Luci “I’ll braid your hair. Will make it harder to recognize you, especially with the hat.” Sydney says as she combs through it. “I need a haircut.” I mumble. My hair is about two inches below my shoulders. I usually keep it shoulder length. “It looks pretty like this. Thanks for taking Barrett today too. He’s so excited.” She begins weaving her magic fingers through my hair. I never braid it because, like most women, my hair misbehaves for me. For Syd, it will weave ribbons through itself. “I thought Cole might like it too.” I had texted Easton about an extra ticket and he took care of it. Baker handed them to me yesterday. I haven’t seen the brothers nor their mother at the house since I spoke with Easton. Only in our one shared class, but they barely glance my way. Which is not surprising. I’m still the same Luci. I just invade their home each day. Sydney is working this afternoon when the game is scheduled. She touches my ear gently before speaking. That always makes me pay attention. “Did dragon lady mention how many Saturdays you’ll be giving up to watch Cole?” “No. I’m scared to ask. I did look up the Kings hockey schedule and they only have one other Saturday game after this until January. Course, I could need to keep him for a different reason.” Baker told me Imogen Reed goes out on Saturdays for shopping and brunch with her friends. Occasionally, pickleball games too. I can’t imagine the woman breaking a sweat except at a very uppity Pilates class. She reminds me of that mother from the Notebook movie. Married for money, looks down on others, probably will have a cotillion where wealthy suitable debutantes are presented to her sons. They will already have been through a rigorous application screening for appropriateness. What do wealthy women shop for every single weekend anyway? I always wondered about that. Maybe Cole’s mother wasn’t up to snuff and that’s why she’s not involved. Or maybe she read the tea leaves on Imogen and ran for her life. But left her son… “Luuuccceee…” Syd’s patient voice reaches me and I refocus on her. “Sorry. Got lost for a minute.” She gestures to my hair like one of those models on the Price is Right. “It looks great Syd.” “Let me grab your cap. I would assume you can put the hoodie on before you walk into the stadium.” She mutters. Last night, during our girl’s night, she confessed she’s not a huge fan of my job in general. Understood the money was too good to pass up along with the hours. Cole was another huge bonus. “Just watch these people, Luci.” She sets the cap on my head. It’s a sky blue color to match the team’s pale blue and silver jerseys. My hoodie is a pale gray with blue letters spelling out “Ice Kings.” She lifts her purse before hugging Barrett goodbye. “Enjoy work.” I call after her. “Least it will be boring and not push you out of your comfort zone.” “Everything I ever hoped for in a job. Try to have fun, Luci.” She grins at me and leaves. “Fun, trying to avoid being noticed at a large school sporting event….yeah fun.” Barrett watches me from the couch as I grab my things for us to head to the Reed residence. An enormous white SUV sits in the circle drive before the front door. I park in my usual spot as Barrett says, “Uh oh…” From the backseat. I turn my head spotting Easton Reed standing there in a light gray suit. His arms are folded and he wears an irritated expression. Is this going to be a theme for this house? Giants who stand in the driveway with folded arms? I climb out reminding myself he doesn’t bite. I help Barrett unstrap his seat. He holds my hand as we approach what I thought was irritated and realize is a coiled angry snake. “Barrett, the door is open. You can go in and find Baker and Cole in the playroom.” Easton says softly to him. “Luci?” He tugs on my hand and I glance down at him, nodding. “Go ahead. I’ll be right in.” I give him a smile that I don’t feel at all. We both watch him run inside. I turn my head back toward Easton noticing his head remains turned toward the door. Without looking at me, his cold voice whips out sharply. “Did you not understand that we needed to be at the stadium at 11? Not you here at 11. I put 10:30 on the instructions so I could talk to you about something. I sent my brothers on to avoid all of us crossing Humphries.” I scramble to recall the words on the envelope with our tickets. I can see it. I cringe as the knowledge I completely screwed this up hits me. “I…I’m sorry. I saw 11 and committed that to memory. I…will