Chapter Thirty-Four
MAVERICK
The team decided to take over a restaurant.
We did it from time to time.
We’d pick a restaurant, and someone would call the management and arrange for us to be there with nobody else.
That way we could all relax a little.
Eat and drink – have what Coach calledteam bonding.
I found it a little bit romantic when Madison started texting me about my lucky shirt.
I had completely forgotten about the shirt.
It would have hit me at some point though. Probably when we were going to practice or getting ready for a game.
With Madison… she took everything that made sense in my head and scrambled it up.
I never thought I would leave without worrying about my lucky shirt.
The superstitions were goofy but most of us athletes had them. Some were bigger than other. For me, it was a shirt. Even if the shirt itself wasn’t lucky, it reminded me of how far I had come. If I didn’t wear the shirt during a game, would I play bad? Probably not.
I just couldn’t stop thinking about Madison worrying about the lucky shirt. Worrying about me. Almost as though she insisted that I have the shirt back.
“Mav, get over here!” Abel yelled. “I have to show you something!”
Now that was a loaded statement from Abel.
Well, it used to be a loaded statement from Abel.
Before he met Wren chances were the pictures on his phone were of other women. And the pictures ranged from provocative to completely naked.
Now?
I walked back to the bar and Abel held his phone out.
There was a picture of Izzy smiling.
A big smile on her face. Her big eyes shining bright and blue.
“I’ll say it again,” I said. “She looks like just her mother.”
“What?” Abel asked. “Look at her mouth. That’s my mouth. Look…”
Abel made the same smile as his daughter.
To be fair, Izzy was a perfect mix of Abel and Wren.
But I liked to mess with Abel.
“I don’t see it,” I said. “Can you drool a little? Maybe chew on your fingers? Just to see…”
“You’re screwing with me now, Mav,” Abel said. “Here, I have a bunch more pictures. You have to see this baby. She’s trying to sit up on her own. I think she’s really strong. You think she can play hockey?”
“Right now?” I asked. “Probably not yet.”