school tomorrow. Have a good time, and congratulate Teddy for me. I was praying for him to do well."
"I'll tell him. Thanks. See you," Colleen said, and Audra walked off, her dark brown ponytail so long and tied so high, it swung back and forth rigorously.
The moment Audra left Colleen's side, Colleen's other girlfriends approached and gathered around her, everyone talking excitedly. Colleen stood in the center, smiling. She was Teddy's girlfriend. For the moment she was his ambassador. Talking to her and being around her was like talking and being around him. She felt and understood this; it made her feel good. It crowned one of the most exhilarating days of her life, and with all the talk before the game, the game itself, and now in its aftermath, she had little time to think about her strange reaction to her brother's adopted child and the changes in her sister-in-law's personality.
By the time Teddy appeared, Colleen was emotionally exhausted. The girls around her were talking so excitedly, so quickly, their voices so high-pitched, that they sounded as if they had all inhaled helium. First they heard the boys cheering and singing, their voices reverberating in the locker-room corridor, and then Teddy appeared, surrounded by his teammates, all of them in tune with his every move.
His wonderful performance and the team's great victory had inflated him. He looked taller than his six feet one inch and broader and more muscular than his one hundred and eighty pound frame. He had his silky sable hair blow-dried and styled with that wave in the front, and his eyes sparkled like two diamond-shaped pieces of black marble washed by a thousand years of ocean tides. There was a glow about him, and his friends and teammates bathed in the light.
Colleen didn't rush to him. She stood back as the other girls congratulated him, vying for an opportunity to touch him and be touched by him, as though his sports accomplishment had given him divine powers and one could share in the glory simply by a laying-on of hands. She saw the way the girls who touched him and were touched by him turned back to one another, their faces radiant with ecstasy and satisfaction. She wasn't jealous, but she was bothered by it because she saw that it was having a bad effect on Teddy. He didn't need his ego stroked; his head was already too big.
After a few moments he began to search the crowd, and when he saw her, he moved quickly forward, the others parting to clear his way.
"Hi."
"Hi," she said. She smiled, leaned forward, and kissed him on the cheek. "Nice game."
"That's it? Nice game?"
"For now," she said, looking at the others and then back at him suggestively. His expression of disappointment changed quickly into a knowing smile of anticipation.
"My father let me have the RX-7."
"Great," she said, now happy that Audra had not agreed to come along. The RX-7 sports car had only two seats.
"I'm starving," he announced, and everyone rushed on to their vehicles. He took her hand and they headed into the parking lot. "You know, just before I went into that final huddle, I looked up into the stands and saw you."
"I thought maybe you had."
"You looked so worried."
"I was."
"I just felt it," he said. "I felt I was going to do it. I can't explain it, but it was like a warm glow. It just came over me and I felt so confident."
"I'm glad," she said. They reached the car.
"Then how about really showing it?" He took her by the shoulders and drew her closer to him. They kissed. Some of the other kids howled, but she really didn't hear them. When Teddy pulled back, she sensed another kind of need in him. She felt his hunger for real companionship. Strong feelings, even such good strong feelings, could be overwhelming. They had to be shared in a personal way. For the first time she sensed that he was a lot more sensitive than he made out to be. Harlan was right—she was defrosting the Iceman.
"Want to go somewhere by ourselves?" she whispered. His eyes
"I'll tell him. Thanks. See you," Colleen said, and Audra walked off, her dark brown ponytail so long and tied so high, it swung back and forth rigorously.
The moment Audra left Colleen's side, Colleen's other girlfriends approached and gathered around her, everyone talking excitedly. Colleen stood in the center, smiling. She was Teddy's girlfriend. For the moment she was his ambassador. Talking to her and being around her was like talking and being around him. She felt and understood this; it made her feel good. It crowned one of the most exhilarating days of her life, and with all the talk before the game, the game itself, and now in its aftermath, she had little time to think about her strange reaction to her brother's adopted child and the changes in her sister-in-law's personality.
By the time Teddy appeared, Colleen was emotionally exhausted. The girls around her were talking so excitedly, so quickly, their voices so high-pitched, that they sounded as if they had all inhaled helium. First they heard the boys cheering and singing, their voices reverberating in the locker-room corridor, and then Teddy appeared, surrounded by his teammates, all of them in tune with his every move.
His wonderful performance and the team's great victory had inflated him. He looked taller than his six feet one inch and broader and more muscular than his one hundred and eighty pound frame. He had his silky sable hair blow-dried and styled with that wave in the front, and his eyes sparkled like two diamond-shaped pieces of black marble washed by a thousand years of ocean tides. There was a glow about him, and his friends and teammates bathed in the light.
Colleen didn't rush to him. She stood back as the other girls congratulated him, vying for an opportunity to touch him and be touched by him, as though his sports accomplishment had given him divine powers and one could share in the glory simply by a laying-on of hands. She saw the way the girls who touched him and were touched by him turned back to one another, their faces radiant with ecstasy and satisfaction. She wasn't jealous, but she was bothered by it because she saw that it was having a bad effect on Teddy. He didn't need his ego stroked; his head was already too big.
After a few moments he began to search the crowd, and when he saw her, he moved quickly forward, the others parting to clear his way.
"Hi."
"Hi," she said. She smiled, leaned forward, and kissed him on the cheek. "Nice game."
"That's it? Nice game?"
"For now," she said, looking at the others and then back at him suggestively. His expression of disappointment changed quickly into a knowing smile of anticipation.
"My father let me have the RX-7."
"Great," she said, now happy that Audra had not agreed to come along. The RX-7 sports car had only two seats.
"I'm starving," he announced, and everyone rushed on to their vehicles. He took her hand and they headed into the parking lot. "You know, just before I went into that final huddle, I looked up into the stands and saw you."
"I thought maybe you had."
"You looked so worried."
"I was."
"I just felt it," he said. "I felt I was going to do it. I can't explain it, but it was like a warm glow. It just came over me and I felt so confident."
"I'm glad," she said. They reached the car.
"Then how about really showing it?" He took her by the shoulders and drew her closer to him. They kissed. Some of the other kids howled, but she really didn't hear them. When Teddy pulled back, she sensed another kind of need in him. She felt his hunger for real companionship. Strong feelings, even such good strong feelings, could be overwhelming. They had to be shared in a personal way. For the first time she sensed that he was a lot more sensitive than he made out to be. Harlan was right—she was defrosting the Iceman.
"Want to go somewhere by ourselves?" she whispered. His eyes
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