Page 88 of Two for Holding
The way Phil spoke gave the impression Morris was committing a heinous crime.Tom had no idea what to do with that.He hadn’t known Morris had any family in the area, let alone any he was close with.Apartment hunting sounded innocuous to Tom.Coach Morris couldn’t stay in Phil’s guest room forever.
Eventually, he’d let the pause go on for too long and couldn’t address it anyway.“The PK’s doing better,” Tom said instead.
Phil flipped their steaks and stirred a bunch of vegetables in an aluminum dish.Soaked in oil and herbs, they would be so much better than Tom’s lunch.“Yeah, it’s looking decent.Mazetti’s gotta stop trying so hard to make his passes pretty though.He’s only gotta make ’em work.”
“You should tell him.”
Phil snorted
“Seriously,” Tom said.“Your advice has been great so far.And no one is taking Trout or Morris seriously anymore.Anyway, it’ll mean more coming from you.”
“Morris too?”
Tom picked at a fingernail.Before stalking Jax on social media, he’d tried to be productive by looking up info on their coach.All he could find were two grainy photos of an intramural college hockey team with a very young Ben Morris on right wing.The accompanying article from the school paper didn’t so much as mention him.Reports about his previous coaching career were also thin on the ground.
“I think he lets us make too many decisions,” Tom said.“Promoting Luca to first string—Jax and I suggested it.And getting the team to gel again, Breezy and Jax’s shelter plan.Keeping us fired up in the locker room when things were going to shit—you.”
Phil took the steaks off the heat and covered them with a lid.“Taking rookies out for lunch and talking them through existential crises—you.”
Tom flushed.“How’d you find out about that?”
“Howie told Breezy.Breezy told me.”
Last year, Tom and Dmitriyev, their goalie, had gotten invited to the All-Star Game.Tom kind of hated it.Not only did it ruin the one week off he had during the season, it meant hours and hours of socializing even after the games were over.If he didn’t show his face, he would be talked about; if he did, he’d be talked at.Dmitriyev, who drank enough to be mildly tipsy—an amount which made Tom feel sick just watching—had said a Russian grandmothers’ knitting circle had nothing on the NHL in gossip.
Tom was starting to think he had a point.
“When I’m gone—”
“Phil.”
“You should give Breezy theA.”
“You’re not gone.”
“I will be eventually.And he should have it.”
Before this season, Tom would have laughed at the idea.In the three years since he’d made the team, Tom had known Breezy as a goofy jokester, always ready for a good time, never someone to think too hard.It might have been true once.But this season?
Tom paid attention this season.Breezy stood up for Luca; he got Jax started on the shelter idea.He kept up the energy and good spirits in the locker room when everyone else fell apart.As players, he and Luca were the only ones whose conditioning was on par to keep their stats steady despite Trout’s insane workload.
He wasn’t sure if Breezy had always had this potential or if he’d grown into it, but Tom knew for a fact he’d have never seen it if Jax hadn’t made him open his eyes.
Still, he wouldn’t let Phil go without a fight.“We’d have to start listening to music from this decade in the locker room, then.I’m not ready.”
Phil snapped the tongs he’d used to flip the meat at Tom’s nose.“Someone had to be in charge of it.If I let you do it, all we’d listen to would be your Canadian indie shit.”
“Hey!The Barenaked Ladies are in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.”
Phil gave him a pointed look.
“At least I’ve updated my playlists since high school.”
“Who has the time?”Phil asked.“We hear enough new shit when the rookies drag us to the clubs, and honestly, I’m not into it.Like, Migos?What is that?You can’t even dance to it.How’s it supposed to get you pumped up for a game?”
Tom had no idea whether “Migos” meant a band or a solo artist, let alone what kind of music they might make, so he just shrugged.“This is why we’re the old guys on the team.”
“I like being old.If I had to keep up with the charts to be anA, I’d pick the letter off my jersey myself.”
