Page 32 of The Tryout

I head to the kitchen, where I’ve put the parking pass and Poulin’s set of keys.

“I’m gonna grab a shower real quick, but here’s the pass and your keys. It’s the garage right across the street. Anything else you need before I clean up?”

Avery’s eyes look a little unfocused for a bit before he shakes his head.

“No, I’ll be just fine.”

Once I’m done with my shower and dressed in a clean pair of sweats, I head across the hall to see how Avery’s settling in. He’s got his suitcase open on the floor, with some clothes going into the closet and others going into the chest of drawers on the other side of the room.

As he comes out of the closet, he sees me standing in the doorway and smiles.

“Hey, almost done with what I’ve got here. I’ll probably run to Target later today; you want to come with?”

I shrug. I’m usually more of a Walmart guy, but I feel like on his first day in the apartment, I should make him feel welcome.

“Sure, I’ll tag along.”

“Awesome. Oh, can I get the mailing address for this place? My dads will probably send a couple boxes from California at some point.”

“Sure. I can text it to you? Or at least, I can if you give me your number.”

He immediately comes over, holding out a hand for my phone. When I give it to him, he heads to the text messages, entering his own number and texting himself from my phone.

Finn Murphy 10:02 AM

Hi Avery :)

Taking back my phone, I smile at the text, saving his contact info and sending him the mailing address for the apartment.

“There’s a mailroom for packages, so you don’t need to worry about something going missing if we’re on a road trip when it arrives.”

“That’s good to hear. By the way, what do guys usually wear for games here? I know the NHL has really loosened up their dress code recently, but I was having trouble finding anything official for the AHL. I want to make sure Dad sends the right stuff.”

Ugh, game day attire.

“Well, you get a lot of variety. A lot of the guys who’ve done time in the NHL just wear their usual stuff, a suit or whatever. But other guys will go more casual. Poulin usually wore sweats, but he’s a goalie so I don’t know if that counts.”

Goalies are notorious throughout hockey for being just a little odd, and Poulin could certainly live up to that reputation.

“What about you? What do you wear?”

I bite my lip. I know I don’t dress as nice as some of the guys – Novak’s still got some tailored suits from his time in the NHL and Briggs tends to spend a lot of money on brands that sometimes get him featured in Instagram posts.

“Um, usually just a button-up with a tie and some slacks. Maybe a sweater if it’s really cold.”

I usually look like a math teacher – and not your favorite math teacher, either, but the one you know is a hardass for rules and rigor.

Avery nods, seemingly taking my input seriously.

“But hey, as long as you don’t look like you just rolled out of bed, Porter probably won’t care.”

I know from the clothes I saw him putting away that that will not be a problem.

“Do you mind if I call my dads before we head out? I figure I should show them the place a bit.”

“No, take your time, I’ll be in my room when you’re ready, ok?”

For the next twenty minutes, I overhear bits and pieces of their conversation, the three male voices echoing in our apartment. One of them seems to be dictating a list to Avery of things he needs to get. They both seem…nice, and it seems like Avery is definitely a priority to them.