Chapter 369: Jonathan XX—Mom Not an Angel
What annoyed Jonathan the most was not having an extra pair of eyes in the other locker room. His only ally and confidante in this matter, Alex Tanguay, as luck would have it, shared the locker room with Jonathan’s burgundy team. So there would be no updates of any sort of interaction between Mom and Danny in the white team’s room. True, Freddy was in Mom’s locker for today, but it’s not like he could go to Freddy and say, “Hey man I think Danny Hinote is hot for Mom and he might be seducing her can you keep me updated?”
Yeah he could imagine Freddy’s cheeks redden and then shouting, “Dad! Guess what Jonathan said!”
He sighed
and looked at the jersey made specially for today, especially for him. “
Dad grinned showing his slightly dingy, beer worn teeth. “It wasn’t my idea, boy, but it was someone’s idea that since our wives are better halves, the children are better thirds.”
Jonathan scowled. “So what Mom’s number will be thirty three and a half? That’s a really bad joke, REALLY bad. It stinks.” And a third? What kinda cheesy crap was that?
“Hey that’s Debbie’s idea,” Joe Sakic exclaimed. “She thought it was cute.”
Jonathan lifted his eyebrows, looking at the captain.
Joe shrugged. “It’s cute, the crowd will love it.”
“I bet they would,” Jonathan said holding the jersey at arm’s length. He suddenly felt as if Mom had just kissed him real big on the cheek and left a huge lipstick mark before sending him out of the car and onto the schoolyard. “This is reeeeally precious.”
Sakic laughed. “Just deal with it kid, when you can still get away with being called cute, aye?”
“Heh,” Jonathan replied, groaning as he pulled the jersey on over his head. He twisted his body around and wiggled his fingers, loosening up. No butterflies danced in his stomach yet, but maybe that’s cause whenever he tried to think about the game, he just saw yet again, Mom’s finger going over Danny’s wrist.
Thank GOD he was the only one who saw that. What the hell was Mom thinking? His mind spun with irritation and betrayal. She couldn’t have been thinking that anything but that right? She couldn’t have been serious right? Could Dad have pissed her off that much? But, but Mom wasn’t like that! She loved Dad, and she loved him and his siblings she didn’t want to be anywhere but home because she was the best Mom in the world Goddammit.
Quite simply, Dan Hinote was to blame for all this.
“You’re looking good kid,” Rob Blake grinned with his sleepy, dopey eyes. “Almost good enough to draft.”
Jonathan shrugged. “It’s all good,” he replied. Dammit, Dan Hinote would not be responsible for screwing up this fun day for him. He would just have to push the whole thing outta his mind.
“When do ladies come in?” Milan Hejduk asked in his soft voice with his large brown eyes. “I am getting worry.”
“Aw come
on!” Joe barked. “Why should you worry
Hejduk
blushed and Jonathan’s eyes widened as Sakic laughed and patted Hejduk a little
roughly on the back. “Damn captain you’re mean,”
Jonathan laughed when he saw that
Sakic winked.
“We’ll see the girls as soon as they get dressed and we’re decent,” Chris Drury said with a yawn as he fastened his stockings to his hockey garters.
“Damn Dru doesn’t your woman ever get you waxed?” He taunted, taking the Captain as his model. “You could make a rug outta that wool on your chest.”
Sakic laughed, as did Dad and a few other guys. Drury puffed out that horror show of a chest covered in thick, dense black hair. “There will come a day boy when you’ll be dying to have just a small fraction of what I got.”
Jonathan shook his head. “Hey even that would be too much, I want to impress girls not watch em cough up hair balls!”
Sakic laughed even harder and Jonathan grinned at Chris who at first paling with what seemed to be anger, let his mouth spread into a small, slow grin. “You’re cute, kid, you’ve got potential.” And he emphasized the word kid which instantly deflated Jonathan’s budding ego. Even being called “boy” sat with him better than “kid”. Ten year olds were kids, not him!
