And Heaven Too
Chapter Eleven
Mike is surprised to see Nicky show up with a girl, but only for a second. Nicky pulls more girls than most people would ever give him credit for. Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe Dell’s reaction, though, because Dell apparently knows the girl. This girl is Dell’s sister and doesn’t this just make some sort of twisted sense in their strange relationship.
Dell’s sister, Nicky calls her Ruth, hugs Dell but the younger sister just pats the older’s back and looks at Mike for help. Holy shit, Dell is actually about to panic about something. This is new. “Ohhhh, look at you Snotface. Your hair looks different. Good, though. The darker hair. Nice.” Mike raises an eyebrow and mouths ‘Snotface?’ Dell turns beet red.
She’s probably second guessing her decision to let Mike drive. Nicky claps him on the back and Mike pulls him into a hug. It’s been way too fucking long. “I made a friend. I was hoping we could give her a ride but you have somehow already covered that.” He glances over at Dell, who is still being smothered by her sister. “Is that her?” Nicky’s voice is soft and Mike nods. “She’s pretty.”
Mike desperately wants to ask, pretty like her older sister? He keeps his mouth shut though because Dell looks so damned awkward and Mike wants to remember this moment forever. Dell pulls Ruth aside and there’s lots of almost violent gesturing on her part while her sister just smiles like the cat who got the cream. Mike nudges Nicky. “Did you guys hook up on the plane or something?”
Nicky blushes politely, because Nicky never does anything that isn’t polite. “No.” Mike raises an eye brow. “She is a pilot. She has access to special rooms at airports. Reserved rooms.” Oh, for Christ’s sake. Mike rolls his eyes and watches the sisters again. Ruth is short. Almost a full head shorter than Dell and her hair is a bright platinum blond. She looks a little washed out, sharing Dell’s pale and freckled skin, but she isn’t ugly by any means.
Dell finally calms herself down, taking a deep breath, before turning to them with a smile. “Mike. This is my sister Ruth. Ruth, this is Mike. He’s been kind enough to offer us a lift back to the city.” Mike steps forward and extends a hand which Ruth ignores in favor of just hugging him. She smells like airport. No sex smell, thank fuck. “You must be Nicky.” Dell moves behind them and shakes Nicky’s hand and Mike would have liked to have introduced them but Ruth is still hugging him.
He extracts himself from her embrace and she immediately plasters herself to Nicky’s side. “Well, is anyone hungry?” It’s the only thing he can think of to get them all out of here, and away from this scene of familial awkwardness. They pile into Mike’s SUV and he heads them back to Arlington. Perhaps it’s time to introduce Dell to his favorite Italian joint.
Ruth keeps trying to get Dell into a conversation but Dell is distracted, texting on her phone. It keeps up the whole way to the parking lot. Ruth questions and Dell hums or grunts in response, sometimes rolling her eyes. This isn’t the strangest sibling behavior he’s ever seen but it feels like Dell is a completely different person right now and it’s odd. It bothers him, actually.
The elephant that is Nicky/Ruth/Airport is mostly sidestepped while Ruth describes her trip. She’s been skiing in the Alps with some pilot friends and then down to Italy, apparently because she can. She’s been gone a week and a half and Dell almost chokes on her iced tea because Dell had no idea. She’s been under the assumption that Ruth was overseas for business, three days tops. Ruth has a devious smile that is a bit reminiscent of her baby sister’s when she admits that she took a few extra days.
Nicky picks up the story now, explaining how he’d been laid over in Paris for four hours because of weather, just hanging out in the Delta VIP lounge and Ruth walks in. He says something about how beautiful she was and how funny she was and they were the only two in there for hours. And how Ruth totally recognized him, right off the bat.
Holy Shit, Mike thinks. Dell’s sister kind of sounds like a puck slut. From the mortified look on Dell’s face she’s probably thinking the same thing. The bitch of it is Nicky looks really happy and pleased with himself. Disturbingly so. Clearly the two of them had made some sort of connection during their travels, no matter how they’d first run across each other.
And that sort of sounds like him and Dell.
“So, seester, how are the boners?” Nicky chokes on his drink, Mike almost spits out the cheesy bread he’s munching on. Dell just rolls her eyes.
“I still don’t work with human remains, Ruth. But work is good, thanks for asking. I’m working on a new exhibit right now. War of 1812.” Mike’s ears perk up and he looks at her in surprise. She doesn’t really get into details with what she does at work but he knows all about the War of 1812.
“Oh yeah? Is that Christian guy still working with you?” Dell narrows her eyes but nods, like she senses something bad is coming. “No hard feelings then; you said he was kind of put out, when, you know, you stopped putting out.”
And bam, cat’s out of the bag. Ruth is a piece of work and Dell looks crushed for a moment. Mike remembers meeting Christian. That guy seemed pretty cool. So what if he and Dell had a thing, he thinks. He’s got the girl now.
“Christian is fine. Everything is fine. Thank you for asking.” Subtext: please shut the fuck up.
Ruth has been drinking pretty heavily since they arrived; she doesn’t shut up. “That was short, though. I mean, what, two months? And didn’t you just see him like a week ago?”
