Page 84 of Grumpy Pucking Orc
After our workout, I led the team back to the hotel, where once again I was in a room with Eng. I’d hoped to be assigned a different orc to share with, butit seemed no one else was willing to tolerate Eng. I didn’t like him either, but since he seemed to mostly sleep or ignore me, I didn’t complain.
By midafternoon we were on the ice, working on speed as we skated laps. After practice passing the puck, I made everyone skate backward, turning back around to forward, then again to backward when I shouted instructions. It was a total shitshow with orcs sprawled across the ice, so I decided we needed to only skate forward during our games and to make slow and wide turns as often as possible in order to stay on our feet. We’d lose time and distance in the process, but not as much we would lose having to scramble up from the ice each time we needed to head in a different direction.
The next day, we did our workout and practice again. When it came time for the game, my stomach was in knots, but at least I felt as if we’d done our best to prepare. The roar of the crowd when we took the ice was almost as loud as it had been when the home team skated on. Glancing over behind our bench, I saw a row of human faces with tiny white tusks, Tusks emblazoned shirts, and signs that said, “Go Ozar!” and “Ozar is our STAR!”
It took me a second to realize that Jordan’s family had on plastic teeth that poorly simulated an orc’s tusks. They waved enthusiastically when they saw me looking, and I returned the gesture, bemused.
At least my nervousness was gone.
“What the heck is that?” Ugwyll asked as he skated up to me and slid to a sideways stop with a degree of effortlessness that I envied.
“Jordan’s family.” I grunted, not wanting to examine how I might feel about the fake teeth.
“That’s a huge show of approval. Congratulations,”Bwat said as he slowly approached us. “It’s typical for fans of human sports to dress and carry banners in support of their team and favorite player. But we’re not the home team here. Jordan’s family is clearly demonstrating their approval for your courtship as well as your chosen profession.”
But this wasn’t my chosen profession. My mind shot back to my Clan Guardian duties at home, the campaigns I’d been on with my troops, the battles we’d fought. That was important work. This? This was a game for human enjoyment. And I had mixed feelings about making this game my career.
First, we sucked. Jordan’s optimism aside, I didn’t see that we’d ever win a game against the agile and skilled humans, no matter how much we worked out and practiced. Secondly, while I was competitive, I didn’t view this game with the same level of intensity as Ugwyll. Winning any contest, always being the best, had been Ugwyll’s life. I was driven to protect and preserve, to guard our clan and our territories. While I was happy to indulge in feats of strength and stamina during a friendly competition, I didn’t see that as a driving motivator of my life. Being a Guardian satisfied everything I desired. This? I wanted to keep my commitment to the team and to my demon employer. I wanted us to succeed and improve because developing others’ potential and maximizing their abilities was important to me. But did the end goal of this sport really matter? I wasn’t sure it did—at least not to me.
Thirdly, I’d always assumed this was a part-time, temporary gig until I found a bride to take home with me. But with the disastrous result of my proposal, I needed to rethink what I’d always envisioned about my future.
It hurt to think that I might never see my home and my clan again, but it hurt more to think that I could lose Jordanover this. There were things I loved about this world outside of Jordan. Would that be enough? Could this team be enough of a career for me? My breath caught at the thought, and uncertainty flooded my heart.
But Jordan. Together, could we forge a life that might make up for everything I’d be leaving behind?
I had to say that the team gave this game every ounce of effort. Well, except for Eng, that is. Eng still positioned himself along the edge, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at us all. I was relieved when he was cycled out for Mohak, who might be a terrible skater but who at least put in an effort.
In spite of it all, we had a great game. We might suck, but the Buffalo team messed up enough to allow us to score two points. They won the game, but I left the ice energized. According to Bwat, this was a reasonable score for the end of a hockey game. No more twelve to zero. We were in the big leagues—at least tonight.
I had managed to score a goal with some dedicated assistance from my teammates. Ugwyll was the star of the show, though. He’d put the puck into the enemy’s net, showing off the speed that his dedication and obsessive practice had delivered.
The locker room atmosphere was jubilant, even though we’d lost. I awarded the post-game cannoli to Ugwyll for his point and incredible improvement in skating, then gave up my own cannoli to Ttonel, who’d slammed one of the enemies into the glass, which allowed Ugwyll to steal the puck and skate to a goal.
We showered and changed, fatigue slowly descending like a heavy fur blanket over us all. I hurried, throwing on my street clothes and heading out to where I knew Jordan’s family were waiting.
It was bizarre to walk into a crowd of humans with matching bright-green shirts. At least they’d removed their fake tusks before coming to the pre-press room.
“Ozar!” An older man approached me and clapped my shoulders with his hands. He was bald with wisps of silver-gray hair at his temples. A similarly colored beard bristled from his jawline, chin, and above his mouth. His stormy-gray eyes were startling in contrast to his weathered, tanned skin. “I’m Todd, Jordan’s dad.”
He went on to introduce me to the crowd. I struggled to keep track of the names, only managing to retain that Jordan’s parents were Todd and Eileen, that her brother was Jake and his wife was Ella, and that one of the uncles was named Oscar.
“That was an amazing game,” Eileen said. “But I worry about you all on the ice without any shirts. Aren’t you cold? I’d think that you would be cold. Do orcs not feel the cold like we humans do? I feel like I should knit you and the others on the team scarves at the very least.”
“Eileen makes great scarves.” Todd fingered a thick, red-and-white striped scarf dangling from his neck to his rounded stomach. It reminded me of the candy cane I’d bought at the food store in Pittsburgh. The strong mint bite had appealed, and I found myself wanting a candy cane colored scarf like Todd’s.
One of the aunts pushed between Todd and Eileen to tell me how she was thrilled at Jordan having a boyfriend. According to her, the family had given up all hope at Jordan getting married and having kids.
Jordan’s brother Jake came forward, sighing and glancing sideways at the aunt. “Dude. So glad to meet you. I’ll admit that when Jordan said she was dating a hockey player, I had my doubts. But you seem like a stand-up kindaguy, and I was impressed at how well you all played tonight given that none of you orcs have much of a background in ice sports.”
I nodded and shook his hand. “Thank you.”
His grip tightened. I was sure that if I’d been human, it would have been painful, but for an orc the pressure felt mild. “Jordan is my sister,” he muttered. “If you hurt her, if you break her heart, I’m coming for you. Understood?”
The human must have known how ridiculous the threat was, but I eyed him solemnly, knowing that this man would face terrible odds to protect his sister. Which was something I respected.
“I would never hurt Jordan. She is my breath and my life.” I didn’t add that I’d proposed, that I wanted to marry her and spend my life with her. That was between Jordan and me, and not something I should involve her family in at this point.
“Glad to hear.” He pumped my arm again and scowled before releasing my hand and stepping back.
