I shake my head. “It’s a done deal. The contracts are signed and money transferred, so I have nothing else to say to him.” I didn’t tell my parents what happened. The only one who knows is Veronica. I couldn’t even tell Tim, knowing he would have beaten his ass to the ground.
“These things happen,” he says, frowning. “People grow apart.”
“Yeah,” I say. When I called them, I just said that we had grown apart and wanted different things. Our path was at an impasse, and I had to go one way, and he had to go the other. Tim sort of knew it was bullshit, but he didn’t press me. My mother also wasn’t sold on the explanation, and she let me have my moment. My father was the only one who fully bought it. “Well, you never know. Absence can make the heart grow fonder.”
I don’t bother letting him know that no amount of absence will make my heart grow fonder when it comes to Dex. “I’ll be fine,” I tell him, getting up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.”
“It’s almost five o’clock,” he says. “If your mother finds out you are working this late on a Friday . . .”
“Well, I’m not going to tell her.” I wink at him. “I’m not going to stay late,” I reassure him. “I’ll bring some of it home to do.” I lean down and kiss his cheek. “I might swing by on Sunday afternoon.”
I walk out and go to my office, seeing that most of the people have gone home. I see Tim’s light off in his office before walking into mine. I don’t know how long I sit at my desk before my cell phone rings.
“Hello?” I answer when I see it’s Tim calling.
“Hey, where are you?” he asks, and he sounds out of breath.
“I’m at the office. Why?” I put the pen down.
“I need a huge favor,” he says. “I’m stuck about two hours away. Veronica is with a patient, and Caleb is at hockey practice.”
“Okay,” I say.
“Can you go get him? He gets off the ice in twenty minutes,” he says, and I stand, going over to my purse. “He usually comes out in thirty-five minutes.”
“Where is the arena?” I ask.
“It’s about twenty minutes from the office, depending on traffic,” he says. I’m already walking out of the office and getting into my car.
“I’m in the car now,” I tell him. “Send me the address, and I’ll go right over.”
“Thank you.” He huffs out, “I owe you.”
“This list is growing more and more,” I say, and he laughs as he disconnects. I wait for him to send me the address, and then I make my way over there.
When I pull up to the big gray building, I grab my purse and walk in. I see a staircase right in front of me, and when I walk past the staircase, I see a white brick wall with another staircase. When I get to the second staircase, I look down the right hallway and the left hallway, but they both look the same. A television screen hangs there, and I see four areas.
I call Tim, and when he answers, I ask, “What rink is he on?”
“His team is called the Hawks, so check the screen,” he says. I look up and see that he’s on the second rink. “You can watch upstairs if you want or stay in the lobby, and he will come out.”
“Okay,” I say and hang up. I’m about to go upstairs when I hear the sound of kids coming from one of the hallways. I look down and see kids coming out in different shirts.
“Auntie Evelyn.” I hear him calling me and look down to the right, seeing him come off the ice with his teammates. He talks to the boy beside him and then walks over to me. “Auntie Evelyn,” he says, running over to me on his skates.
“Hi there,” I say. Opening my arms, I hug him and then feel the wetness. “Gross,” I say to him, and he laughs. He takes off his helmet, and I see his wet hair matted to his head. “You stink. Like cheese and feet.” Both boys laugh when I tell him this and scrunch up my nose.
He looks over at the kid that is with him. “Jaxon, this is my aunt Evie.”
“Hello, Jaxon.” I smile over at him, and he waves at me.
“I’m going to get changed. Can I have a slush?” Caleb asks, and I nod my head. “Go get changed, you two, and if it’s okay with your mom,” I say to Jaxon, “we can go get a slush.”
“My dad is picking me up,” he tells me, “and he plays hockey.”
“Oh, fun,” I say to him. “Go get changed, and we can ask him when you come out.” They both turn around and run back to their changing room.