Mike’s heart literally stops beating. The silverware he has in his hands clatter to the table and he looks at Dell, shocked. A week ago? That’s impossible. A week ago, they slept together the first time. There is no way Dell would jump beds like that, right? She looks guilty, and apologetic, but a little defiant. “Thanks for the understanding Ruth. I’ll treasure it forever. Now eat something, for fuck’s sake, so we’re not here all night. I’m sure you and Nicky need some rest after such a long plane ride.” Ruth opens her mouth to protest and Dell actually shoves a breadstick right in, effectively silencing her sister.
Dell slides off the stool while Ruth is distracted. “I’m going to get another round. Could you help me Mike?” Everyone except for Ruth knows that she just wants to talk to him and he goes willingly. He ran off on her once, he’s not going to do it again. Once they’re a safe distance from their table she whirls and plants a kiss right on him. He stumbles back a little but then accepts it. They manage to keep it PG-13, for the most part, and when Dell finally pulls away she looks more centered.
“Thank you so fucking much. I am so sorry about her. I didn’t think to tell her that we’re, you know, seeing each other. She wouldn’t have opened her big, fat, stupid, ruinous mouth, I promise.” Mike chuckles at her phrasing and brushes the hair back from her face. She leans into the touch.
“Does she have any idea what’s happening in your life?”
Dell looks sad when she says, “No. I don’t tell her a lot. She’s not really interested in my life, just interested in knowing that she’s better than me. Ruth’s been trying to beat me at life since I was four and she was seven and I learned how to do a cartwheel first. Seriously, our whole lives. It’s getting to the insane part. I am just so, so sorry.”
“So she has no idea that you were at mine last Thursday?” Dell did have all afternoon that day when he’d gone home and she’d still been at work, with that guy. All of the guys, because she’s got so many male friends according to her.
“Well, she called and I told her I had a date. She assumed it was Christian. We broke up after we got back from the field, though. Summer romances rarely transition back into the real world.”
Well, that was reassuring. She’d said something about getting back from Maine in early August. That was five months ago. No big deal. Not at all. Mike pushes away anything that might resemble jealousy and hugs her tight instead. She clings to him like a life preserver. It’s pretty clear that she’s used to this sort of behavior from her sister. “So she’s always this awful?” Dell nods miserably into his chest. “Why did you even invite her?”
When she speaks, her words are muffled. “I didn’t have a choice. Since I’m not going back home for Christmas our mom talked her into stopping by. Mom wouldn’t take no for an answer and I can’t blow off my mom, so voila! Big sister. Ruining everything.”
Mike pushes her back a little to look down into her face. She’s still red from the whole ordeal and he memorizes the way her eyes dart around and she chews on her lower lip. She is flustered and embarrassed but he still likes her anyway. He sighs because really, she’s some sort of smart and weird but it’s perfect for her. Her gaze stills and locks on him. He kisses her lip, banishing the last of her teeth marks with his tongue. She nips back playfully. As endearing as she is all worried like this, he much prefers the cheeky archaeologist.
“Seriously though. You’re, like, the most awesome, ever.”
They both crack up and Mike likes this a lot. This is totally what he’d meant by being there for her, when she needs him. And Dell looks ridiculously pleased with it, so he’s doing well. This is . . . really good.
Mike drags her back to the table before he can get them into too much trouble.
Ruth and Dell get dropped off at Dell’s place because Nicky, despite almost having his tongue down the elder sister’s throat when they’d come back to the table, really is tired. Mike knows he wants to go home; he’s got that antsy look in his eye that lingers during long road trips. Dell kisses him quick and promises to call later. Ruth removes her hands from precariously inappropriate places on Nicky’s thigh and they’re blocks away before Nicky blows out a long breath and turns a wide grin in Mike’s direction.
“Oh, yeah?” Mike chuckles.
“She is . . . wow. I can’t even-“
Mike wants to slap a hand over Nicky’s mouth to keep him from saying anything about how Dell’s sister that isn’t strictly family friendly. He keeps his hands on the wheel, settling for a loud no which has Nicky busting up. “You aren’t allowed to tell me anything. I don’t want to know.”
He gets Nicky home and it’s not until Nicky is half out of the vehicle before he turns back. “There’s a conference call tomorrow, right? For the players association?”
Like a kick to the head, Mike remembers. He’d gotten a call not four days ago, deep in his funk of not having Dell. “Did you want to meet up for it? Breakfast maybe?” Nicky gives him a grin.
“Yeah. There’s a lot of guys coming into town for it, Mikey. Brooksie and Hammer should be in sometime tomorrow morning.” Mike blinks. “Did no one tell you?”
He shakes his head slowly. “No. No one said anything. Are there plans already?”
Nicky flashes him a smile, partially in thanks for the ride and partly in apology that Mike is the last to know. “Tomorrow. I’ll send you a text.”
They descend on a restaurant in Annapolis, close to Beagle’s place, and all sit in on a two hundred person conference call. It takes a while, a long while, for the talking to end. Fehr keeps saying something about being absolutely sure about their choice but in the end everyone, at least in Washington, votes to dissolve the union.
This feels like a huge and heavy thing, crashing down around Mike. This isn’t supposed to be happening; they should be focusing on playing and not this mess. When the conference call ends the table leans back and exchanges nervous looks until Brooks describes, in great detail, the women to be had in Switzerland.
