Before she had a chance to argue, I turned back to Lucy and Piper. “All right, Twinkies. Where were we?”
We walked around Target until the cart was completely filled with school supplies, new backpacks, and glitter princess heels. They obviously weren’t on the school list, but Lucy’s and Piper’s eyes sparkled when they saw them. That was all I needed to see.
“Your total is $312.41,” said the cashier.
I heard Kacie gasp quietly, but I didn’t bother to look at her as I took my credit card out and swiped it. We started toward the exit when a couple of boys nervously walked up to us.
They looked to be about ten years old and nervous as hell. One of them opened his mouth to talk but shut it before anything came out. The other one nudged him and he started again. “Uh, are you… Brody Murphy?”
I took a step away from Kacie and the girls and put my hands on my knees so I was closer to the boys’ level. “I am. What’s your name?”
“Uh, Cole.”
“And you?” I glanced down at his friend, but he didn’t say anything. His red hair fell in his face as he stared at me, blinking rapidly behind his black-rimmed glasses.
Cole nudged him. “That’s Dylan. Um, can we have your autograph?”
“Of course. What would you like me to sign?”
“Here, take this.” A woman, who I assumed was the mother of one or both of them, walked up and handed me a piece of paper and a pen.
“Thanks.” I took the paper and ripped it in half neatly. “Cole you said?” The kid nodded eagerly.
He grasped the paper in his hand, holding it close to his face as he stared down at it excitedly.
“My man, Dylan.” I turned toward the other boy. “If you want me to give you an autograph, you’re going to have to say hi.”
His eyes were as wide as saucers as he took a deep breath. “Hi,” he said in a barely audible voice.
I laughed and ruffled his hair. “Good enough.”
“Do you have time for a quick picture?” their mom asked.
“Absolutely,” I said.
Both boys turned to face her and I stood in the middle, squatting slightly. “Smile, Dylan,” I said as she clicked the picture.
“So how do you think the Wild will hold up this year? Think you guys will make it to the play-offs? It’s a big year for you personally, huh? I’m sure contract years are stressful,” Dylan blurted out all at once as he turned to me.
“Wow.” I stood up. “For someone who wouldn’t say hi a minute ago, you’re sure chatty now, huh?”
“He’s a sports genius. All he does is read facts and stats.” Cole shrugged. “He knows everything.”
“Good for you, buddy.”
I messed up Dylan’s moppy hair again before excusing myself and walking back over to the girls. I silently prayed to all that was holy that Kacie hadn’t heard the last part of the redheaded chatterbox’s question assault.
“You guys ready to go?” I clapped loudly as I walked up to them.
Kacie gave me a weird smile and my heart sunk. I wasn’t intentionally lying to her about my contract being up this year, I just didn’t want to talk about it now. It weighed on my mind constantly as it was, and knowing that it would be weighing on Kacie’s too would kill me.
“Why did those boys want you to sign something?” Piper asked innocently.
“They wanted my autograph. Do you know what an autograph is?”
She shook her head.
“I do!” Lucy said excitedly. “It’s a piece of paper you write your name on.”
“Exactly,” I said to her. “They just wanted me to sign my name.”
“But why?” Piper still looked confused.
“Girls, Brody plays hockey on TV, so sometimes people see him and ask for his autograph because he’s… famous.” She bit her lip and shrugged as she looked at me, unsure of if she’d explained it okay.
I nodded and Piper seemed happy with Kacie’s explanation.
We were making our way to my truck when Piper spoke up again. “If you’re famous, do you know Selena Gomez?”
“Yeah, can we have her autograph?” Lucy followed.
Kacie looked at me and tried to not to laugh at the ego shot her daughters had just given me. “Sorry.” She shrugged. “Guess you have to be on The Disney Channel and sing pop music to be cool in their book.”
When we got back to Kacie’s, the girls wanted to take their new loot to their room and divide it into piles. What can I say? They have OCD like their mom. Sophia and Fred were in the kitchen having coffee with an older couple that was staying at the inn for a few days, so Kacie and I decided to sneak off to her room. We both collapsed on the bed and intertwined our legs while she rested her head on my chest.
“Who knew school shopping could be so exhausting?” I sighed.
Kacie giggled. “Just wait until you see the list for second grade.”
“I better start saving now,” I joked.