Out of Play Bonus Scene

Mia

“They’ll be here very soon.” I tried to be patient, but I’d told Arne this so many times already. Barney and Tonya were finally here for their long-awaited visit. We’d promised they could come and see a hockey game and meet the players. Even though Arne had met lots of new friends since we’d been in Toronto, he’d never forgotten Barney.

I’d never forgotten Tonya, either. She’d done too much for me.

We were standing at the main entrance to the Blaze arena. There hadn’t been time to meet with our visitors between their flight and hotel check in and the start of the game, so we were waiting for them here, decked out in Blaze jerseys, ready to dine on hot dogs before watching the Blaze play.

“Mommy! They’re here!” Arne almost pulled my arm off dragging me forward the moment he recognized Barney.

I grinned at Tonya as the boys hopped in front of each other, shouting hello and we have jerseys and I got to meet the pilot at each other.

Tonya and I hugged. “Thank you for this.” Tonya said. “Brody and Barney’s brother are at a hockey tournament, so this saved me from days of freezing in an arena.”

I waved a hand around us. “This is an arena too.”

“But it has alcohol, right?” She glanced around, and yes, there were ads for beer along with banners of the players.

“It does.”

Arne tugged on the tote bag I was carrying. “Can I give Barney his jersey?”

“Of course.” I pulled out the smaller sweater and passed it to Arne. Arne tried to put it on his friend, while Barney was trying as well and the result wasn’t productive. I gripped his shoulders, bringing him back toward me. “He can do it himself.”

Barney got it stuck on his head, and Tonya reminded him to take off his coat first. He was finally able to admire the Blaze logo on his chest.

“We didn’t get you a person’s jersey because you have to pick who your favorite is.” Arne explained. “Mine says Johnson, cause JJ is my favorite, but he said he doesn’t have to be yours.”

Arne wasn’t calling Justin Mr. Justin anymore – it was too much for someone you lived with every day. But Justin hadn’t felt right, so Arne used Justin’s hockey nickname. Dad was reserved for Erik. Justin didn’t care what name he was called, but Erik was still a little jealous.

The boys started to discuss which player Barney should claim while I pulled out an adult jersey and offered it to Tonya.

“Would you also like a generic jersey?”

“Sure.” She grinned. “Do I get to pick a favorite player too?”

“Absolutely.”

She glanced around the foyer, where oversized photos of the most popular players filled the area. “Cooper is certainly pretty enough.”

He was. But even if he hadn’t been happily partnered up with Callie, I wasn’t interested. Justin was the only hockey player for me.

Tonight we were sitting in the lower bowl. I usually sat with the WAG’s, who’d been amazingly welcoming and helpful, but the kids wanted to be close to the ice and the player’s bench. Once we’d loaded up on hotdogs, French fries, soft drinks and beers for the adults, we climbed down to our seats. It was still early, so we had time to settle in and eat some food before warmups started.

“These are awesome seats,” Tonya said. Arne was pointing out the Cup banner hanging from the ceiling to Barney.

“It’s a nice perk,” I agreed.

“So things are going well?” Tonya and I talked regularly, but it didn’t replace the reassurance of in person meetings.

“They really are. I’m starting a couple of nursing classes in the new year. Arne loves his school, and he really loves playing hockey.”

“I’m happy for you, Mia. You had a difficult time for a while.”

I did, but it was hard to complain when it got me here. I still wanted to pinch myself some days to make sure this was real and not a dream. “You made that hard time better. So thank you.”

The players skated out for warmups, and the boys immediately headed down to the glass. Tonya and I followed.

Justin skated to our section, a warm smile for Arne and me on his face. He’d kept his beard, neatly trimmed now, and his hair was cut. The biggest change to his appearance, according to his teammates, was the frequent smiling. Sometimes, when old insecurities crept in, I needed to remind myself of that. He was happier – we all were.

Justin nodded to Tonya – they could have a proper greeting later, and high fived the boys, making Barney bounce in place like he needed to pee. I checked the clock, and there was lots of time for a trip to the bathroom with the boys before the game began.

Then Cooper came over, and Tanya was the one doing the potty dance. Justin looked at me and I shrugged.

Cooper tossed a puck over the glass for Barney, which made his night. Arne, who persisted in his loyalty to Justin and refused to think any other player superior, humored him. Their coach blew a whistle, and Justin gave Arne a thumb’s up. Arne responded in kind, and their pregame ritual complete, we climbed up the steps to our seats. I left Tonya there while I took the boys to the bathroom.

