate next week.”
“Yeah, but he won?—”
“I’ll tell him congratulations from you.”
“I guess.”
I turned to Hannah. “Thanks for doing the chauffeur duties.” Since Roy had broken his hip five months back, he didn’t do much driving.
“No problem. Sully’s playing in Phoenix tonight, so there’s no one at home but our cat.”
“Your cat is awesome, though,” Jos said. “Hey, Isaac, you have to see this thing. He looks like a leopard.” He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through photos.
Roy said, “No need to hurry home, Zeke. You go enjoy yourself with Callum and the team. I’ll get Jos’s lunch ready for tomorrow and turn in myself.”
Around us, the stands were slowly emptying out. I waited till Roy pushed to his feet, then hugged him. “You’re the best. I’m so glad you decided to move in with us.”
“Well, let me see. A luxury ground-floor mother-in-law suite with someone to do all the chores, or a house full of stairs I’d have had to go up and down on my bottom with the damned hip surgery. Tough choice.”
“Even so. I’m glad you’re staying.” Originally, Roy living with us was supposed to be temporary, till his hip healed. But our household worked best with all of us in it. Jos loved having a surrogate grandfather, Roy wasn’t rattling around a big house by himself, and Callum wasn’t torn between two homes. I came home, a month after Roy’s hip replacement surgery, to find a For-Sale sign on the lawn next door. The new neighbours’ kids were too young to be playmates for Jos, but maybe he’d have a babysitting job on tap, a year or two down the line.
Roy told me, “I’ll see you at home. If Callum drinks a lot, remind him to follow it up with water. He’s crabby when he’s hungover.”
I smiled as I watched them head up the steps toward the exit. Jos and Isaac had their heads together over the phone, to the hazard of the person in front of them. Roy moved slowly but steadily, far better than he had just a few weeks ago. Hannah climbed behind Roy, not touching him, but ready to offer help if he needed it.
I’m such a lucky man.
Once the stairs had cleared out, I headed down to ice level instead of up, and worked my way around to the family waiting area, showing the security guard my ID. Going from the PHL to the NAPH was a huge step up in everything— facilities, travel, security, and let’s not forget money. Salaryandendorsements. Callum’s face under a tipped-up mask glared down at passersby from a big billboard near the arena, hawking an online security firm.“The scammers won’t score on you…”He’d made some nice change off that ad campaign, and now we were into the regular season, his agent expected more offers to come in for his pretty face.
I was a kept man, and while I wasn’t going to let that last forever, I had no complaints.
“Hey, Zeke,” one of the wives called to me as I entered the room. “Callum had a great game!”
“Yeah,” another woman said. “When I heard Anosov was retiring rather than rehabbing his knee, I figured this would be a rebuilding year with a new backup goalie, but Fitzer’s hot right out of the box.”
He’s always hot.I smiled and nodded. I wasn’t yet friends with the gaggle of mostly blond, mostly pretty women who partnered Callum’s teammates. They weren’t quite sure what to think of me either, although I wasn’t the first boyfriend in their mix. Of course, considering the last one was fucking two different players and ended up costing the team both of them, a little reticence was understandable.
Vicki Davison, the captain’s wife, came over. She broke the mold by being a short redhead, but she had a lot of natural authority. “Yay! Chalk one up for the gingers,” she told me.
“I’ll let Callum know you’re claiming him for the redhead league.”
“Absolutely.” She started talking, pulling apart the game play by play, while I nodded and tried to look like I both knew andremembered more than I did. Still, I appreciated being included instead of just standing against a wall.
The first player, a veteran defenseman, came through the door in his game-day suit. He kissed his wife, then spotted me. “Your guy’s gonna be a while. He’s got more media to do.”
“Thanks.”
