“Only the most fun charity activity of the season.” Desirae’s tinkling laugh is infectious. “Everyone that comes to the game is asked to bring a stuffed toy. When the Blades score their first goal of the night, the fans throw the stuffies onto the ice. Instead of raining cats and dogs, it’s teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Volunteers work together to gather them all up so the game can resume as quickly as possible, then we donate them to West Palm Children’s Hospital. The more people we have on the ice to bag them up, the faster the process goes. We’ve set a goal of 10,000 this year.”
My mouth drops open in disbelief. “Ten thousand teddy bears? I can’t even comprehend that.”
“Well, the hockey rink’s seating capacity is around 8,200. And many people bring more than one. So it’s an achievablegoal. The Anginelli Foundation will also make a sizable donation, but it’s much more fun to toss a few teddies.”
I love contributing to a good cause, especially if it’s for kids. “Count me in. I’ll be sure to pick up a few stuffies myself, and I might just have time to make a special ice display for the occasion.”
After disconnecting the phone, I turn my sketchbook over to a blank page, drawing out a teddy bear design to carve from ice.
The next afternoon, I get to the arena early enough to work on the special sculpture. I’ve got a spare block in the deep freeze and enough time to create the design. If I keep the coloring simple, I should be done in time for the doors to open.
As I’m putting the finishing touches on my icy teddy bear, Desirae and Stone approach. Stone is as handsome as ever, and almost as tall as Jax. Desirae looks like she stepped out of a winter fashion magazine, dressed in all black, including a faux fur vest and matching ear muffs. Together, they make a very attractive couple, the epitome of success.
Desirae’s attire is not only for fashion, it’s for warmth. The inside of a hockey rink in Florida is not for the faint of heart. Especially if you’re a native of the Sunshine State and not used to cold temperatures.
She gushes over the ice displays. “Oh my gosh, Elise, everything looks amazing! And the teddy bear sculpture is adorable!”
“I wanted to do something special for tonight.”
Desirae turns to her husband. “Stone, you should probably get the PR team over here. Fans will no doubt want to take pictures with the ice teddy bear. They’ll probably need some line control.”
As Stone steps aside to make a call, Desirae asks, “Why don’t you join us in the owner’s suite for the game? When it’s time for the teddy bear toss, we can go down to the ice together.”
Seeing the game from high above the rink in a suite gives me a bird’s eye view of all the action. The Blades players look downright dangerous in their home uniforms of black pants, black helmets, and gold color jerseys with black numbers. As I look around in the owner’s suite, everyone is decked out in Golden Blades logo gear, or at least the team colors of black and gold.
I’m surprised to find Mrs. Reilly, my elderly Pelican Point neighbor who lives two doors down from me, in attendance. I give her a warm hug. “What are you doing here? I had no idea you were a hockey fan.”
She grins. “I became one pretty quickly once I realized my grandson was an owner. Besides, who doesn’t like to watch good-looking young men skate around on ice and fight one another?” She gives me a wink.
“Stone is your grandson? I didn’t know that!”
She nods, and I can’t help but laugh at her description of hockey.
Mrs. Reilly is dressed in some warm team apparel also, while I’m wearing my standard work uniform of black leggings and an oversized long sleeved black tunic, with a beanie to cover my head and ears. At least I’m sporting one of the team’s colors. Being from Chicago and acclimated to working in cold environments, my blood is thick enough that I don’t need to wear as many layers of clothing as most of the folks here.
Desirae approaches and hands me a package. “Here, put this on. You need to represent,” she says with a smile.
I open the package to find a team jersey. Holding it up, I see it has the number 13 and the nameMorganon the back.It’s Jax’s jersey. I try not to show any reaction. It’s probably random, or does Desirae suspect I’ve been checking out the team Captain?
Putting the jersey on immediately amps up my excitement. I take a seat in the front row just outside of the suite for the bestview of the ice. Jax wins the initial face-off and I struggle to keep up with the movement of the puck as it swiftly glides back and forth across the ice.
About ten minutes into the first period, an Atlanta player gets called for a penalty; I have no idea what he did wrong. The music amps up and the announcer yells, “Your Golden Blades are on a Power Play!”
I focus on the large video screen in the middle of the arena for an up-close view of the action. The crowd is screaming “Let’s Go, Blades,” as the team attempts to take advantage of the opportunity to score while there’s one less opponent on the ice. I’m on the edge of my seat, getting as hyped-up as the rest of the spectators. Jax wins the face-off again and passes the puck to a team mate, who takes it down to the net for a score. I nearly jump out of my seat as the siren goes off, indicating a goal. Before I can blink an eye, stuffed animals begin raining down onto the ice, quickly blanketing it in toys. Desirae comes rushing over.
“C’mon! We’ve got work to do!”
We take the service elevator down to the ice, joining players, team staff, cheerleaders and ice girls, as well as other volunteers, in picking up and stuffing large garbage bags full of toys.
The local Lexxus dealer is a team sponsor, and one of their demo SUVs is driven slowly along the ice, taking the larger stuffies into the cargo space and on the roof rack. Some of the bears are as tall as I am. As I set aside a full bag to be picked up, number thirteen himself skates over with an empty bag to fill. I throw in an armful of toys, grinning when he comments, “Nice jersey.”
“Desirae made me wear it,” I fib. “She said I had to dress properly to be in the owner’s suite.”
“Well, you look very nice in it.”
“Thank you.” I can feel the heat on my face, picturing my pale complexion turning bright red, as I grow flustered under his scrutiny. Deflecting his attention from my face, I say, “Look over there.” I point over to the team mascot, Gildy the Golden Eagle, lying down on the ice in a pile of stuffed animals moving his arms and legs as if making a snow angel.
Back in the suite after a solid 20-minute delay gathering all of the toys and readying the ice for continued play, I grab a snack and a drink and take a seat beside Desirae.
