Abby looked down at the bag in her arms, she was not going to take this back to the ice rink. She checked to see if she still had Caroline’s keys in her pocket then turned up the road toward the parking lot. When Abby got to Caroline’s Subaru, she opened the back hatch then put the bag into the car beneath a blanket.
Caroline saw Abby returning to the bleachers and exited the rink to join her. The children had just gotten back out on the ice and would be good for a few more laps. Caroline noticed Abby’s eyes moving from the sky, over to the rink and then beyond to the fairgrounds. Caroline wondered if Abby was searching for something or someone. Abby was a few feet away and intently staring past Caroline when Caroline realized Abby’s head was somewhere else.
“I take it you found some answers,” said Caroline.
Abby turned to her cousin. Abby focused her eyes on Caroline. Caroline took her by the arm and the two sat down.
“More like questions. Apparently Dad has been making trips to the liquor store on a daily basis for quite some time.”
“Well honey, I’m sad to say I’m not surprised. This has to have been going on for a least the last year.”
“A lot longer than that. According to Dennis over at the liquor store Will’s been making regular purchases since he started working there nine years ago. About a case of wine and half a dozen bottles of brandy a week, nine years Caroline.”
Caroline’s hazel eyes grew large. “That is surprising,” said Caroline. “How could we not have known that?”
“How would you have known?” asked Abby. “There was no one in the house to watch him. I bet this has been going on since Michael died.”
“Well, we have to put a stop to this. Did you tell Dennis not to sell to him anymore?”
“I didn’t even think of it.”
“I’ll grab the kids, lets go tell him now. What was he thinking anyways?” said Caroline. Caroline stood up and raised her hand to get the twins attention. Abby grabbed Caroline’s arm and eased her back down to the bleacher. “There’s no point banning him from the liquor store, at least not until I talk to him. He’ll just get pissed off. Besides he’ll probably just drive the twenty miles to Fremont to get what he wants anyway.”
“You have a point,” said Caroline, and then she asked the question spinning in Abby’s head, “So what are we going to do?”
“It’s time for me to do what you suggested this morning,” said Abby, her blue eyes welling with water and her cheeks turning flush, “listen to my heart.”
* * * * *
Chapter 21
Mitch and Brian walked up to the ice rink bleachers carrying their hockey sticks and large duffel bags full of gear. Caroline had her arm wrapped around Abby. Abby’s head rested on Caroline’s shoulder. Caroline consoled Abby, still the fellas could see that both had been crying. When the girls saw the two helpless men watching them, they both started to laugh.
“We look that bad, do we?” asked Abby.
“You look like two beauties,” said Mitch.
“I take it we missed something?” asked Brian.
“I’ll fill you in later,” said Caroline.
Abby sat up and wiped her eyes with her gloves.
“Here,” said Mitch, he offered the girls a small package of Kleenex that he had in his pocket, “these should help.”
“Thanks,” said Abby, she wiped her eyes and nose. “I must look ridiculous.”
“Not at all,” said Mitch.
“You know, you fellas are early. No fair sneaking up on us,” said Caroline.
“We thought we could get some practice in inside before everyone shows up,” said Brian.
“Uh uh,” said Caroline, “ there’s a price to be paid, you will help me get the twins together, and Mitch, you’re going to take Abby for a coffee.”
“Brilliant,” said Mitch, “I can’t argue with that.”
“That would be nice,” said Abby. “Let me get my things together.”
“I’ll get your skates,” said Caroline. “You go on and we’ll see you when you get back.”
“You can just put them with my stuff, I have to drop it inside,” said Mitch.
Abby got up and gave Caroline and then Brian a hug. Mitch gestured toward the indoor arena with a turn of his head and Abby stepped up, waving to the twins as they came off the ice.
Mitch looked good to Abby in the bright sunlight. Mitch smiled at the children and though the sun reflected on everything around them, his face still managed to stay in the shade. His unconventional handsome face looked more boyish outdoors. Like a dark haired cherub, Mitch’s cheeks puffed like a babies when he squinted in the light, giving him a completely new dimension than his inside look. Abby also liked the sporty black jacket Mitch was wearing over his jersey. The jacket gave Abby a different perspective than the canvas coat she had seen Mitch in that last couple of times they were together.
Perhaps the vulnerability that Mitch sensed in Abby with her eyes red and cheeks puffy, another dark haired cherub, gave him the urge to nurture her. Mitch put his hockey stick in his hand with the duffel leaving the arm closest to Abby free to put around her shoulder, which he did. Abby reached up with her outside arm and touched Mitch’s hand. Thinking Abby was going to remove his arm Mitch relaxed to let her. Abby did not push his arm away. She moved close to him, walked in step, and pulled his arm tighter around her shoulder.
Abby and Mitch walked silently to the arena and once inside she let go of his hand so he could set down his duffel. Abby motioned to the large ice rink with the Plexiglas towering above the removable sidewalls.
“This place makes me feel so nostalgic,” said Abby.
“You and Caroline came here to learn how to skate?” asked Mitch.
Abby’s cherub cheeks spread wide with a toothy smile, “And later as young teens to meet boys.”