That breaks the ice and for an hour or so Mike can pretend that this is just a pre-game meal. Breakfast ends on a high note when the guys in from out of town all agree to come and practice. The world settles a little.
He gets ahold of Dell in the evening because the guys are getting together. Throwing a party, as it were, for the end of the world. Even though it was supposed to end this morning. Clearly it hadn’t but with the vote this afternoon it feels like an ending. And Mike would really like to see Dell right now.
They crash Hammer’s place. It’s a little dusty but it warms up quickly with the press of people. With the music and the drinks Mike is surprised to find that he’s actually having a good time. Dell wanders by, Ruth in tow, on their way to the kitchen and Mike grins, hard. Dell’s wearing a pair of crazy tight jeans and this shirt that flows around her like water. When he’d picked up the sisters he’d been tempted to let Ruth take the trip around the block she’d pleaded for just to get Dell horizontal.
Brooks is the last to arrive, towards the end of the evening, and it almost feels like this could be the middle of the season; business as usual. He has a moment of sudden depression when he thinks that this isn’t normal at all. Everything about hockey is so wrong right now and he hates it.
His moment is gone in the blur that is a now fairly tipsy Dell, jumping into his arms. He laughs and tries to maneuver his drink around her bouncing. Dell is a very excitable drunk with flushed cheeks and bright eyes. “Oh, hello person I enjoy seeing naked.” She takes a deep drink from the cup in her hand and stares at him over the rim. There’s enough promise in that look to make his pants tighten. Naked. Yes. They should-
“Your friend told me I had a nice ass. And then my sister had to go and ruin it by telling everyone my middle name is Stevenson. And then I got mocked for having A.S.S. as my initials and it was a general cluster fuck.” She presses up against him, moving slow and deliberate. Drunk Dell is also quite horny. He’s surprised but amused.
“Your middle name is Stevenson?” Interesting.
Dell nods, a little bereft. “My dad’s idea. Mom got to name Ruth after someone. He picked the most losingest presidential candidate in American history. I think I got the short end of that deal, but whatever. That guy was totally a stand up dude.” Mike has absolutely no idea who Adlai Stevenson was so he can’t really comment on it.
As she twines an arm around his neck, still sipping at her drink, Mike just gives up his and sets it down so he can wrap both arms around her waist. “It must have sucked to grow up with those initials.” Parents have no sense of forethought with children sometimes.
Dell’s eyes flash and she shakes her head. “My maiden name is Pelletier. Adlai Pelletier. She was pretty cool. A little boring, kind of a pushover but you should have seen her penalty kick. Beautiful.”
Dell keeps going on, describing this Adlai Pelletier who sounds like a pretty cool kid but Mike’s brain is caught in a loop somewhere back around maiden name. She shakes him a bit when he doesn’t respond to a particularly hilarious story of a muddy soccer game. “Hey, stop frowning. It’s the end of the world. It’s fun time.”
“You’re married?” His voice is so soft she doesn’t even hear the question. She leans up, putting their cheeks together and asking him to repeat himself. So he does and she jerks back, horror on her face. She clamps a hand over her mouth and she looks caught. Guilty. Mike drops his arms immediately. Oh fuck. She totally is and he had no idea and oh fuck.
He tries to back up more but a wall stops him. Dell follows waving her hands frantically. “No. No! I was. We split up years ago.”
“But, you still have his name?” He’s a little more sure on his feet now, adjusting to this information.
Dell just shrugs, helplessly. “I’d already published under my married name. It seemed easier to keep going. Besides, no one knows how to pronounce Pelletier in this country. It always comes out Pellet-teer. Awful. It’s like no one’s ever been to France.” And that totally makes sense and Mike’s heart beat slows considerably.
Dell kisses his cheek and just wanders off. Mike lets her go, watching her weave back through the crowd. She is so fucking unpredictable. There’s almost no stability in her, which is ridiculous considering she freaking works at the Smithsonian.
“Hey, man. What’s the word?” Brooks appears at his side and Mike shakes his head, trying to clear it. Brooks is shoving a fresh beer into his hand and Mike takes a deep drink. “Seriously. It’s been too long.”
Mike nods along, his eyes still plastered on Dell as she dances up to Ruth in the middle of the living room. He watches Ruth shriek and whirl on Dell, Dell deftly outmaneuvering her big sister’s half-assed attempt at a punch. Dell bends down and hugs her tight and they seem fine all of a sudden. Sisters.
“Mike, hey! The fuck is wrong with you?”
Finally, Mike looks up at Brooks. “Yeah, sorry. Nothing. Everything’s fine. Yeah, long time. How’s the Swiss?” Brooks gives an in-depth explanation of the sort of girls he’s been pulling overseas as well as the play. He likes the bigger rinks and the view. The Alps are apparently really fucking beautiful, surprise.
Mike listens, he swears, but he keeps looking over at Dell, who has convinced Ruth to dance with her. It’s actually pretty funny and he cracks a grin when she spins Ruth and spills beer all over her in the process. Brooks follows his gaze but doesn’t mention it, slapping him on the shoulder instead. “So, there’s a rumor going around that Crosby is defecting to Russia.” Mike’s eyes snap to Brooks.
