Chapter 402: Tangers XXXVIII--Didn’t Want to Move Him

“I’ll take him home,” I remember Patty saying. At that point I was still so mad that I couldn’t see straight or think straight or function properly. It would be going too far to say that I wanted to kill Danny or even seriously harm him, but I really wanted him to be afraid of me, and of Patty and to be really sorry for everything he had just done. As I kept my rolled hands into my pockets and let Patty put his arm over my shoulders and lead me out of the locker room, I just kept seeing in my head Danny kissing Michele. Patty left me just outside the locker room door and told me that he would get changed back into his street clothes and he would take me out somewhere, just to wait for him.

I don’t know if I answered him or not, but I waited outside the door. I kept thinking to myself that if Danny came out through this door, I would bop him again. And then I thought with fear, what had I said to Danny in front of everyone? I know I said “I saw” but I couldn’t remember exactly everything I said. Had I accidentally let her name slip? Had I told them everything, informed Patty of what Danny had done with his wife at the same time as everything else? I shook my head, no if that were true, then Patty would have probably taken Danny off my hands and beaten more than the ever living shit out of him, as they say.

So when do I tell Patty? Should I? Oh the dilemma! I mean what I say, I’ll tell, was not complete evidence. I had gone to Danny’s apartment yesterday afternoon, to invite him out to play some pool, or a movie or something like that. I mean I felt really bad about him getting teased and hazed like that on the ice that day. I figured I’d cheer him up. I drove up his street I saw him walking Michele to her car. They were both smiling and he had his hand on her back and as she unlocked the car door he just hung over her.

Now that body language had seemed weird and my feelings were confirmed when she tried to slip into the car and he pulled her back and kissed her on the mouth, quite passionately I might add. I didn’t know what to do! I mean everything inside me hurt so much cause obviously she kissed him back and hugged him and just looked so glowing and happy that I couldn’t bring myself to jump out of the car and pound Danny to a pulp cause it would then involve her having to witness that.

So I went home and stewed on it overnight, and thought about the possible ruination of the family I loved because of Danny being so helpful and pretty and appealing to Michele who like any girl I knew of wouldn’t be able to resist him should he want her. And then in the morning I just felt so horrible and angry that I snapped once I saw Danny’s face in the practice locker room. And I almost gave everything away to everyone because of my anger and that was all Danny’s fault!

Patrick came out of the locker room, dressed and combed with a serious look on his face, a little overshadowed with humor by the fact he still had his tray of spaghetti and meatballs in one hand, mostly eaten and not to be forgotten. I kinda felt a grin until I remembered that the evil one, Dan Hinote, had the gall to go out and get him that spaghetti as if some pasta would make a fair trade for the pleasures of his wife.

I didn’t say anything to Patty, and he didn’t say anything to me as we went into his car. I I tried to think of what I could tell him. As I thought about it, I couldn’t really say that I knew for a fact that Michele had slept with Danny, only that they’d kissed. Perhaps she was still innocent and telling Patrick would only cause unnecessary grief for her and the kids. I needed to talk to Michele first and that prospect scared me, because of how embarrassed and scared and sad it would no doubt make her.

“So what happened?” Patrick asked quite seriously in French, well as seriously as someone could talk while munching on a meatball. Patty could drive and talk and eat with such ease that it could qualify as a talent.

I sighed, “I don’t really want to talk about it.” Oh and to take note for any of you readers, saying that will not make the inquirer go away or stop asking questions, I don’t know why we all try it.

“Well you two made a scene in the locker room yes?” Patrick said, “All of us are involved now, Alex. We don’t want to be speculating and taking sides on something between the two of you that we don’t even know about, we don’t need that kind of distraction right now.”

But what could I tell him? “Oh Patty it’s really stupid,” I said. “Really, it’s embarrassing, and everything, I’d rather not talk about it, can’t me and Danny just talk it over privately and then apologize to everyone else later? Can’t it just blow over pleeeease?” When in doubt, whine like a child, hey it works.

“Embarrassing eh?” Patrick said with a grin, “Now I really want to know.”

No you really don’t, I thought. “Patty!” I whined, “Please!”

Patrick laughed. “Well I will leave you alone so I can be the good guy with you will I not? If Joe or the Coach wants to know, they can get it out of you, hell, Footer is probably beating it out of Danny right now anyway. I’ll find out from somewhere else.”

“Oh that’s good…” I said quietly.

We stopped by a bar for a couple hours, a real nice one with sports on televisions all over the place and I drank a little and watched college teams playing for various things, and I kept an eye on Patty to make sure he didn’t drink too much cause I wasn’t in the mood to be driving him home. I forgot a little the sting of Danny’s traitorous intrusion into Patty’s family and we really got into a game and were cheering loudly with the other young fans in the bar until it ended with people high fiving and hugging. And through the whole thing I had a plastic baggie of ice against one of my eyes. Apparently Danny had got it pretty good and the other patrons at the bar made sure I kept good care of it. Now that felt nice.

After that, Patty invited me to dinner at his house. The game we had that night against Edmonton wouldn’t be until eight o’clock, so there was time for dinner. How could I turn him down? Now I began to feel really good, thinking about seeing the kids and having some fun, maybe I could just forget things for a bit and relax. “What’s for dinner?” I asked.

Patrick grimaced. “I think Mimi said something about roast beef and gravy, mashed potatoes and…”

“Mashed potatoes!” I exclaimed and was filled with so much eager happiness. “Let’s go!”

