Chapter 370: Cecile XXXIII—The Hang of it

“Oh sweet heavens!” Cecile exclaimed when she finally peeked out onto the ice and saw the crowd filled to capacity in the building. Magness, was not a large arena, a suitable forum for college events and such, but Cecile had not been prepared for the sight. She resisted the urge to put a hand over her mouth but she gasped. “They’re here for us?”

Really her nervousness up until that point had been purely about her performance in front of her teammates and her opponents. She didn’t want to be laughed at by anyone or teased in the upcoming weeks. Not once did she take into account the crowd, and when she saw them buzzing in the stands, a sea of faces, her heart dropped. Now she would have to not make a fool of herself in front of these people?

Relax you’re not important, girl, her brain taunted. They’ll only be looking at their beloved hockey stars, what did they care about their insignificant little wives and girlfriends? Her knees trembled and she leaned into the wall of the walkway, closed her eyes. Oh you’re gonna die out there! Why even agree to this?

“It’s a great sight isn’t it?”

Cecile opened her eyes, feeling like she would vomit but the sight of Joe Sakic smiling made her suck it up. “What?”

Joe looked down the walkway, “All those people. It’s a great sight and the ice, it’s a little addictive.”

“Not really,” Cecile said in a voice that sounded altogether too whiny for her own sensibilities. “It’s terrifying, I don’t want to make a spectacle in front of all these people!”

“It depends on what kind of spectacle,” Sakic replied and he patted her on the shoulder. “Now I bet you want to score a nice goal, hm?”

Cecile lifted her eyebrows. “Actually staying alive would be my first goal rather than a real one.”

Sakic laughed and he put his hands to his sides. Cecile felt a little uncomfortable and she shuffled on her skates. Rock music blared on the speakers from outside, she recognized the music as the tunes that came from Danny’s radio in his car, or from Jonathan Roy’s room when he had the door closed. “Well you’d feel awesome if you score a goal, who’s the first goalie we’re up against, Aebischer?”

Cecile shrugged. “I don’t, I don’t know.”

Joe squinted, “I think he is, I mean Patty’s our first goalie, so Aebi will probably be the first one for them. Yeah, you’d be better scoring a goal on him.”

Cecile laughed. Sure, Cammi had told her that she had the best shot out of the wives and girlfriends, she liked Cecile’s aim and speed or other such things, but she didn’t think she had it in her to score on a professional goaltender. “Oh I doubt I’ll get a goal tonight, much less on him, Mr. Sakic.”

“Oh but you want one,” Sakic said with a mischievous smirk.

“Oh bah!” Cecile exclaimed and she smiled and hit at him. Of course she wanted a goal, her mind burned for one just so she could show Danny that she could play his game too. What use was there in playing a game if there was no ambition for your outcome in it? “Don’t give me any hope; it’s not that important, having fun is important!”

“Eh don’t be noble,” Sakic taunted. “Listen, I’m gonna tell the coach that you will be on my line through this whole thing, no matter what. Okay? I’ll help you get that goal and you can shove it in Danny’s face, it’ll be great.”

Cecile felt her cheeks blister and she shook her head. “Oh Mr. Sakic you needn’t! You want to win the game I would be a hindrance! Don’t do anything on my account, do what you have to play properly.” Oh how great would that be to be a member of his line! Cecile thought with evil glee, at least he’s someone I’m comfortable being around. Does Danny ever get regular time on Mr. Sakic’s line? It would just burn him!

“Oh I won’t take no for an answer!” Joe said easily with his eyes wide in mock solemn fatherly care. “You’ll be on my line, hey I promised Dan I’d take extra special care of you today and I’m gonna do just that. Besides it wouldn’t be too cool if I sat on the bench and watched helplessly as Keaner boarded you or something, then I’d have to kill him later and we’d be out a good winger. So really it’s in the team’s interest for you to be on my line.” He nodded for emphasis.

