The Memories
Three
Patrice shifted nervously from foot to foot. He wasn't used to being nervous, but today he was. He was nervous about a lot of things. He was nervous about the game, nervous about the upcoming road trip, but more than anything, he was nervous to meet his very own son, face to face for the first time.
His phone rang, and he jumped. The caller ID Told him it was Ashlyn.
"Hey!" She said, sounding confused. "You called... Eight times."
"I can't help it." Patrice defended himself. "I've been jumpy all day, plus I have to be at the arena at three."
"Alright, fine... Where do you wanna meet?" Ashlyn laughed.
"I don't care." Patrice responded immediately. "I'll meet you at TD Garden and give you a tour."
"Sure." Ashlyn said, and Patrice could hear her talking to Troy in the background.
"Troy, honey. We're gonna do something a little special today. You don't have to go to school today. Instead, we're gonna go meet daddy."
Patrice smiled, and listened for Tory's response.
"Now, Daddy's a little bit of a special person, and you already know who he is, so... Patrice? Are you still there?" Ashlyn picked the phone back up.
"Yeah, yep. I'm here." He replied, listening for Troy's voice.
"Sorry, I thought we had already hung up. Alright, TD Garden in half an hour?" She laughed.
"Sure thing." He nodded, and the line went dead.
"Shit." He muttered to himself.
He had wanted to hear the rest of the conversation.
He began to walk toward TD Garden, which was only a couple of blocks away from where he had been. It would be good for him to get some air and calm his nerves.
His phone rang again. It was Claude Julien calling him. He ignored it, and walked on into the foggy Boston morning.