When we returned, the section was filling up. The boys couldn’t sit, too excited about everything around them. Arne should be used to this, but Barney’s excitement wound up his. Tonya shook her head. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to get him back on the plane. You may have two boys now.”

“Maybe you’ll have to stay too.”

Justin

It wasn’t a pretty win. We were still struggling to learn the new systems with the new coach, but right now, we’d take any we could get. Coach yelled at us in the locker room, pointing out every mistake he’d noticed.

When he left, the mood in the room more closely resembled a losing team than a winning team. Cooper waited till there was no chance of Coach reappearing and then congratulated us and pointed out what everyone had done well. He was frustrated, I knew, but team management wanted to give our new coach time to settle in.

Each loss was another nail in the coffin of our playoff hopes. Cooper had done everything he could, rolling the dice on making this a winning season, but there were things out of his control.

Before everyone left for showers or cooldowns, I stood. “There’s going to be a friend of Arne’s in the friends and family room, if anyone has time to sign a jersey or take a picture.” Most of the guys made muttering sounds like they were agreeing, so hopefully there’d be enough to satisfy Barney.

I went through my cooldown routine and shower as quickly as possible and was one of the first guys out.

My heart gave the familiar lurch when I saw Mia waiting there, and my smile broke out as Arne’s face lit up and he ran to greet me.

“JJ! You won!”

“We did.” I slapped the hand he’d lifted for a high five. We’d lost quite a few games since our new coach arrived, and Arne took those losses to heart. “Is this your friend?”

Barney’s eyes were wide as saucers. I hadn’t had the chance to meet him in BC. I smiled and passed him a puck I’d grabbed for him.

“Thank you!” he said after his mother nudged him. He stared at the puck like it was made of gold. Arne had been much the same the first time I gave him one.

“Do you want a picture, Barney?” His mom asked.

“You must be Tonya. It’s nice to meet you,” I said. “And if Barney wants a picture, that’s fine.”

Barney’s eyes were still opened wide, but we managed to get some shots of me with Barney and with Barney and Arne and Barney and Tonya. Then other players started to pass through.

Arne already had the whole team’s autographs on his jersey, but the guys were good to stop, sign Barney’s new jersey and take pictures. Petey asked him if he played and suggested he might want to try goaltending. Ducky called him dude and waved Fitch and Bongo and Crash in for a group shot.

Then Cooper came out, and Tonya turned white, then red.

I held in a grin. I was used to the reaction my friend got, but Tonya had always seemed a cool, controlled woman. I stepped back while Arne dragged Coop into a photo shoot, and he signed not just Barney’s jersey, but also Tonya’s.

I wrapped my arm around Mia’s waist. “Your friend likes Coop.”

She rested her head on my shoulder. “Yeah. I’ve never seen her speechless like this.”

“You don’t get flustered.”

“I was a little – the first time he showed up in PoCo. You thought it was a reporter at the door and I went out ready to tell him off, and instead…”

I’d been thrilled to see my friend. I didn’t remember Mia acting strangely, so she must have got over it quickly.

“You don’t mind being with the second-best defenseman on the Blaze?”

She twisted and wrapped her arms around my neck. “You are not the second-best anything. In fact…” She dropped her arms, and reached into her purse. “This isn’t the best time maybe, but Christmas is next week, and you don’t need to buy me anything.”

Had she found the present I’d stashed away for her? Didn’t she like it?

Then she pulled out the box, the one I’d shown her in September. The one with the ring I’d bought her, letting her know where I saw our future, and to give her the confidence that I was in this for a lifetime.

She hadn’t been ready for the question then.

She was biting her lip as she looked up. “This would be an excellent Christmas present.”

“It would?”

She nodded. I reached for the box, and slipped it into my pocket. “You don’t need to buy me a present either.”

“No?”

I shook my head. “You just have to answer a question.”

There was a smug smile on her face. I probably had the same. Mia turned so she could keep an eye on Arne who was supervising the Petey’s signature on Barney’s jersey. “Don’t write the funny letters or no one will know who it is.”

Snuggling back into my side, she said, “Arne’s already picked out a present for you. So you’ll have a present under the tree.”

“That’s a relief.” But this year was going down as my best year ever, and it had nothing to do with presents under the tree, or whether or not the team was winning.

Mia. And Arne.

I didn’t need anything else.