Chapter 5

It stayed that way for the duration.

After the victory, jubilation reigned in the dressing room.

“Coming out for a bite to eat, this time?” Dora, who was sitting beside Val, asked.

Though I pretended to be engrossed in the task of removing my elbow pads, I listened for the response. For undisclosed reasons of her own, Val tended to prefer not to attend the post-game gatherings. Since she usually drove her own vehicle to the games, the choice was hers to make. Today, though, she’d arrived with Judith.

“I’m planning on going,” Judith said, shooting a meaningful look at her sister.

Val hesitated.

“We’re going to the Breakfast Barr, to support our sponsors,” Su explained. Marilyn Barr, who’d helped found the broomball league years ago, ran the restaurant with her husband Stanley. “All-day breakfast, and on Sundays, there’s a buffet.”

Realizing when she was outgunned, Val shrugged in resignation. “I do have a weakness for bacon,” she confessed. “Do they serve it crispy?”