Chapter 348: Modo XVI—Lost Puppy

Well that had to be the oddest, most entertaining news he heard in awhile. He had gotten a call from a laughing Keaner, who informed him that Alex Tanguay had seen the medical staff this morning about a “bruised tailbone”. Basically what happened when Alex came home last night that actress Penelope Cruz called him up and the kid had been so excited that he fell off a chair and hurt his butt. He would be okay, just a little sore, but more importantly, Alex may have a girlfriend of outstanding proportions.

Modano laughed with Keaner over the phone about that. Yes, Alex would be the last person he thought of initially to nab a girlfriend like that, but then again, as Modano thought about Alex’s cute face and personality, he was exactly the type of nice guy who got girls like that. Modano had to smile wryly, actually it was a shame that there weren’t more guys like that around.

When Keaner hung up, Modano felt cold and alone. Now even Alex had a girlfriend or at least a golden opportunity for one. Alex had someone he could be with; no one on this team was alone, except for him. Mike shook his head. He had to snap out of this mood before he rotted away inside completely! He thought about calling Keaner again, maybe going out with him like the old days, crying on his shoulder as it were, but then he decided against that. How much more of his love life did Keaner need to know?

Mike flipped through the newspaper with his chin in his hand. Not many interesting articles, death, politics, scandal, garden variety street crimes. Christ, not only was he lonely, he was also bored! He twisted his lips reading an ad for a huge men’s clothing sale at a new mall that had opened, one of those grand opening season deals. Well, Modano thought, it being winter and bitterly cold, he still didn’t really have a large variety of warm clothes. Sooner or later he would have to get some winter clothes, now would be as good a time as any. He supposed the mall would be crowded but what else did he have to do with his day?

It wasn’t hard to find the mall, the city wasn’t nearly as big and congested as Dallas and at first Modano had been a little annoyed by that, but the relative ease in which he was able to find things, and how quickly he got from one place to another won him over. He whistled along to a perky pop tune on the radio as he pulled into the mall parking lot and then whistled in surprise at how many cars were in the immense lot. A sea of cars glittering and dingy under the twinkling cold sun made Mike breathe out and wonder if he should just turn around and go back home.

“Who are you freaks?” He asked aloud referring to every single owner of every single car in the lot. What reason would all these people have to be at the mall with the holidays being for all intents and purposes over? He grimaced. Oh yeah, new mall, designer stores, the place to be. “Yeah I should just go back home.”

A flock of women and girls over laden with bags and smiles staggered into the parking lot, to their car parked near one of the mall entrances and Modano frowned. Well then, there’s that settled! Now the only thing there was to decide was if the suddenly available entrance was a good omen or a bad one. He didn’t really trust things that came too easy.

The women were quick to load the car and themselves and free up the space, evidently veterans at this sort of thing. By the time Mike parked and hopped out of his car, squeezing his cold glove less hands together in the bright, cold air, he was humming to himself optimistically. He shoved his hands into the pocket and marched into the mall.

The first thing that greeted him upon entering was the merry chime of bubblegum pop music, the smells of a couple upscale restaurants that made his stomach growl and the perky, desperate pleas of kiosk vendors asking for his patronage to their hawked products. Mike cheerfully ignored them as he strolled down the crowded halls, passing by the mall maps so as not to look like an ignorant, as he looked for those men’s clothing stores. In a way, as he walked, not knowing where he went, Mike felt somewhat like a lost dog, or an aimless one, the kind that wander alleyways rooting through trash bins and begging for restaurant scraps. The point being, he didn’t belong to anyone, and seeing couples walking hand and hand, he wanted to.

People did recognize him as he walked; he saw their expressions flicker with delight, surprise, and elation. Mike smiled and nodded politely to them but he kept walking to signal that he wanted time to himself. If anyone had the gall to chase him down, he supposed he’d give them an autograph or something, but no one did, signaling to him that they were continuing happily with their own lives.

Walking by a pretzel kiosk proved too irresistible, smelling the butter and cinnamon and sugar, and rationalizing that he didn’t indulge in these things that often, he bought himself a nice, fat hot pretzel. The crumbles of cinnamon sugar that caressed his tongue took some stress off his loneliness as he walked but in a way it reminded him of love’s sweetness, the warmth of being with someone and soon he began to feel worse.

Dammit where were those men’s stores? So far all he saw were designer stores catering to anorexic teens and posh women.

He wondered if Joe shopped for himself or if Debbie did all the shopping. Mike remembered how much he had loved to go to the mall by himself and get nice clothes for Brett. They always fit perfectly and Brett always looked so nice in them and so happy to try them on. Yes, Mike knew he would shop for Joe everyday, spoil him with things like that. And then he thought of Debbie, doing that job and he felt frustrated, jealous and embarrassed at the same time.

I can’t have Joe, Mike thought, can I? So why do I keep torturing myself with it. I had been so certain that he felt something for me but whether that’s true or not, now that I know Joe better, I know him enough to know that he would never abandon his family or betray his wife’s trust. I would be fooling myself to want more than his regard. I need to move on, take Alex’s advice and call up that good looking reporter. But would that be fair to him, when my heart belongs with another man?

Mike felt a new resolve in his chest. He would strive for Joe’s friendship and trust and high opinion. Everything he’d do would be to impress Joe that yes Mike Modano is a man he could count on and want to be with. That could be fun, like a new project, but where to start?

