“Yes,” she says, smiling and walking away from me to the edge of the sidewalk and putting up her hand to flag down a cab. “We should.” A cab stops in front of her. “I’ll send the fish over tomorrow, since you’re out tonight.”

“I’ll text you when I get in tomorrow,” I say to make her jealous, and she just nods as she gets into the car, and I watch her drive away. The red brake lights end up in a sea of brake lights. I walk back to my house and let myself in and shrug off my jacket, tossing it on the stool in the kitchen when I grab my prepared meal out of the fridge and zap it in the microwave. I eat standing in the kitchen and then pick up my jacket and go to my room.

My phone pings in my pocket, and I take it out and see that it’s Vivienne.

Vivienne: I forgot to mention that I bought food for the fish, but I’m not sure if it’s the same food you use. Have fun on your date.

I shake my head and look at my watch. It’s right before seven thirty. I think about answering her, but I don’t. I get into bed and turn on the game, and the whole night, I wonder if she’s in bed or if she’s watching one of her movies. When I finally fall asleep, I swear I could feel her next to me.

The next day, I walk into the rink with my shake in one hand, and then for five hours, I lose myself in work. When I finally walk back out, I look at my phone, and see it’s almost four o’clock.

Me: Sorry I didn’t call you this morning. I was late rushing into the rink. I’ll be home in an hour if you want to send the fish over.

I wait for her to answer, and when I walk into the apartment, it feels so empty. We have a home game tomorrow, then we leave for Florida.

She doesn’t text me the whole night, and then the next day, I call her as soon as I leave for the rink. She answers right away, her voice sounding horrible.

“Hey,” I say softly, and she coughs. “Are you okay?”

“No,” she says. “I’m dying.” I try not to laugh. “I was fine, and then I got home from our coffee, and my body started to ache, and then yesterday, I had a fever and then the cough came.”

“Did you go to the doctor?” I ask her with worry and wonder if I can go check on her before I have to get to work. When I look at my watch, I see I can’t.