The Tales of a Future Hockey Wife

Chapter 10: The First Lie(s)

~Eleanor~

"How was date night?" Vivienne's voice brings me out of my thoughts. I furrow my brows until I remember that it's what I told them yesterday when they asked me to come to a study group meeting last night. They found weird to have date night on a Wednesday, so I told them that we started dating on the twentieth and that we celebrated every month on that day. I make a mental note to remember that one. Our anniversary isn't even on the twentieth, it's on the fifth and we don't celebrate every month. We used to do that in the beginning, but, now, if we find time to celebrate the actual date, it will be a miracle. Half the games are away and with approximately a game every two days, I have a feeling he won't be home often.

"It was great! We went out for sushi and we saw a movie afterwards." I try my best to act as natural as possible, but my heart is racing. They cannot find out that I've lied to them as early in our friendship. College started two weeks ago, I cannot lose the only two friends I made. I think I'll be stuck with this lie for a while. I just hope I won't have to add more and more fake information to it.

"At least one of us had a good night, right B? Study group was awful. I can't believe they accept people who have never read Pride and Prejudice." Vivienne rolls her eyes making me laugh, even though I know she's serious.

"What are you doing after American Lit, El?" I have acquired the right to have a nickname since Monday. Before, even if I always hung out with them, they called me Eleanor. The first time I heard Vivienne say El, I was ecstatic, it felt like I was finally part of their group, like I finally had friends in college. I even texted Ben to tell him. Of course, he didn't get the importance of this moment in my college life, but he still congratulated me.

"Since I have the afternoon off, I promised Ben we would do something, and we need stuff for the apartment, so we're probably going to go to IKEA." I almost added that we hadn't spent time alone in forever, but that would have outed my earlier lie. We are supposed to have spent last night just the two of us.

"Well, if you are interested, there is a poetry reading tonight at the library. Yours truly will be reading her most intimate poem ever, so if you want to know my deepest thoughts, I suggest that you join Viv and me. It starts at seven. You could even bring that boyfriend of yours, so we can meet him, make sure he is real and all." I can't help but laugh. Just imagining Ben at a poetry reading, I need to sit down, or I'll fall from laughing too hard. I suppose I could come. He has a team meeting at seven thirty anyway to plan their first bus ride on Friday.

"I'll be there, but don't save him a seat. He works at seven-thirty." It's true, hockey is his job. It doesn't pay well, but it's his job. They ask to see a picture to make sure he really exists. I look for a picture that wasn't taken at the arena or while he is wearing his hockey jersey.

"I don't need a prom picture, El. Just one where we see his face." She couldn't have imagined what saying that would do to me. The sting in my heart is back on full speed. I can't tell them that I don't even have prom pictures with him. I find one from the day we moved into our apartment. He is standing in the middle of our bedroom; his arms are raised to touch the ceiling. I took this picture to prove my dad that the ceilings were very low. He is wearing a black t-shirt with sports pants because he was going to practice afterwards. I show them the picture which makes them laugh. Blair grabs my phone and I hope that she doesn't scroll to the right since the previous picture is the one I took of him when we received his Spitfires' jersey. My heart only slows down when she hands me back my phone which is showing the same picture.

"Is he tall, or are the ceilings low?" It's my turn to laugh.

"Both, he's 6'1 and the ceilings are low. He has to bend to enter the shower."