Page 25 of The Rebound Play
“When do I get to wear the pads?” Benny asks as Keira ties up his laces.
“Benny’s always wanted to run before he can walk,” she says with a laugh.
“We’ll get to the gear soon enough. First, you gotta learn how to skate, buddy. Have you been on the ice before?”
“Sure! I’m a pro,” Benny declares, his self-confidence making me smile.
“Just your regular free-for-all skating,” Keira qualifies. “I’ve brought him here a few times, usually around Christmas. Troy holds these sessions with Christmas tunes and a big tree over by the office. It’s really festive and fun. He can stand and move well enough. Right, Benny?”
“Right,” he replies.
“That sure sounds like a pro to me. Okay, buddy, let’s get out there, shall we?”
Benny throws his fists in the air. “Yeah!”
“But here’s a helmet. Safety first.” I slide a helmet onto his head before I slip my own helmet back on and clip it into place.
“This is so kind of you, Dan,” Keira says, and I notice how her gray-blue eyes look particularly iridescent today. “But you’ve got to let me pay you for the lesson. It’s the least I can do.”
I wave her words away. “I told you: I want to do this.”
“I insist, Dan. I can’t afford your NHL-level fees of course, but you’ve got to at least let me pay you something.”
I land on an idea. “Tell you what, you can buy me a hot chocolate after.”
She looks over at the counter where a member of staff is working the hot chocolate machine for a customer. Turning her gaze back at me, she shrugs. “That’ll be one big hot chocolate.”
I let out a laugh. “Sounds great to me. I always used to love the hot chocolates here after a game back in the day.”
I shared those hot chocolates with her. I wonder if she’s remembering that, too.
“Come on, Dan the Man,” Benny calls impatiently from the ice.
“Do you want to join us?” I ask her.
She holds her book up. “Heathcliff has almost got his revenge.”
“Are you sure? If you didn’t bring any skates, you know I’ve got a bunch over here.” I gesture at the collection.
She looks like she might waver for a moment before she reaffirms her resolve. “You guys go have fun. I’m going to sit here and try to work out why Heathcliff is considered a romantic hero, because I’m not seeing it right now.”
“Okay.”
That’s one of the things I have always loved the most about Keira. She doesn’t take things at face value. She wants to understand. She investigates, wanting to know, wanting to learn. “A thirst for knowledge” is the way our twelfth grade English teacher, Mrs. Nelson, described it, and it would seem she’s not lost it, ten years on.
Although I could stand and talk to Keira all day, I’ve got a lesson to give to Benny, so I tear myself away from her and head out onto the ice, holding a kid-size hockey stick. When I reach Benny’s side, I hand it to him, watching as his eyes light up.
“For me?” he asks.
“For you. To keep.”
He holds it up in the air. “Look, Aunt Kiki! I got my own hockey stick!”
“You’re so lucky!” Keira calls back. “Did you thank Dan?”
“Thanks, Dan,” Benny says immediately.
“Shall I show you how to use it?”