Part 33 - Pure Gold

The next day I awoke with a wicked hang over, surprise, surprise. I’d drank far more then I should have and I had avoided beer entirely in favour of hard liquor. At times, that’s a good idea. On a basically empty stomach, well not so much. I spent a good hour and a half puking my guts out (which is never a cool or fun thing to do) early in the morning before I retreated back to bed.

I wanted nothing more then to crawl under a rock and die, at least then maybe my head wouldn’t ache so bloody much. I was too warm in the bed, and I was dehydrated which was just making me feel worse. So I once again hauled my ass out of bed and I grabbed a couple of Advil before going and opening the window, turning down the heat as I did so.

I lay down and tried to go back to sleep but all I could think about wasn’t how many guys I’d kissed last night (0) or how many numbers I’d gotten last night (10), or even how many drinks had been bought for me last night (I couldn’t remember, so I probably should have been thinking about that one). No, instead I was thinking about Sidney. He hadn’t bothered to wish me a Happy New Year. Not that I’d gone down to see him and wish him a Happy New Year, but some how it still hurt that he hadn’t bothered.

I slept until 1:30 when D was knocking on the door. “Fuck off!” I yelled in response to his pounding, pulling the pillow over my eyes.

“I have McDonalds.” Dion replied.

I rolled over and groaned. D knew full well that the one food I always craved when I was hung over was McDonalds cheeseburgers. It was often the only thing I could eat and it always managed to make me feel better. “Just a minute.” I called taking a sip of water and reaching for a pair of sweats. I slowly made my way to the door. “Gimme.” I said as I opened it.

D laughed and handed me the bag along with a super sized diet coke. “What on earth would you do without me?” He asked.

“Lay in bed and sleep all day until I recover from my hang over?” I replied.

He laughed. “Well yeah, probably. But it would take a hell of a lot longer.” He pointed out. “You need something to eat.”

“I know. I’ve already puked up everything that was in my system.” I said, over sharing because with Dion nothing is really an over share. “So the poison is gone at least I hope.”

D made a face. “Yuck.”

“You can say that again.” I said, tossing him the double big Mac that I found in the bag. I took a sip of my diet coke. “Thanks hun.” I said, taking a bite of my burger.

“No problem Drew.” D said with a smile. “I know what you like. Besides, I want you to come watch the quarters with us.”

“While I appreciate the sentiment… why?” I asked, as I unwrapped my first cheeseburger.

D shrugged. “Drew you know full well that you see things that I don’t out there. You know this game just as well as any of us, even if you don’t play it. You understand the decisions players make on the ice better then a lot of players do. I mean, yeah, most of the guys who are here, we see things just as well as you do. But you may see something that we miss. Actually I was telling Coach about how you and I were breaking down the US – Belarus game and he said that if you’re as good as I say you are then maybe you should coach some minor hockey.”

I burst out laughing. “Oh yeah right.” I said, rolling my eyes.

“No I’m serious Drew.” D replied. “You’ve said it yourself, you can out skate most hockey players, and at the basic levels even you could manage to teach stick handling. Hockey Canada has a great website and a lot of information on it… drills and stuff. You’re a teacher, you’re good with kids, and you love the sport.”

I rolled my eyes. “And the male coaches and parents would JUMP at the chance to have their kids coached by a former figure skater. Yeah right.”

D shrugged. “It’s just an idea Drew. Besides, some of those male parents would jump at the chance to have their kids coached by a coach the Brent Sutter, Dion Phaneuf and Colin Fraser endorsed. Female or not.”

I shrugged. “I am far too hung over to think about it.” I said taking another bite of cheeseburger. “But maybe when we get back I’ll volunteer to help out with one of the Tim Bits hockey teams in town or something. Start small.”

D nodded. “I think that’s a great idea.” He said. “Just don’t let it interfere with your duties as a Rebel for Life.”

I laughed. “You are so selfish D. One of us needs to think of the children.”

He laughed. “I’m not going to lie, you’ll have to pay your dues as a hockey coach, but it could be fun.”

I shrugged. “Could be.” I said finishing off my first burger as D reached for the fries he knew that I wasn’t going to be able to eat. “On the other hand, it could be hell on earth. There is a reason I teach high school.”

D laughed. He knows full well that I abhor most small children. I don’t like wiping noses or cleaning up messes. Basically I am just plain not ready to have to kids. “I can’t wait for the day when you have like, six little kids.”

I rolled my eyes. “I like my figure thanks.”

D laughed and raised his eyebrows eyeing my second burger. “Oh really?”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “Ass.”

“Bitch.” He replied.

I grinned. “So what time is this game that you want me to go watch?” I asked looking at the bedside clock. “And whose playing?”

“The Czech Republic and Finland.” D said, answering my second question first. “We play the winner of that game in the semis. The game starts at twenty to four.”

I starred blankly at the clock, which now read 2:10. “When do we leave?” I asked.

“Around quarter after three.” He said.

“So that gives me just over an hour to make myself presentable and brush my teeth about a dozen times right?” I asked, double-checking my math and time telling skills, since they are known to abandon me after binge drinking.

D laughed at me. “Pretty much yeah.” He said. “Want me to pick something for you to wear?” He asked.

“Thanks hun.” I said heading towards the bathroom. “And remember, I’m fucking hung over, so keep it simple and comfortable.”

“Jeans, sneakers, a hoodie?” He replied.

“Sounds perfect.” I said from the bathroom, as I turned on the shower full blast.

