Page 43 of Power Play

sixteen

. . .

Riley

She has a cold. A stinking cold.

“She’ll be fine,” Cari says, from where she’s sitting on the closed toilet-seat lid.

“Maybe I should stay home…”

“No, you need to go out with Al,” my sister-in-law says. I still can’t believe I have a sister-in-law, much less that she’s interested in me and my problems. “His coach already said you have to go. You don’t have to be there long, just enough to get photographed.”

I make a face in the mirror. “I hate pictures.”

“Should have thought of that before you married my stupid brother,” she sings.

“I married him for Emmy.”

“For better or for worse, right?” She smirks at me. “This is the worse.”

“If going to a charity gala is the worst part of being married to him, I think I can get used to this,” I admit.

“I’m so glad I don’t have to do that anymore.”

“What do you mean?” I rake my fingers through my hair, then lift a chunk and wrap it around the curling wand.

“Before you came on the scene, I was Al’s date to all the team events.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize.” Does she want to go in my place?

“He didn’t want to lead anyone on,” Cari says. “It was kind of fun for a little while, but it got old, fast. I love the other wives and partners. Hailey MacGregor is one of my best friends. But I never really fit in. I’m a sibling, not a wife.”

“I would hate for you to think now that I’m around, you can’t hang out with the team.” My eyes meet hers in the mirror. “You are always welcome.”

“I know. I would have been at the game yesterday if I didn’t have practice. I can’t believe I missed my niece’s first hockey game!” She laughs. “There will be plenty more of them if Al has his way.”

“He’s already talking about ways we can make it to more games. Maybe he’d get a hat trick every game if we were in the stands.”

“So? Are you going to?”

I’m not sure how I feel about it. As much as I want to support him, I don’t really want to be in the public eye, and every time I go to a hockey game, I’ll be there as Gonzo’s wife and not me, Riley. The other wives and partners are nice enough, but aside from Vanessa and Audrey, they aren’t my friends. More like colleagues; our husbands work together, so in a way, so do we. Even though they added me to the group chat, I still feel like I don’t belong there. Like any second now, they’ll realize it’s all fake and I’m an imposter and they’ll kick me out.

On the other hand…

“The games start right at Emmy’s bedtime. Maybe when she’s bigger and can stay up later.” Right now, keeping her on her routine is the priority. She needs stability.

A grin stretches Cari’s lips wide, and I’m nearly bowled over by her resemblance to her brother. “Don’t let the fans hear you say that.”

And just like that, the dread curdles in my stomach again, and I groan.

“What?”

“The fans. They’re going to be everywhere tonight.”

If tonight is anything like our walk in the park, I’ll be standing awkwardly on the sidelines as Al schmoozes with the guests. I know it’s part of his job, but I don’t want to be relegated to a piece of arm candy.

“Just smile and nod,” she states. “They don’t care about you. Essentially you’re there as window dressing. It’s not like you’ll actually spend quality time with him.”