The Brick Wall

Chapter 6

Curtis POV

  I stand in the back of our line up, the music in the arena on blast with screams from fans ready to cheer us on to another win. 

  My own goal is simple. Get a shutout.

  That should be the goal of every goalie in any hockey league. No goalie worth anything is truly okay with letting a puck slip past them or bounce off a glove or skate and sink into the net.  

  A defenseman's job is to keep the puck from getting into our area to begin with, from getting anywhere near my house, my home.  They're the first line of defense. But defensemen fail, get tripped up and catch penalties when they're not paying close enough attention to their stick. It's too easy for some of them to get called on a slashing or tripping penalty when attempting to stop another player from coming towards my net. 

  I have to be prepared for anything at any moment in time.

  And thanks to Lennox cutting teeth, I've missed out on some much needed sleep. Ere go, I've had more coffee today than I should have, but now between the roar of the crowd, the pep from our coach and the frenzy of the fans, my veins are buzzing on adrenaline as my name is announced and I skate onto the ice. 

  Sometimes I think about how much I miss stepping onto the ice and skating on full blast, skating circles around the other players who lag behind.  But then I remember how much I enjoy  having a slapshot come flying at me going a hundred miles per hour and grin at the excitement that fills me. 

  I join the rest of the first line on our blue line for the National Anthem.  Looks like a group from an elementary school chorus or something of the sort, many can't be more than ten years old maybe. I catch sight of something that honestly surprises me, a smaller looking kid in the front row of singers wearing our jersey. Not unusual by any means, but the fact that it's my number? I grin back at the scrawny kid and think maybe this is the best it'll ever get. 

  What if this is the best of my career? What if I flop and let a couple goals in? One goal in a game every now and then can still get you picked up, but the less you let into the net, the better chance of getting called up. 

  If I had my way I'd see a stadium full wearing my jersey. And if I looked around our arena close enough I might even see a few more tonight. 

  One day I want Lennox here, wearing my number with Everett across the back. But at this point in both of our lives, that's not happening, especially seeing as how no one on the team even knows I have a child, let alone a baby girl. 

  Which is why I'm still trying to figure out the plan for the game this weekend that will require a road trip.  My mother is still wanting me to bring Lennox and she babysit, but I'll be with the team bus and there's no way around that. 

  With it being a Sunday afternoon game and just four hours by car, we'll be traveling back the same day. There's no sense in having Miss Nelson drive all that way just for my mother to see her after we met in Emporia just a couple days ago. 

  The lights of the arena come up, the kids walk across the carpet that had been rolled out for them. I skate off to my net, pausing the closer I get to the kids. The one wearing 36 holds up a fist to me as I slow down. I slip my glove off and bump him back before he's being ushered off by his leader.

   I slip my helmet on, replace my glove and shake out my shoulders before rolling my neck. I tap my stick on each bar and ready myself for the puck drop.

  "Come on, Curt! Come out with us and celebrate!" Thaddeus shouts as I dress after my shower. 

  Goalies tend to be the quieter of all the players. Not many mess with them on the ice or off the ice. If on the ice, teams know the bench is gonna clear the minute you screw with their 'wall.'  There's a high level of crazy behind someone who enjoys getting pucks slung at their body. 

  "I've been here two months, man. When you gonna call me by my actual name?" I question the team captain. 

  "What's wrong with Curt?"

  My eyes level him as I stand up straighter, buttoning my jeans. "I don't know. Why don't you find a Curt and ask him?" I buckle my belt and slip the white henley over my head. "Meanwhile, Curtis is gonna head home."

  Thad nudges his elbow at Blake, one of our defensemen. "Think Everett's holding out on us? You got an old lady at home, man? Have her come out with us! You gotta celebrate another shut out!"

  Old lady? Just the one watching my daughter, I think to myself. 

  "Come on, one drink," Blake offers in a much more reserved manner than our team leader. 

  I suck my tongue against my teeth before grabbing my cell from the ledge of my cubby.  The offer is honestly tempting as I don't do anything outside of practice, games and being a father. The only friends I have in this area are the ones in this room with me right now, and if I don't hang out with them outside of work, are we actually friends? 

  My screen lights up when I unlock it, a message opening up from Miss Nelson with a photo of a sweetly sleeping Lennox. My heart honestly aches that I'm not there with her right now, but hearing the quiet build up of 'Brick Wall' being chanted around the room has me asking if she'd mind hanging around for about another hour. 

  Her response has me shaking my head. "Only if you're ready to play cat and mouse," she sends back with the image of a cougar.

  "I already told ya. You're too much woman for me, Miss Nelson."

  A rolling eye emoji accompanies a "Fine, go ahead," followed by a kissy face. 

  "One beer," I announce, slipping my cell into my back pocket opposite of my wallet. The guys cheer loudly, Thad coming up to slap me on my back. "And you're paying," I tell him as I slip my bag over my shoulder and saunter out of the room. 

*Apologies for the filler, but I'm hopeful that I'm getting to a point where things will come a little easier for this story.