“Buddy,Ipromisethatthe orca is not going to hurt the penguin.” I look at my son, whose eyes are brimming with unshed tears. They’ve been like that since the first intermission, when the two mascots went head-to-head with each other on the ice.
I brought Owen here to get away from the drama with his grandparents, not give him emotional trauma over a penguin.
“They were just pretending to fight. That’s what the mascots do for games like these. I bet you they are both in the locker room playing games together.”
Owen clutches his penguin stuffie to his chest but doesn’t say anything. We’re close to the end of the second period now and it’s looking like it’s going to be a close game. I’m learning more and more about hockey as the season goes by. Gabe can go on his…speeches. He doesn’t like me calling them rants, but I find it funny to rile him up. Sometimes it gets me some kisses and tickles or tossed onto the mattress if it’s around bedtime.
I tune back into the game and try to keep up. Our team is crossing the blue line, which I believe is a good thing for us. Someone gets pushed against the glass in front of us, making me jump but Owen cheers excitedly.
“Mason!” Owen shouts. I take a second look, and it is, in fact, Mason. He lifts his hand to Owen before skating off quickly to continue playing. The other team is aggressive and has bodychecked someone on our team every play it seems. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a penalty yet, because some of the checks seem unsportsmanlike. The opposing team’s captain seems to be the ringleader of the aggression, which doesn’t help the situation.
As if I thought it into action, there’s a commotion on the other end of the rink. One of our teammates is on the ice. The other four players crowd whoever they are. I look up at the jumbotron for Gabe’s number and sigh when I see he’s standing. I know this is an away game, but I have the urge to walk to the bench and offer my services. If I didn’t have Owen with me, I would.
The whistle blows and an announcement is made.
“Luke Hotchkiss, charging. Five-minute misconduct penalty. Power play to the Penguins.”
There are equal cheers and boos within the arena. Obviously, we are cheering. Owen, for all his worry, starts bouncing in his seat and cheering with the rest of the crowd as well. The camera zooms in on Luke, the captain of the other team, shouting something. The referee looks done with the guy and appears close to issuing another penalty.
As Hotchkiss slides up to the Caldwell Orcas’ penalty box, I can’t help but notice the guy behind the box’s glass. He looks younger and a bit timid, with his attention focused solely on Hotchkiss. He’s also holding an orca stuffie, clutched to his chest like Owen has his penguin. The interaction between Hotchkiss and the guy with the stuffie is brief because someone lays a hand on the guy’s shoulderand Luke sits down, a scowl on his face clear even from where I’m sitting.
I wonder what his issue is, but then I’m distracted by the game restarting.
The Phoenix Penguins take full advantage of their power play. We somehow score two goals, the guys on the ice moving in a way that seems almost synchronized. When we hit the second goal, putting us three ahead, the tension in the arena grows.
Our guys play smart. We avoid excessive body checking and the shift changes are flawless. By the time the third period starts, the win feels like a foregone conclusion.
Owen is sitting in my lap now. I wouldn’t let him stand in his seat for safety reasons, and also to not block the people behind us. I can feel my phone vibrating in my pocket intermittently, but I ignore it.
This trip to Colorado for the away game was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Karen and Harold kicked up another fuss because I didn’t make Owen go to their house for a family event a couple of weeks ago, and since then I’ve been even less inclined to send him over there.
The words Owen said to me flash across my mind over and over again.
“Daddy, do I have to go? I don’t want Grandma to be mad at me again.”
No one in my son’s life is allowed to make him feel bad like that. When I texted Karen to let her know that Owen wouldn’t be coming, she blew up my phone with messages declaring that I’m keeping him from them, that they have a right to see him, and so on. There were words in those texts that no one should use to describe another person.
Those texts have slowed down in the last week, but there are still some others in the family that are texting me. Apparently, Karen gave my number to Lauren’s extended family to try and guilt trip me that they just want to get to know Owen.
“Yay!” My attention is brought back to the present when a buzzer sounds, and the Penguins supporters are all on their feet and cheering. It takes two whole seconds to react and realize we won. I stand on my feet, cheering with Owen and the other fans. “We won, Daddy! The Penguins beat the Oras!”
“Orcas, buddy.” I correct him with a smile. “But yes, we did win! How about we head to the hotel and we’ll meet Gabe and all of them there?”
“Yes! Yes!” Owen rocks his body back and forth with excitement in my arms. “I go swimming?”
“We’ll see if the pool is still open.” I know the guys will be a while before they come back to the hotel. Some will probably go out for a bit, but they have another game tomorrow so they can’t afford to get drunk.
I’m looking forward to sharing a hotel room with Gabe. Having Owen means he’ll get one of the beds while we’ll get the other. Mason has already agreed to share a room with two of the other guys so we can have the room to ourselves.
***
“We’re taking the kid!” One of the other players shouts from the doorway. Honestly, there are four of them in this room, including Mason and Vince, so I’m not sure who shouted it. They’ve all been around for Owen’s skating lessonswith Gabe, so it isn’t like he’s being taken by strangers. “We’ll be in room ten-twenty-four watching Happy Feet! He’s cool to sleep over if needed.”
“I’ll check in in a bit,” I call back out. “Owen, listen to the guys okay?”
“Yes, Daddy!” Owen’s voice calls out and I can hear the excitement in his voice at being able to hang out with the cool hockey players. It seems that most of them decided to come straight to the hotel after changing and everything else they had to do.
As such, they caught up with Owen and me in the pool. We all swam until thirty minutes past the time the pool was supposed to close, courtesy of the hotel staff. I kept my eyes on Gabe, hoping that the way he stuck to the shallow end and not being as wild as the others was just because he was tired after the game and not because he’s still not eating enough.
