On Thin Ice 3

by Victoria Villeneuve

  “We’ve got the day off today, did you want me to come with you to the two lawyer’s appointments?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’d like you there, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not. I know you can do it yourself, but I’d like to be there.”

  I took his free hand in mine and looked up at him. I loved this man so much. He was the best man I’d ever known.

  The two lawyers told me basically exactly the same thing as the first lady did. One of them pressed extremely hard to get me to sue them back, which pushed me away from him for the most part. The other was about the same as the first lawyer I saw, but I still had a better feeling about the first lawyer. When I left the second meeting, I told Daniel I was going to hire the first lawyer.

  “That sounds like a good idea. From what you say, she seems to be the most in tune with your goals for this, so I think you’re making a good choice.”

  “I sure hope so. The sooner this ends, the better.”

  A few hours later Daniel went to his practice, and I went back to studying. Tomorrow was going to be quite the busy day for Daniel. I had a couple of classes to go to, although they were winding down, and then I was going to meet him a little while before he had to be at the game. Surprisingly, I was actually pretty nervous about it. I wasn’t playing or anything, of course, but I felt like I had butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it.

  The next day came quicker than I could have imagined. I went to class, but found myself thinking about hockey almost the entire time. I knew the Sea Lions were in a good position: they’d won two games of the four they needed, and now they were on home turf. Things were looking good. But still, I worried. I wanted Daniel to win the Stanley Cup more than anything. It dominated my thoughts, even though I knew I had to focus on my own stuff. Still, I knew I was at no risk to fail anything. I was going to pass all my classes easily, no matter what happened. Daniel, on the other hand, wasn’t guaranteed a Stanley Cup.

  After class I went to the library. I was walking down the path towards the building, on the other side of the campus, when my phone rang. I grabbed my phone and looked at the number. I didn’t recognize it, but it was local.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Is this Kylie MacIvish?”

  “Y-es, who am I speaking with?”

  “This is Sally Kerr. I’m Jeb Kerr’s mother, the mother of the child you murdered.”

  What the fuck? What on earth was she doing calling me? I was so sick of this, I could feel the rage building up inside of me. I was going to call Mindy Chan, the lawyer I saw the first day this afternoon. She was going to deal with this, so that I didn’t have to. What was I doing getting a phone call directly from Jeb Kerr’s mother?

  “What the fuck do you want?” I asked. I wasn’t the type of person that usually swore a lot, but I made an exception here.

  “I wanted to tell you to your face that you killed my son. You’re a disgusting piece of crap and I wish you’d died in that accident instead of him.”

  If I thought I was angry before, that was nothing compared to what I felt after that sentence. I could feel my grip tightening on the phone.

  “It’s your fault my child is dead.”

  I tried to take deep breaths. I forced the memories out of my head. Absolutely forced them away. Then I spoke.

  “Your son is dead because you were obviously too big a piece of shit to take care of him properly and to teach him that drinking and driving is bad. What the fuck is wrong with you? Your son is dead because he was a fucking idiot. He killed my sister. Your son is the murderer, not me. I don’t know how you get off trying to make yourself feel better by coming after me, but let me tell you this. If you don’t fucking leave me alone, I will make your life a living hell.”

  Without waiting for a reply, I hung up the phone. My heart was pounding. I was trembling. I couldn’t believe this had happened. I darted towards the side of a building, collapsing against the wall, then sat down on the ground and cried.

  For the second time this week I was reminded of the accident. I was reminded of the pain I felt. I was reminded of the moment I knew Suzette was gone. I remembered the guilt, the way I felt when I realized I had come out of the crash with barely a scrape, but that my sister was gone forever.

  I wanted to drink again. It had felt so good the last time. It had made the pain go away.

  Then I thought about Daniel. I thought about everything he was doing, how hard he was working to get over his own pain, his own problems. I thought about how the last time I did this he had skipped the first playoff game.

  I focused on Daniel. I focused on the good in my life. I thought about the shame I felt when I woke up in the hospital bed, finding out that he had missed one of the most important hockey games of the year because of me.

  No, I couldn’t do it to him. Not again. I had to be strong, for both Daniel’s sake, and my own. I couldn’t let this weakness overtake me. I had to be stronger. I could be stronger.

  Still, I was always the type of person that had to do something. I wasn’t really sure what to do here. I needed to walk to clear my head. I picked myself up off the floor and started walking towards downtown.

  I kept my eyes on the ground for the most part, not wanting to be tempted by any bars I might happen to walk past. After a couple of minutes I decided where I was going. I knew exactly what I had to do right now. I was still a muddle of emotions, but I realized I had to do something. This was something else, calling me to antagonize me about the accident. I briefly wondered how the woman got my number, but then realized I didn’t care. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that it stopped.

  Ten minutes later I was standing in front of Mindy Chan’s office. I went in and smiled at the receptionist behind her ridiculously clean, modern desk.

  “Hi, I’m wondering if I can speak with Ms. Chan.”

  “I’m afraid she’s in a meeting at the moment. Can I make you an appointment for another day?”

  I shook my head. “No. This is bit of an emergency. I’ll pay double the hourly rate, I just need to see her as soon as I can.”

