The Tournament

by Angelo Kontos

  The guy was knocking back shots of whisky and chasing them with draught beer. Mike slowly nursed his own drink and kept watching.

  At one point while being egged on by his friends, the young man consumed four shots in a row and a pint and a half of beer. When Mike heard someone refer to him as Tom, he felt momentarily short of breath.

  After finishing his beer, Mike dropped money on the counter and went outside to sit in his car. When Tom came stumbling out some time later, he was by himself.

  Mike watched Tom fumble for his keys and then drop them. Cursing, Tom picked them up and then dropped them again. On the third try, he managed to grab them and unlock his car. Mike knew that he should call police and warn them a drunk driver just left this bar and was on the road, posing a risk to himself and everyone around him.

  Instead, he started his own car and followed. He wanted to see where Tom lived.

  16.

  Diana was back in Dr. Williams’ office. She had been free of medication for almost a month and felt a little stronger. She had also gotten herself a personal trainer and was working out at the gym three or four mornings a week before going to the hospital.

  For the past few visits, Dr. Williams had been trying to get Diana to process how the interaction between her sister Tamara and their parents had a profound impact on her, especially after Tamara died.

  After a while, when Diana looked like she was emotionally exhausted, they switched to a different topic.

  “So, you just stood by a fire exit for the entire game?” Dr. Williams asked. “Why didn’t you sit in the seat he got for you?”

  “Would you believe I prefer standing?” Diana smiled.

  Dr. Williams stated the obvious. “You don’t want him to know you’re there.”

  “Assuming he’d even have time to look.”

  “I’m sure he’s made time.”

  “Okay, yes,” Diana responded. “I don’t want him to. I’m just not ready yet.”

  “Let me ask you this,” Dr. Williams began. “If Alex got a phone call tomorrow that something had happened to you, do you think he’d come?”

  “I guess it would depend on how serious it was,” Diana replied.

  “Come on, Diana. Do we have to go through a list? A car accident versus removing your appendix versus a common cold?”

  “I’m not sure why you’re asking me this.”

  “If Alex knew there was something wrong, do you think he’d come?”

  “What’s the point in…”

  “Diana…”

  “Okay! I know he would.”

  “And if you knew that something was going on with him?” Dr. Williams asked.

  “I would run.”

  17.

  Corey had not left his office since arriving bruised and battered after Helen’s explosive reaction to his infidelity.

  He always kept a spare suit there, and he immediately arranged for the soiled one he’d been wearing to be dry cleaned, minus the shirt and tie, which were so thoroughly covered in blood that he just threw them out. Corey tried to wash his underwear using the sink in his office bathroom and ended up putting soggy, cold underwear back on. There were takeout food containers everywhere and he had not shaved.

  The law firm was a busy place, so after a full day people started wondering where he was. His secretary was loyal to him. She kept his door closed and didn’t mention anything to anyone as she cancelled his appointments. Helen did a real number on his face and there was no way he could see anyone until his injuries healed. He tried texting and calling Helen numerous times, and the only thing she responded to was his text about their children.

  CP: Kids? What are we telling them?

  HP: That u r on a business trip.

  Corey looked at a mirror every few hours hoping to see improvement in his face. He was fortunate that his nose was not broken, but Helen gave him a couple of good wallops with that wooden spoon. His eye had opened again, but it was still swollen.

  After a few days of being holed up in there, Corey was developing cabin fever. He needed to go outside and decided that he would throw on shades and get some air later, after everyone was gone. Perhaps he could find a store that sold underwear.

  As he considered this, the distinct sound of his phone receiving a text could be heard from his desk. Corey recognized the sound he had programmed for Helen. He leapt across the room and read the message.

  HP: I sent u something.

  Maybe, just maybe it was something good, like a letter detailing how hurt she was, and writing it down could be a way of getting it off her chest and reaching out at the same time; or maybe an apology for assaulting him; or she had made an appointment for them to attend marriage counselling. Whatever it was, Corey decided this was a good sign. There was hope. He decided to try one more text.

  CP: What did u sen…

  Before he could finish, his secretary knocked on the door and identified herself.

  “Come in,” Corey called.

  She opened the door and smiled awkwardly.

  “Mr. Peters, um…your things are here,” she said.

  “My things?” Corey asked, confused.

  His secretary opened the door wider. Two deliverymen entered his office pulling a flatbed full of boxes and a couple of suitcases. Corey was shocked, but he did not say anything.

  One of them pointed to a large empty space near the couch.

  “It’s okay to put everything there?” he asked.

  Corey’s mouth opened, but no words came out so his secretary stepped in.

  “Yes, that’s fine. Thank you.”

  Corey heard Helen’s distinctive ring again. He looked at his phone.

  HP: Should be there soon. More to come.

  18.

  Before the teams hit the ice in front of Toronto’s delirious fans for Game 6, Ken knew the excitement around the rink was palpable. If his guys were successful in ousting Detroit tonight, an unimaginable feat as recently as a week ago, there might actually be a street party.

  However, Ken had a bad feeling about this game. He had coached hockey long enough to know it was impossible to predict the outcome on any given night, but there were times a coach just felt something in his gut.

