Soapstone Signs (5 page)

Our hockey puck is nowhere to be found.

At dinner, we talk about the otters and the teasing.

Mom tells us that the thing she likes most about otters is that they see all other living creatures as likeable and friendly. She says an otter will never be the first to start a fight and only fights back if really pushed. Some might think this is a sign of weakness, but Mom says it's a sign of real smarts.

When it is Saturday again, Mom and Dad take us back to hockey. I'm kind of scared but keep the otters' example in my heart. When my brother and I are out on the ice together, I stop a shot that is getting close to our own goalie. We both start skating as fast as we can toward the other team's net. We even get to do the passing-back-and-forth thing Mom taught us—but in the real arena! We get all the way to the other team's blue line, and a defense player skates toward me. I decide I'll try the “ol' dipsy-doodle” trick on him. I pretend to pass but keep the puck and deke past him. I pass it over to where I know my brother is going to be. He takes the pass and tries a snap shot, and it flies right over the stretched-out goalie and gets mesh! We put our sticks in the air, then tear off to the bench. All the hands are out for high fives, even the teasers!

After the game, we head back to our river rink. We still haven't had enough hockey. My brother can't stop smiling. It's another one of those days where you can skate forever. Mom and Dad join us, and we all decide to go check on the romp of otters. We find the spot, but they are not out playing today.

We do find something though. Right at the spot where the otters swooshed out onto the ice, we find the missing puck from last week. My brother picks it up and tosses it to me. I put it in my pocket.

I am ready to start carving the last piece of soapstone that Lindy gave me. My signs have shown me that there is a river otter inside. Tonight when I am warm by the fire, I will begin. My otter will be sliding on the hockey puck, having fun. But he will have a brave face too.

Acknowledgments

The author offers his special thanks to editor Amy Collins for patiently refining and polishing the story, to Greg Spence for advising on usage of Moose Factory Cree (or the L dialect), to Joanne Findon and Orm Mitchell, who taught the writing classes at Trent U where it all began, to a wonderful network of friends and family who helped guide the story and its route to publication, and to Darlene Gait, for capturing such magic in her incredible illustrations.

Jeff Pinkney
holds an English degree from Trent University, is a former newspaper columnist, and currently works as a business advisor.
Soapstone Signs
, his first work of fiction, draws on Jeff 's experiences while traveling as a development consultant in Canada's James Bay Frontier, where he acquired a deep appreciation for the people and the landscape. Jeff is an emerging poet, writer and an amateur stone carver. He and his wife Leslie share a brood of three story-loving daughters. They are surrounded by soapstone carvings in their Peterborough, Ontario home. Learn more at
www.jeffpinkney.com
.

Darlene Gait
is a Native American artist from the Coast Salish Esquimalt Nation. Her work captivates Native and non-Native people alike through its expression of unity between people and with nature. Known for her work on Victoria's Unity Wall, her coin designs for the Royal Canadian Mint, and her art gallery, One Moon Gallery, Darlene continues to inspire, create and take her work in many different directions. She currently resides in Victoria, British Columbia.