Page 36 of Riding Pine
“I just want to win, Christine.”
My gaze finds Soupy and Burnsy coming down the hall, and without excusing myself, I walk over to them.
“Hey, guys. I’m glad you’re here. The chick in charge of the promo is giving meickvibes.”
Sometimes your gut tells you that you shouldn’t have eaten the whole pizza. Other times it tells you to keep your guard up. Christine is definitely setting off my‘approach with caution’detector.
Burnsy slaps my shoulder and peeks around me. “She can’t be that bad. So what are we supposed to do here, anyway?”
The three of us walk back to the setup in the local mall, where three long tables await. One for us to sit at and sign autographs, one with merchandise emblazoned with the new beaver mascot image, and the third is manned by people ready to take ticket orders.
“We pose for photos and sign stuff. The mascot will be here too, and Christine said earlier that a reporter will interview us.”
“Your first appearance and interview as the Captain, Piney. How do you feel about that?” Soupy grins, and I hadn’t thought about it like that.
“A little surreal, to be honest.”
“Come on,” Burnsy says. “Let’s get this started.”
Christine hands us our jerseys, and when I peer down at my chest at the stitched ‘C,’ it’s hard to hide the emotions that spring up. My two assistant captains chat with Christine while I step behind the backdrop to take a breath.
Not that my teammates would tease me for getting misty; they know it’s an honour, but I wish my mom could have seen this. She’d be the first one baking a cake and making me feel like I was a king. I can still hear her voice sometimes.
“Lukas!” Christine’s nasally voice grates, and I shake off the memories of Mom before stepping back out. A small line has already formed to meet us.
“Let’s get you in the middle of Matteo and Connor.”
“Your name is Matteo?” I say to Burnsy, and he laughs.
“Yeah, I know it’s weird to hear myself. I’ve been Burnsy for so long that sometimes I don’t respond to Matteo.” He laughs again, and we settle behind the tables for the first wave of fans.
It’s actually fun talking to the kids. Hearing how some of them have hopes and dreams just like I did is kind of neat. The team had hockey cards printed for this event, and as people line up, there’s a collection jar for donations to a local LGBTQ+ youth shelter that they have the option to contribute to in exchange for the cards.
Most people do, and it may not seem like much to most, but to me, it means everything. Knowing my team isn’t afraid to support a queer cause makes me stand taller and wear this jersey with more pride.
The three of us pose for photos with a young boy, and just as we settle back in, a chorus of squeals erupts.
“Oh my god, it’s him! It’s Slappy!”
My heart pounds as I stretch to find him in the crowd. A tug on my arm makes me look back in front of me. A little girl with enormous glasses, almost too big for her face, and short blonde hair smiles at me.
“Mr. Pine, can you sign my jersey?”
Oof, what a cutie with her sweet voice.
“Of course I can. But you can call me Piney or Lukas. Mr. Pine sounds too official.” Stepping out from the table, I bend to sign the white patch on her jersey above the team name. “What’s your name?”
“Ari. I’m your biggest fan.” She grins, and I smile back. She delivers that statement with a conviction that warms my heart.
“Thank you so much. Make sure you get a hockey card and say hi to Slappy.”
“Go Aspens!” She pumps her fist, and I watch as she finds the adult she’s with and they drop money into the jar before she steps over to Ben. Well, to Slappy.
He’s finally arrived close enough to the tables, and I don’t know where all the kids suddenly came from, but he’s absolutely mobbed by them.
Slappy’s costume isn’t what I expected. I thought the costume would be big and bulky, for one thing. A chubby, cuddly beaver to pander to the families and dole out big, squishy hugs. But Slappy is far from a chubby critter with big teeth and a giant tail.
This beaver wears furry pants that cling to him with coverings that look like beaver feet stretched over his shoes. There’s no padded belly either. More fur covers the upper half of the suit, with a tan fur patch for the belly. Mitts with beaver feet cover Slappy’s hands, and the beaver head is simply a hood. A brown mesh conceals his face completely, with fake teeth over the mouth part and a pair of giant blue eyes sitting slightly higher than where Ben’s are under the hood.
