Mercifully, school let out for Travis the following afternoon.
Now that the summer holidays were here, he traded one full-time job for another.
He finished marking his last set of exams and set about trying to track down former Screech Owls and convince them to come.
He took over his parents’ unused basement and tacked up a flow chart that took up an entire wall. Column One had the player’s name. Column Two had his or her phone number or e-mail address. Column Three had the response to the invitation. Column Four had the player’s position and hockey-playing condition (“excellent” down to “non-playing”). Column Five had the airline information. Column Six had details regarding accommodation. Column Seven was tagged “miscellaneous.” You never knew what could happen.
Sarah had agreed and Dmitri had agreed, so there was the first line put together already.
Lars was coming, meaning they’d have a top defenceman playing at one of the highest levels in the world.
Fahd would play defence. He was still playing in recreational leagues and said he was in good shape.
Data would coach, or at least assist.
Mr. Dillinger was already in town and could think of nothing in the world he’d rather do than be behind the bench as team manager on Sarah’s big night.
Travis reached Andy Higgins in Vancouver, and Andy leapt at the suggestion that he come and play.
“I don’t have to fight?” Andy joked.
“No fighting – no body contact even,” Travis laughed.
He reached Jesse Highboy at the Band office in Waskaganish. Jesse would be delighted, provided he could be granted one favour.
“Rachel wants to come.”
“Consider her on the team,” Travis said, knowing there wasn’t a player on the Owls who wouldn’t welcome their old friend Rachel Highboy.
“She has one demand, though,” Jesse said.
“Which is?”
“She wants to wear the ‘C’- for ‘Chief!”
“We’ll see,” Travis kidded back.
Travis’s first disappointment came when he heard Simon Milliken couldn’t come. He was still deployed in peacekeeping missions, but he sent his best wishes and asked that his old teammates all autograph a game program for him.
Derek Dillinger said he’d come up from Florida and would immediately start working out to get in shape.
Jenny Staples was between movies, she said, and couldn’t imagine anything on earth she’d rather do – but she had no goalie pads.
“We’ll find you some,” said Travis.
Willie Granger was in Ireland at a meeting for the new edition of The Guinness Book of World Records, but he’d find a way to fit it in. He wouldn’t miss it for anything, he said.
Wilson Kelly was coming up from Jamaica. He had a week off and would use it to come back to Tamarack, he said, “for Sarah.”
Liz Moscovitz was already planning to do a brief internship in emergency surgery at the Tamarack Regional Hospital anyway, so she’d be in town and would be delighted to play – “I can even sew anyone up who takes a high stick,” she added.
Gordie Griffith was in the final weeks of the lacrosse season, but he figured he could make it, and he was, of course, in superb shape from playing the only game the Owls considered the equal of hockey.
Travis reached Jeremy Weathers through his agent in Toronto. The agent said no team had yet shown any interest in Jeremy for the coming season, so Jeremy had gone fishing in the Gulf of Mexico for a vacation. The agent was sure it was only a matter of time before some pro team realized they were short in goal, and in the meantime he was pretty sure Jeremy would love to get back with his old squad.
Travis contacted one of the old Screech Owls, Mario Terziano, who was now working in the oil fields of Alberta, and Mario said he’d be honoured to play in Simon’s place.
Then Travis turned his attention to the tough ones to convince.
Nish.
And Muck Munro.