“Yeah. I’m going crazy.”
“How long has he been in?”
“Three hours, thirty-seven minutes.”
“Not counting at all, I see.”
“Nope.” She fought her smile as she watched the clock. “How was practice?”
“Good, but that Travis guy sucks.”
“He does.”
“He asked boring teleprompter questions.”
“Ew, how dull,” she said, feigning shock. “Did you work on your wrister?”
She felt him grinning at her. “Yup, and I tapped a few in today too.”
“Not that you need to practice that.”
“Nope, but figured I should.”
“How about that one timer?”
He gasped. “Hey, now. My one timer is on point!”
She looked over at him, giving him a skeptical look. “You fanned on two last night.”
“They were bad passes!”
“They were not, maybe a tad bouncing, but you could have connected. You just get so excited and make mistakes.”
He glared. “I do not make mistakes.”
“Maybe not all the time, but you do. Everyone does.”
He shrugged. “Whatever, I’m awesome. I scored last night.”
“You did. Good job. That’s why they pay you, I assume.”
“I came to sit with you, and you’re being mean to me.”
She smiled. “I never asked you to, not that I don’t appreciate it. I really don’t have anyone here.”
“What about Reeves’s woman? Mekena?”
“I mean, we’re friends, but not like best friends, as she has reminded me. I didn’t ask her. Though, if I had, she would have come,” she added with a grim smile. She was realizing that she was pretty alone. How depressing.
“You shouldn’t have to ask.” When she looked up at him, he met her gaze and shrugged. “If you say your brother is having surgery, someone should be here.”
“And you are.”
He looked away, a grin pulling at his lips. “Yeah, so, are you not from here?”
She shook her head as she leaned back, putting her legs up on the chair and resting against them. She held her cup against her knee as she looked over at him. “No, actually, I’m from Orange County, California.”
“Oh. What made you come to Nashville?”
“Well,” she said, moving her finger along her cup, “I graduated from Syracuse and got a really great job with the Kings as their reporter. I worked there for about a year before my mom’s health went to shit. She died within a month.”
“Wow, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, cancer sucks.”
“It does.”
Nodding her head, she let out a breath. “They were really great about giving me time to figure things out since she was Rodney’s caregiver, and they knew that. My boss with the Kings had been the senior reporter over in the Syracuse journalism department, so he knew my situation. I was a mess, so trying to care for my brother was superhard. But I knew I was running out of time and needed to figure things out. There weren’t any openings near me in homes for Rodney, or really, any that I could afford because I was paying all my mom’s medical bills. She didn’t have a life insurance plan, and I’m still paying for everything… Wow, I’m rambling.”
Glancing to Vaughn, she found him looking back with a friendly smile. “Yeah, but it’s passing time.”
It was. She was passing time with Vaughn Johansson. Talking about her life with him. Was she sick? Did he get her drunk? She didn’t feel drunk. What the hell was in this cup? Looking down at it, she figured what the hell and kept talking. “Anyway, I had a best friend who said she would come sit with Rod while I worked. Like I do now, I traveled with the Kings. I was on a trip when I got a call that he was in the hospital. Apparently, she had left him alone and went out with her boyfriend. When she came home, she found him on the ground, breathing very slowly. He had his first heart attack, and she wasn’t there the way she was supposed to be, or how I was paying her to be.”
Vaughn looked stricken. “Whoa. That’s not cool.”
“Yeah, so now you understand why I am crazy about who cares for him. She wasn’t the only one who fucked me over. I had her, a hired nurse, and then a home, all in Orange County, and they all somehow fucked me.”
“Well, that fucking blows.”
She scoffed. “More than you know. The nurse was horrible to him. He told me this, and I set up a camera, only to find her beating him in the back. It broke my heart. Then the home I had him in just locked him in a room because he had an outburst. He was hurting because of my mom, for obvious reasons, and they didn’t want to deal with him.”
“What the fuck?”
“Right? I would go on trips and have such bad anxiety attacks. Rodney would have to call me every hour. What sucked was he would get attached to these people, and they would let him down. In return, I’d feel like I was letting him down. So I started doing my research on who in the NHL was hiring and the best places for adults with Down syndrome. Nashville was on the list, and then the job with the Assassins came up. When we played y’all two years ago, I set up an interview with Elli Adler, and she hired me on the spot. She helped me find a place for Rodney, and when my contract with the Kings came up for renewal, I told them I couldn’t re-sign. They were bummed but understood. And two days later, Elli had a moving truck in front of my house and sent her plane to bring us here. She even hired a nurse to watch over Rodney as we flew because he’d had another heart attack a few weeks before.” A small smile covered her lips as she met his gaze. “She was my saving grace.”
“That’s Elli. She’d give you the heels off her feet if need be.”
Brie laughed as she nodded. “Yup. Good people.”
“They are. But holy shit, that’s some story.”
“Yeah, it hasn’t been easy… But things are looking up. Rodney loves NateWay, and I do too. I’m glad you were persistent and didn’t run when I hit you.”
He laughed. “It didn’t hurt, so no biggie. Plus, he belongs.”
“He does.”
A silence fell between them as they both looked up at the clock, sipping on their drinks. As she chewed on her lip, she realized she felt better. Not as alone as she had before. Funny that the reason for that was because of Vaughn. He was the last person she’d ever think would sit with someone in a hospital and drink Jack and Coke. Because he wanted to. “No funny shirt today, I see?”