you be in trouble?” I ask the last part very quietly. His head finally turns my way, his face coldly impassive. “When the game is over, linger in your seats. Cole likes to come out on the ice once it’s all clear. I will return from the locker room when he can do that. He knows not to say who I am at the game.” “I really am sorry. I screwed up.” I did. Got off my routine and didn’t read the instructions twice. “It won’t happen again.” He didn’t answer me about trouble. I look as high as the knot of his dark blue tie. “Take care of Cole.” With that, he steps into the SUV and drives away. I walk inside and find the boys with Baker, who meets me at the playroom door. He gives me a sympathetic smile before announcing lunch will be ready in fifteen minutes. My facial expression must be telling. “Luci! Look! Daddy bought me this.” He comes racing to show off his light blue jersey with the big shiny silver number 11 shaped like icicles. “Wow. That is an awesome jersey. Are you playing today?” I tease and he hugs my legs laughing. “No Luci! You are silly. I’m too little. Daddy’s 11.” He points to the number again and I laugh at him. “I thought he was twenty…” Cole shakes his head so seriously. “No, Daddy is twenty-three. His birthday is in December.” Barrett decides to join in now. “My daddy is twenty-six. His birthday is in August. Mine is in January.” “He’ll be home before Thanksgiving, Barrett. Don’t worry.” I know that look on his face. “Trick or treating is next week. Luci and Aunt Sydney are taking me. I’m going to be Batman.” Barrett says proudly. “I’m going to be Dark Vader.” Cole adds. Barrett frowns. “It’s Darth Vader.” “Barrett, let it go.” I warn him as I motion for them to follow me. “Lunch.” They are arguing back and forth about what candy is the best and which superhero would get the most. I easily follow their complete changes in subject. Why my brain does better with kids. They ramble along with whatever comes to mind, like me. I need to be on watch this week. The first few days after my period, I can focus great due to the higher estrogen levels in my body, I remember the psychiatrist explaining. And that was a few days ago. But now that it’s hitting a low point, I usually have the most trouble staying on track. Need all of my tricks to be normal. I already messed Easton up. “Cole, what happens if your daddy is late to hockey practice?” I ask quietly as we eat. Baker pauses only a second, but I catch it since I’m staring at the pin he wears on his collar. Little things, I have to focus on minute details to help me sometimes. “He has to skate laps or do push-ups. Or he has to wait on the bench at the game.” My stomach twists into a knot. I push my plate away, unable to eat another bite. Baker nudges it gently back toward me. He leans down, whispering. “Mr. Easton is very important to the team, Luci. He will be fine and there is no way in a big game like today that Nick Humphries will make him sit out a whole period.” “The game starts at 2 right Baker?” I double check, not trusting my memory. “Yes. I will remind you to leave. You should go early so you can get to your seats without the crowd running over these two.” He smiles at me kindly. “I can see that you struggle with some things. Be assured Luci, I am here to help with whatever you need.” “Thank you. I…I don’t always have all my eggs in one basket, Baker.” I confess to him. I strangely know I can trust him. He nods. “I will say nothing, Luci. It is between you and me. Cole loves you and I love the light you have brought back to his days.” He takes the boys’ plates. True to his word, he comes to find us at 1 so we can leave. I was silencing the alarm on my phone as he knocked on the playroom door. “Two minute clean up boys.” We hurry and leave. I reach over for the hoodie and throw it on as we wait for the gate to open. I won’t forget this piece and make things worse for Cole. At the rink, we find our seats easily. There are people here ready to go. I grab the backpack Baker handed me. It has water and snacks. We already stopped by the bathroom proactively. “Luci, how long?” Cole asks me and I can already see the boredom brewing. “Fifteen minutes. Let’s play a game. I spy. Barrett, you go first.” Barrett jumps right in. Cole gets excited when he sees the players entering. He starts jumping up and down, waving. I wonder if he will talk about them being his family. Am I supposed to keep him quiet? Damn Luci you didn’t ask that… They sit on their team bench. I watch