Lilly
I’ve never been to the Titans’ arena before. In fact, I’ve never been to any of our city’s professional sports venues. I didn’t have an interest and that’s only because it’s never been a part of our family’s life. My parents weren’t into sports at all so I didn’t have someone to teach me. Aiden only became interested when he first got sick with leukemia and spent time in the hospital for his treatment. Many of the city’s athletes would visit and Aiden’s collected lots of signed jerseys, footballs, baseballs and pucks over the years.
It was Boone’s attention though that really got Aiden into the Titans. Boone didn’t visit just once to put in a charitable appearance—he comes to the hospital almost every week, sometimes more than once a week, and I now know that this is a personal passion of his thanks to his mother. After Boone’s first visit, Aiden became obsessed with hockey and I don’t think he’s missed watching a game. Dad and I splurged on the cable package that shows all the games and Aiden watches on an iPad if it’s not aired on the local channels.
It’s because of Aiden’s newfound love of this game that I’ve got him on FaceTime right now as I walk through the concourse of the massive steel and glass arena. The smells of all the food vendors assault my nose and make me hungry. I purposely held off from eating before I came so I could get the full experience.
I’ve got the camera turned so Aiden can watch as I walk along, winding my way through all the fans. It’s loud enough that we can’t communicate so when I connected the call, I told him to just watch and absorb.
I glance down at my ticket, making sure I’m heading in the right direction. I have no clue where I’m sitting or what I’m doing but figure someone will point me in the right direction. Every once in a while, I turn the phone around to make sure Aiden is still with me. He’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, leaning forward with apt interest as he watches my feed from his iPad.
Eventually, I find my section and an usher examines my ticket before pointing down a long set of steps. “You’re row three, right behind the Titans’ bench.”
I squint down there and wow… that’s a long walk. I smile at the man. “I better get some food and a drink first.”
He laughs. “That would be smart.”
I turn the phone around so I can see Aiden and I have to talk quite loudly so he can hear me. “I’m going to line up for food.”
“That was awesome,” he says with a grin. “Thanks for showing me.”
“Just wait until you get out of the hospital. First stop… a hockey game.”
“Hockey season might be over by then,” he says.
“Then baseball,” I yell into the phone. “We’ll see a baseball game.”
I blow him a kiss and disconnect, shoving my phone into my back pocket so I can find the concession I passed that had hot dogs. I just want a plain old hot dog tonight. And maybe some popcorn. And a Cherry Coke.
After I get my food, I decide to eat my hot dog at a small standing table in the concession area and people-watch. It’s a sea of purple Titans jerseys walking by with a few Calgary Wild jerseys mixed in. The vibe is electric and it’s surreal to feel the excitement buzzing in the air.
With my popcorn and Cherry Coke in hand, I make the long trek down to my seat, which is indeed right behind one of the team benches. I only know it’s the Titans’ bench because the usher told me, and the few times I’ve watched games with Aiden I never paid attention to where the team sits. This is all so new and exciting and wide-eyed, I take in every little detail. Loud dance music blares from all directions and I happily munch on my popcorn as I absorb it all.
Everyone in the arena starts cheering and it takes me a hot second to realize that the Titans have come out onto the ice. They skate in a large circle on one half of the rink while the visiting team does the same on the other end.
My eyes immediately start searching out Boone but it’s kind of hard to recognize him with their helmets on. Finally, it’s his number I locate—twenty-eight—as he whizzes by and I keep my gaze pinned on him. He makes two loops and on the third, he skates right up to the bench on the other side of the glass from where I’m sitting. He throws his legs up and over the low wall and then his glove is pressed against the glass as his eyes focus on me. “You good?” he yells so I can hear him.
Before I can answer, several of the fans sitting to my left, right and behind crowd in, yelling Boone’s name. He ignores them, gaze locked onto mine as he waits for me to reply.
I manage a small nod.
“See you later,” he mouths. Then he winks at me and turns away, hopping back over the wall and joining his team for warm-ups.
“How do you know Boone Rivers?” an older man asks from my left and I turn to face him. He’s sitting four seats down from me.
“He’s a friend.”
“Never seen a player come up and talk to someone like that before,” he muses.
“Well, we didn’t actually talk.” I don’t know why I feel the need to defend Boone as if he did something wrong. I mean… did he?
The man smiles and looks away, and I have no idea if some important etiquette was just breached. I watch the rest of the warm-up, calling Aiden once so he can follow along at ice level and then once again before the game starts.
I’m not sure I understand half of what goes on during the game but it’s thrilling, nonstop action once it starts. A completely different experience watching it here at the arena versus on TV, and I cannot wait for Aiden to see the Titans in person.
The best, however, is watching Boone. I mean, I know he’s talented as he’s on the first line and Aiden taught me enough to know those are the best players. But watching him so up close, he seems like Superman out there—skating at the speed of light, hitting slap shots that fire like bullets and shrugging off hulking players trying to slow him down.
The Titans beat the Wild 2–1 and although Boone didn’t score a goal, I admit it’s complete bias when I say he’s the best player on the team. I’m sure that has nothing to do with the fact he’s responsible for many of my brother’s smiles, he helped get my father into rehab, and he’s shown more care for me than anyone has in my entire life—immediate family excluded.
