The Tao of Hockey (Vancouver Vice #1) (14 page)

“Look, Jennifer, I blew a .052 last night, barely over the limit. I did not feel drunk when I got behind the wheel, and my reflexes were fine. If a deer hadn’t run across the road, none of this would have happened.”

“We’ll see what happens to you next, but this discussion is not over.” She scowled at me a little longer, then her expression softened. “I’m telling you this in confidence, but Gary’s condition is very serious. He has a punctured spleen and a broken leg.”

“Oh man. What does that mean? How long is he going to be in the hospital?”

“A while. He fractured his femur.” At my blank expression, she continued, “It’s your thigh bone, the biggest bone in your body. It takes a lot to break that bone, and the recovery time is long and painful.”

“Is he going to miss part of the season? We’re supposed to be back in Kelowna at the end of August.”

Jennifer shook her head at me. “Do you not get this, Eric? It’s not a question of playing hockey. Gary is going to have trouble walking normally.”

I closed my eyes. There was so much stuff to process, and I felt completely drained and tired. The essential unfairness of life struck me. How could I walk away unharmed and everything bad happen to Gary?

T
he airbag began to deflate
, the smell disappeared, and I stretched my neck. I felt sore, but otherwise okay. Disoriented, I looked around—Gary’s face in the passenger seat dissolved into Josie’s beautiful one. She was slumped against the seat, her eyes squeezed shut. For one moment, she looked almost peaceful, and I was elated that she was okay.

Then I saw that she was struggling to breathe—the sound of her deep, choked gasps filled the truck cab.

“Fuck—no!” I cried out. “Josie.”

I undid my seatbelt, and then hers as well. Her side of the car was smashed in, and I tried to make sure nothing was pressing into her. Her hand was clutching her chest, and blood was seeping slowly between her fingers. Her lips were turning blue and I felt fucking useless. I yanked off my jacket and draped it over her to keep her warm. Then I started searching for my phone.

Please God, not Josie. Don’t let Josie be seriously hurt. Not that she’d let me, but all I’d ever wanted to do was take care of her—and now I’d done the opposite. I’d messed up the most perfect person in my life. Her whole life would be so fucked if she couldn’t do all the physical stuff she loved.

There was a tapping on my window. An older man was there and he opened my door carefully.

The man stuck his head in. “You okay?”

“
I am
. But my girlfriend needs help—right away!”

The older man reassured me. “Don’t worry, I’ve already called 911. They’re on their way.”

I turned back to Josie. I stroked her arms, her hair and her face. It seemed like she was in another zone—concentrating on keeping her pain in check. Her whole body was trembling. I kissed her forehead and it was moist and clammy. “You’re going to be okay,” I whispered. But what the hell did I know? I was wrong last time.

Everything about this accident was the opposite of the last one. Instead of being alone, there were people all around. The noise of the crash had attracted everyone in this quiet neighbourhood. Through the side window, I could see a woman in the driver’s seat of the other car. She looked terrified.

I could hear sirens in the distance getting louder. This time there were two ambulances. Josie was the priority, and the expressions on the paramedics’ faces as they rushed her into the ambulance only confirmed how serious her injuries were.

Everything went so fast this time. Surely that was a sign that she would be all right. I insisted on coming with her, but I sat back and stayed out of the way as the paramedics went to work. They sliced open her t-shirt and I had a glimpse of the blood and swelling just below her chest. I shut my eyes for a moment, then forced myself to open them. I had to watch over her.

They had put a large bandage over her chest, and she had an oxygen mask on her face. I held Josie’s limp hand the whole trip, but she never looked at me. It was an all too familiar ride. Once we got to Vancouver General Hospital, they ran Josie’s stretcher through Emergency. I followed along, until we came to a set of swinging doors.

A nurse held up her hand. “I’m sorry, sir. You’re going to have to stay in Emergency until you’ve been examined.”

“But I want to stay with Josie. I have to know she’s going to be okay. Please.” I knew the drill, once you got locked out, that was it.

She shook her head. “No. You’re just holding things up by arguing.” Then she let the doors swing shut, and I could only watch through the narrow windowpane as Josie disappeared around the corner. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the door.

I had to sit in a curtained-off room for ages—worrying and wondering. When I closed my eyes, all I could see was Josie lying there with blood on her chest. All I could hear was the terrible croaking sound as she had tried to breathe. Finally, a young doctor came in and examined me.

