The whole thing made me crack up laughing. Those boys were my whole world… but the rest of the world would definitely know who Griff and Duke were very soon. I could see fans all around me pointing up to the screen and talking…
The two teams loaded onto the ice then, and while warming up, Duke gave me a thumbs up and Griff shot me his signature salute.
They were both looking pretty solid in the warm-up… until Duke stopped Griff in the corner. Duke was waving his arms wildly, and it looked like Griff was trying to calm him down… but then Duke shook his head and looked directly up at me up in the stands and started gesturing to me…
I pointed to myself, trying to be sure he wanted me.
He nodded furiously.
I motioned “what?” by putting my arms out in a confused look.
He started to put imaginary food in his mouth and chew… and I immediately knew: He forgot his snickers bar and Mountain Dew… and I’d be damned if I let him go without them for his first AHL game.
I shoved my hot dogs at the couple sitting next to me and ignored their yells as I moved up the stairs to locate a concessionstand.
As I entered the rotunda that housed the stands, my stomach dropped… I could clearly see that almost every single line was atrociously long.
I needed a Hail Mary play.
I tapped on the shoulder of the guy who was last in one of the lines, and in a big rush, I blurted out: “My little brother is out there for his first game. I can show you proof if you want it. But he’s very superstitious and he forgot to get his good luck candy and pop… Can I skip in front of you so I can get it to him quicker?”
His eyebrows shot up and he immediately motioned me forward.
And that set off a chain reaction…
Soon, the entire line was pushing me forward to order first.
By the time I reached the front, I was practically out of breath. As soon as I grabbed the loot, the entire line started applauding for me while I rushed back into the stadium.
I quickly ran down all the steps and made my way to the team box.
Only problem– I wasn’t sure how to actually get the goods to Duke…
I frantically tapped on the glass behind the bench, but everyone probably thought I was a crazed fan and completely ignored me…
It was Griff who finally turned and caught my eye, letting me breathe a sigh of relief. I held up the candy bar and pop and nodded toward Duke.
He started laughing and put his gloved hand on top of Duke’s helmet to physically turn his head to make him see me.
The smile on Duke’s face made the whole ordeal worth it… even though I was now dying to go pee and missing my hot dogs.
Griff and Duke immediately started directing an equipment manager to come get his goodies.
______
My mission to uphold Duke’s superstition did not go unheralded.
The cameraman videoed him eating and drinking on the bench before taking his first shift… And after his first goal, they lit up the screen with the words: Snickers power!
By the third period, when he scored his hat trick, people threw snickers bars out on the ice for him, which I’d never seen before… but hey, the kid could always usemore.
They ended up winning the game 5-2, and Griff and Duke were responsible for four of the five goals. It was clear that they were just faster and smarter than the other guys; they made scoring look easy in this league.
Watching that game, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone important noticed and made them an offer to get up to the NHL.
———
I stayed in my seat after the game ended and watched the stadium empty out. I looked down at the ice wistfully… I missed it. I missed skate-running out onto the ice and smoothing into glides, feeling so absolutely free and like I was flying. I hadn’t stepped on the ice since Nick’s death… and now that I was pregnant, I wasn’t sure if I should even skate until after anyway…
