Chapter 93: Bob II
"Bob?! Hello! Is Micheline with you?"
"No," Hartley said with a smile. "She’s at home. How are you doing Columbe?"
Coco smiled and stepped back from the door. "Come in! How rude of me. Mimi, come say hello to Bob."
Hartley stepped in and smiled at Michele as she poked her head out of the living room, she was chewing something but her eyes were smiling back. Bob didn’t know very many women who could actually speak with just their eyes the way he had noticed Michele did. It was always a little disturbing to him, so he never quite trusted her. "Hello Michele," he said with a nod of his head.
"Mmm," Michele said as she swallowed and then she covered her mouth. "Hello Bob," she said through her fingers. "Where’s Micheline?"
Hartley raised his eyebrows. "My company isn’t good enough then, eh?"
"Ooooh," Coco cooed and she gripped the crook of his arm tightly in her thin hand. "Come on, sit down, have some crumb cake. It’s still warm, I was going to save it for Eric later but no, Mimi has to grumble about her grumbling tummy and before I can stop her, BOOP she has a piece in her mouth!"
Great! Hartley thought, his hand going to his waist. Micheline had just put him on a diet. It was accept her diet or forever endure her fingers pinching his bulges. Not a hard decision to make acually.
"Not true!" Michele exclaimed. "Don’t be unfair! You asked if I wanted a piece!"
"And you’re supposed to refuse it," Coco sniffed. "You know I make that crumb cake for Eric every Thursday."
"Errrrr," Michele growled, swatting her hand in Coco’s direction and helping herself to another piece.
"Not even offering to serve you!" Coco said, smiling and putting her hands on her hips. "Mimi!"
Michele rolled her eyes and leaned back on the couch, swinging a leg over another. "I’m not a manservant!"
"Pbbth! I give up," Coco exclaimed. "Bob have a piece! I will not have a refusal."
Hartley grinned and held his hands up. As much as his wife adored these two, she was always exhausted after being near them. Bob could tell why. "Oh I..."
"Alright!" Michele cried, setting her plate down. "I’ll serve you then!"
Before Hartley could do a thing, Michele grabbed him in her strong little hands and with a wicked little glint in her eye she shoved him down onto the couch. "Oof!" he gasped and he bounced a little on the soft cushions. "Just stay right there," she whispered.
What an odd woman she was! Hartley raised his eyebrows and with a half-grin, Michele winked at him. Perhaps it was just meant to be a reassuring wink...
"At least be civil! You’re just trying my patience on purpose now!" Coco exclaimed.
"Mmm," Michele squeaked in reply, cutting a piece of cake.
Bob shook his head and looked at his watch.
"Are you running late for something?" Coco asked.
"Not really," Bob said. "I was supposed to meet Pierre for lunch over an hour ago, I was just checking to see if he were here." Bob regretted saying it as soon as he did.
"Oh," Coco said quietly, "Well, that’s not like him to miss appointments like that... Perhaps he is with Eric."
"Oh I’m sure he is!" Michele said brightly, in a perfect pitch, but when she handed him the plate with cake, he could see an almost deadly glare in her narrowed eyes. Hartley looked into her eyes as apologetically as he could, but he received no forgiveness from them.
"I.. Excuse me," Coco said in smaller voice. "I need to check on..."
Bob’s heart broke when he saw Coco cover her mouth with her hand and walk swiftly out of the room, her face flushing.
"Idiot!" Michele snapped. "Here I’ve been for the past two hours, trying to keep her distracted! I have a good mind to paste that cake over your face!"
Bob shook his head slowly, feeling embarrassed and angry heat flushing through him. He didn’t look away from Michele. He accepted her anger. "Forgive me," he said. "I didn’t come here to.."
"Men!" Michele sighed. "Clumsy brutes!"
"So you know?" Bob said more than asked.
"We’re women," Michele said quietly. "Not very much escapes us."
Bob’s hands were shoved in his pockets as he blew the whistle so loud it cracked across the practice ice, reverberating off the walls. He was past being angry, he was feeling more of a dull ache in his gut. And there was a pain in his forehead, all he could was the soft sound of Michele’s voice as she whispered to Coco in the kitchen, trying to comfort her. He couldn’t forget it. "We need to work on penalty kills," he barked.
"Five on three or four?" Keaner asked.
"Pick," Hartley said, running his hand over his face. He was getting a feeling similar to the type he got when he used to discuss restaurants with his kids.
"Eh," Patty said. "How bout we skip it."
Hartley glared at him through his fingers, Patty smiled back. Definitely like his children.
There was some muttering as to what they would do first.
"Hey," Kaspar said brightly. "How about, we start a five on four and then I take a bad penalty?"
There was instant laughter and Patty grinned. "Hey I like that, creative!"
Bob calmed down some as the practice went on, he was able to lose himself in the drills, in the whistles and the discussions with Patrick on the shot blocking and net coverage. Work was such a soothing thing at times, such an escape. And then when the practice was over Hartley heard her voice as he was walking through the locker room.
"Who’s in there?" Bob asked Drury as he pointed at the door to the massage room.
"Parker," Drury said, "Dammit it was my turn!"
Hartley scowled and looked at Tangers. "Dru’s girlfriend dumped him cause he got bit by a hooker."
"Shut-up Tangers!" Dru snapped.
Hartley shook his head and pushed the door open to the massage room.
"Hey!" Parker barked as Hartley closed the door behind him. He grimaced and dropped his face back on the table when he saw Bob. "Sorry Coach."
"You can stay there," Bob said, "I just need to talk with Katrina."
Katrina raised her eyebrows and smiled. "What brings you in here Robert?" she asked in French.
"Great I knew I shoulda learned French," Parkie growled.
"I want you to break it off, you’re tearing her apart!" Hartley snapped in French.
"Who?" Katrina asked with wide eyes.
"Don’t!" Hartley growled. "Don’t play foolish girl."
"You can keep on that shoulder you know," Parker said casually.
"Of course Blockhead," Katrina said in French leaning on his shoulder.
"Yeah!" Parker sighed. "That’s it honey!"
"I’m not going anywhere, Robert." Katrina said, "You know that. It’s up to Pierre."
"OK I understand ‘Pierre’," Parker said holding up his hand.
"Good bonehead," Katrina cooed pressing his face back into the table. "Now shut-up."
"OK I didn’t understand any of that," Parker said, "but it sounded good."
Hartley sighed loudly. "Coco is in torment! Does it even bother you?"
"Robert," Katrina said, rubbing deeply into Parker’s back. "It’s not my concern and even if I did leave he’d probably find something else, would he not? I am not about to usurp my comfort for some silly woman who can’t speak up for herself or her husband. Now is there anything else you wanted to say?"
Hartley shook his head and stormed out of the room. He had to find a way to help her. This was eating away at him. There was no getting around it.
Links to other sites on the Web