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Maddie laughs, shaking her head. “No, I'm not. He didn't do anything worthy of tears. I ended up here because my boyfriend broke up with me over something stupid, and my roommate decided to lock me out for a couple hours. I went back to the bar, saw your teammates, and thought we could go ahead and catch up. Neil showed me the way, so here I am.” She slips off her shoes, turns to face me, and sits with her legs crossed in front of her.
“I was about to go to bed,” I point out.
She seems to think about that before she says, “Well, isn't there some sort of rule that you should be extra nice to me because of Dave?” There's no bitterness with his name, no mention of what we once were. Like we didn't ever happen.
I force a chuckle. “Maybe when we were younger, but not anymore.”
“Oh, c'mon, Winston. I thought we were friends too. Humor me. Please,” she pleads. Maddie decides to not wait for a response. “How's hockey? Looks like you're doing well, considering you're on the team and all. I didn't know you wanted to play after high school. Do you want to try for the NHL?”
“Don't we all? That's the ultimate dream, to play professionally. I'd love to be good enough for the Olympics one day too. Hockey is good, though. The game tonight is one reason why I was about to go to bed.”
Maddie rolls her eyes at my feeble attempt to get her to leave. “I don't know how you do it. I've been ice skating before, and I'm more likely to fall flat on my ass, much less try to play a game.”
I raise an eyebrow at her, reaching over to steal my beanie back from her hands and put it back on my head. “Since when do you have such a vulgar mouth?” This is what I really want to know. “And since when do you go to bars and make out in public? I told Dave I saw you in a bar, and he thought you saw me and only went in to say hi.”
“He would,” she laughs. “A cuss word here and there doesn't mean I have a vulgar mouth either. Are you really that surprised?” Why does she pick and choose when to acknowledge what happened? It's driving me crazy and confusing me on how I should respond.
“I guess not. It's just that all Dave has ever said about you is that you're like an angel, and that was all I could think about. How he would be stunned to see you tonight. I mean, Dave is the bad apple, so to speak. He's the one who needed rules, and you were the responsible one. Don't know if I'd go as far as to say you were an angel, though.”
Maddie smiles. “I feel like I have everyone fooled without even meaning to. Not sure how they all came to that conclusion about me.”
“Then how come they never saw this side of you? You weren't as...proper, I guess, around me.”
“I don't know. Maybe because I know how they expect me to behave, so when I'm around them, that's how I behave.”
I nod, satisfied with her answer. “Why did you decide to come here for school?”
She shrugs. “It's a great school with great programs. I think my parents were hoping I'd go to the same university as Dave, but I didn't want to. They think I'm naïve, don't they? That's what it feels like sometimes when they talk to me.”
Dave thinks she is. I've heard him say it plenty of times before. “I don't know,” I lie.
Maddie seems to accept my answer. “Do you like it here? The school and all, I mean?”
“Yeah. There's a lot of good people here, and I have a great coach.”
“What about a girlfriend? I know Dave has his string of girls. Someone isn't going to barge in here and be disappointed when they see you have company, are they?”
I laugh. “No. Lost the girlfriend over the summer, and your brother doesn't have a string of girls. He has a girlfriend at the moment.”
She seems to think about something, but when she speaks again, it's about hockey. “How did you ever start playing anyway? You never told me.”
I smile and a large sense of gratitude washes over me. “For my fifth birthday, Dad took me to a game. That was my introduction to hockey, and I was hooked. I begged my parents for weeks to start me on lessons, but we lived in this small ass town, and there weren't any rinks nearby. Mom said I threw a tantrum when they told me I couldn't, and I gave them the silent treatment. A couple of weeks later, I remember Mom and Dad sitting me down.
“They said that if I really wanted to play, I could, but we would have to move, and I would have to give up my friends. I didn't care. I wanted to learn how. Turns out, my dad asked for a transfer at work to move closer to a city where I could learn. Three months later, we moved. As I got older, I realized how much my parents gave up, just so I could play, even when I was a five year old brat. Haven't stopped since.”
Maddie smiles. “That's when you moved in next to us?”
“Yeah, you were three, so I doubt you remember that. Now, I just want to be a good enough player to make them proud and know their sacrifices were worth it.”
“I'm sure you have done that already, Winston.” She stops, but adds, “I feel selfish, you know.”
“How so?” I couldn't see her being selfish, but what do I know?
“Your parents did all that for you and you want to make sure you do your best because of it. I, on the other hand, tend to do the opposite of what they want for me or what they think I should want for myself. Not all the time, but often enough. I just try to ignore their dreams. I mean, I have to make sure that it's what I want first. After hearing that, it makes me feel selfish.”
I nudge my knee against her thigh. “That doesn't make you selfish, Maddie.” It's almost like we're back to being us, but there's still an awkwardness between us whether she accepts it or not.
She takes a deep breath and nods. “I guess I should let you go to bed now. Thanks for letting me come by.” Maddie starts to stand to leave.
