Love is Blindness

Chapter 28; Game 2

We made Colorado afraid to face us ever again. The Wings took them out in a four game sweep. Game one was won 4-3, our scorers being Hank, Bear, and Mule, who scored twice; once in the first period and the other in the second.

Game two was even better! We won 5-1 and Hank, Val, and Mule, who scored once in every period, scored to give us the win. Juliana was very happy. When he scored all Juliana could do was jump up and down on her chair and scream "That's my fiancé! That's my fiancé! He scored! Woo!" After several minutes of that she finally made it onto the JumboTron. Rebekah, Lindsay, Lauren, Sam, and I all turned red but laughed along with her and her happiness. The locker room was full of excitement that was mostly centered around Mule for his excellent performance the last two games.

In Colorado, it was almost a repeat of Game one. Wings won it 4-3, the scorers being Mule (as usual), Hank, and someone we hadn't heard from in a while, Pavel, who scored twice; once in the first and the other in the second.

It was all down to this one game. If we won Game four it would be off to the Conference Finals. Somehow, God answered our prayers and the Wings finished off the series with a bang- 8-2 win. Sammy scored twice as well as Hank. Mule scored three times and Homer got one in, too. The locker room was booming and you could literally feel the excitement from feet away from the locker room.

Now it was back in Detroit for Game one of the Western Conference Finals against Dallas. And things were looking pretty good for the first game. The game was won 4-1. Rafi, Mule, Homer, and Val scored for us. This time Juliana learned to restrain herself from dancing but she was still screaming and pointing to her future husband. I'll never forget the way Val looked at Juliana after he scored that goal. Even though he wasn't, his look screamed to her his love for her. It screamed that he just scored that goal for her. That there was nothing more important than her, even the Stanley Cup. Just as Saint- Exupery had wrote, "It's not the eyes, but the glance- not the lips, but the smile."

Game two was sort of a slump, but we still won. 2-1. Helmer and Hank both scored for us. It was Helmer's first in a while. Sam was so flustered that she couldn't even talk straight when she tried to buy us some sodas. It was very funny.

"Stop laugh- Crop daph- AH! God!" Sam growled underneath her breath. "Stop laughing!" She finally shrieked between clenched teeth. Nothing could stop us from laughing like little babies.

We were all rejoicing when the final buzzer sounded. We jumped up and down with the crowd, screaming. I turned to look at Chris and give him a thumbs up. But instead of feeling my insides swarm with butterflies, I felt my body grow ten times heavier.

From behind the net, Mike Ribeiro swung his stick right into Chris's chest. A hard two hander. Chris fell down on his back and remained there. In a heartbeat, Drapes had Ribeiro in a headlock, dragging him along the ice. Some team members from the Stars and Wings gathered around them trying to break it up. Others were dropping the gloves with each other.

Chris never got off the ground. The girls and I all went to the bench. I never took my eyes off him. Piet left the bench to tend to Chris. The arena was filled with boos from the fans, all in disgust by Ribeiro's move. I felt tears welling up in my eyes and then streaming down my face, making little stains on my shirt.

After what seemed like an eternity, Chris got up from his back and on to his feet once again. Swede opened the door for Chris to get in. Piet helped Chris onto the bench and began to make their way towards the locker room. I pushed past the tall, bulky figures of the Red Wings and made it to Chris's side. I grabbed his hand and walked with him and Piet to the locker room. The team followed.

"Piet, I'm alright. Believe me. It's just a little bruising. I'll put some ice on it when I get home," Chris reassured the athletic trainer.

Piet sighed. "Okay, if you truly think you're fine... You know where to find me if you need me." And he was gone.