“You’re lucky, Eric. Looks like you’ll be fine except for bruising here.” He motioned towards my chest and kept filling out his forms. “You’ll need to watch for longer term effects like whiplash. I would recommend consulting a physiotherapist in the next few weeks.”

Of course, I was fine. I was like one of those comic book characters who walks away from burning buildings or spewing volcanoes. Nothing ever happened to me—only to people I loved.

“Can I check on my girlfriend now?” The word girlfriend seemed so insignificant to what I felt for Josie. How weird was that? That one person could be in love and the other not be committed at all. Of course, whatever injuries I had inflicted on her weren’t going to make her love me now.

“We’re almost done here,” the doctor replied. “But the R.C.M.P. want to talk to you.”

I laughed hollowly. “Of course they do.”

There was only one officer this time, a dark-haired woman who marched into the examination room with a black binder in one hand and a breathalyzer in the other.

“I need to take a reading from you, Eric.” She hadn’t introduced herself yet, but she knew exactly who I was. Once a drunk driver, always a drunk driver. I nodded and took the machine in my hand. Last time, it was the first time I’d ever used a breathalyzer, but now I took a deep breath in and blew out like the pro I was.

She looked at the reading and one eyebrow went up. “Point zero, zero, one.”

“Surprised?” I asked.

“Well, let me put it this way. You wouldn’t be the first person to celebrate getting rid of your driving supervision program by going out drinking. I’m Constable Lucy Vinci, by the way.”

“Do you know how my girlfriend is?”

“No idea. Could you answer a few questions about the accident?” She asked me about the intersection, the visibility, and whether distracted driving might be involved.

I shook my head. “You probably know this already, but I was under supervision for over four years. I wasn’t about to screw up now.” I didn’t mention how Josie wouldn’t even get in the truck while I had the interlock system. It was the first night she’d ridden with me. And probably the last.

She asked more questions for the paperwork she was doing. Finally, we were done. “Can I see Josie now?” I asked.

“You’ve got a one-track mind. But sure, let’s go together, I need to know the extent of her injuries for my report.”

Thanks to Constable Vinci, we got answers right away. Josie had fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. A tube had been inserted into her lung to drain blood and fluids.

Fuck. Poor Josie. I had done that to her. What would that mean to her work? She couldn’t do either job with a collapsed lung. Would there be long-term effects? And I remembered how much she hated hospitals. Guilt was swirling around my mind.

Josie had already been transferred to a room, and the nurse outside murmured something about immediate family only, but Cst. Vinci walked right in and I followed her.

Josie was lying in bed, asleep. With no make-up on and only the pale blue hospital gown, she looked completely different. She looked younger and more vulnerable. She was still beautiful, but in a completely different way. Her beauty was pure and clean under all those protective layers. My heart pounded in my chest as if it were trying to leap out and find its mate—her heart.

The nurse smoothed the sheet over Josie. “She’s been through a lot tonight. She was awake through the insertion, but afterwards we gave her something for the pain. It may be a while until she wakes up.”

Cst. Vinci asked the nurse a few more questions and then left.

“You should be leaving too,” the nurse said.

“Please. I want to stay here until she wakes up.”

She frowned. “Shouldn’t you go home and get some sleep? You’re not even supposed to be here.”

“I’m her boyfriend. I was driving the truck she was in.” I yanked at my hair, pushing it away from my face.

The nurse seemed to be deciding if I was a threat to hospital security. I smiled and tried to look friendly and safe. “Please? Nobody cares more about Josie than I do. I won’t be able to sleep until I get to talk to her.”

She must have had a romantic side, because she finally nodded. “Okay. But you might want to wash up. There’s a bathroom down the hall.”

I followed her and went into the washroom. I looked like hell. I washed my face and pulled off my t-shirt and tried to clean off the smears of blood and dirt. I had gotten my wallet and phone back from Cst. Vinci, and I debated whether I should call my parents. But it wasn’t like anyone was going to phone them—this wasn’t Nelson, and I was an adult. I could tell them in the morning.

I went back to Josie’s room and watched her sleeping. The planes of her face were so right—her high cheekbones and the delicate square of her chin. I didn’t know why she even wore false eyelashes, because her eyelashes were naturally long. I reached out and touched the smooth skin of her cheek. I ran my fingers down to her lips and felt their softness. I wanted to kiss her too, but Josie might not like that.

