Luca rejoins the teams as the head back down the tunnel. Mama sits down and turns to me.
“He didn’t wink at you.”
“What?” I try to play it off as if I didn’t hear her.
“Luca always winks at you when going into the locker room. He has for the last ten years. Why didn’t he?” Mama’s voice is more stern.
“Oh, didn’t he? I thought he did,” I lie, again.
Mama narrows her eyes at me. For a woman who’s only 5’2”, I know that she can kick my ass. I turn my attention the jumbotron and pray that she doesn’t ask me another thing through the rest of the game.
~ ~ ~
I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a rougher game than this one. If Carson Lee isn’t throwing Luca into the board, then Luca is tossing him. I think at any minute they'll drop the gloves and kill each other. Even Mama cringes a couple of times. Luca is going to be sore in the morning.
Thankfully, the Bucks win 1-0. I didn’t think it was going to be a win, but somehow they managed to hang on.
Back at my car, my hands are sweaty and my insides are jumping. How is this going to work out? Luca isn’t going to come out here and be all sunshine-and-roses about me being here.
“Hadley, is Luca going to meet us at the house or are we going to dinner?” Mama asks in an overly sweet voice.
“Um…”
“I vote dinner. Don’t you Hadley?” Papa jumps in.
“Um…”
“Something wrong?” Mama asks. She knows something is up. I can see it on her face. I’m about to open my mouth, but the player’s door opens and Luca comes out.
Luca’s never the first one out.
“Hey, Mama, Papa. I didn’t know you two were coming.” He tries to act casual, but there's panic in his eyes.
“We wanted to surprise you.” She hugs her son’s waist. “But now your papa is hungry, so are we going to eat out or just go back to the house and cook something?” She looks up to Luca.
“Uh,” Luca looks at me. He can’t go back to the house because he doesn’t live there anymore.
“We’ll go out,” I jump in. “No reason to mess up the kitchen, right?” I’m getting too good at lying. I need to stop this right now.
“Right.” Luca looks a little relieved. “Where do you want to go? I can follow in my car.”
“No,” Papa says sternly. “We ride together as a family. Hadley leave your car here. Come on, let’s head to the steakhouse.”
He takes Mama’s hand and helps her into the SUV. Luca cuts me a look and I shrug. What the hell does he want me to do? This isn’t my fault. Luca finally gives in and holds the door open for me to climb in.
The trip to the steakhouse is filled with tension between Luca and I. Mama and Papa are talking all about the game, their home in Russia, and family.
When we are seated, Luca doesn’t sit by me. He sits across from me at the table. Our eyes keep connecting, but we look away from each other.
How can I be so mad at this person that I love more than anything else in the world?
How is that possible?
Mama and Papa continue to do most of the talking. I do most of the eating. I’m starving and Luca watches every move I make. I try to ignore him, but I’m too hungry to care at that particular moment.
Thankfully, no one wants to hang around once we finish the food. Now the big question is how are we going to explain why Luca isn’t coming home with us.
We all get out and are standing behind the SUV. Luca and I stare at each other. All I want is for him to hold me. I want him to tell me he’s sorry and we’ll be okay.