Mike’s eyes widened when he tossed away the greasy, buttery, sugar crumbled wrapper to his pretzel and as he licked the remaining crumbs off his fingers he saw a little boy standing all alone. One thing he hated to see was kids abandoned or unattended to by neglectful parents where they could fall into harm or distress. The boy didn’t seem too worried at all however as he kneeled at the feet of a mannequin staring at something on the carpet, a bug or a stain perhaps. He seemed absorbed in his own interests as little kids often are.

Now what Modano recognized about the kid was the toy under his arm, a sort of cute plush character in overalls in shoes. He remembered Christmas at the Sakic house, the frightening play the children had put on and the sound or Mitchell’s happiness opening his gift. Of course Alex Tanguay would have been so thoughtful as to get little Mitchell the perfect toy. So Mike had remembered that, how he wished he had thought to get Mitchell a toy as cool as that one.

Sure enough, when the little boy looked up from the carpet, squinting at the crowds of people walking down the hall, Mike recognized that it was indeed Mitchell. Alone! And the boy looked pensive, like a child who only just begun to realize that he had been left behind and was lost. Soon, would be the panic. The kid looked just like a little lost puppy.

Well Mike would be damned if he let Mitchell be caught alone and frightened. He wondered who he was here with, Debbie or that nanny, either way both of those women were incompetent and heartless to let this happen. Chin set with determination he strode across the hall towards Mitchell who Mike was delighted lit up with a smile of recognition.

“Hey Mikey!” Mitchell exclaimed, standing up and waving his toy.

“Hey, kiddo,” Mike replied easily. “What’s up?”

Mitchell put his hands on his hips. “I spilled my drink on the carpet, I think I’m gonna be in trouble.”

Mike looked down at the carpet and saw an overturned kiddie cup and a bright red liquid staining the floor. Oops is right! “Well are you lost?”

“Um I don’t know,” Mitchell said thoughtfully.

At that moment Mike saw Debbie fiddling with an oversized sweater at one corner of the store, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings as she seemed to be in a sore mood with a clerk. He heard the squeal of the twins and he saw the nanny, Cecile struggling to strap them into their strollers, also oblivious to her surroundings because the boy had just snatched a handful of her long black hair.

Mike sighed. “Well that’s just great.” He muttered, irritated with the whole group for daring to forget about precious little Mitchell, Joe’s firstborn son! Well he’d be better off with me as babysitter, women make the best babysitters HA!

“Mike!” Mitchell squeaked. “I think I’m lost cause I don’t know where anyone is.”

Mike looked down benevolently at the kid, he’d take better care of Mitchell than those women, and he knew he could. And if he did, then maybe it would serve them right and teach them a lesson about not paying attention to the children and show Joe that he was great with kids. No one could lose here! “Hey I can help you find your Mommy, but you wanna get a toy or something first?” Yup, Joe would love it if I was just as thoughtful as Alex and got Mitchell a nice gift!

Mitchell’s round marble eyes widened. “Really?”

“Sure,” Mike said. “You can have anything you want.”

“Coooool!” Mitchell breathed and he grabbed Mike’s hand. “Let’s go!”

Mike smiled feeling warm with usefulness and wit.

What surprised Mike the most about Mitchell was the kid’s humbleness. He definitely must have got this from his dad. The first thing Mitchell wanted at the toy store was not a huge, sparkling, expensive gift but a simple toy. Mike even asked him if he wanted something bigger but Mitchell shook his head saying that the small toy was perfect! Easy enough.

Leaving the toy store, Mike began to take Mitchell back to the clothing store where his Mom was, he imagined how grateful and happy she would be to get the boy back. And he knew he would council her on being a better watchdog on Mitchell. He liked that idea, telling Debbie how to be a better mom.

As they left the store, however, the first thing he saw was Michele Roy and Pierre Lacroix’s wife, Columbe talking with each other outside a store, shopping bags at their feet. The brakes actually screeched in Modano’s brain and he gritted his teeth. Somehow he knew they would ruin everything and what the hell were they doing here today? What made them pick this mall of all places and times?

He tried to walk a little swiftly by them and he thought he would be able to pass them by if it hadn’t been for Mitchell who squealed in an excited voice as high as a girl’s. “MEEE-MEEE!”

Michele frowned and looked away from Mrs. Lacroix and her face brightened when Mitchell broke free from Mike’s hand and ran towards her. “Mitchell!” Mike cried, cursing the day that dirty blond French woman was born and he went after the little boy, easily catching him and swinging him up into the air. Dammit HE was going to take Mitchell to Debbie and be responsible for finding him, not Michele!

Michele frowned. “Mike? What are you doing here with Mitchell?”

“Mimi! Mimi! Mimi!” Mitchell peeped reaching out to her and wiggling his little fingers, squirming so much in Mike’s arms that he could barely hold him up.

“Oh I was just watching him. Um what are you doing here?” Mike asked quickly, wanting to be gone and away. He didn’t want to hand Mitchell over to Michele, that woman was a psychotic sex fiend, it would be criminal!

“Shopping,” Michele said lightly. “Come on Mitchell you want me to hold you?”

That damn bitch!

“Meee-meee!” Mitchell squeaked happily.

Mike closed his eyes, feeling a headache come on.