Reunited

“Who was that?” Jennifer asked as she pulled her car into the parking lot of their hotel.

“On the phone?” Jordan asked, clarifying her statement.

“Yes, on the phone.”

“Just the red-haired girl I was telling you about,” Jordan replied. “I wish I didn’t have to call her that. I feel like I’m disrespecting her because I don’t know her name.”

“Why don’t you ask her what you can call her?” She suggested.

Jordan grabbed their bags from the trunk as he thought about proposition. “You know what?” He turned to look at the brunette. “I think I will, but let’s check in first.”

Jennifer nodded and followed him into the lobby. They stopped at the front desk, finding out where their room was located, before heading down the thin hallway. They stopped in front of a door marked with three gold numbers: one, zero and nine. Jennifer slid the key card into the slot, unlocking the door. Pushing it open, they found a decent sized room with two beds, two chairs, a small bathroom, a television, a night stand and a round table.

“This is nice,” Jennifer commented, turning on the TV. “I bet you’ve been in better.”

“Of course,” Jordan said. “But this is perfectly fine, if you are okay with it.”

Jennifer nodded and took her bag from her friend. “I call the bed near the window.” She tossed her duffel bag beside the bed and flopped down before he could protest.

Instead of arguing, Jordan sighed and sat down on his bed. He flipped through the channels until he found a hockey game. Satisfied with who was playing, he placed the remote on the night stand and pulled out his phone.

“Is that all you guys watch?” Jennifer looked up from the book she had pulled out. “All that is ever on when I go over to Taylor’s is a hockey game or some kind of highlights.”

Jordan looked at her and then at the TV. “I can change it if you want.”

Jennifer shook her head. “I’m not complaining, Jordan. I’m just asking.”

“That’s what I usually watch,” Jordan admitted with a shrug. “There are a few other shows that I watch when I have time, but they aren’t always on, like sports channels.”

Jennifer chuckled at his explanation before returning to her book.

While she read, Jordan went back to his phone. He quickly found a number he had become a custom to dialing and typed a message. While waiting for a reply, he sent a message to his older teammate asking about practice and Coach’s decision. He placed the phone next to his leg and looked up at the television noticing that the score was still zero for both teams.

Within minutes, Jordan felt his phone vibrate from its place on the bed. He was surprised when he looked at the screen, expecting a text message. Pressing the green button, he raised the phone to his ear. “Well hello there,” he said, a smile spreading across his face. “What did I do that I deserve two phone calls from you?”

“Oh, nothing in general,” a woman said, a smile evident in her voice. “I would rather talk to a person than text them.”

“I see,” Jordan nodded. “Are you at that hockey game?”

“I sure am,” she replied. “Are you in Martensville?”

“Nope, Jennifer and I are staying in Lloydminster for the night.”

“Oh?”

“What do you mean oh?” Jordan asked, frowning.

“You’re shacking up in a hotel with your best friend’s girlfriend,” she said. “I don’t want to judge, but that sounds a bit strange. Does Taylor know?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I am not shacking up with her,” Jordan said, glancing over at the other bed. Jennifer was looking at him with a curious expression on her face. “I would never do something like that to Taylor.” He paused in thought. “Or anyone for that matter.”

The person on the other line chuckled lightly. “I doubted you would, but I just had to check. So why do you need something to call me?”

This time Jordan chuckled. “I feel weird when I say something about you to Taylor, Sam or someone.”

“So you talk about me?”

“Uh, well, maybe a little,” Jordan said. “I’m just trying to figure out who you are.”

“And you think that your friends and teammates are going to be able to help you?”

“You can never be too sure,” Jordan shrugged. “So what can I call you? The mystery redhead from the club last month just doesn’t have a nice ring to it.”

“I agree,” she told him. “You can call me S, if you’d like.”

“Esse?” Jordan asked. “What kind of name is Esse?”

“It’s not my name,” she laughed. “It’s my initial. S is the first letter of my first name.”

“I see,” he nodded. “What’s the initial for your last name?”

“Why is that important?” she asked.

“Maybe I could call you by both initials,” Jordan suggested. “You know, like, SA or SM.”

“Right, well if you think it’s important my last name starts with a C. I don’t know if that does anything for you.”

“Me neither,” he admitted. He glanced at the television just as the home team scored. He frowned when he heard the sound of the buzzer coming through the phone and from the TV. Loud cheers filled his ear causing Jordan to become more confused. “What game are you at?”

“One in Pennsylvania. Why do you ask?”

“I’m watching a game and the buzzer went off at the same time a buzzer went off where you are,” Jordan explained. “And there was cheering.”

“What game are you watching?” The woman asked

“Pittsburgh versus Anaheim,” Jordan told her. “You’re in Pittsburgh, aren’t you?”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” Her voice gave a hint of playfulness.

“Well, to my best knowledge the Flyers aren’t playing in Philly tonight, so that leads me to believe that you are in Pittsburgh.”

“Are you Mr. Detective?”

“I try my best,” Jordan said. “There is a chance I will figure out who you are by the time I go back to Edmonton.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“If you keep calling me this often, it just might happen.”

A gentle laugh came through the phone. “Goodbye, Jordan.”

Jordan shook his head lightly as he pulled the phone away from his ear. “Goodbye, SC,” he muttered, ending the call.

“SC?”

The sound of Jennifer’s voice startled the young hockey player. “I’m sorry, what?” He asked, looking at the brunette.

“Her new name is SC?” Jennifer asked. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard my name a couple of times and couldn’t help but wonder why you were talking about me.”

“Yea, she was bugging me about spending the night in a hotel with my best friend’s girl.”

The girl laughed. “I can see how other people see it. My mother was asking about where we were going, what we were doing, and why we were doing it. Taylor asked a few questions, but not as many.”

“My mom asked a lot of questions, too,” Jordan told her. “Sometimes I think she worries way too much.”

“Don’t they all,” Jennifer muttered. “Don’t they all.”