Page 24 of Hockey Player Seeking Fan

"Honestly, I am trying not to think about it too much. I have Wes, and he's just amazing. We're making this podcast, and I have you and my mom, and... well, I'm just taking it a day at a time. Because, unfortunately, sometimes life isn't pretty. It's not like a picture book. We don’t have big, bright, colorful lights and happy endings all the time.”

“Yeah, I feel that.”

“But I don't want to talk about that," she says. "Let's go on your dating app and see if you've got any messages."

"Okay, sure. Let me see." I grab my phone and open it. "Three new messages. Okay, this guy's name is Brett. He's twenty-six. He has a degree in finance, and he works on Wall Street."

Sabrina says, winking, "You got a man with money."

"I guess." I read aloud. "He says,Hey there, sexy. Would you be interested in grabbing brunch one day?"

I roll my eyes. "Number one, I'm not interested in anyone who is calling me sexy before they have even met me. That tells me everything I need to know."

"I think you're right about that," she says. "Okay, who's next?"

"Well, this is Luther." I hold up the phone and show her a photo of a tortured-looking artist. He has very light blond, wispy hair and blue eyes. "It says he's originally from Scotland, and he's a poet."

"Oh my God. Not another poet." She giggles. "Like good poetry or bad poetry?"

"Well, he has a poem on his about me page, and... it's okay, I suppose."

"Let me hear it," she asks eagerly.

"No, you're going to judge him."

"Let me hear it, Erica."

"Fine. Let me bring it up. Okay, so this is what he says:

“Blonde hair, blue eyes, almost like you're looking in the sky. I am a gentleman looking for a lady, looking to whisk you off your feet. I don't eat meat, but I don't care if you do, because we can share other things—like the way our bodies rumble and the way our stomachs grumble and the way people bumble and the way I like to jumble my words and assorting hats and the world is not flat. One thing I know, one thing that's true is that I am looking for you."

I look up and wait for Sabrina's reaction. "So, what do you think?" I ask her.

"I think that he likes to rhyme," she says with a small smile. "And it's not the worst thing I've heard. I mean, it's not the best. You're interested in him?" she asks me.

"I mean, I know that guys don't always come off the best on these apps, so I do think he's worth a date."

"Okay, and who's the third guy?"

"The third guy's name is Abby."

"Abby?" She stares at me. "Like Abigail?"

"No, just Abby. He said that he's originally from Nigeria."

"Oh my gosh. He's not asking you for money, is he?"

"No, actually he's really educated. He has a master's in engineering, and he is contemplating going back to school so that he can get an MBA and open his own civil engineering company."

"Wow. Impressive," she says.

"And he seems nice. I mean, so far. Let me see his last message:

“Hi there, Erica. It is really nice getting to know you. I would be interested in taking you on a date if you feel like that would be something you're interested in. How about dinner or perhaps a quick bite for lunch, whatever you would feel most comfortable with. Always, Abby."

"Oh, well, he's really polite," Sabrina says. "Let me see what he looks like."

I hold up the phone.