It didn’t feel the same going in the front door. For one thing, my ears weren’t ringing from Gigi’s desperate barks and greetings, and I remembered about Patty and the loss of his Smittens. Yes I think I would have to blame Danny for that too. And then Patty said hello, Michele didn’t answer but I could smell such yummy food scents coming out of the kitchen that I practically led the way there.

The funniest sight greeted me once in the kitchen. Michele was pulling baked golden rolls out of the oven but at one end of the kitchen table was Jonathan. His cheek rested on his forearm, another arm stretched over the table top, and over his shoulders a blanket was draped. The boy was asleep. I smiled, “Well that’s unexpected,” I said.

“Hmm?” Michele said with a smile, such an angelic smile that I couldn’t believe that she’d think about hurting her family. She put the tray of rolls onto the stove top and when she looked at me she gasped and covered her mouth. “Alex baby what happened to your eye!”

She looked so completely frightened that I felt ugly and intrusive coming into the warm kitchen like this and I gingerly put my fingers over my bad eye. “Oh it’s nothing Michele, just something from practice.”

“My God!” she breathed, “Sit down, I’ll get you something to drink.”

I sat down and Patty came into the kitchen. “What happened with the boy?” he asked gesturing to Jonathan who hadn’t roused from his weird napping place.

Michele frowned and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, he just came home like that, he dropped down into that seat and went to sleep. He starts crying whenever I try to move him so I just put a blanket around him, he must have had a hard day at school I’m sure.” She waved her hand at Jonathan and turned back to the stove. “Are you here for dinner, Alex? Your eye looks terrible have you had it looked at yet?”

Now I felt a little more depressed. She looked so happy, glowing almost, as if she were… in love? I couldn’t even consider that! How could Danny make her so happy, what was so special about him that Patty and the kids and even me didn’t give her? “I had some ice on it at the bar,” I said glumly.

“At the bar?” she said quietly and narrowed her eyes and looked at Patrick.

“Oh I didn’t have too much, I drove home!” Patrick snapped.

She rolled her eyes.

“Hey how’s Gigi?” I asked trying to change the subject.

“Sleeping in Jana’s room,” Michele replied, “She’s sore but will be fine, considering…”

Michele just let the words drift from her lips and she went back to the food she had prepared and now she looked almost vacant, kinda like a day dreamer. It reminded me that I had to talk to her alone, and not Danny. I know her reasonable mind had to pay attention the welfare of her family when I pointed it to her. In fact, I can’t believe I went to Danny to begin with, how could I have thought that I could talk any sense to him?

All of us were silent for a moment and then Jonathan sniffed, kind of like a dog smelling the air, and he sat up with his eyes closed, sniffing. “Roast beef?” he whispered. He sniffed again, stretched and yawned and then cringed, pressing his hand into the side of his neck that had to be sore from being in that weird position. “Ow.” His face crumpled and reddened and he began to cry, almost like a small child would. “Mom!”

“Ooo,” Michele tutted and she went to his side, hugging him and patting his shoulder, and kissing his cheek, “Why did you insist on sleeping there eh? Of course your neck is going to hurt.”

“It’s not that!” Jonathan blubbered and he wiped his nose and sighed, sucking up his tears. “I don’t want to talk about it if that’s okay, Mom.”

Michele frowned. “Well maybe later then?”

“I don’t…” Jonathan blinked and then looked at me. “Hey what happened to your eye, Alex? It looks sweet.”

“Eh…” I said scratching the back of my head and remembering that Jonathan was the one who sent me on Danny in the first place and if he knew I got a black eye in a fight with Danny then it would probably be easy for him to conclude that…

“Dan Hinote gave it to him, in a fight on the practice ice,” Patty said easily, and quite proudly, “Alex got the better of him though, I think the coach was trying to start a spark on the team you know?”

Jonathan grimaced, and it didn’t look like he really cared all that much. “Oh… cool.”

“Momma, Gigi’s still asleep…. ALEX!”

I smiled and looked at Jana who had just come into the room with Freddy right behind her. “Hi there.”

“Hi,” Jana said in a voice as soft as a gasp. “What happened to your eye?”

“I got it in a fight,” I said solemnly.

Jana grinned. “Were you brave?”

“Um sure?”

Jana ran to the fridge and I waved at Freddy who nodded in greeting. “Man rough practice today or something?” Freddy asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“COLD STEAK coming up!” Jana cried and before I had time to really react to Jana as she ran to me with dancing eyes, my face felt the full force of a soft, moist, bitterly cold slap as a slab of meat she’d grabbed from the fridge was whacked over my eye.

“Oof!” I gasped holding onto the steak, not knowing what else to do. I mean what is the proper reaction when attacked by beef?

“Don’t mention it,” Jana said proudly.

“Well dinner is ready,” Michele replied, “Freddy can you bring in some more chairs?”

“More chairs?” Patrick asked. “Why?”

“Because I invited the Sakic’s to dinner,” Michele said, “Debbie said they would be here, so go on Freddy get the chairs.”

“Maw-um,” Freddy exclaimed. “That’s like six more people shouldn’t we just go to the big dining room?”

Michele shook her head, “No, it will just be Debbie and Joe and maybe Mitchell, just three more chairs.” She waved her hands to goad him, “Go on.”

Freddy sighed, “Okay,” and he jogged out of the kitchen.

I looked at Michele as she smiled at me, and asked if I would like butter on my bread rolls. And as much as I loved her I could only think, how could you do it? How could you be so reckless and selfish with the happiness you already have?