Chapter Fifteen

We arrive at the rink an hour before Matthew’s game, the parking lot already full.

This is the championship game, and people always come out to support the local team. It also helps that they are against their archrivals. This game should be interesting. I know that Meghan, Tom, and the kids are coming. I also have no idea if James is showing his face, and after the showdown of yesterday I’m not really sure I care.

We drop Matthew off in front of the door. He gets out, opening the trunk, and grabbing his gear.

“Skate hard, Matthew. Win or lose, it’s just a game!” I always tell him that, but let’s be honest, losing sucks monkey balls.

We take our time parking and then walk in. I look at us walking and you would think it’s always been like this. I’m walking holding on to Allison’s hand, while she holds on to Cooper’s, where she is going on and on about something called rainbow looms. I have no idea what she is talking about, making a mental note to Google that shit when I get home.

We are almost inside when I hear someone call Cooper’s name, making us stop walking. Looking back, we see an older gentleman I’ve never seen before. He is dressed in khakis, a button-down shirt, with a baseball cap.

“Hey, Cooper, I had no idea you were going to be here.” He reaches out to shake his hand.

“Hey, Artie, I didn’t expect to see you here. What made you crawl out of your hole?”

“I’m scouting today. Heard there are a couple of players to watch out for. Decided I’d see for myself. What about you? I heard you were training.”

“Yup, decided I’d hit up Parker’s training this summer. She is kicking my ass, but it’s the best training I’ve gotten.” He smiles at me. “Artie, meet my girl, Parker. Parker, meet the man who came to scout me.”

“Nice to meet you, Artie.” I reach out to shake his hand.

“Parker, you wouldn’t be Matthew’s mom, would you?”

I know it’s silly, but I’m beaming with pride. “Yes, that would be my son.”

“Heard good things about him. Heard he has one heck of a shot, that he’s fast, too. What do you think, Cooper? Did you get a chance to go one-on-one with him?”

“Yup, she brought him in a couple of weeks ago. He’s got a powerful shot, he’s got speed, but he’s got hockey sense. It’s like he sees the play before it happens. He really is one to watch.”

“Yeah, that is what I heard also. Well, I guess I’ll see you in there. Good luck, Mom.” He nods at me, walking away, writing something in his notepad. What I wouldn’t give to know what it was.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I say. I always get this way before Matthew’s game. It gets me every time.

“You’re going to be okay, babe.” He pulls me to him, shoving me under his arm, picking up Allison, then making us walk in with more rainbow loom conversations.

We are in the second period of the game. It has been absolutely nuts so far. The other team came out guns blazing, looking to destroy us. It didn’t help that they gunned for Matthew. It also didn’t help that he liked to antagonize the other players.

Every single time they stopped for a face off or offside you would see his lips moving. I’m not a lip reader, but I can imagine it isn’t a PG conversation or that they are wishing each other good luck. James made it to the game but decided to sit a couple of rows back, which fits me just fine.

He actually brought Tiffany, which is fine, but she’s reading a book. What the actual fuck is she doing? I’m sitting next to Cooper, Meghan, and Tom. The kids have opted to play in the tikes’ room.

I look over and finally see my dad sitting talking to Artie. He never misses Matthew’s games, ever. He is usually in and out, taking notes then calling him with things to change. At first Matthew used to dread the phone calls, now he calls before my dad even has a chance.

It is also the first time that he will see me with Cooper, another thing that I will be getting a phone call about. A bang of the board in the corner brings me back to the game. Even before my eyes find his number I know it’s Matthew. He has a thing with getting in that corner, not caring who he has to battle with for that puck.

I see some shoving going on, with Matthew laughing, not even thinking anything of it, then in the blink of an eye the other kid punches Matthew sideways against the head, making his neck snap hitting the glass. I’m already standing on my feet, getting ready to get on that ice and kick some ass.

“What the hell, ref, control the game!” I yell. In the meantime, Matthew just realized what happened and has his fingers in the guy’s cage, yanking him down onto the ice.

It takes two refs to pry him off the kid, and they are both ushered to the penalty box where he takes off his helmet, looking over at the other kid, throwing out more F bombs than I thought was possible, and coming from me, that is a fuck of a lot. I’m ready to go over there and bang on the window when Cooper yanks me back.

“Babe, sit down,” he orders me, having me glare at him.

“Cooper, you better get your hand off me right now. I have to go and see if he’s okay.”

