“Sorry, brother,” Remi said.
He made a fist and hit my leg.
Then he stood up and went to talk to Abel.
Abel was on another picture sharing tour.
His entire life revolved around Izzy and Wren.
When he eventually looked at me, he wiggled his phone and I nodded.
I stood up and Abel had his phone in my face.
“Look at her,” Abel said. “She’s amazing, right?”
“She’s a cute baby, Abel,” I said. “You’re lucky she looks like her mother and not you.”
“How many times do I have to hear that joke?” Abel asked.
“Two million more times,” I said.
“And what can I joke with you about?” Abel asked. “Because you’ve got something going on, right? You look ready to kill someone.”
“Just ready for the game,” I said. “Going to be a big game.”
“Well, if you’re pissed off, just look at Izzy,” Abel said. “You can’t tell me that big smile doesn’t make you want to smile.”
“Careful with him, Abel,” Riff called out. “He might throw a punch.”
“What’s that, Riff?” I asked. “You want to finish what we started earlier? I’m ready to go right now, man.”
Riff turned and walked toward me.
“Oh, fuck,” Reid said.
He blocked Riff’s path.
Matias and Lay came toward me.
They both pointed at the locker room door.
“I’m getting the boot, huh?” I asked.
“Just go take a walk,” Matias said. “We’ll meet you out there.”
I grabbed my gear and stepped out of the locker room.
Standing halfway down the hallway?
Madison.
We looked right at each other.
Then I looked toward the ice.
I knew who was going to be out there.
And seeing Madison now just…