  Ken had picked up on the mood of his players since returning from their overtime victory in Game 5 and it bothered him. A little swagger was almost necessary for a team to be confident, but it struck Ken that his guys were becoming smug. He knew that if they stepped away from their game plan and took anything for granted, they would be returning to the Motor City for a seventh and deciding game. Their opponents were desperate and had nothing to lose. He just hoped that his gut was wrong.

  As it turned out, he was more than right. Right from the moment the puck left the referee’s hand for the opening faceoff, Detroit came on and played every minute as though their life depended on it.

  By the end of the first period, the shell-shocked Toronto squad was down 3–0 and being badly outplayed. After two periods, it was 6–1 and the home crowd had been effectively silenced except for the odd heckle. Toronto pulled Matt from the net to save him for Game 7.

  The only bright spot for Toronto was a dubious one. Dino Francis gave Toronto’s backup goaltender a shove from behind, just for fun, when he’d come out of his crease to play the puck. The goalie stuck up for himself and cross-checked Francis in the face, which got the crowd cheering – until it led to another Detroit goal on the power play.

  Toronto got one back late, not that it mattered. The Old Arena Gardens was rapidly emptying.

  The final score was 7–2.

  On the way out, Brooks Edwards heard someone say, “Well, that was fun while it lasted. They’re dead meat now.”

  19.

  As Curtis pulled into the driveway of the home he grew up in, he felt nervous. The last time he was here, his mother locked him out and threw a cellphone at him from an upstairs window. His heart was racing.

  “Let’s put it all behind us,” she had said repeat
edly on the phone.

  So, it was with a conciliatory approach that Curtis intended to greet her. There was no point dwelling on the past. However, there would also be no going back to how things were. Curtis was going to build a life with Megan. The only concern there was her son Jimmy, who could still not bring himself to give Curtis the time of day.

  Curtis knocked on the door and after an impossibly long time, it opened, and his mother stood there wearing an apron. That immediately caught Curtis’s attention, as he could not remember the last time he saw her with an apron on.

  Mrs. Lewis immediately threw her arms around him.

  “Come inside, son,” she said. “Give me your jacket.”

  Curtis felt odd being treated like a guest, but he took his jacket off and gave it to her. The jacket was as big as she was, and she struggled to wrestle it into the front closet. She then grabbed his hand enthusiastically and pulled him further into the house.

  “Come in, come in,” she said.

  Despite Curtis’s hectic work schedule, he had always found time to clean and dust, and he could tell from looking around that very little of that had been done in his absence.

  His mother stopped walking and held him by both arms.

  “Son, I am sorry for what happened,” she said. “I just got so scared since I haven’t been able to work. I’ve been relying on you for everything…and I am sorry.”

  “We should talk about a few things,” Curtis replied.

  “I’d like that,” his mother said. “Come into the kitchen. Have you eaten?”

  Eaten? She made lunch, too? Curtis felt like he was in the Twilight Zone. Something about her seemed off, but he couldn’t put his oversized finger on it.

  “I’m okay,” he said.

  Upon entering the kitchen, Curtis didn’t see anything cooking, but he was surprised to find a man dressed in a suit seated at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of him. He stood up and put his hand out for Curtis to shake.

  “You must be Curtis. It’s very nice to meet you.”

  Curtis shook the man’s hand and looked over at his mother, puzzled.

  “Have you eaten?” his mother asked Curtis again.

  The man pulled a business card out of his inside pocket and handed it over to Curtis, who glanced at it quickly. His title had something to do with sporting goods and equipment.

  “Ma, what’s going on?” Curtis asked.

  Before his mother could respond, Curtis noticed a tall stack of boxes piled up on the kitchen floor behind the man.

  “Curtis, wouldn’t it be nice for us to make some money without you working so hard?” Curtis’s mother asked.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Curtis, we have a dynamic new product that helps build core strength…” the man started to say.

  “Ma…”

  “You can help us promote this amazing product and make some nice money for yourself,” the salesman concluded.

  Curtis took a deep breath and glared at his mother.

  “Curtis, I just want you to do something for yourself,” she said sheepishly.

  “Timing is everything, Curtis,” the salesman said. “People are noticing you guys right now – they’re paying attention. Why not turn some of that into profit?”

  “Have you eaten, son?” his mother asked yet again.

  This time around, Curtis would leave on his own terms. He went to the front closet. His mother had not hung up his big jacket properly and he had to pick it up from the floor.

  “Curtis, wait!” his mother exclaimed as she gave chase.

  He did not wait. Pushing through the screen door so hard it nearly ripped off its hinges, Curtis got into his car and sped off.

  20.

  While in the process of packing a bag and preparing to leave his apartment for the bus terminal, Alex thought about the unexpected turn of events that had occurred in the dressing room following last night’s game.

  He felt ashamed for allowing Helen Peters to get that close to him…for wanting her to get that close to him.

  That could not happen again. Even though it was evident now that she and Corey were not in a good place with their marriage, it was still not right. And even though Diana was not in his life, it was still not right.