Well, that’s not good. If Crosby jumps ship he’s given up hope. Which means there’ll be no season after all. “Is he giving up or is it really that hopeless?”
Brooks shakes his head, grinning. “Not hopeless. It’s a calculated move. He’s not signing anywhere, just going to visit people, I think. I heard Toews was coming to Switzerland too to, like, make the league nervous. I dunno. It might work. If we’re all in Europe, enjoying ourselves, they’d lose their players. They’d have to get the season going, you know?”
Mike nods at that. “Yeah, that makes sense. But they’d just be able to find new guys. I mean, there’s an AHL team for every team in the NHL, right? They could just as easily pull those guys up-“
“Greenie. Really. Do you think fans are gonna want to see some kids who can’t hack it in the majors when they’ve been watching our skills for all of time? No way. This is it; it’s gonna happen. Mark my words. In two weeks we’ll be back here for training camp.”
This thought lifts up Mike again and he lets Brooks drag him back to the party. Johnnie is doing shots with some random girl in the kitchen and a round gets poured for all the guys present. Mike lifts the little glass, he has no idea what’s in it, and looks around the circle. There are only ten of them but he feels better with them around than he has since October rolled around without the season. They toast to the end of the world and the end of the lock-out. The liquor slides down easily and he thinks he might be right on track to getting drunk.
He has no idea where Dell has gotten off to.
This is life, he thinks. Crazy and unpredictable and blurred around the edges with uncertainty peering back at him when he looks too close. This life, this specific one, doesn’t really feel like his. He lets the fact that Dell is divorced sit in the pit of his stomach while he looks for her around the house. It’s not that big of a deal, he tells himself. She’s just as old as he is and he’s got skeletons in his closet too. So what. Doesn’t matter.
Dells finds him first, stumbling after him in an upstairs hallway and calling his name softly. He catches her easily when she finally reaches him and he can smell a variety of alcohol coming off her. She is drunk as a skunk by now but she’s still smiling. She sings a few lines from It’s The End of the World by REM before kissing him.
She certainly tastes like she’s sampled everything the party has to offer and he hikes her farther up in his grip when she slides down. “Happy apocalypse, Mikey!” He thinks it’s cute that she’s using his nickname but he’s not impressed with her lack of sobriety.
“We should get you home.” She pouts at him for a second before giggling suddenly.
“Yes. It’s been far too long since I’ve admired your art collection.” Her words are surprisingly steady for one so drunk.
“No, back to your place. Your sister, remember?”
She makes that frowning face he’d first seen yesterday at the airport again. “Don’t worry about that. She’s all up in your Swedish brother’s business down the hall.” She lowers her voice and says conspiratorially, “I think they’re in flagrante delicto.” Her mouth stretches out the foreign words, jumbling them a bit so it sounds like Nicky and Ruth are in fragrant delight. Or something.
Mike sighs, exasperated, and helps Dell back downstairs. He puts her on the couch and tells her not to move while he tracks Nicky down. He is in an upstairs bedroom but him and Ruth are just passed out, clothes on, above the covers. He shakes Nicky awake. “Hey, I need to get Dell home. Do you guys want a ride?”
Nicky mutters something about leaving them alone before he rolls over, burying Ruth beneath him. Well, all right then. Mike collects Dell and heads back to his place. He should just take her home, but he doesn’t want to let her out of his sight. She could be a puke-sick drunk and what if she drowns in her own vomit? He’d never allow it. So he drives back to his loft and he has to carry her all the way up but it’s okay.
This is fine, he tells himself. Everyone gets drunk once in a while. And Dell will be fine so he strips them both down while she’s gone back to singing. She has a moment of extreme lucidity when he’s dragging his shirt over his head. She sways lightly but remains standing and places a hand over his heart. He stills under her fingertips. He’s not about to have sex with her and she appears to understand this. Her touch is soft and she sighs. He watches her face as she stares intently at her hand.
“I’m sorry I got so drunk.” She brings her mostly unfocused eyes up to his face. “Your friends are really nice. There were a couple talking about the season getting canceled and everyone going home. Really home.” The blur of tears that appear in her eyes makes his stomach clench. She really can’t start crying. He will not be able to deal with a drunk and crying Dell.
“Will you go back to Canada?” Her voice is tentative and sad. She thinks she already knows the answer, even as she’s asking the question.
Mike stares down at her, probably for too long. Her lips draw back into a tight line, like she’s really trying to hold everything together. He brings up a hand to cradle hers and uses the other to pull him against his chest. Dell goes easily, more than willingly, and he kisses the top of her head. “There’s no reason for me to leave.” He leaves the part out where there are so many reasons to stay now. She’ll never remember this in the morning anyway.
That thought makes him whisper that he’d never leave her anyway. She doesn’t even react. Mike sighs and helps her into bed before climbing in after her. Dell passes out quickly but Mike stays awake, staring at the ceiling. Dell makes him feel so invincible but at a moment’s notice will make him feel like he’s fallen off the roof of his building. She turns him on his head; he feels dizzy whenever they’re together. She’s distraction and fulfillment in one complex package that he’s just starting to unwrap.
