Page 43 of Misadventures And Ms. Demeanor

"I'm fine," I told her.

"Fine? You're fine when the man you're canoodling with has a date with the woman from Sturgis?" she asked. She gave JT the beady eye.

He took a step back as if fearful.

"Tonight?" I asked. Goldie had said the woman was going to Bozeman. I knew nothing about tonight.

"No, not tonight," JT said.

"You're on the first flight out in the morning," Esther added.

The look on JT's face indicated Esther's death was imminent.

"Oh," I said. I felt...empty. Like something was missing. Like I was being left again. Wait, we had made no promises. We'd both said we wanted different things. I told all of this to Goldie earlier. But being faced with the reality of it, hearing from JT himself that he was heading back to Bozeman to meet another woman was something different. It hurt. Especially after what we just did in the supply closet.

"What about your bike?" Aunt Velma asked. She didn't have a warm and fuzzy look on her face either.

"Goldie's agreed to tow it back to Bozeman."

"I thought we were selling the RV," Aunt Velma said, looking to Goldie.

"Have you seen it? It can't be sold like that. Tomorrow, we'll just drive it home and take it to the scrap yard."

"I thought we were going to see the biggest rocking chair!" Esther added.

Goldie pursed her lips. "Esther, get a grip. The trip fell apart and we're going home."

The coach called to me to join the team.

"Come on, JT. Let's go find our seats. You can tell me all about this Sarah person."

I narrowed my eyes and thought mean thoughts.

"There's the angst-filled look. Go get 'em, tiger." Esther gave me a push on the back, rolling me in the direction of the team.

I survived.Actually, I did better than that. I knew I was considered the enforcer in ice hockey, being the brute who liked to roughhouse with players on the other team. But roller derby was a different experience entirely. It was...fun.

After the first hip check, I settled into my role, quickly learning the plays that got our jammer out to the front. The Roller Dolls won the match by fourteen points. During the two hours of play, I completely forgot about Brazil and JT and Sarah and Aunt Velma. I forgot about everything and just had fun.

The civic center was packed, the announcer stating that it was a sold-out crowd. Afterward, I celebrated in the center ring with the other Roller Dolls, even being asked to join them next season. When the owner of the team introduced himself, he thanked me personally for pulling in all of the fans.

"I'm not sure how I could have done that," I told him.

The man was in his fifties, portly, with thinning hair and a wide grin. "I've been following you on Twitter. It was marketing genius on your part having your trip here tracked by so many fans. I just didn't know you had such...diverse talents."

I lifted my brows and just stared.

"Announcing you were going to be in the match, well, it was the biggest turnout we've ever had. Can I get a picture with you? I promise to post it to your Twitter feed and Facebook."

He thought I was Silky Tangles. Why wouldn't he? "Can I get one of the back of your shirt, too?"

I smiled brittlely and spun around.

"You did it!" Aunt Velma yelled, coming over and pulling me into a bear hug. "I told you, Tony, my niece could fill in."

"An actress and a Roller Doll. It's quite a resume."

Someone called his name and he was off, pleased as punch.