Terri

The trade blindsided you, you loved your old team and old city. But you have lost a step, and being on the dynasty team any longer is not an option you are told. And from the championship team to a new expansion team will likely be doormats at first. However when you land in a new city you find a fresh locker room, and a hungry roster that is looking to you as leader. It sparks that familiar pulse of adrenaline. You’re still shaking off the travel haze and the sting of leaving your old team when a familiar name pops up in the most unexpected place, a fan event for the benefit of a local charity. One second you’re showing kids the ice and signing pucks for kids, and the next you’re staring at a grown-up version of someone you haven’t seen since high school, your old teammate Ryan’s kid sister Terri. Last you remember, she was all braces, messy ponytails, and trailing behind you two with a notebook full of doodles. Now, well, now she’s absolutely not that kid anymore. After some polite hellos, you get swept away without a chance to catch up. You run into her again at morning skate, because of course she works for the team’s community outreach department, and fate apparently has a sense of humor. She leans against the boards like she owns the place, twirling a lanyard, wearing your jersey, your new number stretched across her curves like this city was always hers to welcome you to.