He realizes he’s terrified of what she’s going to do to him but even more frightened that he could lose her at any moment, before he can even find out.
Dell’s sister, Nicky calls her Ruth, hugs Dell but the younger sister just pats the older’s back and looks at Mike for help. Holy shit, Dell is actually about to panic about something. This is new. “Ohhhh, look at you Snotface. Your hair looks different. Good, though. The darker hair. Nice.” Mike raises an eyebrow and mouths ‘Snotface?’ Dell turns beet red.
She’s probably second guessing her decision to let Mike drive. Nicky claps him on the back and Mike pulls him into a hug. It’s been way too fucking long. “I made a friend. I was hoping we could give her a ride but you have somehow already covered that.” He glances over at Dell, who is still being smothered by her sister. “Is that her?” Nicky’s voice is soft and Mike nods. “She’s pretty.”
Mike desperately wants to ask, pretty like her older sister? He keeps his mouth shut though because Dell looks so damned awkward and Mike wants to remember this moment forever. Dell pulls Ruth aside and there’s lots of almost violent gesturing on her part while her sister just smiles like the cat who got the cream. Mike nudges Nicky. “Did you guys hook up on the plane or something?”
Nicky blushes politely, because Nicky never does anything that isn’t polite. “No.” Mike raises an eye brow. “She is a pilot. She has access to special rooms at airports. Reserved rooms.” Oh, for Christ’s sake. Mike rolls his eyes and watches the sisters again. Ruth is short. Almost a full head shorter than Dell and her hair is a bright platinum blond. She looks a little washed out, sharing Dell’s pale and freckled skin, but she isn’t ugly by any means.
Dell finally calms herself down, taking a deep breath, before turning to them with a smile. “Mike. This is my sister Ruth. Ruth, this is Mike. He’s been kind enough to offer us a lift back to the city.” Mike steps forward and extends a hand which Ruth ignores in favor of just hugging him. She smells like airport. No sex smell, thank fuck. “You must be Nicky.” Dell moves behind them and shakes Nicky’s hand and Mike would have liked to have introduced them but Ruth is still hugging him.
He extracts himself from her embrace and she immediately plasters herself to Nicky’s side. “Well, is anyone hungry?” It’s the only thing he can think of to get them all out of here, and away from this scene of familial awkwardness. They pile into Mike’s SUV and he heads them back to Arlington. Perhaps it’s time to introduce Dell to his favorite Italian joint.
Ruth keeps trying to get Dell into a conversation but Dell is distracted, texting on her phone. It keeps up the whole way to the parking lot. Ruth questions and Dell hums or grunts in response, sometimes rolling her eyes. This isn’t the strangest sibling behavior he’s ever seen but it feels like Dell is a completely different person right now and it’s odd. It bothers him, actually.
The elephant that is Nicky/Ruth/Airport is mostly sidestepped while Ruth describes her trip. She’s been skiing in the Alps with some pilot friends and then down to Italy, apparently because she can. She’s been gone a week and a half and Dell almost chokes on her iced tea because Dell had no idea. She’s been under the assumption that Ruth was overseas for business, three days tops. Ruth has a devious smile that is a bit reminiscent of her baby sister’s when she admits that she took a few extra days.
Nicky picks up the story now, explaining how he’d been laid over in Paris for four hours because of weather, just hanging out in the Delta VIP lounge and Ruth walks in. He says something about how beautiful she was and how funny she was and they were the only two in there for hours. And how Ruth totally recognized him, right off the bat.
Holy Shit, Mike thinks. Dell’s sister kind of sounds like a puck slut. From the mortified look on Dell’s face she’s probably thinking the same thing. The bitch of it is Nicky looks really happy and pleased with himself. Disturbingly so. Clearly the two of them had made some sort of connection during their travels, no matter how they’d first run across each other.
And that sort of sounds like him and Dell.
“So, seester, how are the boners?” Nicky chokes on his drink, Mike almost spits out the cheesy bread he’s munching on. Dell just rolls her eyes.
“I still don’t work with human remains, Ruth. But work is good, thanks for asking. I’m working on a new exhibit right now. War of 1812.” Mike’s ears perk up and he looks at her in surprise. She doesn’t really get into details with what she does at work but he knows all about the War of 1812.
“Oh yeah? Is that Christian guy still working with you?” Dell narrows her eyes but nods, like she senses something bad is coming. “No hard feelings then; you said he was kind of put out, when, you know, you stopped putting out.”
And bam, cat’s out of the bag. Ruth is a piece of work and Dell looks crushed for a moment. Mike remembers meeting Christian. That guy seemed pretty cool. So what if he and Dell had a thing, he thinks. He’s got the girl now.
“Christian is fine. Everything is fine. Thank you for asking.” Subtext: please shut the fuck up.
Ruth has been drinking pretty heavily since they arrived; she doesn’t shut up. “That was short, though. I mean, what, two months? And didn’t you just see him like a week ago?”