  “Alright, she should be out of this meeting soon. I’ll squeeze you in before her next appointment.”

  “Thanks.”

  Another day I might have smiled ruely to myself, bemoaning the day I realized that money got things done more than anything else, but today was not this day.

  I went to one of the seats in the waiting area, sinking into the plush leather, and stared at the floor. Thoughts tumbled through my head. Again, I wondered how Jeb’s mom got my phone number. Should I go change it? Wait to see what your lawyer says. She’ll know what you should do.

  Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Daniel. What was he doing, calling me? Suddenly, I realized. I was supposed to meet him ten minutes ago. I had completely forgotten about the meeting.

  Slipping into the hall and motioning at my phone to the receptionist, I pressed the ‘answer’ button.

  “Hey, sorry, I completely didn’t mean to blow you off.”

  “Are you ok, Kylie?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I’m ok. Something came up, I’ll tell you about it later. But don’t worry, I’m totally fine. I’m at Mindy Chan’s office, I’m waiting to see her.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I promise you Daniel, I’m completely and totally sober right now. I haven’t been drinking and I’m not going to be drinking.”

  “Ok. I’ve got to get going, but I’ll talk to you after the game. You’ve got your tickets, right?”

  “I do. And don’t worry, I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Look for me during the warmup, I’ll wave at you.”

  “Will do. Thanks Kylie.”

  “Hey, Daniel?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Kick some ass out there tonight.”

  “I will.”

  I smiled to myself slightly as I slipped my phone back into my purse. I knew Daniel believed me. I had thought about lying to him
when he first picked up, but I owed him more than that. I knew if I told the truth, he wouldn’t worry. And it was true. I wasn’t going to drink. I went back into the waiting room and sat down. No matter how much I wanted to, I wouldn’t succumb. I wasn’t going to let this disease take over my life again. I wasn’t going to let it destroy me. I had too much to live for. I had Daniel. I had to be better for Daniel.

  A couple minutes later the receptionist told me I could go in and see Mindy.

  “Hi Kylie. I didn’t know we had an appointment, let me dig your file out from the computer quickly.”

  “We didn’t, actually. I came here on a whim, because I don’t know what to do.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “I got a phone call this afternoon from one of the plaintiffs in the case, Sally Kerr. She called my cell and accused me of killing her son, she told me she wished I’d died in the accident instead of him.”

  “That’s completely inexcusable. I’ll file for a restraining order straight away. I don’t want that woman contacting you again.”

  “Thank you. I didn’t know what to do. Every time this sort of thing happens, I get the urge to drink again. I just want it to stop. I want it to all be over so much.”

  “I know. I’m going to make sure it’s over as quickly as possible, and with as little input from you as possible so that you don’t have to go over that history again. For now, are you going to be alright?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I’m going to the hockey game tonight to see Daniel, my boyfriend. I’ll be fine.”

  “Alright. Listen, here’s my cell phone number. If she calls you again, please call me directly. You can also go to the police and complain that you’re being harassed. They probably won’t do much right then and there, but it will help to establish a pattern of behaviour.”

  “Thanks, Mindy.”

  “No problem. I’ll be in contact with you.”

  Sally Kerr tried calling me again ten minutes after I left the office. This time, I didn’t take the call. That seemed to annoy her even more, so she called again. Again, I ignored it. This time I put my phone on silent, so I was blissfully unaware of every call she made to me.

  Looking at my watch, I realized I was going to have to hurry if I wanted to be at the game in time for warm-ups. I would go to the police after the game and complain about the harassment. At this rate there would be dozens of calls from her that Mindy could use to help with the restraining order.

  I caught a cab to the arena. As it drove off, I leaned back into the seat and closed my eyes. I felt better, now. Going to see Mindy, doing something constructive about the problem, it really helped me keep my focus, it helped distract me from the desire to drink. Now I knew that that bitch wasn’t going to be able to contact me at all pretty soon without violating a court order. I was glad.

  When I got to the rink, I felt rejuvenated, somehow. I went to my seats. They weren’t in the corporate box this time, Daniel had bought me seats almost at center ice, six rows back. I smiled and waved at him when he skated past, and he waved right back at me, the grin filling his face making me melt inside. Every time he looked at me, even such a quick glance as this, made me feel like he was looking directly into my soul, like there was nothing in my body that couldn’t be bared to him. And I knew there wasn’t. He was my everything. I had avoided alcohol, and I had done it for him.

  I watched as he skated effortlessly along the ice, shooting pucks into the boards and past the goaltender. I was nervous. Nervous, nervous, nervous. I couldn’t imagine how the players must have felt.

  Eventually, the game started. When I came in I had been a little bit apprehensive about being around so much beer, but the instant the puck dropped, I knew I didn’t have to worry. I was one hundred percent focused on cheering for the Sea Lions, on making sure the little black disk went into the other team’s net.

