Page 55 of Yo Ho Ho
There were a few chuckles in the crowd and several polite smiles towards the captain. But a quick glance around the room made Max realize she wasn't the only one confused about where exactly this was going.
"We want to give this to someone we thought deserved a little bit of extra recognition today, to a person who has shown true dedication to their job and has earned our respect for all the hard work they've put in for the past few years." He turned and smiled at Max. "Ms. Quinn, could you come over here?"
All eyes in the locker room turned to Max. There were players and media guys smiling at her. Becca was wiping a tear from her eye. Bob and Barry stood stoically off to the side together. Then some of the guys started clapping and there were a few cheers from the crowd. Max turned back to see Jordan waving her over with a warm smile. She didn't know how she was able to do it, but she started to move her feet towards him, unsure if this was all real. She was the one behind the scenes, the one telling the story. Yet here she was in this locker room walking up to receive a cheap toy from the captain of the Detroit Pirates.
It was one of the most amazing gifts she had ever received.
Logan was on his feet standing next to his captain, a huge smile on his face as she walked over. Jordan stepped up and gave her a big hug, not caring that he was still in his sweaty smelly uniform. She didn't care either. After all this time covering the team, the ups and downs, the losses and the championship, it still made her happy to be around these players.
Jordan pulled away and handed her the star in his hands, then he put his arm around her and turned towards the locker room.
"This woman is one of the most dedicated hockey reporters any of us have ever met," he said. "We are all going to miss seeing her, but we know that wherever she lands next will be lucky to have her."
The team cheered loudly again and she even saw Charlie and Jake clapping for her. It was so overwhelming to see this kind of response from everyone, especially when she was headed for such heartbreak in only two days. But Max was at least thankful that Jordan and the team decided to do this in the locker room instead of quietly in private. The adrenaline rush from standing in front of everyone was probably preventing her from crying instead.
Jordan stepped away from her for a moment, and Max turned to see him pull out a large black gift bag from his locker.
"You have meant a lot to all of us, Max, and we wanted to give you more than just a gold star."
He pulled out a black hockey jersey with the Pirates iconic logo on the front.
"We felt like after all these years, you deserved to have your own jersey." He turned it around to show the crowd. On the back, in white letters, was her name and the number 11. "We couldn't decide on what your number would be, but Becca suggested we give you 11 because it looks like bunny ears sticking up."
Max smiled and shook her head. She didn't realize just how well known her slippers had become during road trips, but she wasn't embarrassed. She loved those slippers.
"Also, we wanted to give you one more thing." Jordan pulled out a bottle of champagne from the bag. "This is to make up for the time that Birdie sprayed you in the face and made your eyes burn after winning the championship."
"I still have no regrets!" Alex announced from the other side of the room.
Max laughed and stared down at the bottle. She would have to hold onto that for a special occasion. Maybe when she got a new job or figured out what the hell she was going to do with her life.
"Anyway, we just wanted to give you a few little things to let you know that we've really enjoyed having you here these past years and we're going to miss you covering the team."
Max stuffed her newly acquired items back in the bag and gave a few quick thank yous to everyone standing around, not sure about what else to say or do. She wasn't used to getting this kind of attention or having this many people looking at her. She was a reporter who was on the other side giving attention to these players. It was a little overwhelming but still appreciated. There had been so many sad days, so many bad moments since that trip to California when she found out she was losing her job. This was one of the few good moments when she could remember happier times.
She gave Jordan another quick hug. "Thank you for this," she said.
"You're welcome." He pulled away and smiled down at her. "I didn't want to mention it out loud to everyone, but Charlotte also had me slide an invite to our New Year's party in there. She wanted to make sure you saw it."
"It's a great party," Logan said from beside his captain. "You should come."
Max turned and looked at him. Logan was giving her a casual smile — or at least trying to. Most people would see it as just a friendly thing, but there was something more to it. She could see the restraint behind it, the way he was trying to keep cool without making people suspect there was something else going on. But therewassomething else brewing under the surface: a secret between Logan and Max. Something only they knew.
Max couldn't dwell on it though because the locker room had begun to hum as the normal post-game routines started to kick in. A few reporters started to seek out players to ask questions. Some of the guys peeled off their jerseys and headed for the showers. Max asked Jordan if she could keep her gifts in his locker until she was done with her interviews.
"I could put it in mine if you needed," Logan offered.
"It's OK, I have room," Jordan said.
Logan gave him a slight scowl that only Max noticed, but he deferred to his captain anyway.
Rather than ask questions herself, Max decided to tag along with Charlie and let him talk to Logan while she took notes. It was probably better that way considering the kind of reaction she may have towards Logan. Sure, she had interviewed him many times and asked him countless questions. But that was before everything had changed between them. Now, she wasn't sure how she would react — or how he would either. It was better to just let someone else do the talking so she could limit their interactions.
But this was her job and she was a professional. Logan had a job to do too. So after she got a few quotes from him, she walked away to get a reaction from Alex about his assist on Logan's goal, then asked Matt about the one goal that did get past him. She checked over her notes, making sure she had enough for her gamer and covered everything she wanted.
She stared down at the iconic skull and crossed hockey sticks logo on the floor, the one that the players insisted no one step on, not even the media. It was still as pristine as the day they opened this locker room in the new arena. She took a deep breath, trying to hold back the emotion that was threatening to break free. She would have time to reflect on what this last game meant to her later, but she couldn't do that just yet. She had a deadline to meet.
Logan was still sitting in his stall as she walked over to him.