the referee head out to the middle circle in the ice and the players head out. We aren’t in the student section, which doesn’t surprise me. Lots of middle-aged couples near us some with kids. We’ll blend in well here. “Kingston is the goalie.” Cole informs us as we watch him move to the net wearing number 33. My heart sinks when I see Easton remain seated as the other players move out. Becker, Jackson, Maxton Porter and Kendall Young skate onto the ice with Jackson and Becker moving toward the referee. Cole is my personal hockey encyclopedia, thankfully, because all I know about hockey is they skate on ice with sticks and use a puck. “Jackson and Becker will do the face off circle to get the puck.” “I’m glad you know so much, Coco, because I know nothing about this game.” He smiles up at me so sweetly. “I help you Luci.” I ruffle his hair affectionately. I watch surprised as the referee drops the black circular object and they fight for it. Like chickens all after the same worm is the unbidden thought that forms and I shove it away. “Easton got in trouble. He on the bench.” I glance up at the clock after Cole’s words. My fault… “He’s the captain, always plays.” After five minutes, I see Easton stand up and Kendall goes out while Easton comes in. You can almost sense the shift in both teams when his skates hit the ice. I saw his face when he was on the bench. The intensity as he watched; I could feel it from my seat. “They call him the Icebreaker. Watch.” Cole’s voice is full of pride. The other team has the puck and two of them are flanking the guy pushing it toward Kingston. Easton flies across the ice and plows right through them. When he emerges from between the two red uniforms, I see he has the puck and is speeding toward the opposing goalie. He flies as the other team struggles to catch him. Jackson gets slammed into as he chases along, but he barely moves. “They call Jackson the Ice Wall.” Cole says, his eyes lit up brightly with excitement. He slams back into the other guy, knocking him down. Easton scores and Cole jumps up shouting. I see his head briefly look our way as Cole and Barrett shout for him. The rest of the game, I find myself able to pay attention. It’s fast-paced and there is always something to watch. My squirrel brain listens to Cole and seems to actually be able to remember some of it. He never says the word daddy or uncle which intrigues me for a second before I lose that thread. The whole arena is on their feet in the last thirty seconds. The game is tied up and the Ice Kings have the puck. I find myself standing holding my arms around each boy as they stand on their seats to see. They score and the arena erupts with cheers. A siren sounds and Cole is screaming for them. “It’s over Luci! They won!” Even my heart was pounding with anticipation and I laugh at Barrett who also screams his joy. We hang around as people leave. The boys are discussing the game and I sit back watching. We decide to move closer to the ice once it’s almost completely empty. The opposing team is gone and the Reed brothers are also missing. The boys move to the glass pointing to something out on the ice. I get a text from Easton as we wait. Meet me outside by the team entrance. It’s on the left side of the arena under the Dr. Pepper sign. Cole can’t come onto the ice today. I have to meet with Coach. I cringe at that knowing it’s probably because I made him late. I explain and Cole is too happy to be upset. We find the sign and see a few others lingering there. Mostly puck bunnies but I do see another family there. Maybe Kendall Young’s. There are a couple of benches, but I don’t want to get that close. Barrett and Cole are reenacting some of the hockey moves they saw. Fifteen minutes later, Maxton Porter saunters through the door. His hair is still wet and he’s in light blue sweats with their logo. I pull the hood up over my ballcap, not wanting him to recognize me. He’s headed for the bunnies. Cole takes that moment to shout my name and I watch his head slowly turn my way. I avert my face toward Barrett, but it’s too late. Coach Humphries is also getting closer to the exit door. Saw his head inside the tunnel. His voice suddenly comes from beside us. “Little mouse comes to the games. I don’t even have to go hunting.” He has that unpleasant little smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. It gives me the creeps. I spin to walk away, but he’s too fast. He grabs my arm painfully and turns me back to face him.