Page 57 of Drop the Gloves
“You’re a great center.The problem is that Turner and Moreau are also great centers, and they’re more established on the team and in the league.You’ll get your chance, sweetie.”
Evan was about to talk about how much he could learn from them when his mom’s tone shifted.
“What’s with the butt-tap thing you do with Barczyk?I watched that L.A.game with your Aunt Linda, and we couldn’t figure it out.The commentators said you’ve been doing it since Vermont.”
“Oh.”His cheeks were bright red, and he was glad his mom hated video calls so he could downplay things.“Barzy does it for good luck.Seems to work, so I play along.”
“Barzy,” his mom scoffed.“I’ve always thought hockey nicknames were ridiculous.How hard is it to call the man Riley and be done with it?”
Evan might have a stroke if he had to call Barczyk ‘Riley.’He felt like some Victorian gentleman who shied away from using people’s Christian names, because it truly caused him an unreasonable amount of anxiety.
“How’s Aunt Linda doing?”he asked, hoping this would be his Get Out of Jail Free card.“How was the ski trip?”
“It was great!The cabin was perfect.Close to the slopes without any of the crowds.I’m not as spry as I used to be, but I could still beat Linda, and that was enough.”
“Isn’t Aunt Linda like eight years older than you?”
“Nine,” she said.“And that doesn’t matter.She skis more than I do, and I was still faster.I know you don’t have any siblings, so you don’t understand, but it’s important.Oh, did you get to hang out with your cousin in L.A.?”
“Billy’s more than a decade older than me,” Evan said.“We haven’t hung out since I was old enough not to need a babysitter anymore.”
His cousin Billy was Aunt Linda’s oldest son and played for the L.A.Devils.He’d always been nice to Evan despite the age difference, but they didn’t seek opportunities to hang out when they played against each other.They said hi on the ice before the game—mostly to satisfy their mothers—and that was it.
Besides, he’d been busy.
“But it would be nice if you boys could hang out,” his mom said.
Billy was married with two kids and projected to retire within a few years.Aside from their mothers being sisters and both men playing hockey, they had very little in common.Not that Billy wasn’t a nice enough guy, it just always felt forced when they had hung out those first few seasons together because of their moms’ nagging.Both had been relieved when Evan had suggested they stop.
“You travel so much,” his mom said.“It’s such a great opportunity to see family.”
He didn’t bother with his usual reminders—they didn’t get a lot of time in other cities, he was working, sometimes their schedules didn’t overlap.Instead he mumbled, “I know, I know,” to appease her.
* * *
Evan was jittery.The nature of professional sports meant there were constantly people around, especially when they were on the road.His small little bubble of alone time had also vanished in San Francisco when he’d spent that first evening with Barczyk.Since then, Evan hadn’t been alone to do anything except shower and sleep, and his empty apartment felt too big and lonely.He was a bit of an introvert, so it’d never bothered him to live alone (it’d been such a relief to lose the roommate part of away games this season), so it wasn’t some sudden need to socialize that was driving him crazy.
He wanted to see Barczyk.
He wrote and re-wrote a text message about a dozen times before settling on a hopefully neutral one that didn’t sound like he was looking for a booty call.
Abernathy
You busy?I was thinking I could use another fighting lesson
Barczyk didn’t reply, and Evan hated himself for this show of weakness.Barczyk had other things going on besides Evan.It wasn’t like he was at home, as lonely and bored as Evan, waiting and hoping Evan would reach out.He was probably out with the guys—it wasn’t as if Evan was his only friend on the team or even his only linemate.
So Evan went through the boring chores that had built up over his West Coast trip.He ordered groceries.He did laundry.He paid his bills.He did dishes.He?—
He definitely didn’t sprint to his phone when he heard it vibrate with an incoming text.
Barczyk
Thought you might’ve outgrown that kind of practice
Abernathy
You said I wouldn’t be able to graduate from the barczyk school of beating people up until American Thanksgiving
