Hat Trick 3: Penalty Shot (14 page)

“I wish we’d danced to that,” Alex said during the applause.

My mouth fell open.

“Yeah, you heard that. In my head we’d have looked like some romantic movie musical. Reality is you would’ve had me swaying contentedly, but it would’ve been great.”

We listened to the rest of the set quietly, sitting close and sometimes holding hands or intertwining our arms. After the singer was done, Danny looked over and gestured for us to join them. Having finished the cake, we grabbed our coffee and did just that.

“He was incredible,” Alex said as we sat down.

“I know,” Sara said. “He’s even better than last year.”

I caught sight of a sparkly bracelet I’d never seen on Sara’s wrist before. “That’s beautiful,” I said. “Is it new?”

She looked thrilled that I noticed as she held it out for me to inspect more closely. “It’s our anniversary and Danny decided that our third year was perfect for this shiny trinket.”

“Nicely done,” Alex said as he leaned in for a look. “And congratulations.”

“So what brings you guys out tonight?” she asked.

“The mere fact that we could,” I said.

“Good for you,” Sara said. “We were kinda the same, we could’ve done something simple, but we haven’t gone
out
in a while.”

The waitress came by and we decided on brandy to cap the evening and to celebrate the anniversary.

“Did you guys manage to avoid talking about anything school- or work-related like we did?” Danny asked.

“For the most part yes. We did discuss going to a Red Wings game in a couple weeks because EdgeTech has tickets, but I don’t count that.”

“Oh, no fair. Who’re they playing?” Danny asked.

“You’re going to think
no fair
even more,” Alex said.

“Oh man. Really? Lucky.”

“Perks, man. Perks.” Alex said as the brandy arrived.

“Cheers,” we said and raised our glasses and clinked them together.

“Here’s to many more years for you two,” I added.

The waitress returned with the checks. “I’m going to leave these. Absolutely no hurry. If you need anything else just let me know, otherwise you can just sign.” We all gave her our thanks.

We sipped our brandy and kept our discussions to music and how Danny and Sara were adjusting to off-campus life. Alex and I needed to do this sort of thing more often. Once we got out of the hockey season, and down to just classes and work I was going to make sure that happened.

At the last minute, Scottie snagged a late afternoon practice slot and it worked out that all the coaches could be there. Just two months after the first practice, the team was in decent shape. With all of us on deck, we worked them through a lot of drills and focused our attention on a couple weak spots. In the rink’s lobby, Alex, Danny, Trent, and I were finishing up our analysis of the practice as TJ and Bryan arrived from the locker room. Bryan had taken to waiting for TJ to finish, which was last since he showered alone.

TJ and Bryan came over to the table, both holding hot drinks. “Hi, coaches,” TJ said, sounding very chipper, despite the workout we’d just put him through. The combo of hockey and boyfriend sat well with him. “Great practice. And now it’s time to go grab a huge dinner.”

“We’ll walk out with you,” I said. “I think we’re ready to go.”

“Yup,” Alex said, as we all stood up.

The cold air slapped us in the face as soon as we stepped outside. The wind had picked up and it was setting up to be a cold, gray, raw sort of evening. The kind of weather that usually didn’t show up until at least December.

“Why are they still here?” TJ asked. “They left a long time ago.”

“Who?” Alex asked.

“Over there.” TJ pointed across the parking lot, which was fully lit up since the sun was fading. “Scottie, and I assume Walt since they came together.”

I spotted Scottie leaning against a car, looking down, and reading on his phone. The trunk was open on Walt’s car, but Walt wasn’t visible. As we got closer, I saw that Scottie was bleeding over his left eye. Walt popped into view, apparently having gotten something out of the trunk.

“Scottie?” I called out, causing him to look in our direction. He looked angry, sorta like he didn’t want to be seen. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” The answer was short and clipped.

“Bullshit it’s nothing,” Walt said, digging around in a backpack. I’d never seen Walt upset. “We found them fucking with my car and, yeah, punches were thrown.”

The tires were flat. Orange paint spelled out “I love faggots” across the driver’s side.

“We gave it right back to them though,” Scottie said.

“Did you call the cops?” Alex asked. The six of us gathered around as if we were protecting them.

“Triple A yes, cops no,” Walt said. “He won’t let me.”

“Why not?” TJ spoke up.

