The Tales of a Professional Hockey Player

Chapter 28: Pre-Season Game #1: The Flyers

~Eleanor~

Ben stayed at the hotel. No matter how many times I told him he could come back until he found his own place, he refused. We didn't talk much either. He was still recuperating from his training camp and had a few practices to be ready for his pre-season games, and I went back to my apartment to take care of Ophelia. The only contact I had with him was when I texted him I had decided to attend his first game. After giving it a lot of thought, I came to the conclusion that it was the least I could do after not being there for him when he signed his contract. Plus, I really don't want us to start on the wrong foot again. We keep from going to an awkward place to a semi-good one, and I would like to stay in the latter for more than a few days. And I kind of want to attend. Ben has been dreaming of the NHL since he was a child, and he kept talking about his first official game since I met him. I would hate that no one he knows be present for this huge accomplishment. I invited Hannah to come with me, and she said yes. I'm glad I won't have to sit in the bleachers by myself for once. It'll be good to have someone to talk to during the intermissions between periods. I also decided to bring Ophelia, mostly because I didn't want to ask Matthew to babysit again, but also because it will make Ben happy. I need to make up for shutting him out after Will's wedding, and taking his daughter see him play is a good start.

Even if we're only in the middle of September, I dress Ophelia in a sweater and a pair of leggings. I also bring a hat in case it gets really cold in the arena. A taxi picks us up at my place at a quarter to six. We make a stop at the publishing house to pick up Hannah who is only wearing a navy-blue dress with thin straps.

"I think you should bring a sweater," I tell her as she sits beside me. "It can get quite cold in arenas." She only looks at me and, with a shrug of her shoulders, she dismisses me. I shrug too, thinking that I could always lend her mine if she gets too cold. I brought blankets for Ophelia and a sweater for myself, just in case. This is my new favorite expression since becoming a mother. I bring everything "just in case." Food just in case she gets hungry. Toys just in case she gets bored. More clothes just in case it gets too cold or too warm. I end up carrying her entire wardrobe and the whole pantry "just in case."

We start talking about our week since we haven't seen each other at all since I went to Ben's hotel, and more quickly than I had thought, the taxi pulls up in front of the Nassau Coliseum at six-thirty, thirty minutes until the game begins. I pull out our VIP badges and our tickets from my purse and hand one to Hannah. Our names are printed on the badges. I can't help but think that this is a lot fancier than Major Junior where we only had a sticker on our clothes that said we were allowed to go in the changing rooms. The arena is also much bigger than what I am used to. It can sit almost thirteen thousand people whereas the arena where the Spitfires were playing could welcome about two-thousand. The coliseum is also a lot more beautiful than the arena in Windsor. With its wavy metal outdoor look and fancy entrance gates, it's obvious this place holds some high-level sports games and concerts. Just seeing the size of this place makes me nervous, I can't imagine how Ben is feeling. As soon as we show our tickets to the lady at the entrance, she asks a security guard to take us to our seats. Fancy. We didn't have that in MJ.

"Would you like to head backstage before the game or after?" the security guard asks us while we make our way through the hundreds of people waiting to enter the arena. I usually go after, but I think that saying hello before the game would be a good idea. I answer the guard and he nods, changing his direction slightly. I hand my phone to Hannah and ask her to text Ben since it would be difficult for me to do so while holding Ophelia. I gave Ben his phone back the day I visited him after his training camp. I told him I would need to contact him, and he agreed to take it back even if it seemed like a tough decision for him. I would have never thought that Ben would willingly give his phone up. He was so obsessed about carrying it everywhere and using it all the time when we lived in Ontario.