[7:00PM, Kate’s house]
Kate had been too busy making sure that the house wasn’t too much of a disaster area to be nervous about Josh meeting the boys, but when the door bell rang, she felt a momentary sense of panic. She didn’t know what to expect, and that always made her edgy. It didn’t help that the only frame of reference she had for this kind of situation was the first time she’d brought a boyfriend home to meet her grandfather. She just hoped that tonight would go better than that had.
At the door, she paused for a second to make sure she had a perfectly calm smile on her face before she opened the door. As soon as she did, she looked at Josh and started to laugh.
"You’re as nervous as I am, aren’t you," she said.
"I hoped it wouldn’t show."
Kate took his hand, pulled him into the house, and kissed him. "Try to relax," she whispered and winked at him. "They can smell fear."
Josh quirked an eyebrow at her and smiled. "Thanks for the warning." He glanced around the living room as he walked into the house, and took in the surroundings. Eclectic was the best word to describe the room. There was no overall style to the room, but it was not meant to impress visitors. It was a place to relax and live in, where you wouldn’t think twice about putting your feet up on the coffee table or playing catch over the back of the sofa. Josh’s eyes settled on a painting over the fireplace - a mediocre scene done mostly in black and purple of a woman kneeling over a grave.
"Dillon’s work," Kate explained with a shrug. "I don’t question his symbolism. I’m afraid he might tell me."
"It’s not bad," Josh said, but Kate could tell that he was being diplomatic.
Just then they heard a sound like a herd of elephants coming down the stairs, and the two boys appeared in the doorway. Justin, laden down with his hockey equipment, looked strikingly like Kate, only with a broader build. Dillon was the opposite of his brother in every way, shorter and almost frail, with dark hair and a pallid complexion. Justin smiled broadly, while Dillon just looked bored.
"We going or what," Dillon muttered.
Kate shot a warning glance at him, but his only reaction was a shrug. "Josh Peters, my sons Justin and Dillon."
*****
"Then there’s basically eight kinds of penalties that you’ve gotta watch for. Minor ones get two minutes in the box, and major infractions get five, but there usually aren’t too many of those."
Justin had been droning on about the finer points of hockey since they got in the car. Kate reached across the front seat, took Josh’s hand and smiled at him. "Well, you did ask him," she whispered. If Justin heard it, it didn’t stop him.
They had taken Kate’s car since there was more than enough room in the old Lincoln for four people and all of the hockey equipment, with room left over for half the team should the need suddenly arise. Dillon had been quiet throughout the ride, sitting in his corner of the back seat and staring out the window.
When they got to the rink, Justin headed to the locker room to join his team and Dillon wandered off on his own, leaving Josh and Kate alone. After a brief stop at the concession stand where Kate bought a couple of overpriced sodas, which, she explained, helped to support the team, and several brief conversations with other parents about whether or not the team had a chance to make district finals, they finally made their way to the bleachers and found seats just as the game was starting. Josh draped an arm across Kate’s shoulders and she leaned against him contentedly.
"I take it Dillon doesn’t quite approve," Josh said, taking advantage of their first real opportunity to talk since they arrived.
Kate looked up at him and smiled. "Actually, I think he does. With Dillon, indifference is a good sign. If he didn’t approve, we would have heard about it."
"He obviously didn’t get that from you," Josh remarked.
Kate tried to decide if that was a casual remark or a probing question, decided it was the former, and nodded. "Definitely not."
"So, can you give me a less technical explanation of the game than Justin did?"
"Mm hmm. The object is to beat up on the other team as much as possible without getting thrown into the penalty box, and along the way, if possible, to get the puck into the opposing team’s net."
Josh grinned, inferring from her tone that Kate did not share Justin’s enthusiasm for the game, although as time wore on, he began to wonder how she would know if she liked the game or not, since she didn’t really watch it. She spent most of the time with her eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of a fall, collision or fight on the ice, especially - but not limited to - when Justin was playing. Another interesting glimpse behind that tough facade she liked to put up.
Justin’s team led 1-0 until the final period, when the other team scored twice in the last minutes of the game. Kate spent a few minutes with Justin, consoling him on the team’s loss and the subsequent elimination from the district tournament. She met Josh by the car a few minutes later. When she saw the grin on his face, she knew exactly what he was going to say.
"All right, so I don’t like to watch the games," she said. "He may be fifteen, but that’s still my baby out there."
"That explains why you didn’t watch when he wasn’t on the ice," Josh teased.
Kate shrugged and got into the car. She’d thought of several clever remarks that would fit the moment, but she opted for the truth. "I see enough violence at work," she said, and with a slight leer, added, "I prefer a tamer brand of entertainment."
"You have something in mind?"
"Dinner for a start. I haven’t had anything since that bagel at lunch. Unless you’re getting tired."
"I promise you, I’m fully recovered."
"Hmm. That’s good to know. The team had a victory party planned. I guess they’re still going to get together and console each other. Dillon took off with some friends, so I guess we’re on our own."
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