Free Play On by Heather C. Myers Page A

speak.”
    “I didn’t know that,” Katella said.
    “I…”  Seraphina sighed through her nose, glancing at the wooden table.  “Papa called me in a couple of weeks ago to talk about a player.  He never mentioned a name, but obviously I knew it was someone from the team.  Basically, he talked about a player who was supposed to sign but decided to hold out for more money.  He wanted to know what I would do if I was in his position – do I trade him to another team and get another goalie that would ultimately cost less but isn’t as good a player, or do I keep him, pay the salary, and keep the good goalie.  I asked him a few questions – was there any way to compromise?  Was this player really serious about wanting all this money?  And he answered.”  Seraphina gripped the armrests of her seat.  “I don’t know what he chose to do.  He didn’t tell me.”
    “Well, what advice did you give to him?” Chris asked.
    Seraphina had to think about it, her mind swimming past the strong currents of his recent death before she found what she was looking for.  “My grandfather is adamant about certain things,” she began.  “For example, the Gulls Girls aren’t only required to be beautiful and outgoing and have a passion for the Gulls, but if they’re students, they have to have at least a 3.0 GPA.  It wasn’t a league requirement or anything, it was his.  When it comes to his actual players, he wanted them to not only possess good skills on the ice, but he wanted somebody courteous and approachable off the ice.  He wanted them to look at the team as a family, and wanted them create a bond with each other, to possess a strong sense of loyalty to the team.  My grandfather rarely made trades; he believed that just give it some time, encourage the guy, and have a little faith and they would get better.  He only traded those guys who were – for lack of a better term – selfish assholes.”
    “Did your grandfather consider Thorpe a selfish asshole?”
    “I don’t know,” Seraphina replied honestly.  “I mean, again, he didn’t talk about business.  I’ve never really met any of the players.  But I think that Papa liked the guy.  That’s why he asked me my opinion.  Not that I’m the come all or be all or anything like that, but he only talked to me about problems that, to him, didn’t have an obvious answer.  And the thing is, if he was talking about Thorpe, I think he was looking for a way to keep him without paying him an exuberant amount.”
    “So what did you tell him?” Chris asked.  He seemed more interested in the outcome of the story, at least to Seraphina.
    “I told him that maybe he should see if this player would be willing to negotiate in some way,” Seraphina said.  “Like, keep the same pay, but have him on the bench more.  I don’t know.  I have no idea what he did.  But I don’t know.”  She shrugged her shoulders, looking down at her lap, now clothed in loose, grey sweatpants.  She was babbling and being repetitive, but it was now beyond her control.  She was nervous but she didn’t know why.  “But ultimately I told him that if he liked the guy, if he had a feeling that maybe the player was going through some temporary greed phase or whatever, he should be given a second chance. 
    “We were supposed to meet that night.”  For whatever reason, Seraphina’s voice had dropped uncharacteristically low.  “You know, the night that I, uh, walked in on him.  I don’t know if he was going to tell me what happened or something else…”
    Suddenly, she was sad.  And she wanted Chris away from her, from her sister, from the house.  There was a lot she had to prepare for today; Henry suggested that since she officially agreed to take over the team that she should formally meet them, along with the Gulls Girls, just to introduce herself and to explain briefly what was going on now.
    “Okay, thanks,” Chris said, and with that, he stood up.