“I see.”
“I think they are still playing the same music.”
“Some things don’t change.”
The music that played low through the sound system was the same as twenty some years before. How ironic that now Abby was with a boy she liked inside the arena while Caroline was with her fella outside. She felt good in a giddy way. If anything, Abby had needed a distraction and what better distraction than Mitch.
Pleased as Mitch was that Abby had come to the fairgrounds he did not like seeing her so upset.
“Would you like to go over to the Lakeside for a tea?” asked Mitch.
“Yes, the Lakeside Diner would be lovely,” said Abby.
Mitch and Abby exited the arena and made their way across the fairgrounds toward the village corners and the Lakeside Diner. Mitch made small talk to help Abby to relax.
“Can you believe how sunny and warm the weather is?” asked Mitch.
Abby smiled, the enthusiasm she had mustered in the arena already passed.
As they came upon the ice road leading out into the lake from the corners Mitch pointed to the edge of the shore. “Would you look at that, the edge of the lake is melting. If the warm weather holds, the winter carnival coming up will be more of a slush fest.” Abby giggled at the thought of ice and snow sculptures, with the bright colors sprayed on them, turning into slurpees before the eyes of all of the people attending the festival. Seeing he had Abby’s attention again, Mitch scrunched his face causing her to laugh out loud.
* * * * *
Chapter 22
The diner was an old Silk City prefab with lots of stainless steel and pink neon in the windows. The diner had been built in the early sixties when the summer business first started to boom by the lake. Today the diner was out of place next to the older IGA and an outright anachronism to the old Stone tavern. Though initially seasonal, the diner was now open year round and many of the locals often ate there, including Mitch.
Abby and Mitch took a booth near the door.
“I don’t recognize anyone in here,” said Abby.
“Really?”
“You know I can still tell who
everyone is.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, there have always been three different types of patron in the diner,” said Abby.
“Seriously?” asked Mitch.
“Sure, there are three classes of customer in here. You see the year round locals are dressed in comfortable clothes and sit nonchalantly amongst the other patrons,” her fingers waved across the counter. “The weekenders and vacation home set, also nonchalant. They however wear newer fashions and brands not custom to the lake. Now those kids over there,” she gestured to a loud group in a corner booth, “just stopping in on their way to or from the ski lodge on Mount Frisia.”
“Well that’s easy,” said Mitch.
“Ok, ok. That table over there, the people are overdressed for the season, their clothes, jackets, and hats. What really spells it out is their chattiness with each other and how quickly they’re consumed by the time it takes to either get, eat, or pay for their orders.”
“Very good,” said Mitch, “I can tell the same thing by their shoes alone.”
“No way.”
“Sure, the locals have proper winter shoes and boots that are at least slightly worn. The weekender residents have brand new shoes or loafers for travel from the house, to the car, to the diner and back.”
“Ah,” said Abby, “I see it.”
“And the skiers for the most part have sneakers on, and if they do have boots, it’s one of the few times they have ever wore them.”
Abby looked at the feet of the diner’s patrons and began to laugh.
“You just made that all up,” said Abby.
“Right this minute,” said Mitch.
Abby thought the diner quaint to city restaurants and liked the relaxing way the waitress eased over with the coffee pitcher already in hand to fill their cups, though Abby still ordered tea.
Mitch wanted to ask Abby about Will, he knew that must be what was bothering her, yet he did not want to upset her again now that she had returned to her jubilant self. He continued with small talk and that was fine with Abby. Mitch told her about his day, his shopping trip, and his morning playing guitar. He did not tell her of the Ode to Abby, he thought that would have been creepy.
“Would you look at that,” said Abby. She had noticed something outside the window of the diner.
“What?” asked Mitch. He had missed whatever she had seen.
“I just saw a white mink, or weasel scurry up that pine right outside the window. That’s rare.”
“You never see them around people,” said Mitch.
“I think I have only seen one ever with a white winter coat.”
“You know I had one for a pet when I was in school,” said Mitch.
“You had a mink, or a weasel, or whatever that was?”
“Well a cousin. I had a ferret named Podo after the ferret in the movie ‘The Beast Master’.”
“A ferret? Really?”
“Ya, I adopted Podo from some girl off campus. She didn’t know how to raise the animal and she gave him the cliché name. Podo was almost starved when I adopted him. The girl had been feeding him rabbit food so I had really rescued Podo.”
“Rescued? How so?” asked Abby.
“Well ferrets are not omnivores they are carnivores, they cannot digest rabbit food, much easier for them to digest rabbits, though cat food worked just fine to bring Podo back to health,” said Mitch.
“Oh that is so sweet. You rescued the little meat eater and the food chain.”
“Ha ha, sarcasm, nice,” said Mitch.
“I’m sorry,” said Abby. “You were sweet. You are sweet. What ever happened to the little guy?”
“I left Podo with a girl when I left school one summer for a job and while I was away she gave Podo away and went off to Europe.”
“Ouch,” said Abby.
“Ya, ouch,” said Mitch.
“Were you and the girl still together when she left for Europe?”
