Page 32 of Offside and Off-Limits (Love in Maple Falls #2)
CLARA
The atmosphere in the arena is electric as I lead Benny and Hannah, with hotdogs in hand, to find our seats for the very first game of the season. All three of us are wearing a very special name and number on our hockey jerseys, a gift from the man himself, and I could not be prouder.
I spot familiar face after familiar face as we make our way through the crowd, saying hello to friends and neighbors.
By now, I know it would take a small miracle for them not to know about Cade and me.
With Mary-Ellen McCluskey and Suzette Donnelly directing traffic on the Maple Falls gossip superhighway, there’s next to no hope they don’t.
“Hello, Clara. Hi, kids,” my friend and fellow Chronic Warriors battler, Marianne says as she gives me a quick hug. “You’re all looking so good in your matching jerseys.”
“It’s Cade’s jersey. He gave them to us all,” Hannah replies.
“We’re team Lennox,” I say with a shrug.
Marianne’s eyes brighten. “I heard about that. Good for you.”
“Mrs. McCluskey?” I ask.
Her eyes dance. “How did you know?”
“Call it a wild guess.”
“Here you go, honey,” a man says as he passes Marianne a bowl of fries, and I do a double take when I recognize him.
“Martin?” I question, my gaze bouncing between the two bickering support group members.
“Hey, Clara. What are you doing here?” he replies, his shoulders hunching, as if trying to duck under my scrutiny.
“They’ve come to watch the game, of course,” Marianne replies as her cheeks color.
“So, you two…?” I flick my index finger between them, and Marianne lifts her chin.
“You young people with your hockey players don’t have a monopoly on love, you know,” she replies, her lips quirking as she turns her gaze on Martin.
He slips a hand into hers and smiles back at her.
“I always wondered about you two. I’m very happy for you both,” I say.
“Mommy, let’s go!” Benny says, tugging on my sleeve.
“Enjoy the game. Go Ice Breakers!” I say as we move away.
“Go Ice Breakers!” they call back.
We find our row right by the plexiglass, just one of the perks of dating a player. I greet Keira and Dan as we shimmy past them.
“Looking good, you guys,” Keira says as I settle in beside her.
“I thought we wore my number as a family,” Dan says with a mock serious look .
“That was before she fell in love with the team’s new star winger,” Keira explains to her husband.
All I do is smile at them, blissful in the knowledge that I’m wearing the right man’s number, the only man’s number.
44.
Officially, it’s a new number for him, representing his fresh start, both on this team and in life.
Privately, he shared with me that he chose 44 because it’s a pair of two equal numbers, representing him and me.
It’ll come as no surprise that I dissolved into tears with that particular gesture.
But right now, the feeling is less “emotional sobbing because my boyfriend did something incredibly romantic for me,” and more “Go Ice Breakers!!” for their first game of the season, right here at the arena in Maple Falls.
We have an official videographer capturing all the footage for our socials, so I’ve got the evening off to be with my family, supporting the team I both love and work for—and the man I still can’t believe is mine.
“What’s Cade saying the team’s chances are tonight?” Dan asks me, raising his voice over the excited crowd. “The Great Lake Vikings are a solid team.”
“Word says it’ll be a tough start to the season for the guys, but the Ice Breakers might just have the advantage,” I reply.
“Is that wishful thinking because your new boyfriend is on the team?” Keira teases with a nudge and a smirk.
“No, it’s faith in the team,” I insist before I cave, oh so quickly. “And because my new boyfriend’s on the team.”
She grins at me. “I knew it.”
A gray head turns to look up at me, and I recognize Mary-Ellen McCluskey. She’s sitting with her husband, Murray, both of them in Ice Breaker colors. “Oh, hello there, Clara, kids. Your sister told me you were coming tonight, and I’m so happy to see you.”
“It’s lovely to see you, too, Mrs. McCluskey,” I reply .
“I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been dying to tell you what I heard about your dreadful ex-husband yesterday,” she begins, and I know she’s about to launch into her story, whether I want to hear it or not.
She rises to her feet and indicates for me to lean closer to her, presumably so the kids don’t hear.
Dwayne may be a catfishing jerk with questionable morals, but he’s still their dad.
I want to protect them from anything that could damage their relationship with him.
I get the feeling he’s managing that quite well on his own.
“My friend, Doreen, lives in Portland and she heard from her sister, Carlene—isn’t that funny the way their names almost rhyme? What were their parents thinking?” She glances at the kids, who are too preoccupied with taking in the packed arena and munching on their hotdogs to pay her any attention.