“Well,” Cecile said slowly, “If, if it helps the team, then I’d be honored.”

Joe grinned. “Now come on, let’s get back to the locker room.”

“There you are kiddo!” Tammy Keane exclaimed as Cecile and Joe came back into the locker room. Cecile wrinkled her nose, she was kinda used to the smell, but ugh she couldn’t remember anything this bad since passing by the boys open gym bags in high school. “Where’d you go wandering off to? Getting cold feet?”

Cecile laughed, “Sure, kinda, but Mr. Sakic helped me out.”

Tammy grinned. “Aw how nice.”

Cecile sat down next to Tammy who put her arm over her shoulders. Mr. Sakic stretched and yawned. “Jonathan!” he barked.

Jonathan Roy, looking so young and adorable in his goaltender gear sat up straight, his hair twisted and twirled in that fashion only a young boy could pull off. “Yup Captain?”

Joe pointed at him. “You’re our third period goalie so whether we catch up in the game or lose our lead depends squarely on you, Boy.”

Oh don’t put pressure like that on the kid! Cecile thought.

Jonathan’s eyes widened. The boy paled and then gulped. “Of course. I knew that.”

Mr. Sakic nodded. “Good, I knew you did. Now the trick is, and I know your father must have already told this to you, is getting into the minds of your opponent.”

Jonathan nodded eagerly. “Sure, Dad told me.”

Mr. Sakic crossed his arms. “Of course he did. Did he explain about being vocal?”

“Yup,” Jonathan said with a proud grin. “He told me ALL about the vocal stuff. Don’t worry I got it cornered Cap’n.”

Cecile narrowed her eyes. Somehow that cheeky grin of Jonathan spoke of unsaid plans and amusements that he wouldn’t even let the captain in on. Of course knowing the boy’s already precocious nature could be coloring her assessment but she felt pretty positive that there would be something colorful from Jonathan in that third period. When everyone’s attentions seemed to be elsewhere, Cecile leaned forward and got Jonathan’s attention. The boy leaned forward as well. “Yeah?”

“What are you planning?” she asked in a low voice.

Jonathan grinned and he looked to either side, “Um what would I be planning?”

Cecile rolled her eyes, but she smiled. “Alright what are you plotting?”

“Me? Plot? What?” Jonathan said innocently with a grin. “Where would you have gotten that idea good woman?”

Cecile giggled. “Come on I promise I won’t tell!”

Jonathan winked. “Hey anything to benefit the team,” he nodded, “It’s nothing too serious it’s just about being prepared.”

Cecile barely listened to the coach, a small feisty French Canadian man, Jacques Cloutier. For one thing she couldn’t really get a bead on some of the terminology he used and she hadn’t even when Cammi spoke it so she had just taken her cue on the ice. Take pass, shoot, skate, don’t let opponent take puck. Simple enough.

She rolled her fingers into tight balls as she followed the group into the walkway towards the ice. Every now and then, someone would say “okay let’s just have fun” or something like that. Her stomach crawled into her throat and she heard the applause of the crowd, more smattered than she would have expected as they stepped onto the ice. She didn’t know what to do at all and she pressed against the glass and watched as everyone else wearing her team’s jersey circled around toying with pucks and the goalies began to stretch.

Jonathan and Patrick Roy crouched closely next to each other in identical stretches, which oddly struck Cecile as making them look adorable. Patrick smiled with such a glowing easiness as she’d only seen on him when around his children and Jonathan’s mouth moved as he talked about something. How sweet for them to have a moment to share like this. She grinned.

“Are you Danny’s girlfriend?!”

Cecile jumped and looked behind her. A group of girls probably her age stood clustered at the glass in tight shirts, and low rise jeans that were far too tight resulting in a small bulge of flesh escaping from the bottom of the shirt and the top of the jeans. All three of them had long blond hair and far too much make up on. “Um did you say something?” Cecile asked.