“Yes, we were together, sort of. I mean there had been a mutual break up because the girl had graduated so…”
“I see,” said Abby.
“Ya, she was the first love of my life and I thought I was mature enough to handle the separation and ended up heartbroken. I continued writing letters throughout the next school year and eventually followed her to Europe only to finally realize the relationship was over. Then I went to Prague to drink away the sorrow of love lost in the most romantic city in Europe, if anywhere.”
“Prague, how beautiful,” said Abby.
“If you are ever a young adult just out of college and want to go somewhere to forget your problems, Prague is, or was the place to go,” said Mitch.
“I wish I had known that when I finished school,” said Abby, “I could have used a place to forget about the loss of my brother.”
“You know I formed a band in high school that only knew three chords?” said Mitch.
“Three chords eh?” Abby lifted her brow. She knew what Mitch was doing.
“We played a lot of parties then ended up breaking up because I only wanted to write ballads.”
“I so want to hear a sample. Lyrics please,” said Abby.
“I assure you that they are all long forgotten and that if I did remember any I am pretty sure they all sounded the same, some corny rhyme scheme pertaining to topics of the teenage mind.”
“That sounds appropriate for high school. Not good at all?”
“Well mostly they were rip-offs of other ballads I had heard.”
“My troubadour,” said Abby, genuinely impressed, “how are your rhyme schemes now?”
Mitch leaned back in his side of the booth, straightening his torso, “I am proud to say that after high school I moved away from the ballads to political songs in college. Then on to poetry for a while, the kind that you needed a decoder ring for. That all gave way to the study of English and Philosophy, which involved so much of my time that everything else just got pushed to the back.” This was not the truth exactly. Mitch always played his guitar and sang what was on his mind however at risk of being exposed, he stuck to his story.
“You have to share some of those old poems with me some time,” said Abby.
“I would like that,” said Mitch, and he was sincere. The idea of sharing with Abby anything from his heart made the very moment more intimate, “and one day I will.”
“Promise me troubadour,” said Abby.
“That’s a promise,” said Mitch.
Some time had passed since they had left Brian and Caroline so they decided to head back. As they walked to the fairgrounds Abby took Mitch’s hand.
“Will you be attending the Winter Slush Fest this year,” asked Abby.
Mitch squeezed Abby’s hand, “Wouldn’t miss it.”
* * * * *
Chapter 23
When Mitch and Abby entered the arena Brian and some of the other players were already maneuvering out on the ice by passing the puck indiscriminately to each other. The music was louder then earlier, AC/DC’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ echoed out of the huge speakers surrounding the pavilion. Abby used to think AC/DC was a hard rock band when she was young, outside the edge of tolerable listening by adult standards. Now AC/DC sounded to her like a blues band, hard blues, yet a blues band all the same. Mitch picked up his gear and headed into the locker room to change.
“Thanks,” said Abby.
“For what?”
“I appreciate you taking the time to… well, thanks.” Abby swung her hands to her front and clasped them together.
“No problem, I’ll see you in a few minutes,” said Mitch. Abby scoured the sporadically filled bleachers that circled the rink and found Caroline across from where she stood feeding the twins out of a white paper sack. They had not seen her and Mitch come in so Abby took the moment to look again out onto the rink. She did not miss the irony of her past. She had just sent a boy into the locker room and was about to go sit next to Caroline to watch the fellas play hockey. Her lungs felt
fuller when she breathed in and her legs weightless, a warm breeze moved through the arena past her toward the opening doors behind. So many things changed since they were kids in school, yet in her stomach was that old familiar pain, and as she made her way around to the end of the rink, she thought of how she liked the way Mitch had firmly held her hand walking over, how she still felt like he was holding her hand.
Abby made her way up the bleachers past other spectators to Caroline and sat next to Andrew. Caroline offered her a paper sack full of French Fries, and Abby gladly accepted. She had not eaten any thing since this morning and she thought that could be contributing to her emotional day.
“There doesn’t seem to be more than one team on the ice,” said Abby.
“It’s actually a pickup game tonight. They all play together. The real contest comes at the winter carnival when other teams come in,” said Caroline.
“Is that so?”
“The boys say these ongoing games are preparation.”
“Preparation for what exactly?”
“Defending the honor of Willow Lake when the festival rolls around.”
“Have there been any hockey wins like when we were kids?”
“Despite some of the older fellas out there, Willow Lake still manages to hold its own,” said Caroline.
Mitch entered the rink with high fives from some of the nearest skaters. The thirty-seven year old boy glided into the middle of the other players and immediately fell into play. What happened next was choosing of sides and three periods of action that involved no high sticking, little checking, and quite a bit of cycling of the players to keep them fresh. Abby had seen many practice games that had more vigor. The players tried to hold their youth yet when the steel hit the ice, their age was revealed. To say that the players were kind to each other would be an overstatement, though they certainly were respectful. The puck did get a lot of movement though and no one stayed still for long. Brian and Mitch played against each other and the end score tallied two to one, and not due to lack of play. Neither side had allowed the other to score, regardless of attempts on the net.
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