The Game - Chapter 9 

Tyre turned over the ignition and pulled away from the curb and headed to The United Center. They were directed to a parking space, and they had made sure that they arrived in plenty of time. They took pictures in front of the Michael Jordan statue and then asked a passerby to take a picture of them together. They laughed and held hands as if they were teenagers all over again.

“We will be sitting with my coworker and her husband. Hope you do not mind,” he said.

“Mind? How could I mind?” she responded. “I am just glad to be here. Th is is an outing that I would never have planned for myself.”

“Well, good,” Tyre said.

They found their seats. Sandy and her husband, Ralph, were already seated. When she saw Tyre arrive with this beautiful woman laughing and jovial, she hardly recognized him at first. She had remembered her volatile encounter with his former wife, Flora, and also remembered his many days of depression during and after the marriage. She was so glad to see him look so happy. It warmed her heart.

The music was blaring, and Phoenix felt alive after living such a reticent life for such a long time. She vowed, “I have been living like a turtle for too long. I am coming out of my shell and now is the time.”

October 24, 2026