They’re both masters at their craft, and I still have to stifle the urge to squeal when I remember I play for the same team as those two living legends.
But then I remember I’m playing withtheRuko “the Hulk” Jankowski’s son, Eagle, and I have to pinch myself all over again.
It’s all so surreal, and now . . .
“You didn’t tell me if you had a car here or not,” Benny murmurs as we climb into the bus that will take us to the practice rink for the Pirates.
“I don’t,” I tell him. “Gab told me someone would give me the keys to the trade apartment when we got back,” I explain. “And she put me in contact with someone who’s packing up my apartment back in Detroit. But all my stuff won’t get here for a few weeks.”
“Mid-season trades are weird,” Benny mutters.
“Seriously,” I agree, then snort.
“I can drive you to the apartment if you want,” he offers, and I smile immediately.
“Thanks.”
“Actually, Chris is probably ready for me to get home to him, so would you mind if we go to his place for dinner on the way?”
“Of course not. I’m dying to meet this mythical creature who loves you just as you are,” I tease.
He smiles and shakes his head self-deprecatingly.
“If it weren’t for his brother and my friends, I would think I’d made him up.” His voice is just wistful enough to be considered corny and I have to shake my head too.
“Man, you’re gone for him, aren’t you?”
“I am,” he admits with a sigh. “But anyway, we’ll go to his place and get some food then I’ll drive you to the apartment.”
“I’ll take you up on the dinner but I’ll just get an Uber after. No reason why you have to act as my driver.”
“We’ll see,” he says softly and looks out the window.
The bus is quiet but not deathly so. There are murmurs in the back and some in the front, but I still feel the need to whisper. I don’t want to offend anyone, and I don’t think I’ll find a better moment to ask than right now.
“So what’s really going on with Santa and Charlie?” I whisper the question.
Benny looks amused when he turns back to me.
“I wondered when you’d ask.” Then he lets out a sigh and the humor disappears from his face. “They had some issues the first few months of the season,” he begins quietly.
“They got benched,” I tell him, because I know about that—everyone who cares about hockey knows about that. It seems such an idiotic move to me, to bench the two best defensive players you have on your team... the two best defensive players in the league actually.
“They were fighting.” Benny nods. “Santa made it clear from the moment Charlie got here that he was not welcome and well—” He screws up his face in a grimace. “We all kinda went with it because Santa is...”
“He’s everyone’s favorite,” I finish for him.
“Ha,” he says softly and shakes his head. But he’s smiling again. “Not exactly, but he’s the one we all trust to look out for us. Andso, we trusted him. And we thought things would get better after Christmas, since he seemed more like his usual self, but then they had this fight during practice.”
Now I’m the one wincing. I get that they’re living legends, but fighting during a practice, with your own teammate, seems like a bad, bad thing to do.
“Exactly,” Benny nods at my expression. “That’s why they got benched, and Gab made them live together. Laney put them on the same line after that, and as far as we all know...” He leans in then, whispering even more quietly. “They don’t spend any time apart.”
“Okay,” I say just as quietly. “But why didn’t they come back with us?”
“Oh,” Benny says louder, looking surprised, and leans back. “Charlie’s family is from a town just outside Chicago and he asked Laney if he could stay the night there. Laney said yes but that Santa has to go with him.”
“Right,” I say quietly and nod.