Page 29 of The Recovery Coach
Hazy wondered about that.Besides Beanie and Lover, none of his other teammates had reached out since his injury.
“Huh, I assumed they were all just sick of me,” he said, playing his relief off as a joke.
“No,” Livy said, plating her own food.She claimed an armchair and crossed her legs.“You were only allowed a few people at a time, and since Valentine and Beanie insisted on being there all hours of the day, you didn’t have space for anyone else.”
Lover offered a sheepish shrug.“Don’t blame me; I didn’t know the rules.”
Hazy finished his food and handed his plate off to Lover, who stacked his own empty plate on top and placed the dirty dishes in the sink.
Livy piled eggs onto a piece of toast.“When will people—”
The front door opened, and Beanie called from the entryway, “Incoming!”
Panic filled Livy’s features as she glanced down at herself, still in flannel sleep shorts and a cropped band t-shirt.Her hair sat in a sloppy pile on her head.She practically teleported to the sink where she abandoned her food before taking off at a sprint toward her room.
Beanie sauntered into the room carrying three boxes of doughnuts from Hazy’s favorite bakery.He set two of the boxes on the counter and flipped the top on the third before walking over to hold it out for Hazy to choose one.He selected a pink frosted doughnut with Captain Crunch cereal on top.
It was girly as hell.He loved it.
Beanie’s nephew, Dylan, followed his uncle and flopped on the couch, scrolling.The boy had grown so much since Hazy met him.He had to remind himself it was normal for Dylan to ignore him.Twelve-year-olds were difficult.Making an appearance could be considered the equivalent of him kneeling and pledging his undying loyalty.
Daisy followed her crew in and placed a quick kiss on Hazy’s head before climbing over the back of the couch, stamping the cushion next to his down with her feet, and lowering herself into a crisscross position.
“How are you today?”she asked.
Hazy shrugged one shoulder and took a bite of his doughnut.He would get so out of shape if he kept this up.He couldn’t remember the last vegetable he’d eaten.
A knock sounded at the door, and Beanie welcomed Reesy into the mix.His wife, Gwen, followed him and gave Hazy a polite wave before heading to the kitchen where she dropped the gigantic bag she held onto the counter.
Reesy’s kids gave Hazy the welcome he had craved from Dylan.At eight and five they still idolized Hazy and showed it by snuggling up to him and Daisy.He played a cartoon at a low volume to occupy them while the grownups visited.
All around him, some of his favorite people chattered away about hockey and their schedules and what the kids were doing in school.His heart ached at the thought of losing hockey, because this would be the cost.He closed his eyes for a few seconds and soaked in the sound of his loved ones caring for him.
Gwen dug through the bag she’d brought and started filling Hazy’s cabinets and fridge with groceries.
“Gwen, you really didn’t have to do that,” Hazy said.
She waved a hand at him.“I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t want to.”
He blew her a kiss because he couldn’t get up to hug her.“You’re the best.Have I told you that lately?”He made a habit of telling her every time he saw her, because she proved her awesomeness on repeat.
She winked.“Not today.”
“Well, you are.”
“I know.”She returned to unpacking far too much food, then abruptly shouted, “Harland!”
Reesy, who had been sitting in an armchair next to Beanie, chatting about their next game, jumped.He whirled in his seat to face his wife.“What?”
“We’re here to help, not to yap.Come load the dishwasher.”
Her husband followed her order.All the Freeze players knew not to disobey Gwen.They’d learned early on in Reesy’s captaincy that if they did what she said their lives ran a lot smoother.She was what Hazy imagined Livy would be like as a wife and mother.Confident, caring, and taking no crap.
When Livy returned, clad in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair in a more artful topknot, she tried to shoo the Reeses out of the kitchen.Gwen stood her ground and herded Livy into the chair Reesy had vacated, handed her the plate she’d abandoned, and directed her to eat.
Gwen finished unpacking all the goodies she’d brought and booted Beanie out of the chair next to Livy.She introduced herself and asked Livy a bunch of probing questions about Hazy’s injury that he could have answered himself.He would have argued if the kids hadn’t started asking him questions about the TV show they watched.
His anxiety faded the more he noticed Livy relaxing with Gwen and Daisy.Livy never socialized with the WAGs because she wasn’t around, but also because she wasn’t one.Regardless, he wanted her to get to know his friends.Maybe if she built friendships outside of only him, she’d stick around longer.