  After everyone got out of their gear following the 7–2 loss and left, Alex had sat in his stall just staring at the wall for a long time. His under-armour shirt was stuck to his body because of dried-up sweat. His wet hair had also become stiff and cold. The open shower in the dressing room would in effect be private since all his teammates were gone and he was the only one left in the room. He peeled his shirt off and removed his hockey pants.

  Alex reflected on how disappointed he was that Diana had not shown up at a game. He knew it was a long shot and probably not the best way to try and break the ice, but it was still disappointing, and he ached for her.

  He could not have expected what happened next. As he stood holding a towel, the dressing-room door opened and Helen stepped inside, locking the door latch behind her. Her eyes widened when she saw Alex standing there in his boxers. She grabbed her blouse with both hands and lifted it up and over her head. Alex did not move or say anything.

  Helen let her blouse fall to the floor before removing her skirt and walking up to Alex.

  She was, in a word, stunning, and Alex had not been with a woman since before Diana left him. That was nearly a year ago and he was so aroused it almost hurt.

  Although he was trembling a little, Alex had put his arms around Helen’s waist and let her pull him in for a kiss. Helen then pushed Alex back into the shower and approached him like she was stalking prey.

  He tried to convince himself there was nothing to feel guilty about.

  21.

  During his heyday as a play-by-play commentator, Cole Foster once met a young fan who asked him if he ever got nervous before calling a game.

  Oh, yes, Cole had told him, very much so.

  No one could ever tell, but Cole froze with fear prior to going on air. When the time came and his microphone was turned on, however, he was always ready. The fact he just fought off a nervous breakdown was lost on anybody listening.

  Now, since he came back to call Toronto’s games in The Tournament, Cole found himself having the same experiences. At first, when next to no one was paying attention, it had been easy, but when the arenas started to fill up and the fan reaction intensified, so did his nerves.

  But he was always ready.

  COLE

  And good evening hockey fans from coast to coast and to our friends in the United States. Cole Foster here with you again, and who can believe it? We are moments away from Game 7 of these quarter-finals between Toronto and Detroit. It’s winner take all, and you just know it’s gonna be a beauty!

  Both teams had developed a grudging respect for each other. No one on either side was smug now. To shake things up, Ken moved Alex to play wing with Isaac and Mike right at the start.

  On that very first shift, Alex hit a Detroit forward carrying the puck through the neutral zone, hard enough to throw him off balance and force a turnover. Mike jumped on the puck and raced in with Isaac trailing closely behind him.

  Now here’s Hill coming in with the puck. He’s moving quickly…drops it for Banion…a shot! He scores!!!…Banion on a beautiful drop pass from Hill and it’s 1–0 Toronto!

  Toronto players both on and off the ice quickly celebrated Isaac’s early goal and then changed lines. No one overdid it, and they prepared in almost businesslike fashion for the next shift.

  Detroit looked momentarily stunned by the goal, but they kept coming and Steve Reynolds was a presence as usual. Halfway through the first period, he unleashed a beautiful wrist shot and Matt the Cat made a big save, but Dino Francis was perfectly positioned to tap in a rebound and just like that the game was tied 1–1.

  That was the score going into the first intermission.

  In the changeroom, Freddy was huddled wit
h Mike and the other forwards, including Alex, to discuss how they were cycling the puck through centre ice. Detroit’s defence was not hard to penetrate, but Toronto forwards were becoming predictable in how they were trying to generate offence, and Freddy wanted to change it up a little.

  Here’s Detroit now coming in with it. Mark’s backchecking hard to take away a three-on-two. Reynolds deals and gets it back…a shot! Scoooore! Reynolds – a beautiful one-timer! Detroit grabs a 2–1 lead!

  With that goal, the home crowd was ecstatic, and Toronto faced their first deficit of the game.

  The two teams kept battling each other for every loose puck, and the pace of the game was fast and entertaining. Toronto fought hard to try and tie the game while Detroit kept hunting for another goal. There were a few goal-mouth scrambles on both sides, and each team took turns ringing one off the post.

  An exhausted Alex signalled for the bench. On a rare miscue while changing lines, his replacement on defence, Todd, left the bench late. This created a two-on-one scoring opportunity for Detroit’s Reynolds and Francis. Barry Davis was the lone defender and played the odd man rush perfectly, taking away the pass and forcing the puck carrier, Francis, to shoot.

  Francis let go a hard, high wrist shot and Matt got a piece of it with his glove hand. But the rebound flew up in the air and looked like it was going to drop behind him and bounce into the net. Matt looked around and couldn’t find the puck.

  Instinctively he dove backwards, and at the last moment he swung his stick around in a sweeping motion and batted it to the corner. Many in the crowd had prematurely jumped out of their seats thinking it was a goal, and they gasped when the puck didn’t go in.

  On the next shift, Toronto gained Detroit’s zone and were cycling the puck. Eventually, it made its way back to Todd, who managed to step in and release a weak wrist shot that nevertheless found its way through a massive screen. It coasted right by Detroit’s goalie and into the net.

  No one looked more surprised than Todd as he scored his first goal, and the game was tied again.