Page 8 of The Rebound Play
“Don’t we have such wonderful children?” Mom says with a smile, her eyes glistening. “We’re lucky to still have Emmy here in Maple Falls, though we don’t see enough of you and your brother.”
“I watched Ethan on that show of his,” Mimi declares, and we all look at her in surprise.
“But Mom, it’s a violent fantasy show. I wouldn’t have thought it was exactly your cup of tea,” Dad says.
“But Ethan is my cup of tea. I watched it on the Netflix,” she replies proudly.
My grandma watches It Came One Winter on Netflix? And she calls it “the Netflix?”
“How, Mimi?” I ask.
“Emmy showed me how to watch it on television. I’m hooked,” Mimi says, her eyes bright.
“It is a good show,” Dad agrees, shooting me a look.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders and give her a squeeze. “Good for you, Mimi.”
Soon, I tell them I need to get going, and promise to catch up with them all again soon. I wave goodbye and head to the Hawk River Lodge, the place Troy and his wife Kelly own, and where they’re putting up the guys on the team.
Like my family home, it hasn’t changed.
When I push through the glass door to the lodge’s reception, there’s a brunette at the front desk, who begins to flick her hair and adjust her top when she spots me.
I don’t recognize her, but it’s clear she has some preconceived ideas about me. In my line of work, I get that a lot.
Glancing at her name tag, I smile as I place my suitcase on the tiled floor beside my feet. “Morning, Denise. I’ve got a booking for?—”
“Dan Roberts,” she finishes for me, her eyes bright. “I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are. You’re ‘Dan the Man.’ Dan Roberts. Chicago Blizzard center. Maple Falls born and bred.”
“Thanks,” I reply as she gives me my life story. I never know how to respond when people say things like that. And anyway, what exactly am I thanking her for?
Thanks for knowing who I am?
It’s great that I’m famous enough for you to recognize me?
Nope.
“It’s so good to have you here as part of the Ice Breakers, Mr. Roberts.”
“Dan, please.”
“Dan,” she repeats, letting out a giggle. “Everyone is so excited that you’re here. You’re one of the first player to arrive, in fact, Dan Roberts,” Denise continues, weirdly using my full name.
“I like to be early. Get the lay of the land before all the excitement starts.”
“Get the lay of the land? You grew up here, Dan Roberts!” she points out.
Why does she keep doing that?
“True, but I’ve never stayed here at the resort. And you can call me just plain Dan, you know. It’s only one syllable. Nice and short.”
She winks at me, her face starting to shine. “Sure thing! No one told me you’d be funny, too.”
When she continues to grin at me, her face warm enough to fry eggs, I ask, “Do you need me to sign something to get the room key or something?”
“Key. Right,” she exclaims as though just now working out that I might need one of those to access my room. “Coming right up.” She rummages around behind the desk until she produces an actual key, attached to a large wooden key chain in the shape of a maple leaf.
“Wow. An actual key. You don’t get those a lot these days,” I say as I inspect it. It’s surprisingly heavy.