I follow the crowd up the steps and out onto the main concourse but from there, I follow the instructions Boone gave me last night when he called after checking my father in. He asked if I wanted to hang with him and the team for a bit after the game and I readily agreed. If I was taking a night off from the hospital, I was going to make the most of it because this likely wouldn’t happen again.
I make my way to an escalator that carries me to another floor where someone greets me at the top with a clipboard. My name’s on it and I’m given a lanyard pass, taken via elevator to the bottom floor, and ushered into a lounge that’s apparently close to the locker room. I’m supposed to wait for Boone here and he gave me a heads-up—there would be lots of people waiting along with me.
The lounge is set up for family members and friends to hang out until the players emerge from the locker room following games. I’m not shy or an introvert by any means—you can’t be when you run a restaurant—but it’s a little intimidating walking in.
I make it no more than three paces through the door when a stunning redheaded woman approaches me. “Lilly?”
“Um… yes… hi,” I say tentatively, having no clue who this person is or how she knows me.
She holds out her hand. “I’m Harlow Alston. Boone told me to keep an eye out for you.”
“Oh my God,” I exclaim, ignoring her hand and throwing my arms around her shoulders for a hug. She laughs and returns the embrace. “It’s so good to meet you.”
Frankly, I’m loath to let her go as she’s the one who worked her magic to get my dad into detox last night as well as into an outpatient program that is very hard to land a spot in without some pull.
When we separate, I start gushing. “I cannot thank you enough for all the help you’ve given my dad—through Boone, of course. I’ve been so lost about what to do and between you and Boone… well, you set us on a path that feels like we can see some light at the end of the tunnel.”
“I’m so happy to have helped,” she says, taking me by the elbow and leading me over to a grouping of chairs in the corner. She nods at one for me to sit in and takes the adjacent one.
God, she’s beautiful, wearing a pair of black dress pants, a dark purple silk blouse and high heels. She’s an angel in my book for all the help she’s bestowed. I feel frumpy next to her in my black sweater, faded jeans and a pair of slip-on Chucks that were once white but are now sort of dingy brown because they’re so dirty.
“Boone’s told me all about you and Aiden. And your dad, of course. I know that he feels very protective of you and your brother.”
“I honestly don’t know how we got so lucky to have him drop into our lives the way he did. He’s made such a positive impact on Aiden.”
“He’s a great guy. As genuine as they come.”
“Who’s a great guy?” a female voice says just before a curly-haired blond flops into one of the other chairs. She’s wearing a Highsmith jersey, and I only know this from the number. Aiden was gifted one of his jerseys.
Coen Highsmith is actually Aiden’s favorite Titan.
“Boone,” Harlow says and then nods my way. “Tillie… this is Lilly Hoffman. A friend of Boone’s. Lilly… this is Coen’s wife.”
Tillie’s eyebrows shoot up, a smile gracing her pretty face. “I didn’t know Boone was dating anyone.”
“Oh, we’re not dating,” I rush to assure her. “Just friends. Boone visits my brother Aiden at the children’s hospital and he got me a ticket for tonight’s game.”
Tillie nods effusively. “Yes! Boone is getting the other guys on the team to visit too. Coen went last weekend with him.” Her expression softens, her gaze jumping between me and Harlow. “Those poor kids. He came home after and was just shook.”
Harlow reaches over and touches my arm. “Boone said Aiden has leukemia.”
Tillie’s hand presses against her chest. “Oh,” she laments.
I smile at both women. “It’s been a long battle but he had a bone marrow transplant and by all appearances, it seems to be working.”
“That’s wonderful,” Harlow exclaims.
“Science is freaking amazing,” Tillie murmurs.
“So amazing,” I agree.
“Has Aiden been to a game yet?” Harlow asks.
I shake my head. “He’s not been able to while getting treatment but as soon as he’s well, I’m bringing him. I FaceTimed him a few times tonight so he could see everything. I honestly feel guilty being here without him but I’ll admit, this was an amazing experience.”
“Your first time?”
“Is it that obvious?” I ask with a laugh.
“You look flushed like you just came off a roller coaster,” Tillie says with a grin.
“That’s what the entire game felt like. Back and forth, up and down. Absolute nonstop excitement. I didn’t come tonight being that big a fan of the sport, but I’m walking out one.”
Both women laugh but Tillie more than Harlow. “I didn’t know anything about hockey until I started dating Coen.”
“How about you?” I ask Harlow.
“Oh, I was a total fanatic before I met Stone.”
My eyes catch on a group of players coming into the family lounge, and Boone is among them. He’s laughing at something one of them says, but his gaze sweeps the room at the same time, stopping when it lights on me. He says something to his friends and veers over. Harlow and Tillie both turn that way, watching silently as players spill into the room.
I smile as Boone approaches and the smile he gives back is practically blinding.
“Well,” Tillie says in a low voice. “Someone’s happy to see someone.”
I’m not even sure what that means, but I can’t put forth any effort to figure it out because I’m spellbound by Boone’s gaze.