“Anyway, Carlene lives in the same building as your ex and Izzy Barlowe, that despicable former friend of yours who ran off with your husband,” she clarifies, as though I might not remember who Izzy Barlowe is.
“She told Doreen that Izzy found out about him trying to woo some woman online, and do you know what she did?” she asks, but she doesn’t wait for my response, the question clearly rhetorical, the gossip too juicy not to spill.
“She threw him out! Right onto the street! Carlene said she put all his things in trash bags, too. You know the sort, those big ones you can fit a lot into? She threw them out, too, right from their third-floor condo.” She pauses long enough to take a breath, her features alight with glee.
“One of the bags split open on impact, sending his shoes and other items of clothing flying.”
“She threw him out?” I ask, aghast. Aghast and a touch elated, if I’m honest.
Okay, a lot elated.
Dwayne had gotten away with not only treating me and the kids horribly, but Izzy, too, thanks to his little dalliance with me as ChronicWarrior88. If what Mrs. McCluskey is saying is true, he’s finally getting a little dose of what he deserves.
Mrs. McCluskey nods, her lips terse. “Dreadful man! You’re well rid of him, Clara.
Well rid! And you know what? Poor Carlene found a pair of your ex’s boxer shorts on her windshield the very next day, can you believe?
Poor woman thought she had some kind of sick stalker who liked to leave his personal clothing for women to find before she worked out they were Dwayne’s. ”
“Wow.”
Mrs. McCluskey may be the town gossip, but she’s nearly always correct in her knowledge, even if sometimes details are, shall we say, “expanded” for dramatic means. She’s a fully paid subscriber of the “don’t ever let the truth get in the way of a good story” club, that’s for sure.
“So, Clara, what do you think of that?” She leans back on her feet, a satisfied look on her face.
I shake my head, the story soaking in. “I don’t know quite what to think, Mrs. McCluskey.” A thought occurs to me. “Is Dwayne okay?”
She throws her hands on her hips. “Clara Johnson. I tell you a story that should have you feeling avenged in at least a small way, and all you ask is whether that rat of an ex of yours is okay?”
I flick my gaze to Benny and Hannah, who still seem totally oblivious of our conversation, still enjoying their hotdogs and watching the crowd. “I’m only asking for the kids’ sake.”
She smiles, her features softening. “Of course you are. And the answer to your question is I don’t know, and nor do I think you should care.”
“That’s quite a story.”
Her eyes light up. “Isn’t it? I do love it when a bad guy gets his comeuppance. Enjoy the game, watching your new beau.”
“I will.” She takes her seat once more and I sit back in mine. I’m fairly sure I’m the woman Izzy caught Dwayne chatting with online, but it could have been someone else. He could have been trying to seduce a whole raft of women, for all I know.
What I do know is I no longer care. Dwayne will always be the kids’ dad, and so he’ll be in my life in some form or another for many years to come.
But I’m not the person I once was when I fell in love with him.
I’m not the person I was when he left me.
I’m strong. I’m confident. I’m capable of so much.
And I’ve got a man who cherishes and supports every aspect of me: the good, the bad, and the chronically fatigued.
“What did Mrs. McCluskey have to say?” Keira asks, and I tell her the story of Dwayne and his belongings being summarily dumped by Izzy.
“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” she says with a satisfied grin.
“These guys are making history tonight,” Dan says, his eyes shining.
“They sure are, honey, just like you did when you captained the charity team,” Keira says.
An announcer calls over the loudspeaker, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the inaugural home game of your NHL Maple Falls Ice Breakers!”
The stadium roars, people rising to their feet, waving the merchandise and stomping their feet , really getting into the excitement of the event.
The kids and I stand, along with Dan and Keira, every local grinning from ear to ear, proud that Maple Falls has its own NHL team, even if the future of the town is still hanging in the balance.
But all of that feels like a problem for another day as the town comes together to support our team, a town brought together by adversity, hoping for a victory on the ice tonight.
The announcer introduces the Great Lakes Vikings, and as the team members slide onto the ice one by one, most people applaud, their supporters showing their love for the team, but some people boo and call out, as well.
I feel a tug on my sleeve and look down to see Benny frowning up at me. “Why are they booing, Mommy? ”
“Because they’re the Great Lake Vikings, sweetheart. That’s the team we want to beat today.”