Jonathan shrugged a little under Dad’s hand as he ruffled his hair. “Nervous, boy?”
“Nope,” Jonathan said. “Not really. You Dad?”
“Of course not,” Dad grinned. “Why would I be?”
Jonathan shrugged. “I dunno I guess cause it would really suck for you if like Mom scored on you or something; I mean how’d you live it down?”
Dad’s eyes widened and then he laughed. “I see, well I wouldn’t see a need to worry about that yes? You know your mother’s slapshot, it isn’t that hard.”
Jonathan felt a little evil. “Yeah but she can get really sneaky you know, sliding things under the pads and stuff.”
Dad grimaced. “Oh.”
One of the equipment managers poked his head into the locker room. “Hey in here, the ladies are coming, anyone still buck naked?”
“Naw it’s good,” Blake said. “Bring in the hunnies.”
Within the second the door swung open and Jana hurled herself into the room pale and scrawny in a pastel top and baby blue jeans. Her hair was in two long braids and she grinned. “Daddy!” She dashed into Dad and jumped on his lap, giving him a big kiss. Dad’s face absolutely glowed and he patted her.
“Hey there.”
Jana hugged him around the neck. “Are you gonna wear your Smittens today? Mom says she’s gonna make you sorry you were born.”
Dad laughed. “No I do not think I need the Smittens today, I will give them a rest and use them against real competition.”
Jana nodded solemnly. “Good idea.” She kissed him on the cheek and jumped off his lap to greet the wives who entered the room looking like tentative and antsy Siamese cats lost in layers of jersey and padding.
“Looking good ladies,” Blake grinned. “Every last one of ya!”
“Of course we do,” Drury’s girlfriend, a dark haired, round cheeked young woman said, “Now lay off.” She sat down next to Chris and leaned into him. “You stink honey, and so do I.”
Drury smiled affectionately and put his arm around her. “And we’re not even started yet, honey, it’s gonna get worse. You’ll get used to it.”
“I’m used to just the girls,” Rory replied. “But you guys really stink bad.”
Drury laughed and kissed her cheek.
Gag me! Jonathan thought, bonding over B.O., couples were really embarrassing sometimes. He didn’t think even he and Elena ever got that bad!
He leaned back and interlaced his fingers. It couldn’t be helped; Mom kept sitting in his mind. Was Danny Hinote smiling at her, was she encouraging him, maybe running her fingers through his hair and touching his cheek? Of course not dumbass, she wouldn’t do that in front of everyone like that.
But the fact remained, Mom was no angel. Okay, so she just kinda touched him, Jonathan knew Dan was a good looking guy, the kind all the girls went nuts over. Why wouldn’t Mom kinda look at him? He knew Dad glanced at girls sometimes quite openly if they were cute or something. It’s not like Dad ever did anything with them, he just looked. So it would stand to reason that Mom would have eyes as well to recognize a good looking fella when she saw one. What shame was there in…
GAH! Jonathan’s mind screamed with revulsion. No she wasn’t supposed to touch him like that. He scowled.
“Are you feeling okay?”
Jonathan blinked and looked at Cecile, damn the girl looked FINE there for a second, all willowy and pale in that bulky gear. He swallowed. “Sure.”
She smiled. “I’m nervous too.”
Sakic draped his arm over her and Jonathan saw her cheeks go from pink to red. He wanted to roll his eyes. What girl didn’t have a crush on Joe whether she knew it or not? Elena sure as hell raved about him. “Don’t be!” Joe exclaimed. “I’m gonna take good care of you, I promised Danny.”
Cecile raised her eyebrows and looked at Joe, her face mere inches away from his. Jonathan tilted his head; Joe seemed really friendly didn’t he? What was it with the adults today? “Did he really?” She asked quietly and she shrugged as if trying to brush his arm away.
“Yup,” Joe replied and he pinched her nose before letting her go. “And what’s more we’re gonna take real good care of him. It’s gonna be a blast.”
Jonathan
whistled. Yup a real blast.