“Babe, he’s fine, he’s better than fine. Look at him.”

I take a second to look at Matthew. He’s smirking at his grandfather, all the while telling the other guy to suck his dick, making me gasp. What happened to my little boy? You know, the little boy who was polite? “Did he just tell that kid to suck his dick?” I look at Cooper, hearing Meghan and Tom burst out laughing.

“See, he’s just like his mom,” Meghan says, earning herself one of my many ‘I’ll kill you’ glares, and she laughs louder.

“Way to go, Matthew. Kick some ass,” Tom yells, gaining himself a glare as well.

“I hate you all,” I say, looking toward Matthew, hoping to get him to look at me, but he doesn’t. His eyes are on the game. The score is still 0-0, but it doesn’t stay like that for long because a pass in the neutral zone causes a turnover, making it a two on three. When they enter the zone, they set up the play with a one timer hitting the back of the net, making the other team move up by one. Matthew gets out of the penalty box with his head down, shaking. My heart sinks for him because I know he blames himself.

“He needs to wake up,” I say.

“He knows what he needs to do. Lots of time still,” Cooper says, rubbing my back, then placing his hand on my neck. Just like that they start the face off with Matthew winning this one, passing it to his right wing, making his way around the other center guy. He skates up, waiting at the red line for his guy to cross over the line with the puck. He skates to the right of the zone just on the side of the goalie, knowing what is coming next. His right-winger passes him the puck. He lifts his stick, waiting for it, and snipes it into the net, hitting the back pipe.

We are on our feet in a flash, cheering for him, horns are blaring, towels are being swung around. Matthew celebrates his goal by jumping and smashing the glass on the side of the goalie, making everyone roar more. It’s now a tied game, with both sides doing whatever they can to outplay the other team.

The third period is halfway in, and Matthew has had seven shots on nets, all being stopped by the goalie. It’s now a line change with Matthew jumping over the board, intercepting the pass from the other team’s defense, giving him just enough of a push to get him his breakaway. He is skating up the center, his stick moving the puck along smoothly right to left. He’s not letting it get too much ahead of him. He looks at his left where the defense is skating fast to catch up with him, and just like that he skates up, dekeing the goalie, tipping the puck over the pad, making it past the goal line.

We are yelling so loud I’m sure I will have no voice once this is over. I’m receiving high fives from the other parents, and we are chanting the team’s name. Play together win together has always been their motto. It was never one is better than the other. We are now two minutes till the end of the third and leading by one. Everyone is on their feet chanting, but with one minute to go we get a slashing penalty. They have pulled their goalie, making it four against six.

Leaving the other team with lots of ice to work with, I’m not sure I can watch anymore. The top four players on the ice, against the top six from the other team. The puck is passed from one defense to the other with him passing to the winger in the corner. He passes to the front of the net where he shoots on the net with the goalie making the save and freezing the puck.

The face off is to the left of the goalie. So far Matthew hasn’t lost a face off. The ref throws the puck down with Matthew trying to knock it away from the goalie, but the center man for the other team gets a piece of it, sending it to the defense so they can set up their play. The defensemen now pass it back and forth to each other, each trying to get a shot at the goalie. When he finally gets a shot on nets, he takes it, but our guy blocks it with his body, making the puck bounce on the ice, sliding it out of our zone, and that is all Matthew needs.

It’s like he saw it coming, because he already got control of it and shoots it at the open net, sliding inside, making it an empty net goal, giving him his hat trick.

The hats are flying onto the ice. I look at Cooper where he throws his hat onto the ice. There are ten seconds left to the game. The kids’ gloves are flying off, as well as the sticks. They have buried Matthew at the bottom of the pile, and just like that, they win the championship. I’m so excited for him, so proud of him. Cooper leans over, kissing my smiling face. Looking onto the ice, I see both teams lining up to shake hands. When the other team leaves the ice, our boys gather in the middle of the ice to pose for pictures with the banner and cup. I’m so proud of him.

It takes five minutes to get out of my seat, many parents stopping to tell me how awesome Matthew played, with me agreeing. It was the best game of his life. When I make my way to Allison, she is with James and Tiffany.

“Good game,” I say, looking at both of them.

“Yeah, he played his heart out there,” James says with a proud smile on his face.

“He sure did,” I agree, wrapping my arms around Cooper’s waist, leaning into him. It’s like I’ve been made to do this, to be here, to be with him.