Page 118 of Best Man
Niko paced the room. It was a terrible decision, to win the Cup or witness the birth of his child. At least, it wassupposedto be a terrible decision, because he’d worked his whole life to get to this point, and his team depended on him. And he knew there were some men in this room who would gladly choose playing for the Cup without giving it a second thought. Hell, some of the veterans in this room hadn’t been there for the birth ofanyof their kids.
But the more he turned the idea around in his head, the more clear his decision was.He couldn’t miss the birth of his first child. Heneededto be there. Yes, he might miss out on a Cup, and his teammates might never forgive him for it. But there wasalwaysnext season. You only had one firstborn, though.
He took a deep breath and addressed the team.
“Boys. I’m so sorry. I can’t play like this.” He shook his head. “We all know I’ve been a pile of shit all series—”
His teammates voiced their protest, refusing to let Niko put himself down.
“Bull.”
“You’ve played fine, man.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, bud. Volkov won’t give you an inch out there.”
“No, he won’t, but it’s my job to create space for myself. And I haven’t. No goals and only one assist all series long,” Niko said, shaking his head at himself. “Look, I haven’t been playing anywhere near the level I should. We all know it. My mind isn’t where it needs to be. All I could do was wonder when this day will come, and pray that Paulina and the baby will both be healthy. And … now the day is here … and I know Ineedto be there with her.”
The room went silent.
“I’m sorry, boys. But there’s no way in hell I can play like this. I hate to quit on you, but I need to be there for my family. I love that girl, and she is going to give birth to my child, and I’ll never forgive myself if I’m not there for her.”
The boys hung their heads, seemingly accepting their defeat. To come this close to the Cup, only to lose their best player? Maybe the Devils really were cursed.
After a long pause, Dane, the captain and voice of the room, stood and spoke. “Don’t talk like that. You’re not quitting on us. You carried this team all season long. Now you gotta be there for your girl and your baby.” He embraced Niko in a bear hug. “Besides, we can manage without you for a game. Right, boys?”
The boys grunted in the affirmative, trying their best to sound optimistic, though it was far from convincing.
“And shit,” Dane said as he glanced at the clock on the wall. “We’ve still got a couple hours until puck drop. Maybe I talk Coach into rolling with eleven forwards—just in case you think you might make it back in time?”
Dane’s suggestion that the team dress eleven forwards instead of twelve was radical, if not suicidal. A team normally has several backup players ready to replace an injured player at a moment’s notice, as long as the game hasn’t started yet. If the team replaced Niko with one of those reserve players, however, then Niko would not be eligible to play tonight. However, if the team went into the game without dressing a backup player—down a man, in other words—then Niko’s spot would remain open, and he could theoreticallyreturn to the game at a later time.
The downside of a shortened roster was the increased work-load. With one less skater on the ice, someone had to get double-shifted every time the fourth line took the ice. An extra shift here and there might not sound like much, but more playing time meant taking more hits, which meant more wear and tear on the body. Leg muscles would burn up sooner, too, slowing the team down.
“But that’s crazy,” Niko said.
“Maybe,” Dane replied. “But we’re screwed without you. At least this way, if we leave the door open for ya, we have a shot.”
Niko raised an eyebrow. “But who knows how long the baby might take to come?”
“Yeah, who knows,” Dane said. “But it looks to me like this baby of yours is awfully determined to be born just in time to see Daddy lift the Cup.”
The heads in the room began to bob. Were the boys really so crazy that they actually believed this could happen? Niko thought they were nuts. There was no way he’d be back in time to play hockey. Nor would he be in any kind of shape to play.
“I don’t know, man. That’s risky.” Niko turned to the rest of his teammates. “What do you guys think?”
“Let’s take a vote,” Dane said. “All in favor of dressing a replacement?” Not a single hand went up. “All in favor of playing down a man?” Every single hand in the room shot into the air.
“The hell,” Niko murmured. “Are you sure?”
“We’re sure.” Dane turned to Niko and slapped him on the chest. “I’ll talk to Coach. No promise he’ll go for it, of course, but we did our part. Now go do yours—be with your family. Make it back if you can. No pressure.”
Truth was, Niko doubted Coach Quinn would go for such a scheme. If Nikodidn’tcome back to that game, and the Devils lost, the fans would call for his head. It didn’t matter how good Niko was, no coach would put his neck on the line like that.
But Niko was deeply moved by his teammates’ sacrifice nonetheless.
“Thank you,” Niko said, throwing his arms around the captain. Then he turned to the team, bouncing on his feet with excitement. “Thank you, boys. I owe you.”
“Nah,” Reavo said with a wave of his hand. “For once, it’s on us.”
