Page 91 of Puck Yes
When I arrive at the arena, the quiet nags at me even more. Something has shifted. It doesn’t feel like how we were before. And you know what? I don’t need to put up with it.
They told me I’m smart and fierce, and a smart and fierce woman would ask,What’s your deal?
I click open our group thread as I push open the door to the arena, then write as I walk.
Ivy: Hey! Hope you guys are having a good day. It feels weird to me that we haven’t made plans, and I don’t like feeling this way. I want to see you both. Do you want to come over tonight?
I reread it but before I can hit send, Oliver rounds the corner and catches up to me. “Hey, Ivy! Kana is looking for you.”
“Brady’s wife?” I know who she is. I’m just surprised.
“She’s up at the wives’ and girlfriends’ suite. And boyfriends’ and husbands’,” he quickly adds. One of the defensemen, Tom, is married to Gilberto from Sao Paulo, the star of theSan Francisco Firefighters Calendar. They were shipped all over the city when Gilberto attended a game before they started dating.
I volunteer to head over to the suite on my own, but Oliver’s too helpful to let me do that, so he walks with me. Along the way, we chat about the poll results, and he whispers, “The Fog was Jessie’s idea. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was bad.”
I laugh. I get it. “No one wants to tell the boss when she’s wrong.”
“You get me,” he says.
When I reach the suite, Kana greets me like we’re old friends. “It’s been too long,Mrs. Armstrong,” she says, then flashes a welcoming grin.
I smile back, but inside I feel unsteady. Mr. Armstrong has barely written to me. Neither has my secret boyfriend. Yes, Kana’s in on the fake marriage, but I feel like I’m not in on something now.
I’m not in on my relationship.
Still, I put on a good face, like I know how to do, and I wave to the crew. “Hi there.”
Kana takes me under her wing and makes some quick intros and then says, “Brady and I got a sitter next Sunday, and we’re having a board game and dinner party. Can you join us?” She gestures to the room. “We’ll all be there, and I sent an invite to your brother, and Chase and Trina.”
“You’d better be there,” a pretty redhead calls out to me. That’s Eva, Dev’s girlfriend.
“But fair warning—Tom and I slay in Cards Against Humanity.” The boast comes from a strapping and devastatingly gorgeous man. He has a light Brazilian accent, but it’s the cheekbones I recognize from the fireman centerfold.
I wish I could tell them Hayes and I are aces at something. Until today, I thought our strongest suit was communicating with each other. “I’ll consider myself warned.” Since I don’t even know if Hayes wants me to RSVP, I add, “I’ll check with Hayes, but—”
“He’ll be good with it,” Gilberto says with easy confidence.
I wish I were as certain as he sounds.
As I leave, that feeling of dread creeps back up in me. The second I’m alone I’m going to send the text to them, but when Oliver and I leave the suite, Jessie pops out of hers, smoothing a hand over her blouse and catching my attention.
“You’re just the person I need to see,” she says in her Texas drawl, then she shoos Oliver away. “This is girl talk.”
Uh-oh. Is that code for she knows the truth? And why does that fill me with so much anxiety?
“Sure,” I say carefully as Oliver waves goodbye.
Jessie gestures for me to follow her down a quiet hall, and I keep pace until we reach privacy and she spins around, tugging at her cream-colored silk blouse. “What does a full-chested woman do aboutthis?”
One more pull and I see the problem. The gap at the boobs.
“All day, I swear,” she whispers, “I’m convinced everyone can see my bra.”
I’ve got this. “Charlotte Everly has a line of blouses by cup size.”
Jessie’s brown eyes widen. “What is this wizardry you speak of? And can I get one in black tomorrow?”
I nod crisply. “I’ll bring you one.”