“How long has he been in?”
“Three hours, thirty-seven minutes.”
“Not counting at all, I see.”
“Nope.” She fought her smile as she watched the clock. “How was practice?”
“Good, but that Travis guy sucks.”
“He does.”
“He asked boring teleprompter questions.”
“Ew, how dull,” she said, feigning shock. “Did you work on your wrister?”
She felt him grinning at her. “Yup, and I tapped a few in today too.”
“Not that you need to practice that.”
“Nope, but figured I should.”
“How about that one timer?”
He gasped. “Hey, now. My one timer is on point!”
She looked over at him, giving him a skeptical look. “You fanned on two last night.”
“They were bad passes!”
“They were not, maybe a tad bouncing, but you could have connected. You just get so excited and make mistakes.”
He glared. “I do not make mistakes.”
“Maybe not all the time, but you do. Everyone does.”
He shrugged. “Whatever, I’m awesome. I scored last night.”
“You did. Good job. That’s why they pay you, I assume.”
“I came to sit with you, and you’re being mean to me.”
She smiled. “I never asked you to, not that I don’t appreciate it. I really don’t have anyone here.”
“What about Reeves’s woman? Mekena?”
“I mean, we’re friends, but not like best friends, as she has reminded me. I didn’t ask her. Though, if I had, she would have come,” she added with a grim smile. She was realizing that she was pretty alone. How depressing.
“You shouldn’t have to ask.” When she looked up at him, he met her gaze and shrugged. “If you say your brother is having surgery, someone should be here.”
“And you are.”
He looked away, a grin pulling at his lips. “Yeah, so, are you not from here?”
She shook her head as she leaned back, putting her legs up on the chair and resting against them. She held her cup against her knee as she looked over at him. “No, actually, I’m from Orange County, California.”
“Oh. What made you come to Nashville?”
“Well,” she said, moving her finger along her cup, “I graduated from Syracuse and got a really great job with the Kings as their reporter. I worked there for about a year before my mom’s health went to shit. She died within a month.”
“Wow, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, cancer sucks.”
“It does.”
Nodding her head, she let out a breath. “They were really great about giving me time to figure things out since she was Rodney’s caregiver, and they knew that. My boss with the Kings had been the senior reporter over in the Syracuse journalism department, so he knew my situation. I was a mess, so trying to care for my brother was superhard. But I knew I was running out of time and needed to figure things out. There weren’t any openings near me in homes for Rodney, or really, any that I could afford because I was paying all my mom’s medical bills. She didn’t have a life insurance plan, and I’m still paying for everything… Wow, I’m rambling.”
Glancing to Vaughn, she found him looking back with a friendly smile. “Yeah, but it’s passing time.”
It was. She was passing time with Vaughn Johansson. Talking about her life with him. Was she sick? Did he get her drunk? She didn’t feel drunk. What the hell was in this cup? Looking down at it, she figured what the hell and kept talking. “Anyway, I had a best friend who said she would come sit with Rod while I worked. Like I do now, I traveled with the Kings. I was on a trip when I got a call that he was in the hospital. Apparently, she had left him alone and went out with her boyfriend. When she came home, she found him on the ground, breathing very slowly. He had his first heart attack, and she wasn’t there the way she was supposed to be, or how I was paying her to be.”
Vaughn looked stricken. “Whoa. That’s not cool.”
“Yeah, so now you understand why I am crazy about who cares for him. She wasn’t the only one who fucked me over. I had her, a hired nurse, and then a home, all in Orange County, and they all somehow fucked me.”
“Well, that fucking blows.”
She scoffed. “More than you know. The nurse was horrible to him. He told me this, and I set up a camera, only to find her beating him in the back. It broke my heart. Then the home I had him in just locked him in a room because he had an outburst. He was hurting because of my mom, for obvious reasons, and they didn’t want to deal with him.”
“What the fuck?”
“Right? I would go on trips and have such bad anxiety attacks. Rodney would have to call me every hour. What sucked was he would get attached to these people, and they would let him down. In return, I’d feel like I was letting him down. So I started doing my research on who in the NHL was hiring and the best places for adults with Down syndrome. Nashville was on the list, and then the job with the Assassins came up. When we played y’all two years ago, I set up an interview with Elli Adler, and she hired me on the spot. She helped me find a place for Rodney, and when my contract with the Kings came up for renewal, I told them I couldn’t re-sign. They were bummed but understood. And two days later, Elli had a moving truck in front of my house and sent her plane to bring us here. She even hired a nurse to watch over Rodney as we flew because he’d had another heart attack a few weeks before.” A small smile covered her lips as she met his gaze. “She was my saving grace.”
“That’s Elli. She’d give you the heels off her feet if need be.”
Brie laughed as she nodded. “Yup. Good people.”
“They are. But holy shit, that’s some story.”
“Yeah, it hasn’t been easy… But things are looking up. Rodney loves NateWay, and I do too. I’m glad you were persistent and didn’t run when I hit you.”
He laughed. “It didn’t hurt, so no biggie. Plus, he belongs.”
“He does.”
A silence fell between them as they both looked up at the clock, sipping on their drinks. As she chewed on her lip, she realized she felt better. Not as alone as she had before. Funny that the reason for that was because of Vaughn. He was the last person she’d ever think would sit with someone in a hospital and drink Jack and Coke. Because he wanted to. “No funny shirt today, I see?”
