“We don’t have a dog,” he says, and I grab a plate of chicken and pasta and put it on his tray. “I love pasta.”

“Me, too.” I grab my own plate and walk over to an empty table. He sits down, and I don’t know if I should cut the chicken for him or not. “You need help?” I ask him, and he just shakes his head. The chair beside me pulls out, and Amy sits down.

“If you want, I can find his team coach and take him to them,” she says. I look over at Dylan, who isn’t even listening while he tries to cut his chicken after giving up eating his pasta.

“It’s fine,” I say, leaning over and cutting his chicken, and he just nods as he puts a piece in his mouth. Amy goes over the things happening this week and lets me know that a couple of my teammates will be coming by on Wednesday to get on the ice with me for a couple of hours.

I look over at Dylan who finished his whole plate and is now drinking the apple juice that I put down for him. “Can I go watch?” he asks of the game taking place in one of the rinks. About five other kids are standing over there to watch, so I just nod.

“I can call and see if my brother and my brothers-in-law want to come and lend a hand,” I suggest, and Amy nods. The bell rings somewhere, and the kids look around. One of the coaches claps his hands and tells all the kids to go into their locker room for the second part of the day.

I finish my lunch and then walk back to the locker room, taking my phone out and sending a group text to Matthew, Max, Viktor, and Evan.

Me: Do you old men want to get on the ice in a couple of weeks? I can get some canes to help you out.

Before I have a chance to put the phone back into my pocket, Evan answers me.

Evan: M&M are dinosaurs. Can they even skate?

I laugh. When Evan started dating Zara, he gave Matthew and Max that nickname, and it’s stuck ever since. Forget the fact that they hated each other when they first met, but then Max eloped with our sister, Allison, something that Matthew refuses to let him forget. But now they are both working for the Stingers organization.

Not bothering to answer, I tie my skates and get on the ice with the older kids. This is why I do this; the kids are so good. There is one kid, in particular, who flies on the ice. His hands are the best I’ve ever seen, and he has hockey sense.