Mike’s heart literally stops beating. The silverware he has in his hands clatter to the table and he looks at Dell, shocked. A week ago? That’s impossible. A week ago, they slept together the first time. There is no way Dell would jump beds like that, right? She looks guilty, and apologetic, but a little defiant. “Thanks for the understanding Ruth. I’ll treasure it forever. Now eat something, for fuck’s sake, so we’re not here all night. I’m sure you and Nicky need some rest after such a long plane ride.” Ruth opens her mouth to protest and Dell actually shoves a breadstick right in, effectively silencing her sister.
Dell slides off the stool while Ruth is distracted. “I’m going to get another round. Could you help me Mike?” Everyone except for Ruth knows that she just wants to talk to him and he goes willingly. He ran off on her once, he’s not going to do it again. Once they’re a safe distance from their table she whirls and plants a kiss right on him. He stumbles back a little but then accepts it. They manage to keep it PG-13, for the most part, and when Dell finally pulls away she looks more centered.
“Thank you so fucking much. I am so sorry about her. I didn’t think to tell her that we’re, you know, seeing each other. She wouldn’t have opened her big, fat, stupid, ruinous mouth, I promise.” Mike chuckles at her phrasing and brushes the hair back from her face. She leans into the touch.
“Does she have any idea what’s happening in your life?”
Dell looks sad when she says, “No. I don’t tell her a lot. She’s not really interested in my life, just interested in knowing that she’s better than me. Ruth’s been trying to beat me at life since I was four and she was seven and I learned how to do a cartwheel first. Seriously, our whole lives. It’s getting to the insane part. I am just so, so sorry.”
“So she has no idea that you were at mine last Thursday?” Dell did have all afternoon that day when he’d gone home and she’d still been at work, with that guy. All of the guys, because she’s got so many male friends according to her.
“Well, she called and I told her I had a date. She assumed it was Christian. We broke up after we got back from the field, though. Summer romances rarely transition back into the real world.”
Well, that was reassuring. She’d said something about getting back from Maine in early August. That was five months ago. No big deal. Not at all. Mike pushes away anything that might resemble jealousy and hugs her tight instead. She clings to him like a life preserver. It’s pretty clear that she’s used to this sort of behavior from her sister. “So she’s always this awful?” Dell nods miserably into his chest. “Why did you even invite her?”
When she speaks, her words are muffled. “I didn’t have a choice. Since I’m not going back home for Christmas our mom talked her into stopping by. Mom wouldn’t take no for an answer and I can’t blow off my mom, so voila! Big sister. Ruining everything.”
Mike pushes her back a little to look down into her face. She’s still red from the whole ordeal and he memorizes the way her eyes dart around and she chews on her lower lip. She is flustered and embarrassed but he still likes her anyway. He sighs because really, she’s some sort of smart and weird but it’s perfect for her. Her gaze stills and locks on him. He kisses her lip, banishing the last of her teeth marks with his tongue. She nips back playfully. As endearing as she is all worried like this, he much prefers the cheeky archaeologist.
“Seriously though. You’re, like, the most awesome, ever.”
They both crack up and Mike likes this a lot. This is totally what he’d meant by being there for her, when she needs him. And Dell looks ridiculously pleased with it, so he’s doing well. This is . . . really good.
Mike drags her back to the table before he can get them into too much trouble.
Ruth and Dell get dropped off at Dell’s place because Nicky, despite almost having his tongue down the elder sister’s throat when they’d come back to the table, really is tired. Mike knows he wants to go home; he’s got that antsy look in his eye that lingers during long road trips. Dell kisses him quick and promises to call later. Ruth removes her hands from precariously inappropriate places on Nicky’s thigh and they’re blocks away before Nicky blows out a long breath and turns a wide grin in Mike’s direction.
“Oh, yeah?” Mike chuckles.
“She is . . . wow. I can’t even-“
Mike wants to slap a hand over Nicky’s mouth to keep him from saying anything about how Dell’s sister that isn’t strictly family friendly. He keeps his hands on the wheel, settling for a loud no which has Nicky busting up. “You aren’t allowed to tell me anything. I don’t want to know.”
He gets Nicky home and it’s not until Nicky is half out of the vehicle before he turns back. “There’s a conference call tomorrow, right? For the players association?”
Like a kick to the head, Mike remembers. He’d gotten a call not four days ago, deep in his funk of not having Dell. “Did you want to meet up for it? Breakfast maybe?” Nicky gives him a grin.
“Yeah. There’s a lot of guys coming into town for it, Mikey. Brooksie and Hammer should be in sometime tomorrow morning.” Mike blinks. “Did no one tell you?”
He shakes his head slowly. “No. No one said anything. Are there plans already?”
Nicky flashes him a smile, partially in thanks for the ride and partly in apology that Mike is the last to know. “Tomorrow. I’ll send you a text.”
They descend on a restaurant in Annapolis, close to Beagle’s place, and all sit in on a two hundred person conference call. It takes a while, a long while, for the talking to end. Fehr keeps saying something about being absolutely sure about their choice but in the end everyone, at least in Washington, votes to dissolve the union.
This feels like a huge and heavy thing, crashing down around Mike. This isn’t supposed to be happening; they should be focusing on playing and not this mess. When the conference call ends the table leans back and exchanges nervous looks until Brooks describes, in great detail, the women to be had in Switzerland.
