And then there was Thomas. Calm, steady, reliable Thomas. Had I been wrong not to give him a chance? No, not wrong. Not ready.
It was time for me to figure out where my place was. Where my home was.
“What do you think, Todd?” I asked him. We were out for a Sunday walk along the river. I threw a stick and he ran to get it. “That’s what I thought. You don’t care, as long as you can run.”
Todd came running back with the stick in his mouth. His paws were wet. Dropping the stick in front of me, he circled once and prepared to run again. He panted. I threw it for him. “Get it.”
He took off at full sprint, splashing in the crisp river water.
Along the path home, a few trees still shaded patches of snow. A hint of warmth kissed the air. Not enough to go without a jacket. But enough to know that spring was coming.
My phone pinged with a text. I stopped just before my driveway to read it.Hey there, I’m a very talented hockey player and I used to know a girl with the same name as you… are you, by chance, a really smartdoctor?
I smiled and responded;I don’t know any talented hockey players so I’m probably not the doctor you’re lookingfor.
I put the phone in my pocket knowing he wouldn’t respond. Over the past few weeks, he’d been sending me texts. Just silly things, like, “my teammates want to know if you like me,” and, “do you believe in love at first text, or should I text you again?”
I always responded with, “No”
When I rounded the corner, Thomas was sitting on my front porch. Todd had run ahead and was sitting at his feet. He stood and smiled when he saw me.
“Hey.”
I smiled back. “Hey, yourself.”
“I was hoping you were home.”
“Just out for a walk. Trying to take advantage of a little more daylight.”
“Pretty soon you won’t be able to sleep at night for all the sun.”
“I don’t know if I will ever get used to these swings in daylight and darkness up here.” I opened my front door. Todd ran in.
Thomas’s face fell a little. Then he was behind me, following me into the house. “Have you eaten?”
“No. I was thinking about making soup tonight. Do you want to stay?” I hung my coat on the hall tree.
“Actually, I was thinking of watching the game tonight. The Kraken are doing really well this season.”
I gave him a side eye.
“I mean, he’s like our resident hero. He may not live here, but he certainly made an impact to the community.” He cringed. “And his stunt is a little hard to forget.”
“His donation to the patrol and the clinic was very generous.” I went into the kitchen and took a beer out of the fridge. “I’ll give him that much.” I unscrewed the cap and handed it to him.
Thomas took it from me, leaned against the counter and took a swig from the bottle. He watched me carefully as he said, “He liked you.”
I stared back.
He continued, “Anyway, his team is doing really well, and I thought you might like to join a group of us at Chair 5 to watch it on tv.”
Chair 5 was the local hangout for televised sports, burgers, and beer. It was where the locals went to escape the tourists.
When I didn’t immediately respond, he took another swallow of the beer and added, “It’s just a game.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll meet you guys up there.”
He looked like he wanted to lean in and kiss me. Instead, he put the beer bottle on the counter, shoved his hands in his pockets and said, “See you there.”