“You look good,” he said.
“Don’t.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “Okay.”
The waitress came. I ordered tea. When she left, I looked at him across the table.
“Did you take that job to get close to Sam?”
“No.” He said it right away, without blinking. “I swear to God, Laura. I didn’t. I got out of the program in Albany last September. My sponsor’s brother-in-law manages the rink. They needed someone for maintenance, and nobody else would hire a guy with my record. I took it because it was the only job I could get.” He wrapped both hands around his coffee cup. “I didn’t even know Sam still played. I hadn’t let myself look him up. I thought I didn’t have the right.”
“But you knew he might be there.”
“I thought it was possible. Riverside’s the biggest rink in the county.” He looked down. “And I told myself if I saw him, I’d stay away. That I’d tell my manager I needed a different shift. And then he walked up to that water fountain and I couldn’t move.”
