Michelle was impressed with the seats: they were quite close to the ice. Angie was thrilled, and even Tommy was looking more interested than he had been in anything but Tae Kwon Do for a while. She was grateful to Troy for this break. It had been easier than expected to get the kids to do their chores yesterday when they had this treat to look forward to today. They’d even had a dance party last night, the first since they’d moved. She smiled as she saw Angie taking photos with her phone. She’d have something to show her friends at school Monday.
Michelle was surprised when the redheaded woman behind her said hello. She judged the woman to be just a bit younger than she was, and was with a boy about Tommy’s age.
“Are you here with Troy?” the other woman asked.
Michelle nodded, cautiously. She had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“I’m Bridget,” she said, holding out a hand. “My husband is one of the goalies. Troy said he’d invited his new neighbors to the game today, so I guessed it was you.”
Michelle took the proffered hand. “I’m Michelle, and these two are Angie and Tommy.”
Bridget shook each of their hands. “This is my nephew, Bradley. Did I hear that someone here was a hockey player?”
Michelle wondered what Troy had been saying about them. But Angie thought it perfectly natural for people to be interested in her, and answered promptly.
“I’m going to be the first girl playing in this league—the first one not a goalie, that is.” She said it pugnaciously, ready to do battle since people tended not to believe her.
Bridget nodded. “I was going to beat you to it.”
“What happened?” Angie asked. Michelle moved to stop this line of talk, which might be too personal, but Bridget merely pointed to her glasses. “I don’t have proper depth perception, so I couldn’t play professionally.”
Angie cocked her head. “So you don’t think it’s crazy for a girl to want to play? Most people tell me I won’t because girls can’t play against guys.”
“That is so not true. I play with my brothers all the time,” Bridget assured her.
Angie looked at her with respect. “Real hockey? On the ice? And you don’t play goalie?”
“Nope. Real hockey. I play defense, like Troy.”
Angie’s eyes widened. “I’m a forward,” Angie announced.
“Winger?” Bridget asked.
“Center.”
Bridget raised her eyebrows. “You’re going to have to be really good.”
“I am,” said Angie confidently.
Michelle marveled at her daughter’s self-assurance. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt that way. But her daughter had no doubts about her own abilities. Michelle was proud, but also afraid of what knocks life might have for her daughter.
Meanwhile, Bradley had started a conversation with Tommy. Bradley was taking on the biggest part of it, but Tommy was answering. Bradley was bragging about his uncle, and when Angie learned that Bridget was married to the team’s starting goalie, Mike Reimer, Michelle could see that Bridget had become a very important person in Angie’s eyes.
The kids went down to the glass, after Bridget assured Michelle that it was fine, and watched the players come out to start warming up. Michelle sat back in her seat and was pleasantly surprised when Bridget sat down beside her.
“Troy said you were a widow, and new in town.” Michelle tensed, wondering what else he’d said. He had mentioned that she was a widow, and that Angie played hockey? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She hadn’t told him their story, but she also didn’t want to be so reticent that it would arouse anyone’s curiosity. She wanted to shut that part of their lives behind a firmly closed door.
“That’s got to be tough,” Bridget continued. “Mike and I have put off having a family till he retires because we didn’t want one person to have to carry all of the load.”
Michelle just nodded. It was difficult, but she wasn’t used to sharing personal information with strangers.
“Are you okay with Angie playing hockey? Some people don’t think it’s a game for girls,” Bridget asked with concern in her voice.
Michelle smiled. “Don’t let Angie hear you say that. She believes she can do anything the guys can.”
Bridget laughed. “I agree with her on that.” She turned to Michelle. “Can I be blunt? I’m not really good at being tactful. Troy said Angie isn’t playing with a team this year—” Michelle stiffened. “But next weekend Mike and I have rented out a rink for a family hockey game, and it would be great if you could come along. Angie would get a chance to play, and Tommy would, too, if he wanted. Do you play?”
Michelle shook her head. Things were moving too fast here.
“We wouldn’t want to impose, and we don’t have skates—”
Bridget interrupted. “It’s not an imposition, I promise. There will be a ton of people, so a few more is not a problem. And we have lots of extra skates and gear.”
At the mention of spare gear, Michelle sat up straight and looked directly at Bridget. “Why would you invite strangers to join you? What did Troy tell you?”
“Not much. Just that you were new here, and a widow and couldn’t swing hockey this year. But I can give you three good reasons to have you come join us.”
Bridget held up her hand and started counting off fingers. “First, that’s just how our family is. We love having company, and the more, the merrier.” Bridget nodded at the three kids at the glass. “The kids are getting along, and there’s more where Bradley came from. Second, I’d love to help Angie achieve her goal. I have five older brothers, so I’m all about girl power. Thanks to Mike, we have some pull in hockey circles, so maybe we could find a way. And finally, Troy. He and I don’t always get along, and inviting you to the game is probably the nicest thing I’ve known him to do. I’m happy to encourage that.”
Michelle wondered why Troy was being this nice. It apparently wasn’t his normal behavior, though she had to admit that he’d been more than kind to her kids so far. The kids came rushing to their seats as the players left the ice, so Michelle didn’t get a chance to ask Bridget.
“Mom!” said Angie. “Bradley asked if we could go play hockey with him next weekend! Can we?”
Bridget raised her hands, indicating that she hadn’t arranged this. Michelle looked at Angie, happy, her normal daughter, not the sullen creature she’d been living with recently. And even Tommy, behind her, seemed pleased at the prospect. Michelle didn’t want pity, and had learned to be very touchy with people who only viewed her family as a charity. But it was one party, one game—she didn’t have to agree to anything more. So she nodded, and was rewarded by a hug from her daughter. It felt good.
* * *
TROY CAME DOWN the aisle. He’d made a detour to pick up a gift for the kids, so he’d been gone longer than he’d expected and missed the warm-up. He saw Michelle and Bridget sitting together and talking to the kids, apparently getting along well. He should have been prepared for that. Neither woman seemed to like him much, so that gave them something in common.
Tommy noticed him first and prodded his sister. Angie turned with a big smile on her face. “Guess what, Troy? I get to play hockey next weekend!”
Bridget glanced at him. “I invited them to a birthday party. The family’s rented the rink and will be having a big multigenerational hockey game. I want to see the league’s first female skater-to-be in action.”