That breaks the ice and for an hour or so Mike can pretend that this is just a pre-game meal. Breakfast ends on a high note when the guys in from out of town all agree to come and practice. The world settles a little.
He gets ahold of Dell in the evening because the guys are getting together. Throwing a party, as it were, for the end of the world. Even though it was supposed to end this morning. Clearly it hadn’t but with the vote this afternoon it feels like an ending. And Mike would really like to see Dell right now.
They crash Hammer’s place. It’s a little dusty but it warms up quickly with the press of people. With the music and the drinks Mike is surprised to find that he’s actually having a good time. Dell wanders by, Ruth in tow, on their way to the kitchen and Mike grins, hard. Dell’s wearing a pair of crazy tight jeans and this shirt that flows around her like water. When he’d picked up the sisters he’d been tempted to let Ruth take the trip around the block she’d pleaded for just to get Dell horizontal.
Brooks is the last to arrive, towards the end of the evening, and it almost feels like this could be the middle of the season; business as usual. He has a moment of sudden depression when he thinks that this isn’t normal at all. Everything about hockey is so wrong right now and he hates it.
His moment is gone in the blur that is a now fairly tipsy Dell, jumping into his arms. He laughs and tries to maneuver his drink around her bouncing. Dell is a very excitable drunk with flushed cheeks and bright eyes. “Oh, hello person I enjoy seeing naked.” She takes a deep drink from the cup in her hand and stares at him over the rim. There’s enough promise in that look to make his pants tighten. Naked. Yes. They should-
“Your friend told me I had a nice ass. And then my sister had to go and ruin it by telling everyone my middle name is Stevenson. And then I got mocked for having A.S.S. as my initials and it was a general cluster fuck.” She presses up against him, moving slow and deliberate. Drunk Dell is also quite horny. He’s surprised but amused.
“Your middle name is Stevenson?” Interesting.
Dell nods, a little bereft. “My dad’s idea. Mom got to name Ruth after someone. He picked the most losingest presidential candidate in American history. I think I got the short end of that deal, but whatever. That guy was totally a stand up dude.” Mike has absolutely no idea who Adlai Stevenson was so he can’t really comment on it.
As she twines an arm around his neck, still sipping at her drink, Mike just gives up his and sets it down so he can wrap both arms around her waist. “It must have sucked to grow up with those initials.” Parents have no sense of forethought with children sometimes.
Dell’s eyes flash and she shakes her head. “My maiden name is Pelletier. Adlai Pelletier. She was pretty cool. A little boring, kind of a pushover but you should have seen her penalty kick. Beautiful.”
Dell keeps going on, describing this Adlai Pelletier who sounds like a pretty cool kid but Mike’s brain is caught in a loop somewhere back around maiden name. She shakes him a bit when he doesn’t respond to a particularly hilarious story of a muddy soccer game. “Hey, stop frowning. It’s the end of the world. It’s fun time.”
“You’re married?” His voice is so soft she doesn’t even hear the question. She leans up, putting their cheeks together and asking him to repeat himself. So he does and she jerks back, horror on her face. She clamps a hand over her mouth and she looks caught. Guilty. Mike drops his arms immediately. Oh fuck. She totally is and he had no idea and oh fuck.
He tries to back up more but a wall stops him. Dell follows waving her hands frantically. “No. No! I was. We split up years ago.”
“But, you still have his name?” He’s a little more sure on his feet now, adjusting to this information.
Dell just shrugs, helplessly. “I’d already published under my married name. It seemed easier to keep going. Besides, no one knows how to pronounce Pelletier in this country. It always comes out Pellet-teer. Awful. It’s like no one’s ever been to France.” And that totally makes sense and Mike’s heart beat slows considerably.
Dell kisses his cheek and just wanders off. Mike lets her go, watching her weave back through the crowd. She is so fucking unpredictable. There’s almost no stability in her, which is ridiculous considering she freaking works at the Smithsonian.
“Hey, man. What’s the word?” Brooks appears at his side and Mike shakes his head, trying to clear it. Brooks is shoving a fresh beer into his hand and Mike takes a deep drink. “Seriously. It’s been too long.”
Mike nods along, his eyes still plastered on Dell as she dances up to Ruth in the middle of the living room. He watches Ruth shriek and whirl on Dell, Dell deftly outmaneuvering her big sister’s half-assed attempt at a punch. Dell bends down and hugs her tight and they seem fine all of a sudden. Sisters.
“Mike, hey! The fuck is wrong with you?”
Finally, Mike looks up at Brooks. “Yeah, sorry. Nothing. Everything’s fine. Yeah, long time. How’s the Swiss?” Brooks gives an in-depth explanation of the sort of girls he’s been pulling overseas as well as the play. He likes the bigger rinks and the view. The Alps are apparently really fucking beautiful, surprise.
Mike listens, he swears, but he keeps looking over at Dell, who has convinced Ruth to dance with her. It’s actually pretty funny and he cracks a grin when she spins Ruth and spills beer all over her in the process. Brooks follows his gaze but doesn’t mention it, slapping him on the shoulder instead. “So, there’s a rumor going around that Crosby is defecting to Russia.” Mike’s eyes snap to Brooks.
