Page 101 of The Overtime Persuasive

EVA

Thank you.

That’s all I wanted.

Another message appears before I can answer.

EVA

I had a customer ask me why I had the ice hockey game on.

What did you say?

EVA

…

…

I pointed at you.

That smile I’ve been trying to control gives up and spreads across my face.

Me?

EVA

I may have referred to you as the hockey player that life dropped into my story.

But, don’t let it go to your head. There’s already a helmet-sizing issue.

I laugh, earning a glance from Owen beneath the edge of his hood.

“What?” he asks.

“Nothing.”

“Then keep it down.” He pulls the hood back over his face.

I look down at Eva’s photograph again. She took it from behind the register, catching the television at the back of the store and a slice of the café beyond it. I can picture her carrying it downstairs, refusing to ask for help because she’d already decided she could manage. I can picture her watching from the counter while pretending to reorganize something that didn’t need reorganizing.

It’s strange how quickly details like that have become part of my life. Eva at her store. Eva texting me during road trips. Eva knowing my number before I skate into frame.

Not strange in a bad way.

Strange in the way something can be new and already feel as though it belongs.

“Listen up.” Coach’s voice cuts through the terminal. He stands near the windows with one of the assistant coaches, clapping twice until the conversations around us die down.

“We land tomorrow morning. Once we’re back, the rest of Monday is yours. Get some sleep, get treatment if you need it, and stay off the ice.”

No one argues with him.

“Tuesday, I want everyone at the arena at eight. We’ll start with video, skate afterward, then meet as a team. Clear your morning. No appointments, no appearances, no excuses. Everyone stays until we’re finished.”

Tuesday. My attention drops to my phone.

Eva’s taping.