“We’re fine!” Scottie said, loudly. “Tires can be fixed. The car can be repainted. Anything these goons think they can do to us, I want to give it back to them on the ice. That’s what this is about. A faggot playing their game. The rest of you don’t have to hear that word every single fuckin’ day. I like who I am. I’m the guy who dresses in bright colors. Who dances down a hallway. Who is peppy all the time. You two,” he pointed at Alex and me, “probably never hear it. You look like you could take someone, hell you’ve dealt with people that fucked with you and came out on top. People don’t think I’ll fight back, but I’m tougher than I look. I don’t want the police involved. I don’t want the league involved. I want them to get burned by me on the ice. I’ll prove myself there.”

He was worked up, breathing hard. This wasn’t anger, it was determination.

“You were assaulted,” TJ said. “How…”

I held up my hand to stop him. I understood where Scottie was coming from.

“TJ, Bryan, why don’t you guys go get your dinner, okay?” I asked, looking at them. “We’ll stay here and make sure this is taken care of…”

“Simon, we’re not…” Scottie interrupted me.

I shot him a look that shut him up. I didn’t bring that out often, but I used it when necessary.

“We’ll make sure these guys get on their way, okay?” I was back looking at TJ and Bryan.

“Walt?” Bryan went to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder.

These two had been friends a long time, like me and Jackson and Leo. A calm came over Walt. Something unspoken went between them, the code only close friends have.

“I’m okay. No need for you two to hang. I’ll catch you later.”

Bryan nodded, having gotten the information he needed. “I’ll text you when I get home.”

“Thanks, man.”

They bumped fists and Bryan moved back to TJ, who looked like he planned to stay put. Bryan took two of TJ’s fingers. “Come on, T, I’m starving.”

“Fine.” It was clear that it wasn’t really fine, but he wasn’t going to fight it.

“Walt, are you okay?” Alex asked, getting in closer to him.

“Yeah. Got a couple punches in the ribs that’ll probably bruise, but nothing serious. The pain’s already gone.” Walt pulled some Band-Aids out of the pack and gave them to Scottie. “Here, these should help your eye.”

“Scottie,” I started, but he interrupted immediately.

“I’m not backing down on this, Simon, I don’t want anyone else involved.”

“Let me finish.” I kept my voice calm, in what Alex called my helping mode. “I want to look at the cuts and make sure you don’t need stitches.”

I cleaned up Scottie’s face using a clean towel that Walt had in his bag. He was going to need to ice his face to keep the area from swelling, but he wouldn’t need a doctor. I put the Band-Aids in place while Alex looked over Walt. He was already bruising, but his ribs seemed fine. A tow truck pulled into the parking lot as we finished first aid. Walt met up with the driver without another word.

“Are you sure you don’t want to pursue this somehow?” I asked Scottie.

“Yeah. I’m sure.” He was calmer now, but it was clear he wasn’t going to change his mind.

“It looks like they just flattened the tires,” Danny said, coming back to us. “They should be able to re-inflate. I didn’t see any tire damage.”

“Good,” Scottie said. “Walt shouldn’t have had to deal with this.”

“We do need to call your parents,” I said, after considering the limited options. “Since we’ve seen the condition you guys are in, I wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t.”

“I think it’s wrong not to report this,” said Danny.

“Me, too,” Trent said. “This is beyond the game.”

“So do I,” Walt said, even though he was a few feet away with the Triple A guy.

Scottie shook his head.

“You realize your parents may have a different idea about this?” I said.

“They can’t force me to talk,” Scottie said.

“Walt?” I waved him over since the mechanic was already working on the tires. “What can we do for you?”

“I just want to go home.” He looked at Scottie. “I’m pissed you don’t want to report this. It’s not right. Those goons need more than to lose a hockey game.”

“But…” Scottie couldn’t get a word in.

“Don’t.” Walt went on. “I know I’m not going to talk you out of it. I’m not happy, but I’ll go along with it.”

“Excuse me,” the Triple A guy said. “The tires are inflated and you shouldn’t have any trouble. I’m afraid I can’t do anything about the paint. I’ve got some plastic and duct tape, we could cover it if you want.”

“No, that’s okay,” Walt said. “My dad and I’ll figure out what to do. Thanks for the help.”

“You got it,” he said. “Just need you to sign off here.” Walt took the clipboard he was offered and signed.

“Thank you,” Walt said as the mechanic departed.

