Page 37 of You Had Me at Hockey

I have more editing to do, and I really want to get that done and the video uploaded, so I bury myself in it until about four, then pour myself a glass of my favorite rosé wine and leisurely get ready to go out.

On a date.

With Josh Heller.

I’m not going to mess this one up.

Chapter 10

Josh

I wasn’t going to do it.

I texted Sara to see how she’s doing because it seemed the polite thing to do after a trip to the ER. I was just going to leave it at that. And I had the feeling she was too. So I’m still not sure why I asked for a do-over on our date.

Maybe because I can’t stop thinking about her.

I like her.

What I don’t like is unpredictability. And it seems Sara brings that with her everywhere—spontaneous lunches, bumper cars, and allergic reactions. I keep telling myself I’m better off by myself right now. I’m still adjusting to the new team, the new city, and living in a fucking hotel.

My stuff is arriving next week, thank fuck.

Not only that, Cora won’t leave me alone. We had fun together, but I had no idea she was going to be so needy and desperate when I ended things.

I just want a nice, settled, and, okay, boring life. A boring life is better than being dead, right? I miss how things were in Dallas. How I knew what every day would bring. How I could retreat to my own place and lock myself in there whenever I felt like it.

Now I have another date to plan. Aw, fuck it, why plan anything? Shit’s going to happen no matter what I do.

Nope. Can’t do it. I can’t just wing it. I need to know what’s happening.

On top of this, our team just got shaken up again with the announcement of a new head coach. This morning we were informed that the team has hired Gary Shipton. Coach Meknikov will go back to being assistant coach. Coach Shipton is going to fly to Minneapolis to join us there.

I guess it was too much to hope that Coach Meknikov would stay head coach. I’m just getting used to him and learning his systems and now we’re going to have another change. At the risk of sounding like a whiny baby, I’ve had enough change.

I try to be positive. I’ve heard good things about Gary Shipton. He’s supposed to be a strong defensive tactician and he’s also known as a coach who demands a lot from his players. As a defenseman, and as a member of a young team, this could be a good fit. I have to admit, we need help on defense, more than I could bring.

They’re going to have a press conference this afternoon to make the official announcement just before we leave.

This is my first big road trip with the team. Being with the guys 24-7 (nearly) is usually a good way to get to know one another better and form some bonds. But I’m hyperaware of Easton. He already fits in here. But he’s not making any effort to help me feel like I fit in. When we go for dinner one night, I’m already seated at the big table. He looks at the empty seat next to me, then takes one at the far end of the table.

My gut heats. Whatever. Fine with me.

It’s not his job to make me feel welcome, I guess. The other guys are good. I just feel weird that we’re both trying to avoid each other without being obvious about it.

Flying to Winnipeg is fun. I get to see my family and they’re all there to watch the game, so I want to play well. And I think I do, but we still lose. Our power play sucks. Coach Meknikov isn’t happy about it, but we’re lucky he’s not throwing skates at our heads, as their old coach apparently used to do. Holy shit.

Then Coach Shipton joins us on the road. It’s not the best timing for meeting the new coach. We have a short flight from Winnipeg to Minneapolis on Thursday, and we have a team meeting that afternoon in the hotel.

“Obviously I’m not going to take this team to a whole new level right away,” he tells us. “I’m not going to start making a lot of changes. I have things to learn about this team and about you guys, and that’s what my first priority is right now.”

We’re thrown right into it that night, with him managing the bench, and it’s different, but somehow we pull out a win. Maybe we’re all motivated to try a little harder to impress the new coach. We won battles in the corners, played solidly in our own end, and gave Gunner some badly needed support in net.

We lost in Columbus, but we played well. Their goalie was insane.

Now we’re back in town, it’s Saturday morning, and we’re having another team meeting.

And I’m being put on the number one power play team.

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