“Yeah,” one of the girls said putting her mouth to the crack in the glass partition. “You Danny Hinote’s girl? Thirteen?”

“Well, yes, we’re engaged,” Cecile said feeling as if she were being stared at like a zoo animal, being appraised for suitability.

“Don’t look like I woulda pictured ya,” the girl said after exchanging incredulous looks with the other girls. Two of them giggled as if they’d seen a monkey do something interesting in a cage. “Danny likes blondes, you know?”

Cecile frowned. “What?”

The girl kissed the glass leaving a lipstick kiss on it. “Just thought you’d like to know, see ya.”

The girls laughed and high fived each other as they went back up the stairs. Cecile frowned. What kind of creatures were those? She shook her head, sad creatures. Danny likes blondes? What knowledge could they have of him? She shook her head and turned around, of course those girls were those jealous groupie things the other wives sometimes talked about and they were lying to feel more important but still, it irked her stomach. How dare they even try to imply anything about Danny when he would never even look sideways at an underdressed overdone overbaked overbleached creature like that!

“Come on if you’re gonna score you gotta practice!”

Cecile wrinkled her nose and looked at Joe Sakic’s cheerful face but she couldn’t bring the energy to smile. “Sure.”

“What’s wrong?” Mr. Sakic asked. “Did those girls bother you?”

Cecile shrugged and felt her throat tickle, “No not really…”

Joe frowned and looked past her at the audience. Cecile felt her eyes sting a little with tears, those girls had looked at her as if she were some ugly creature, like a sow or something. She had never felt so unseemly before!

“Aw shucks,” Mr. Sakic said and he patted her on the arm. “Look don’t let them get at ya, they’re just dumb kids okay? Forget about them.”

Cecile smiled weakly. “Sure I will, I’m just being silly.”

Cecile looked to the other end of the ice as she followed Mr. Sakic to the center of it. Dan was there, that smile on his face so huge and gleaming. He skated in a figure eight around and inbetween Mrs. Sakic and Michele making both of the women laugh and swat at him with their gloved hands. She tightened her lips and wanted to go over there to him and hug and kiss him, just to show those girls a thing or two. Danny mocked a fall and in the process grabbed onto Mrs. Sakic and took her to the ice with him. Debbie flung her arms out and grabbed Michele with her as well. They lay in a pile laughing and smiling and Cecile felt a sudden wave of abandonment and jealousy wanting to be on Dan’s team.

“What the…” Joe muttered. “I told him to take care of Debbie not kill her!”

Cecile didn’t feel any better until Danny looked up from the pile, and waved. Her heart rose and she waved back at him.

“Come on,” Joe said and she felt his hand press lightly into the small of her back. “Let’s try a shot on Patty.”

Cecile swallowed and watched Joe wind up a puck and hit it with such a heavy, deadly swat that Cecile felt afraid and wanted to duck from just the noise alone. It hit Patrick’s pads with a heavy thwack.

With the puck in front of her Cecile balked. Patrick’s eyes flamed and sparked with such intensity that he looked like a creepy, ferocious spirit or something. She didn’t want to shoot at that! It felt like his eyes burned into her eyes and into her skull and she realized exactly how helpless she had been that night when she had denied his attentions. He could have her whenever he wanted if he had a mind to force her!

“Don’t be scared,” Mr. Sakic said. “He’s on our side.”

Cecile ran her tongue over her lips and looked at his pads and she saw a teeny tiny opening at the corner of the net where his toe was. She cried out as she put all her meager weight into smacking the puck with her stick. It glided across the surface of the ice at an embarrassingly slow speed compared to Mr. Sakic’s and she couldn’t believe how proud she had been of that shot just two days ago!

It hit Patrick’s toe skate and then hit that far post with a dull cling before sliding into the corner. Cecile smiled. “Wow that did feel nice!”

Joe grinned. “It’s better when it goes in.”

She nodded. “Yeah I can get the hang of it. Thanks!”