“Let’s get your parents on the phone,” I said. “Then we can all be on our way. Actually, guys,” I looked to Trent and Danny, “it’s okay if you want to go.”

“No, man, we’ll hang,” Trent said.

I nodded as I pulled out my phone and dialed Scottie’s dad first. “Simon, hello. Didn’t expect to hear from you today.”

“No. I’m in the rink parking lot with Scottie and Walt. We need to talk about something that happened after practice. I want to get one of Walt’s parents on the phone, too. Can you hold on a second?”

“Of course.” Not surprisingly, he sounded concerned.

I put him on hold while I dialed Walt’s dad’s cell. He picked up in a few rings. “Hello, Simon? Everything okay?”

“I’m afraid not. I’m with Walt and Scottie. We need to talk about something that happened after practice. I’ve got Scottie’s dad also, I want to conference you together. Okay?”

“Sure.”

I clicked the button to join the calls. “Okay, everyone’s here now. As I said, I’m in the rink parking lot with Walt and Scottie as well as Alex, Danny, and Trent. As we were leaving practice we found them still in the parking lot. Walt’s car’s been vandalized and the guys were in a fight with the people who did it. Physically they seem to be okay. Apparently they know who did this, but Scottie doesn’t want the police called.”

“What?” Scottie’s dad said. “No police. Scottie, that’s crazy. Why?”

“It’s a matter of pride, Dad,” he said. “They were trying to scare us off the ice doing this.”

“Walt,” it was his dad, “do you agree with this?”

Walt looked trapped. His eyes darted between Scottie and me. Scottie’s stern expression said he expected Walt to stick with the story. Meanwhile, I tried to silently convey that he should tell the truth about what he felt.

“I’m sticking by Scottie on this one.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” his dad said, not letting him off the hook.

“Yes, I think we should tell the police and the league,” he said, frustrated.

“And you know who did this?” It was Scottie’s dad this time.

They looked at each other. Walt spoke up. “Yeah.”

Scottie was not happy.

“If nothing else,” Walt’s dad said, “the league should know. I’m sure they wouldn’t condone this.”

“I have to agree,” Scottie’s dad added.

“Car’s drivable?” asked Walt’s dad.

“Yeah,” Walt said. “They let the air out of the tires, but Triple A took care of that. There’s, um, graffiti painted on the driver’s side.”

There was a brief silence. “We’ll see what we can do to get rid of that.”

“Sam, I think we should talk to the boys together about this,” said Scottie’s dad. “Figure out if this is the best way to go.”

“Good idea. I’ll come over there, and we’ll talk when they get home?”

“Scottie, come home and we’ll figure out what to do.”

“Okay,” Scottie said. “We’ll be there soon.”

“Thank you for calling us, Simon,” Scottie’s dad said.

“Thanks, Simon,” Walt’s dad said. “See you soon.”

I ended the call.

“You had to say that, didn’t you?” Scottie said, stepping up to Walt.

“I’m not going to lie to my dad,” Walt said, not moving. “I’ll do this insane thing of not reporting them, but I’m not lying.”

“Guys.” I wedged myself between them, forcing them both to back up. “This doesn’t help. Scottie, you’ve got some pretty high expectations here. Even if I hadn’t called them, there’s no covering up what’s on the car.”

“I know,” Scottie said, finally sounding calmer. “It’s just…so infuriating.”

“Come on,” Walt said, “let’s go.”

“Sorry,” Scottie said.

Walt clapped him on the back and put an arm around his shoulder. “Just remind me to never get you angry at me.” He grinned, further diffusing the situation.

“Guys,” I turned to Alex, Danny, and Trent, “I think our work here is done.”

I wasn’t used to staying up this late. This was the fourth day in a row I wasn’t going to make it to bed until after midnight. I was having a bitch of a time with a paper for a gender politics class, and I had a test tomorrow in British Lit. I know some seniors didn’t care so much about grades, but even though I didn’t have a scholarship to maintain much longer, I was thinking about stuff like grad school and I wanted to keep up my GPA.

Alex got home around eleven and brought food with him. He’d been in Detroit most of the day, having left Ann Arbor just after morning practice. I was thankful for the bite to eat. Staying up late usually made me hungry around eleven and since he’d arrived with piping hot pizza I caught a great second wind. We spent a few minutes eating and catching up on the day before we settled in at our desks.