COLE
Detroit.
The flight was ninety minutes. I spent it in my usual seat, second row aisle, headphones in, reviewing tape on my iPad. Dmitri sat beside me eating sunflower seeds and spitting the shells into a cup with a precision that suggested he had practiced this extensively. The rookies were in the back, too wired for their first road trip to sit still. Coach Brentwood was asleep before the wheels left the ground, which was his way of telling the team he wasn’t worried.
Nova was seven rows behind me.
I knew this because I had checked the seat assignments when Diane emailed them. The PR plan for the road trip was specific: Nova would fly with the team, sit in the family section during the game, and be photographed entering and leaving the arena with me. Away games drew national broa