  At the end of the second period, the opposing team were ahead, 3-2. Neither goalie had been having the best night, but the Sea Lions were getting the raw end of the stick. I stayed in my seat during the intermission, wondering what Daniel was thinking. I wished I could go into the dressing room, I wished I could tell him I loved him, and that no matter what happened I was proud of him, but that I knew he could do it. I knew he could come out here and kick Chicago’s ass.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be that night. Chicago scored another goal in the third to make it 4-2, the final score, and as the fans left, most of them feeling dejected, I hoped Daniel wouldn’t be too upset. He hadn’t had a bad game, by any means, but it was far from his best.

  I met him, as I usually did, in the hallway outside the dressing rooms. I walked over to him and hugged him, holding him close to me. He hugged me back.

  “You ok?” he asked, looking at me concerned, and I nodded.

  “Yeah, you?”

  “I’ve had better days. I know we’re still ahead. I know we’re still leading, but it still hurts when we lose in the playoffs. We’ve only got seven games, I don’t like giving up any of them.”

  “I’m not going to annoy you with clichés like ‘you can’t win them all’, but yeah, it wasn’t the best game you guys have had.”

  “I don’t know what happened. It was like I had no energy. Maybe I’ve just been training too much, or maybe I should have had a better dinner or something. I don’t think I was the only one though. Team sports are funny that way. Some games every single person on the ice has one of the best games of their careers, and others everyone seems to be behind a step. This one fell into the latter category. No one really seemed on their game tonight. Oh well, it happens. We just have to move on. Now tell me, why were you at the lawyer’s place this afternoon?”

  I told Daniel all about the phone call.

  “Are you kidding me? I can’t believe her. Something needs to be done.”

  “I know. That’s why I went to Mindy. She told me she’s going to file a restraining order. And also, I’m supposed to go to the police if she calls me again, which she has been during the game.” I took my phone out and glanced at my missed calls. “Ten times. She seems to have given up as of about two hours ago.”

  “I’ll take you to the station myself.”

  “Are you sure? You must be exhausted.”

  “I am, but I’m definitely coming with you. I’ll just sleep in for an extra hour tomorrow, that’ll take care of any exhaustion issues.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. I want to be there with you. You shouldn’t be having to go through this at all, the least I can do is make sure you’re not going through it alone.”

  Daniel drove me to the nearest police station. I hadn’t been in one of these in a long time. Of course, as all this sort of stuff always did, it brought back some bad memories. As if he could sense my nerves, Daniel took my hand in his. His warm touch, his strong touch, it was comforting. Like he was full of energy, giving me courage, the courage to go through with this.

  I went up to the front desk, where a very uninterested looking officer in his 40s glanced up at me, then glanced back down at what he was doing.

  “Yes?” he asked, as if my being there was an inconvenience to him.

  “I’d like to report harassment. There’s a woman suing me, and now she’s called me ten times in the last twelve hours. My lawyer told me to file a police report if she kept calling me.”

  The man sighed, then dug through a bunch of files.

  “Fine. Fill this out, there’s a desk over there.”

  I wasn’t feeling incredibly wanted here. The last time I was in the police station, at least, the police had been incredibly nice to me. They’d been sympathetic, they knew I didn’t want to be there, and they made it as quick and painless for me as possible. I had appreciated that.

  I glanced at Daniel, who rolled his eyes, understanding exactly what I thought, and we went over to work on the report. I just had to fill in my basic information, name and address, before another officer, who barely looked old enough to be out
of the academy, came over.

  “Oh shit, are you Daniel Ross?” he asked, before suddenly realizing what he said and looking around to make sure none of his superiors had heard. “Shoot, sorry. Sorry! I didn’t mean to swear. I just...”

  “It’s ok man, don’t worry about it. And yeah, that’s me,” Daniel replied with a grin.

  “I’m a big fan, sir. I’m here to take your girlfriend’s statement,” he continued, looking at me, “then if it’s alright I’d like to ask for a photo once we’re finished.”

  “Not a problem, always happy to do a favor for the boys in blue.”

  “Thank you sir!” the young man replied. He turned to me. “I’m Officer Hastings. I’ll be taking your statement, if you’d both like to follow me, or just the lady if she prefers.”

  Daniel and I went together into an empty office. It was practically bare, with just a desk, one of those standard cheap ones with a metal frame that looked like it had been in the office for fifty years, at least, and a couple of flimsy chairs. Officer Hastings motioned for us to sit in them, and we did so.

  “So, Ms... MacIvish, could you please tell me who has been harassing you?”

  I explained about the lawsuit, trying to avoid the accident as much as I could. Daniel’s hand reached across his seat and rested on my knee. It gave me strength, comfort where I didn’t think I had any.

  When I was finished, Officer Hastings scribbled a number of things on the sheet I had been given by the officer at the front.

  “Alright, thank you Ms. MacIvish. If you’ll give me your lawyer’s contact information, I can fax her a copy of this police report directly to help with the restraining order. I will also give you a copy. If you think in the future that you are in any immediate danger from this woman or anyone else, I encourage you to call 9-1-1.”

  I thanked Officer Hastings, and after taking a photo of him with Daniel with his phone, we left the building. I let out a sigh as we made our way outside.

  “You ok?” Daniel asked.

  “Yeah. It’s good. I’m glad I did this. I feel better when I actually do things you know, rather than dwell over them.”