About twenty minutes and three teeth brushings later I emerged from the bathroom to get dressed. D handed me my clothes. He’d chosen a pair of black Rebels sweats that he’d given me a couple of years ago, a pair of black and red Nikes, a white Montreal Canadiens tank top, and a black Team Canada hoodie. “Thanks D.” I said, pulling my clothes on.

“No problem Drew.” He replied.

Now I know this still sounds strange to people, but D and I are such great friends that we don’t really care about being naked around each other. We’re so comfortable with each other, and I mean, I like things about Dion’s body, but I would far rather that they weren’t on Dion. I’m pretty sure that I can speak for Dion when I say that he feels the same way about me.

Either way, once I was dressed, and D was going through my jewelry deciding what I should wear that night, I went back to the bathroom to put my make up on. I was just about to put on my mascara when D called. “Hey Drew, what’s this?” He asked. “I’ve never seen this before.”

I went into the main room. “What?” I asked.

“This.” He replied holding up the bracelet that Sidney gave me for Christmas.

I’m absolutely positive that I blushed. “Umm it’s the bracelet that Sidney gave me from Christmas.” I said.

“Wear it.” D replied, handing it to me. “It’s cute.”

“It is.” I told him, slipping it onto my wrist tenderly.

I went and finished putting on my makeup as soon as I was done, D and I headed down to the lobby. When we got to the lobby D handed me the keys to one of the team mini vans and told me not to drive like a moron, before he went and got on the bus. So I drove over to the arena, showed them my tournament pass, and headed in. I wasn’t exactly sure when D was going to find me, but I knew he would, so I just went and sat in my seat.

Before the game even started, D came and grabbed me and took me up to the box where Team Canada (and a few officials, and some parents – Troy Crosby among others) were sitting to watch the game. As soon as I walked into the booth my eyes met Sidney’s. I was just about to walk over to him when he looked at me quickly and then looked away. My heart sank.

So I sat around and quietly watched the game. It wasn’t a particularly exciting game. Marek Schwartz, who was the tender for the Vancouver Giants in the Dub, was doing all of the work so far as I could tell. I mean, the guys on each team were playing hard and all, but I couldn’t help but compare their play to our boys. Which, I guess, was precisely what I was supposed to do.

At the end of the first period I wandered away to go grab a Diet Coke and found Reggie Beauchemin not far behind me. I got the drink out of a vending machine and turned. Reggie was pouting. “Do I get a hug now Drew?” He asked.

I smiled and shook my head. “You’re a baby Beauchemin.” I said.

“I get a shut out and a pretty girl won’t even give me a hug.” He lamented to one of the Team Canada official guys, who happened to be walking by. “What on earth is the world coming to?”

The Team Canada guy smiled and shook his head, continuing on his way. “Fine, I’ll give you a hug.” I said, giving him a quick hug. “Happy now?” I asked.

“Not really.” He said. “Where have you been the past couple of days?” He asked. “Everyone’s missed you.”

Not everyone, I thought to myself as Sidney once again managed to worm his way into my thoughts. “I’ve been hung over honey.” I told him honestly. “In fact, I’m still hung over. I’m only here because D was smart enough to go get me some McDonalds. Otherwise I’d still be cursing the man who invented tequila and body shots from my bed.”

Reggie laughed. “You had fun last night huh?”

“Yep.” I said. “Well, at least I think I did. It gets a little fuzzy after awhile. And I’m not sure that I’m remembering things in the right order.”

Reggie laughed again as we headed back to the box. “So why did you let Neufy drag you out of your bed?” He asked as we approached Dion.

“Because he’s a flatterer that’s why.” I said, pushing him playfully.

D shrugged and grinned, throwing a casual arm around my shoulders. “What can I say?” He said. “I know how to make a girl do what I want to her to.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure Phaneuf, you just keep telling yourself that. Some day it may even be true.”

That got a burst of laughter from everyone who could hear it. Then the second period started and everyone got quiet. The guys were in medal round form. They were disciplined. It didn’t matter who was in the box with them. They were watching this game so they could understand the tendencies and plays for each team. They may have beaten Finland twice already, but these boys weren’t going to take anyone lightly.

In a way it made me proud of them, but while I knew I was supposed to be watching the game, I couldn’t help but watch Sidney. Every now and then I would catch him watching me too, but I wasn’t sure that I liked how he was looking at me. I couldn’t read anything in his gaze, though I was absolutely certain that my eyes betrayed my worry.

There was just something about him that drew me to him and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Nothing I could do to stop myself from falling in like? Love? Deeper and deeper every single time I saw him. I reached down and lovingly caressed the bracelet. Sid N Drew. Did he still mean that? Had he meant it at the time? I didn’t know, but I knew that I did.

At the end of the second period I wandered over to him. “Hey.” I said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Hi.” He replied.

“How’s your back?” I asked quietly, not sure what else to say.

“Shh….” He hissed angrily. “There are press people in here Drew.”

“Sorry.” I mumbled. “I just… I just… never mind.”

“I’m going to go get a drink.” Sidney said, rising gingerly. “You want anything?” He asked.

I still had a half-full diet coke behind my back. I held it forward so he could see it. “No thanks Sid, I’m good.”

He nodded, squeezed my hand quickly fingering the bracelet he’d given me. Then he wandered away without a word and I returned to my seat feeling more anxious and concerned then ever because I had absolutely NO clue where things stood.