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“He found tacos. Better than the place Novotný found.”
“Novotný found a chain restaurant with a margarita menu longer than our defensive playbook. They are not comparable.”
I sit on the edge of my bed. My hand is on my thigh and my thumb is moving against the pad of my palm and I notice it and I stop it.
Šíma is looking at me.
“What?”
“You’ve done that twice.”
“Done what?”
“That. With your hand.”
“It’s nothing. Cramp from training.”
“Cramp from training. In your hand.” He raises his eyebrows.
“Yes.”
“Vež.”
“It’s a cramp.”
He looks at me one beat longer than the conversation needs. Then he goes back to his laptop. The screen is showing a Bundesliga highlight reel he is not really watching. I take my phone out so I have something to look at that isn’t Šíma.
Tomáš.
How was the tour? Did he take you to the taco place?
He took me to the taco place. Maria called me tall.
Ha. She does that. She told me my hair was nice and tried to set me up with her daughter.
She tried to set Tobík up with her daughter too.
She tries to set everyone up with her daughter. It is a community service.
The dots appear. Disappear. Appear.
Listen. I’m not going to see daylight until next week with all the video review coaches want me to do. Take another day with him if you can. Let him show you the morning walk. He’s been a little quiet since we landed. He won’t tell me anything but maybe you can find out whats going on.
I’ll see how recovery goes.
Make an effort. He’ll be happy.
I put the phone down. Tomáš telling me to spend more time with his brother. The brother whose shoulder I had my arm around this afternoon. The brother who has, apparently, been a little quiet since we landed. Tomáš noticed it. Tomáš noticed it and decided the right person to hand it to is me.
“That Tomáš?” Šíma says.
“Yes.”
“What did he want?”
“He wants me to take another day with Tobík. He’s tied up in film review.”
“And you said yes. Tomáš asks you for anything and you say yes. Last summer he asked you to read a poem at his friend’s wedding and you’d never met the friend.”