Well, that’s not good. If Crosby jumps ship he’s given up hope. Which means there’ll be no season after all. “Is he giving up or is it really that hopeless?”
Brooks shakes his head, grinning. “Not hopeless. It’s a calculated move. He’s not signing anywhere, just going to visit people, I think. I heard Toews was coming to Switzerland too to, like, make the league nervous. I dunno. It might work. If we’re all in Europe, enjoying ourselves, they’d lose their players. They’d have to get the season going, you know?”
Mike nods at that. “Yeah, that makes sense. But they’d just be able to find new guys. I mean, there’s an AHL team for every team in the NHL, right? They could just as easily pull those guys up-“
“Greenie. Really. Do you think fans are gonna want to see some kids who can’t hack it in the majors when they’ve been watching our skills for all of time? No way. This is it; it’s gonna happen. Mark my words. In two weeks we’ll be back here for training camp.”
This thought lifts up Mike again and he lets Brooks drag him back to the party. Johnnie is doing shots with some random girl in the kitchen and a round gets poured for all the guys present. Mike lifts the little glass, he has no idea what’s in it, and looks around the circle. There are only ten of them but he feels better with them around than he has since October rolled around without the season. They toast to the end of the world and the end of the lock-out. The liquor slides down easily and he thinks he might be right on track to getting drunk.
He has no idea where Dell has gotten off to.
This is life, he thinks. Crazy and unpredictable and blurred around the edges with uncertainty peering back at him when he looks too close. This life, this specific one, doesn’t really feel like his. He lets the fact that Dell is divorced sit in the pit of his stomach while he looks for her around the house. It’s not that big of a deal, he tells himself. She’s just as old as he is and he’s got skeletons in his closet too. So what. Doesn’t matter.
Dells finds him first, stumbling after him in an upstairs hallway and calling his name softly. He catches her easily when she finally reaches him and he can smell a variety of alcohol coming off her. She is drunk as a skunk by now but she’s still smiling. She sings a few lines from It’s The End of the World by REM before kissing him.
She certainly tastes like she’s sampled everything the party has to offer and he hikes her farther up in his grip when she slides down. “Happy apocalypse, Mikey!” He thinks it’s cute that she’s using his nickname but he’s not impressed with her lack of sobriety.
“We should get you home.” She pouts at him for a second before giggling suddenly.
“Yes. It’s been far too long since I’ve admired your art collection.” Her words are surprisingly steady for one so drunk.
“No, back to your place. Your sister, remember?”
She makes that frowning face he’d first seen yesterday at the airport again. “Don’t worry about that. She’s all up in your Swedish brother’s business down the hall.” She lowers her voice and says conspiratorially, “I think they’re in flagrante delicto.” Her mouth stretches out the foreign words, jumbling them a bit so it sounds like Nicky and Ruth are in fragrant delight. Or something.
Mike sighs, exasperated, and helps Dell back downstairs. He puts her on the couch and tells her not to move while he tracks Nicky down. He is in an upstairs bedroom but him and Ruth are just passed out, clothes on, above the covers. He shakes Nicky awake. “Hey, I need to get Dell home. Do you guys want a ride?”
Nicky mutters something about leaving them alone before he rolls over, burying Ruth beneath him. Well, all right then. Mike collects Dell and heads back to his place. He should just take her home, but he doesn’t want to let her out of his sight. She could be a puke-sick drunk and what if she drowns in her own vomit? He’d never allow it. So he drives back to his loft and he has to carry her all the way up but it’s okay.
This is fine, he tells himself. Everyone gets drunk once in a while. And Dell will be fine so he strips them both down while she’s gone back to singing. She has a moment of extreme lucidity when he’s dragging his shirt over his head. She sways lightly but remains standing and places a hand over his heart. He stills under her fingertips. He’s not about to have sex with her and she appears to understand this. Her touch is soft and she sighs. He watches her face as she stares intently at her hand.
“I’m sorry I got so drunk.” She brings her mostly unfocused eyes up to his face. “Your friends are really nice. There were a couple talking about the season getting canceled and everyone going home. Really home.” The blur of tears that appear in her eyes makes his stomach clench. She really can’t start crying. He will not be able to deal with a drunk and crying Dell.
“Will you go back to Canada?” Her voice is tentative and sad. She thinks she already knows the answer, even as she’s asking the question.
Mike stares down at her, probably for too long. Her lips draw back into a tight line, like she’s really trying to hold everything together. He brings up a hand to cradle hers and uses the other to pull him against his chest. Dell goes easily, more than willingly, and he kisses the top of her head. “There’s no reason for me to leave.” He leaves the part out where there are so many reasons to stay now. She’ll never remember this in the morning anyway.
That thought makes him whisper that he’d never leave her anyway. She doesn’t even react. Mike sighs and helps her into bed before climbing in after her. Dell passes out quickly but Mike stays awake, staring at the ceiling. Dell makes him feel so invincible but at a moment’s notice will make him feel like he’s fallen off the roof of his building. She turns him on his head; he feels dizzy whenever they’re together. She’s distraction and fulfillment in one complex package that he’s just starting to unwrap.
He realizes he’s terrified of what she’s going to do to him but even more frightened that he could lose her at any moment, before he can even find out.
9/9/13