Page 88 of Actions and Reactions
“What’s up?”
He doesn’t answer right away but walks in and presses the button for the floor we’re all staying on to close the doors.
“Can we talk in your room?” He doesn’t look at me when he asks, only at the little display showing the ascending floor numbers.
“Sure.” I mean, what else can I say?
This is clearly something important, and just like he’s always there for us, I’m always going to be there for him.
An awful thought strikes me when the doors open andhe follows me down the left hallway. He’s thirty-one. He’s already achieved so much, could it be he?—
I interrupt that thought, because it’s just too bleak, and instead open the door for him, then I walk in and slam it shut.
“You’re not retiring yet,” I proclaim like I know what the fuck I’m talking about.
“No, I’m not,” he says instantly, but he’s so agitated, he rubs both hands over his hair. “But we both know that if we want this season to end like the last one, we’re going to have to make some changes.”
“What?” What kind of changes?
“I just can’t stop thinking about it.” His words come out fast as he takes a big step toward me. “What if we move the lines around?”
“What, we become the second line and Spiderman, Milkman, Twocox, Brick, and Bates go up?”
“No, no.” He shakes his head quickly. “What if Mater and I go to second, and Bates and Milkman to first with you, Benny, and Fire?”
“Are you out of yourfuckingmind?” I shout at him. He’s Jules fucking Dupont, he can’t play second line. “It’d be easier to bring up Brick, Spiderman, and Twocox, and send Fire and me down to second, Jules.”
“You’re thinking traditionally,” he says like an accusation.
“Of course I fucking am,” I counter. “You’re the best player on the team,in the whole fucking league, and Mater is the best D-man we have. You two have to stay in first.”
“Laney has been drilling into our heads for years that things don’t have to stay the same to work, Eagle. Think about it. If tomorrow night I’m not on the ice when the first puck drops, Philly’s gonna be as confused as you are. And even if other teams see it and know it’s happening, they’re still not gonna know what the fuck is waiting for them.”
“Uh,yeah, cause you haven’t played second line since you were ten probably.” His wince tells me everything I need to know. “Never,” I deadpan. “You have never played on second line. Of course.” I have to shake my head at him. “Look, I know you’re trying to get the team to feel like last season, but that’s just never going to happen because we’re not the same team. You and Mater need to lead us forward.”
“No, that’s just it, we don’t. We have topushyou guys forward. Pairing Mater with Brick will give the kid a lot of firsthand experience to get him used to doing things faster.”
I guess I see his point, but... “We can’t play a line we’ve never even practiced, Jules.”
“Sure, it’ll be shaky during the first period, but after that you guys will get in sync, and so will Spiderman, Twocox, and me, but we need Bates and Fire to get used to being paired up, and we need Brick to level up.”
I think about it for another minute, and I hate to say it but I fucking see the damn logic of it all.
“Have you told Laney?” I know he hasn’t but I have to ask.
“No, I want us to go tell him together.”
“Why not with Mater?”
“Because I want you to play center and Milkman to be left forward.”
Now that really is the last fucking drop.
He wants me to anchor the first line, to lead this team.
For the whole game tomorrow, at the very least. And those are notreally big shoes to fill, those are gigantic, mammoth-sized shoes.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” I whisper.
