He actually scored a goal… in his first game.
I knew how badly he’d wanted that, and I felt so proud for him I could cry.
The entire stadium was practically on their feet screaming as he skated back to the bench to tap gloves with the rest of the team- the usual celebration it seemed. The announcer’s voice boomed over the crowd’s cheering: “Deeeee-troit Gooooal, scored by number 25, Teeee-Jaaaayyy Vonnieeee!”
And then, like my heart could take anymore, TJ looked in the direction where we were sitting and pointed his stick at us and raised his other hand in victory.
“Did he just point at you?! Ellie, he pointed at you!” Sav yelled.
I couldn’t help but laugh with tears in my eyes as the women around me slapped me high-fives, because I guess my version of coach mode worked on him too.
When the Jumbotron showed his goofy dance moves from the warm-up earlier, the girls in the suite lost it.
“He is a charmer!” Sav called out. “Detroit is going to lovehim.”
TJ didn’t score any more goals, but the rest of the game was just as exciting as his first shift out. I found myself laser-focused on the game, and even moving in my chair anxiously as if I could move for the players. Each time TJ stepped onto the ice, I was so nervous for him I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
As I watched I was able to pick up on some of TJ’s superstitions. He played center, and every time he skated towards the ref to take the face-off, he first checked his left skate, and then adjusted his helmet. Sav explained that slapping the puck back to his own guys was a win, and he was able to win almost every one of the face-offs.
TJ was back out on the ice for the last minute of the game, and Sav told me that was a great sign for him.
When the final buzzer sounded, the crowd erupted, because Detroit beat Pittsburgh 5 to 1, which was apparently a good indicator that the upcoming season would be a winning one.
As the guys filed off the ice, I sat back wondering where I should be headed to next because TJ hadn’t given me any directions for after thegame.
“Family room time!” one of the women called out, and I anxiously looked to Sav to find out if that was a thing for me too.
“It’s connected to the locker room, so that’s where they meet us without everyone getting swarmed by fans,” Sav explained as she turned Indie to face me. “Can you carry her for me and hand her off to Griff? I have a bunch of stuff for Griff’s charity to bring down and pass out. Me and Johnny can handle it, but not when I’m holding Lil Squish here.”
“Sure. I’d never complain about holding a baby,” I told her. “Especially not one as good as Miss Indie here.” She squealed happily at me and immediately reached for my hair. It felt good to know Sav trusted me so much. She immediately felt like a friend to me, and her warmth reminded me a lot of Jules.
As soon as I held her, Indie grabbed my face with her little starfish hands and gave a big gummy smile.
“Hi baby girl,” I cooed as I started to trail after Sav, Johnny, and the other women.
As soon as we left the room, I noticed a large man- probably around 6’5 with muscles triple the size of TJ’s- in a black security shirt standing outside the door.
“Hullo, Ellie. Hullo, Indie,” he greeted. I smiled back, feeling relieved that he was accompanyingus.
Entering the Crewmen’s family room felt like I was walking into a secret club. It’s plain, black door gave way to a beautifully furnished room with Detroit Crewmen history and memorabilia plastered all over. Multiple leather couches and retired player’s locker cubbies lined the walls. In the middle of the room, two mini hockey nets were set up on the plush red carpet, and a couple of the younger kids were already running around with little plastic hockey sticks playing mini-sticks.
The families were all waiting for their men to shower and get changed back into their suits to make an entrance.
As Sav explained, some of the men would take longer than others depending on if they got pulled for a post-game interview.
As each guy entered, everyone in the room applauded and the guy’s family members ran toward them for hugs. While I recognized quite a few people from the lake barbeque, there were definitely more wives and children present now.
It seemed like the entire team was now in the room, but TJ was still missing. I would’ve tried to text him to figure out where he was, but I was still holding Indie, and I didn’t want to take my hands off her.
She started fussing a bit then.
“Shhh, baby, I gotcha,” I whispered to her and lightly swayed back and forth a bit.
“Damn, wish you’d say that to me sometimes, babe,” I heard TJ’s gravelly voice say from behind me.
I looked up at him and felt a little flutter in my chest, because post-game TJ: hotter than ever. His freshly showered hair was mostly pushed back, with the shorter strands falling into his face, and his tie was pulled loose like he didn’t want to put it fully back on. He was casually tossing the game puck in his hand, which now had tape across it that read: 1stNHL goal.
“You did it!” I whisper-yelled at him.
