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“I'm doing fine,” he says with a roll of his eyes. He went on to graduate school, mostly because he can't play football anymore. This is the first time I've ever seen him be anything other than pissed, so it's a nice change. “You better be checking on those bozos, not me.”
At this, Lucy turns towards them. “Well?”
“We're good too, Luce,” Patrick laughs.
“Great.”
“How has football season been?” I ask, honestly wanting to have some input at some point of this conversation. Corey frowns and looks away while Patrick and Jonathan look at me like I've grown two heads.
“You don't know how the team has been doing?” Jonathan questions as if I should.
“Do you know how my team has been playing?” I don't follow football and I doubt they do for hockey, but Patrick laughs.
“Yes, we do. Luce tells us all the time about how the games go, and we have no choice but to listen to her yap about you and anyone else who impressed her.”
Lucy's cheeks flush red, making my grin widen. Before I can comment, Jonathan adds, “I can't believe she doesn't talk to you about us like she does to us about you. Not to mention, we have to see all the pictures.”
“How long have you been taking pictures?” I ask her.
She frowns and I almost wish I hadn't asked. “I don't really know why I love it so much or where it came from. I remember wanting to take lots of pictures of them at one of their games and I begged Grandma until she gave me the camera. There weren't many good images, but I loved doing it and haven't stopped since.”
The conversation halts as our waitress drops off our drinks and then takes our order. Once she walks away, Corey clears his throat.
“Mom. She got you started. The, um, year before, she gave you a little camera for your birthday and she taught you how to use it. I remember because any time you lost it, you thought we hid it somewhere and Dad would make us search for it until we found it wherever you left it.”
“Oh,” Lucy says sadly. “I don't remember that.”
“It's okay, Luce,” Patrick tells her, taking her hand since he's on the other side of her. “We all have things we don't remember.”
“Yeah, you're right. We're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas, right?” Lucy sneaks her hand under the table to hold mine, a simple, but important action. We haven't done a lot, which is cool. Lucy is like a slow and steady type of girl. She doesn't want to rush into things or do something if she's unsure. She wants to feel like she's ready first or like she has a good sense of direction about things, which makes sense to me. Even if it didn't, I still wouldn't mind.
“Actually, my girlfriend wants me to meet her parents,” Jonathan answers. “So I won't be going home.”
A moment of disappointment passes Lucy's face before it's gone and she's looking at Patrick and Corey. “Y'all are going, right? Grandma won't be happy if it's just me.”
“Yeah, we're going, Luce,” Corey reassures her. Our waitress drops off our food, and we begin to eat. “You're a goalie, right?” Corey asks, returning the conversation to me.
I nod. “I played a couple of other positions when I was younger, but I was better as a goalie and I loved being in the net, so it worked out.”
“He's really good too, Corey. You all should go with me to the game tonight,” she says hopefully.
“I can't. I already planned to go out with-”
“Your girlfriend,” Lucy finishes for Jonathan. “If you're spending Christmas with her, then I think you could cancel to spend some time with your little sister. She would understand, I'm sure.”
“Like you ditching us for Grant last month?” His words are clipped, so I'm guessing he's still not happy about that.
Lucy seems stunned and upset. “I...you said you weren't mad.”
Jonathan sighs. “I wasn't. I'm not. Sorry, Luce, I love you, I do, but we're not going to spend every holiday together for the rest of our lives. You should get used to that now. I'd do anything for you, you know that, but is it really a big deal if I rather to be with my girlfriend instead of going to a stupid hockey game?”
“No, I guess not,” she mumbles.
“I need to head back to school, so I won't be able to either. Sorry,” Corey offers.
“I'll go with you, Luce,” Patrick tells her. “If it's decent,” he jokes with a wink at his sister, “then we'll talk them into going to another.”
Lucy agrees and the rest of our meal is spent with the guys learning a little more about me. On the way to the library to study for a bit, Lucy is awfully quiet. Patrick's words from what seems like a lifetime ago run through my mind again.
