Page 57 of The Breakaway

"Let's split up for a bit. Meet at the food court in an hour?" Maddie suggested with a conspiratorial wink. Damn, I was so grateful for her. I was positive Crystal had already gotten our gifts, and I didn’t want to look like the loser who waited ‘til last minute. Now Maddie and I could at least look like losers together.

We parted ways, and I wandered into a funky boutique, drawn to their quirky and slightly inappropriate window display. I browsed, grinning to myself. Mugs shaped like boobs. A frying pan with a penis handle.

I almost laughed out loud when I saw a Chrétien toilet bowl cleaner. I reached for it, immediately thinking of Rob, then pulled my hand back. Would it be weird for me to get him something? It wasn’t like it was a serious gift. It was a joke. He’d think it was hilarious, and I wouldn’t care if Logan saw I bought it for him.

I picked it up and kept shopping, eventually finding a sweatshirt that said “Sometimes I go off on a tangent” for Maddie and a “Staff Meeting” T-shirt for Crystal, complete with a treble clef and animated music notes. Thoughtful and funny, plus I had the soaps to go with them.

I’d already gotten Logan the perfect present last month. A signed hockey puck from Doug Gilmore. Caleb had a friend whose sister married his cousin. He got one for me when he went back home for Thanksgiving, and I was still forever in his debt.

I had the store double wrap everything, and the toilet bowl cleaner was strangely shaped enough, it threw Crystal and Maddie off the scent. I had gift bags at home that I’d saved from parties over the summer. Not Christmasy, but neither of them would care.

We went for cheap, happy hour sushi and headed back to campus. I wrapped and stashed the presents under my bed, all except the toilet bowl cleaner since that was unwrappable and only got a sticky bow.

I slept and woke on Saturday to find that a mammoth blizzard slammed into Alberta, blanketing everything in white. Crystal, Maddie, and I treated our emails like a chat board, messages flying every two seconds.

The Outlaws were in Leduc for their away game, and we hadn’t heard a thing from them. Deerfoot Trail was closed between Airdrie and Red Deer, which didn’t bode well for the highway further north.

Maddie:

I’m worried about them. They have finals and then the invitational.

Crystal:

Are they going to make it back in time for finals? The storm isn’t supposed to let up until Sunday afternoon.

I peeked out my window but couldn’t see anything. Wind and snow swirled past the glass, making it look like I lived in a snow globe. I sat on the couch, my leg bouncing. Had they tried driving home? Were they stuck near Edmonton for the night?

There was a way I could get answers . . .

I turned and looked at the phone, the numbers already scrolling through my head. This was logistical, wasn’t it?

Before I could second guess myself, I stood and punched Rob’s pager number into the phone, then typed in our homephone and hung up. I leaned back against the island counter, staring at the receiver in the cradle. All the expressions about pots not boiling and patience being a virtue flooded my thoughts, and after what felt like ten minutes, I was about to force myself back to the computer.

And then the phone rang.

I nearly dropped the receiver as I snatched it up. "Hello?" My voice wavered, and I coughed to cover it up.

"Hey. Is everything okay?" Rob sounded tense.

I could read his tone like notes on the treble clef. It was automatic. Intuitive. "Yeah. No. Everything's fine. I was worried about you—the team, I mean."

"Oh, right."Disappointment? Relief? Maybe a little of both?"We're fine. We just can't get back on the road until the plows come out."

"Plows? They have more than one in Leduc?"

Rob chuckled, his breath crackling in the speaker. "You should take that show on the road."

I stretched the cord across the hall and plopped down on the couch. “How was the game? A little embarrassing for you?"

The grin on his face was audible. "No. We were playing Leduc. Remember?"

"Hey. They make 'em tough up there."

"No, that's fair.” He exhaled. "They've got a new team this year. Young. Not much experience."

"Well, no match for the wise and weathered Outlaws.”

“Do I sound like I'm trying to be cocky here? You asked me a question. I gave you the truth."

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