Page 36 of Hearts Held
Everett gives way to a small half smile. “Ah, how could I ever forget how you saved him.” He opens the motor vehicle door for me and gestures for me to enter. “As for his questionable life choices, would proposing to someone within the first hour you meet be on that list of choices?”
A giggle leaves my throat as I cover my mouth. “Yes, that would definitely count! Tilly is an amazing woman, but he should get to know her first before making such a rash decision. I can tell she loves hard and I wouldn’t want him to break her heart.”
We begin our drive to the rink as Everett carries on conversation, but sitting in the back seat with me this time.
“I doubt he would break her heart. He chases after women, but he makes his intentions clear. That look he held was nothing I’d ever seen from him before. I think Tilly is in trouble.” Everett looks at the road ahead, wringing his hands within his lap.
A beat of silence falls over us before we both mutter something at the same moment.
“Oh, go ahead! Sorry!” I state.
He glares. “First, I told you not to use thatsorryword aimlessly. Second, please continue what you were going to say.” At his last statement his eyes soften, but he continues to wring his hands within his lap.
A habit when he is irritated, I wonder.
“What is this induction? Why do you need nurses at a sports game? Do many people become injured, is it that brutal of a game?” I ask.
Everett looks at his hands and ceases his motions, biting the bottom of his lip. My eyes watch him do so carefully, somewhat entranced by the tinygesture.
“People can become considerably hurt when playing on slick ice. We get a little rowdy and a bit unruly. As for the induction ceremony, I need you there. I need you to understand why we do the markings. For it is all a choice,” he explains. The sun gleams through the vehicle window, hitting his amber irises in such a manner that causes them to look translucent. Ethereal.
I catch myself stammering, “Why…why do you need me to understand?” My brows furrow with confusion, for I do not completely comprehend his motives.
“You’ll see,” he answers, then turns his handsome head to gaze out the window of the motorcar. The passing images of Lockham’s factories, shoppes, and small cityscape surround us. As dark and grungy as the city surroundings may seem, there is a quaint and homely feeling to the small city. Children playing on the streets, horses randomly trotting alongside the motorcars. Decorations for the upcoming winter holiday adorning the light posts. It’s much more homely than any other area I’ve lived.
The vehicle pulls into a park. Cricket fields lie on one side of the vast green pasture, and a football field lies on the other. I spy a group of men flying around whatseems to be a pond on the farthest edge of the park. Everett exits the motorcar and beckons for me to exit the vehicle as well. I spy Tilly and Bobby standing next to his motorbike, laughing with each other. Tilly pats him on the chest, grinning ear to ear as Bobby waggles his eyebrows at her.
The gesture causes me to giggle and I pull my hand over my mouth.
“Don’t do that.” Everett’s stoic face comes into view as he gently lowers my hand. “Don’t hide your smile. It makes things brighter in this dark world.”
Heat rising to my cheeks from his bold words, I stare up at him, contemplating how to respond, but nothing comes to mind. I have never received attention from a man like this.
“Adder got your tongue, dove?” A smooth smile etches the corners of his mouth.
Before I can make a retort, a manly voice calls from the pond, “For fuck’s sake, are you wankers coming to play or are you going to sit there fawning over some birds?”
I peer over to find one of the brothers—I believe Kenneth—with his arms crossed, glasses perched on the end of his nose and a long stick in onehand.
“Kenneth! I think you got your hockey stick stuck up yer arse again, brotha!” Bobby calls to him, towing Tilly by the hand toward the frozen pond.
Well, that was fast, I think to myself as I continue glancing at Bobby’s and Tilly’s locked hands. Everett and I follow them to the makeshift rink.
Some men are atop the ice, sliding and skating back and forth. Other members of the Adders sit on the side of the pond with large bags full of clothing and tall slanted sticks in their hands.
“What is this?” I ask out loud.
“Hockey,” Everett answers.
“You’ve nevah seen hockey!?” Bobby turns back, having heard my question. I shake my head no.
“My brothers used to play this!” Tilly states. “When we were kids I’d watch them go back and forth, beating the ever-living crap out of one another. Much more entertaining than football.”
“We began playing hockey during the war. It brought our troops together and boosted morale,” Bobby explains as he sat his bag next to a bench and begins taking his winter coat off. Everett sits beside him, placing large pads on his knees, occasionally peering up to look at meas I try to glance away—though I fail to appear subtle in my observations.
“Let’s go, slowpokes. We’ve been waiting on you for nearly half an hour!” Kenneth skates to the side of the frozen ice closest to Everett and Bobby. His scornful features gaze upon myself and Tilly, and he asks, “What are they doing here?” He appears less than enthused with our presence.
“Nurses,” Everett exclaims as he laces up his black, white and yellow skating shoes.
