Jimmy
After breakfast, we headed off to practice. I didn’t even notice I was whistling until Barry gave me a poke in the kidneys.
“Not all of us got laid last night, so stop being so fucking cheerful.”
Unfortunately, Ryan Duckworth was right behind us and heard every word.
“Freshy got laid last night? High five, man.” He held up a hand, but I ignored him. He was a blabbermouth, and I didn’t want him talking about Kelly like that.
“Who was it? What was she like?”
“Shut up,” I said to him. Duckie was a dickhead.
But he kept talking about it, and at least half a dozen guys made some kind of remark to me. Some of them had met Kelly at the club or seen her in the lobby, and put two and two together. I was getting a little steamed at some of the stuff they said, and I was glad she wouldn’t hear any of it. Barry apologized to me later, “If I knew he was there, I wouldn’t have said a word.”
I had a great practice. Everything was coming together and I was king of the world. My shots were going in, I couldn’t lose a faceoff, and my skating stride was right on. I was so ready for the semi’s.
After the practice, someone said the coach wanted to see me. I went to Mr. Chilton’s office, and he asked me to come in and shut the door. That was a bad sign.
“Great practice out there. You looked good.”
“Thanks, Coach Chilton. I’m feeling good.”
He paused and frowned at me. “I understand you were late for curfew last night.”
“Yes sir, about twenty minutes.”
“And apparently you were with a girl? That girl I met last night?”
“She’s my girlfriend, sir. We’ve been going out for six months.” This conversation was weird. I’d never known Chilton to think about anything but hockey. He started pacing around the office and speaking at the same time.
“You know, Jim, you are a very talented player. One of the most talented centremen I’ve seen in years. Not just the skills—you’ve got drive and focus. This year is one of the most important years of your career, you’ve worked hard, you’re drafted, and now you’ve got a shot at the NHL—at a real career in the NHL.”
He paused, and then his voice rang out in dramatic tones. “So, don’t blow it. Don’t lose your focus over a girl. There’s a time to work and a time to play. Right now is the time to work; every game is single elimination. One lost faceoff, one missed shot is the difference between winning and losing. Wearing a gold medal, leading a team to victory while the whole country watches—or skating off in defeat. But, if you prefer to follow your dick around, you can do that instead.”
I think I must have looked pretty stunned, because he continued in a softer tone.“Look, if she’s a quality girl, she’ll understand you need a few days to concentrate on the team, on the tournament. Lots of time to celebrate afterwards.”
I nodded and left the room.
I respected Craig Chilton. He was a real hockey man, a player first and then a coach who worked his way up through the system. He had coached in the NHL and in juniors. He had seen a lot of kids and watched them develop and become successes or screw-ups. You never heard much about the screw-ups. I had worked hard and not done much other than hockey for years. This season was different; I had hockey, and I had Kelly too. Everything was working out—my playing was better than ever, and I was enjoying life more. Kelly was special and being with her made me feel like Superman. But it was true that when we were together, sometimes our brains got scrambled with all the sex, and maybe we didn’t make the best choices. Was I really in danger of blowing it all?
I felt guilty about breaking curfew and being with Kelly. I was out having a great time when my team was getting rested, and everyone knew it too. What kind of captain sets an example like that? I thought I could handle both my games and my girlfriend, but Coach Chilton had set some doubts in my mind.
I decided I should talk to my parents. I went to see them in their room, and I explained the situation—leaving out a few key details—then waited to hear what they had to say.
My mom spoke first. “You’re not just another member of the team, you’re the captain. You’re a role model.” She sat on the arm of my chair and added more gently, “In truth, I’ll admit I wasn’t crazy about Kelly after everything that happened this summer. But when I met her last night, well, she’s more down to earth than I expected. She’ll understand why hockey is your priority.”
Dad shrugged. “What’s your plan, Jim?”
“I guess I’ll call and tell her I can’t see her for a few days. Just until the tourney’s over or we’re eliminated.” I hated even considering that we might get eliminated, but it was sudden death playoffs now, so one loss and that was it.
I called Kelly right away. I didn’t like to put off stuff like this. She sounded so happy to hear from me, that I almost changed my mind. I was sure I could handle Kelly and hockey at the same time. When she visited in the fall, I scored three goals in a game after we had basically been locked in my bedroom for 24 hours. But if something went wrong in the tourney, I didn’t want it to be because of anything I had done or not done.
“Last night was great, Jimmy,” she said. It had been more than great, it was the reason I had been smiling all day. Right up until I walked into the coach’s office.
“So, I need to talk to you about something. Coach Chilton thinks I need to be more focused—on the team and the tournament.”
“Well, you’re already the most focused player I know.”
“Yeah, well, except when I’m with you.” I continued, “I got in a bit of trouble last night over being late for curfew.”
“Not completely my fault.”
“I know that. The thing is—I can’t see you for the rest of the tournament. I need to think only about the team right now.”
“Oh.”
“Once the final is over, we can celebrate together. And be together. It’s only for a few days.”
“Okay, whatever. Good luck.”
“Really sorry. It’s only a few days.”
“No, it’s fine. Good luck.”
“I can still get you tickets if you want to come to the games.”
“No, it’s okay.”
I sensed things might not actually be okay. “Wait, Kelly. I’m really sorry about all this, but you understand how important this tournament is, right? You know hockey.”
“Yup.”
“Kelly, are you mad or something?”
“Why would I be mad?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry, baby. And… I love you.”
Somehow our call seemed to have gotten disconnected. I debated calling her again, but if I wasn’t supposed to be with her, I shouldn’t be calling her all the time. Everything would be okay.
I went back to my room to get changed; I was supposed to get together with my parents and some relatives later. I guessed that family stuff was still okay, if it meant an early dinner and an early bedtime.
Barry had just gotten out of the shower.
“What did the coach want?” he wondered.
“Uh... he wants me to be more focused on hockey.”
“Like that’s possible.”
“What?”
“You’re totally focused. All you think about is hockey; well, when you’re not fucking your brains out.”
“Yeah, well, that’s the part I’m supposed to change.”
“Old school. No sex before the game. How does she feel about that?”
“Oh, Kelly? I told her we had to cool it for a few days and I’ll see her once the tourney’s done. She’s down with that.”
“Really? She said that?”
“Yeah.”
“And you believed it?”
“Sure.”
“Okaaay. I’m not that experienced with girls, but I think it might be something they’d get pissed about.”
“Kelly’s not like that.” But Kelly was a bunch of different girls I didn’t really get all the time. I hoped she would be fine.
Barry had one more comment. “You know Chilton doesn’t care about you, right? He only cares about winning.”