The Brick Wall

Chapter 1

            2 months later

Curtis

  'Another shut out for Curtis Everett!'

  'Everett shuts down the number one team in the league with a shut out!'

   'Everett leaves the Everblades in tears; Raleigh Renegades take over number one seat in the AHL.'

  My phone chimed with each new sports headline as I walked into my home at half past midnight.  News outlets grabbing on to the story of the team's game quickly.  The age of the internet meant you didn't have to wait until the morning newspaper or even the 5 AM sports segment on a news station to find out who won, who lost or what trades were made under the cloak of night while you slept. 

  Each one speaking of the fact that the Everblades didn't earn a single point through the entire three periods thanks to 'The Wall,' myself.  But my favorite headline had nothing to do with my name. It was the one that said 'The Renegades inching closer to clinch their playoff spot; eyes set on the Calder Cup.'

  A championship is what every player longs for, gives them their drive. If you play for a team that sucks, you show off and hope to get traded to continue striving towards your dream.  If a trade never comes through then you play your best, hope that your team mates get their act together and do something.  

  I don't have that worry, though.  The Raleigh Renegades are an excellent team, filled with grit and drive.  I'd been called up just five games into the ECHL season, two months ago.  It's a minor league player's dream.  When you're at the bottom, you bust your ass in hopes of being called up.  The ultimate is finding your way to the NHL, the real dream.  Not something that happens to many in the minors, but I don't let that stop me.

  Nothing stops me.

   "How was she tonight?" I ask Miss Nelson, my neighbor.  My gear hangs off my shoulder, the bag gripped by my hand to keep the heavy pads and equipment in place. 

  The sixty year old woman pushes the bottom of the recliner down, righting herself in the chair. "Little gassy, but I gave her those drops again in her last bottle and she went down pretty easy."  She walks over to the small table next to the apartment door. "Did you win?"

  The bag slips off my shoulder with my permission, settling quietly by my feet. "Yes, ma'am," I answer modestly.

  "Was it another shut off?"  She swipes her keys off the wooden table top.

  "Miss Nelson, remember it's called a shut out," I remind her for the tenth time.

  And I get the same response everytime. "Potato, potatoe," she waves me off. "Do you need me tomorrow?"

  I shake my head, then remember my manners. "No, ma'am. No practice, no game. You have the whole day free."

  A wide grin bursts on her face and I can see her visually get excited my the scrunch of her fists and hands. She's picking up on some of Lennox's tendencies. "Oh, I'm so glad! I've got a hot date."

  I purse my lips to hide my smile. I honestly didn't know women of her age dated anymore.  Good for her, I guess.  "You've got my number if you need me to save you."

  "You can keep those saves for the ice, sweetie. I got a good feeling about this one. I think he's gonna be a keeper!"

  Miss Nelson's optimism is one of the reasons why I'd been able to keep my own sanity since moving to Raleigh.  She'd seen me struggling with moving boxes on one hip and a baby filled car seat in the other hand.  The woman had been on her way to sit out by the pool in the cool October air and very quickly changed her offer to watching my daughter. 

  "She's the spitting image of you!" she'd exclaimed when Lennox had woken up, her blue eyes icier than normal.  "Where's her mother?"

  The question I hated to give an answer for, because there was no answer. No valid one, anyways.

  Was I really going to tell this woman that I'd apparently gotten a random one night stand pregnant, only to never know about it until the child was literally left on my door step.

  Was there a note? No.

  The child's name listed on any article of clothing? No.

  Allergies? Formula? Diapers? Any indication or directions on keeping the little one alive? No.

  I'd finally answered with a simple "It's just me," that came out more like a grunt and Miss Nelson didn't ask another question about it. 

  Of course I wasn't about to leave my daughter with a woman I knew nothing about. The good woman could read my face with ease, offering to follow me back and forth down to my truck, insisting she could work on getting her steps in and wouldn't need her weights attached to her wrists and ankles this time.

  "You keeping those cougar claws in this time?" I playfully tease her.  

  For a woman that recently turned sixty, she was quite a looker.  She attributed it to never letting herself settle down, always on the prowl as she liked to call it.

  "Oh, honey. He's an older man," she tells me, her eyes dancing. "Might even get me a sugar daddy."

  "I, I uh," stutter out. I hold my hand up to stop her from continuing. "I'm not gonna touch that one, Miss Nelson." With just three steps I'm opening my door for her. "You just be safe, alright? I've got an afternoon practice on Sunday. You available?"

  "For my little Lennox, I'll make sure of it," she beams up at me, just before pecking my cheek in goodbye. "You sure you don't wanna, maybe?"

  I smirk, shaking my head once again. Every time she watches the little girl, she tries to convince me that she's a woman with enough experience and energy to keep up with my 'young' self.  "You're too much woman for me, Miss Nelson.  I wouldn't know how to handle you," I chuckle, enjoying this bit of playful banter that we have with one another. 

  Her brows wiggle and I  know what's coming. "I could always teach ya, Curtis."

  My head ducks down, self deprecating smile touching my lips. "Can't teach an old dog new tricks, Miss Nelson."

  "One of these days," she points her finger in my chest. "One of these days, someone is gonna walk into either your own life, or that little girl's and wear you down." Her smile grows, "I can't wait to see it." 

  I stand in my doorway, watching her until she's safely into her own apartment down the hall.  With all the locks in place on the door, I put my gear away in the small laundry room but not until I shove ten dryer sheets into the bag.  

  The microwave beeps as I turn the light on that shines from underneath.  I notice the two premade bottles I'd started have already been used and decide to go ahead and fill two more with the distilled water.  

  My bones are praying Lennox doesn't wake up tonight for her two o'clock bottle, then that means she'll be up to stay up around five-thirty.  

  As I screw on the last nipple, I hear her whimpers. With a flick of my wrist the bottle is unscrewed and I'm scooping the powdered formula in, shaking it into the liquid as I pad down the hall to our bedroom. 

  Before I even turn on the small lamp, I know she's searching the dark room, aware that she knows I'm around because of my smell.  The whimpers grow quieter once I lean over her crib, just her small pink lips trembling as she catches her breath. 

  "Hi, Lenny Lou," I say quietly, kissing her pudgy cheek softly.  "Two o'clock too far away for you tonight, sweet girl?"

  We take a seat against the headboard of my bed, my jean covered legs crossing at the ankle as I settle back and give her the bottle.  "You know, this is not how I use to spend my Friday nights after a game," I whispered, laying my head back and closing my tired eyes.  "Gotta say though, you're the prettiest girl I've ever let in my bed."

*Please vote, comment. I'm excited about this one, but also nervous because maybe not everyone is into hockey or sports romance like I am. And, it gives me motivation.