I pulled the chair right up beside her bed. I laid my cheek against her warm arm. She was alive, and she was going to be all right. The only question was whether she would forgive me for what had happened—and if things would be the same between us. I really didn’t want to think about the alternative, because without Josie I would be fucked.

“
W
ho the hell are you
?”

A woman’s voice woke me up. I had fallen asleep with my head on Josie’s bed. I blinked and sat up. There was sunlight coming in the blinds, so it was morning.

“I’m Eric,” I replied stupidly. “Uh, Eric Fairburn.”

She was tall with long dark hair and an angular face. She looked vaguely familiar. Her dress and jewellery looked expensive.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

I stood up and walked closer so we wouldn’t wake up Josie.

“I’m her boyfriend. Who are you?”

“I’m Josephine’s sister. You’re her boyfriend? You’re hardly her type. Were you the one driving the truck?” She said “truck” like she meant “piece of shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, well done. She rides that stupid motorcycle—which I’ve warned her is really a donor-cycle—but you’re the one who lands her in the hospital. What do you do?”

I wasn’t fully awake, so I just kept answering her questions. “I’m a hockey player.”

“Okay, now I really don’t believe you’re her boyfriend. Josephine has as much interest in sports as I have in—” she paused, and just then a tall man walked in. He was dressed in a dark suit and looked like a successful businessman. “—legal matters.”

“Cynthia, you’re here already.” He glanced at Josie, who was still asleep and then gave me a questioning look.

I introduced myself and offered my hand. He ignored it, but replied, “I’m Richard, Josephine’s brother.

“He’s the driver,” Cynthia said. Again, it sounded like she meant “piece of shit.” The two of them walked over to the bed and looked down at Josie.

Richard spoke in a low tone to his sister. “I spoke to the doctor. Apparently, the fractured ribs mean that she can’t do anything strenuous for up to a month. There’s also a possibility of infection in her lung. You’re going to have to look after her.”

“Thanks, Richard. If you knew what a pain it was to even get a babysitter so I could come here first thing in the morning. I don’t mind doing it, but you know exactly what kind of patient she’s going to be. She’s so prickly. I would have loved to look after the old JoJo, but not this one.”

“I’ll do it,” I offered. I stood at the foot of her bed and smiled at both of them. I was acutely aware that right now I didn’t look like someone to whom you’d hand over someone you cared about. But frankly, it didn’t sound like either of them cared that much. “I have hockey, but I can look after her when I don’t have games or practice.”

Cynthia looked like she was going to argue with me, but Richard held up a hand to shush her. “Eric, Josephine has a family who can look after her. I’m sure she’ll contact you as soon as she’s feeling better, but for now—I think the best thing would be to give her some space.”

No way. I had been through this before with Gary. Once you were out, you never got back in. “No. I’m sorry. But I really want to stay until Josie—Josephine—wakes up and then talk to her. I have to know how she’s feeling.”

“Perhaps I’m being too polite. I’m a lawyer. When the hospital called in the middle of the night to let us know that Josephine had been admitted, I contacted a friend in the police department to find out what had happened. Apparently, this isn’t your first accident, Eric. You’re a drunk driver and a poor excuse for a human being. If I find out that my little sister is even breathing the same air as you, I will get a restraining order. And you can be sure that you’ll be facing a lawsuit for the injuries you’ve inflicted upon her.”

He stopped talking and watched my face carefully, to make sure that I had heard everything he said.

“But... I wasn’t even drinking last night. It was an accident.”

“Taking responsibility for your actions is the only way to grow up. You shouldn’t even be on the road. Now, please—get out.”

My fingers tightened on the rail at the bottom of the hospital bed. I looked at Josie, wishing that she’d wake up and tell everyone what she wanted. But she lay there, her body straight and arms at her side, in the same position as when the nurse had tucked her in. I could see the dent in the blankets where my head had been.

What struck me now was how little her family seemed to care about Josie herself. They saw her as an obligation and a victim, but nobody had even touched her yet.

I walked up the opposite side of the bed, then leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

“Bye, Josie.” I’d leave now, since there was no point in antagonizing this guy. But the only person who could tell me to stay away from her would be Josie herself.