Page 35 of The Call-Up
Yep. I definitely get it, kid. What a life he leads.
When he turns around to look back at the movie, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I grab it and see the last thing I expected. A text from Ryan with a link to a Tweet some pundit wrote expressing his wish for a Bouchard brothers Stanley Cup showdown.
What planet does this guy live on? The chances of the Mules playing the Blizzards in the finals are near impossible. Like sure, yeah, the Blizzards are a heavy favorite as defending champs to make it all the way again, but us Mules have only recently slipped into a playoff spot that we can lose if we don’t win the majority of our remaining games.
It’s amazing how quickly everyone gets ahead of themselves. Seriously. I do meaneveryone. The comment section of this Tweet is miles long, filled with people expressing a desire to watch us play against each other. It’s a wild thing to see. And because I’m a masochist, I forward it to Ander.
He immediately responds back.
Fuck yeah, little brother! I’ll see you in the finals.
I text back:
I wouldn’t hold your breath. It’s far more likely we won’t play each other until next season.
Hey! Look who’s finally talking about being back next season.
I roll my eyes.
I’ll do whatever I can to make the team again next season for the sole purpose of scoring a goal against you before I get sent down.
He sends back:
Whatever motivates you
Then adds:
I gotta go.
Warmups start soon.
Have a good game
I mean, as long as I’m not playing him, I want to see him win.
Before I can put my phone back down, it’s vibrating in my hand. Ryan’s name flashes across the screen. I sit up and answer it. “Hello?”
“What are you doing?” he asks me. He sounds out of breath.
My heart rate kicks up in excitement. We’ve been on the road together for days, and we had that intense conversation in our room in Florida where he basically told me that we are never going to happen. Knowing everything I know after that talk, I shouldn’t get my hopes up. And yet here he is calling me. I can’t hold back my smile as I answer him. “I’m watching a movie with Danny. What are you doing? Taking a nap?”
“Obviously not.”He laughs. But it sounds tense. My brow furrows. “What movie are you watching? Is it any good?”
I snap a picture of Danny staring wide eyed at the screen and send it to him through text. “The Lego movie for the thousandth time,” I say. “But as you can see, Danny loves it. So it’s a no-brainer choice.”
“It’s okay,” he says, his laugh sounding easier and his voice calmer. “You can admit you like it too.”
I laugh as I bring more popcorn to my mouth. “I won’t lie. I can recite the entire movie.”
“See. I knew you liked it.”
Even though he sounds more settled, something has my senses telling me there’s more to this phone call of his than wanting to discuss what kids’ movie I’m watching. It’s like my mom said, check on Ryan from time to time. Too bad she has no idea how appealing that suggestion is to me despite it being, as Ryan claims, a bad idea. I decide to take a chance. “If you haven’t seen it yet, you can probably make it here in time for the next showing.”
“And when is that?”
“Well, if history is anything to go by, it’s as soon as the credits finish rolling on this viewing.”
“Have Vicky get more popcorn ready. I’m heading over.”
