Status: Hiatus
Oil & Water
Chapter Two
After collecting my bags, I pulled my hat lower to cover my face more and all but ran out of the airport, trying to avoid people if possible. It wasn’t that I didn’t mind signing things for fans, but now wasn’t the time, even if I did want to try to put off the inevitable. The cab ride to the DCFS offices lasted less than ten minutes, but seemed like forever, and gave me plenty of time to get lost in my own thoughts.
Matt and I were best friends growing. He moved into the house next door to my family the summer before we started kindergarten. Our dads, both being huge hockey fans, had signed us up together for our local tyke house hockey league, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
That had changed in the summer of 1998. Matt blew out his knee, and decided to focus on his studies so he could get into a good university instead, while I continued pursuing the hockey dream. Part of the reason I decided to really buckle down and get serious about making it into the NHL was because of Matt. Even though we were only fourteen at the time, we had always joked with people that we would make it together, same team and everything. Of course, no one took us seriously, so I made it my mission to prove them wrong, especially since Matt would never have the chance to himself.
Since he couldn’t play, Matt made sure to ride my ass every chance he got. He was like a second father to me, coming to all my games and cheering me on…sometimes even attending my practices. In the winter, when our dads put up an outdoor rink in our backyards, he was out there putting me through drills. All of our hard work paid off when the Kamloops Blazers drafted me in 2000.
The WHL wasn’t the NHL, but I played like it was. Even though I was a province away, Matt and I still talked to each other all the time. He would dissect my game for me and tell me what he thought I should work on. My first season I was able to get eighty-seven points in seventy games, earning myself the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year. I managed to follow up with eighty-three points in sixty-one games in my second season. That earned me the attention of the Nashville Predators, who drafted me in the summer of 2002.
I ended up being reassigned to the Blazers after playing in the October game with the Predators, while Matt went to the University of Alberta. Then, towards the end of March that season, Matt calls me up and informs me that he met “the one” while on a spring break vacation in the States, and the best part was that she went to the Austin Peay State University in Tennessee; he would be applying for a transfer there the next day so that he could be with her, which would also mean he could hang out with me a lot more when I eventually went to play with the Predators full time. They ended up getting married five months later.
Not long after their wedding, they discovered that Ashleigh was pregnant. On April 14, 2004, little Matt Junior was born, and they asked me to be his godfather. Twins Tyler and Cody followed on February 21, 2007, but by that time I had been traded to Philadelphia. I had briefly seen them a couple times after some of my games and during short holiday breaks, but those were the last time before I got traded to Phoenix. Both of us were pretty busy, so it was hard trying to find time to get together, whether it be in person or just for a simple phone conversation. What was once a bromance had dwindled into a few texts here and there, mainly something quick, like “happy birthday.”
“Sir?” the cabbie said, ripping me out of my thoughts. “Sir, we are here.”
“Oh, sorry,” I answered, handing him the fare. “Keep the change,” I said, grabbing my bag and getting out. I gulped as I stared at the DCF building, thinking about just how drastically my life was going to change when I walked in there. I had to fight the urge to turn around and hail another cab back to the airport. But I couldn’t take the easy way out. No matter how bad I wanted to go back to the way things were before I got that phone call this morning, I couldn’t do that to the kids. I thought I was shocked at what had happened and what was to come; I could only imagine how they must be feeling about the loss of their parents. While I’ll be the first to admit that I’m probably not the most suitable person to take care of them, at least they won’t be separated in different foster homes. I can at least manage to watch them until more permanent arrangements can be made for them.
“Can I help you sir?” the older receptionist asked when I stepped up to the desk.
“Uh, I’m looking for a Miranda Bogira? I’m Scottie Upshall…”
“Oh, Mr. Upshall, she’s waiting for you. Just go down that hall, and it’s the fifth door on the left.”
“Thanks,” I said, walking down the hall towards Bogira’s office. Raising my shaking hand to the door, I knocked quickly, hearing a soft come in in return.
“You must be Mr. Upshall,” the petite woman sitting at the desk said.
“Scottie,” I nodded in confirmation.
“Miranda,” she returned. “Sorry to rush, but I’m already running behind today, so you’re going to get the CliffsNotes version on the way,” she said, standing up and grabbing her sweater. I followed her out to her car, putting my stuff in her trunk and making myself comfortable for the car ride to the children’s “foster” home.
“Like I told you on the phone,” she started when we got on the highway. “There’s no family left…at least that we know of. We don’t have any foster families here that have the space or anything to take one three extra kids. Given their ages, we prefer to keep them together—losing both of their parents is going to be traumatic enough for them, even if the twins aren’t old enough to quite understand what’s going on. I assume you’re going to be taking them back to Phoenix?”
“Yeah, and the sooner the better. My GM already thinks that my reason for coming here is bullshit, so he only gave me a couple of days leave of absence.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure you give you the information for the Phoenix area DCF before you leave then. Do you have enough space for the kids?”
“I should. I have a three-bedroom apartment. But um, I don’t have anything….kid-friendly, for lack of a better word.”
“You’re probably going to have to move all of their stuff with you, unless you would rather just buy everything new once you get back to Phoenix.”
“I wouldn’t even know what they needed, let alone where to begin shopping.”
“Well, I could see if I can find the number of one of the moving companies for you,” she offered. “They can pack everything up, and then ship it to your apartment, unless you want to drive there.”
“With a five year old and almost three year old twins? I think flying would be my best bet. Traveling all that way for them is probably already going to be a nightmare, I’m not going to make it worse by driving cross-country.”
“Yeah,” she agreed as she parked in front of a modest-looking home. “Ready to see the kids?”
Matt and I were best friends growing. He moved into the house next door to my family the summer before we started kindergarten. Our dads, both being huge hockey fans, had signed us up together for our local tyke house hockey league, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
That had changed in the summer of 1998. Matt blew out his knee, and decided to focus on his studies so he could get into a good university instead, while I continued pursuing the hockey dream. Part of the reason I decided to really buckle down and get serious about making it into the NHL was because of Matt. Even though we were only fourteen at the time, we had always joked with people that we would make it together, same team and everything. Of course, no one took us seriously, so I made it my mission to prove them wrong, especially since Matt would never have the chance to himself.
Since he couldn’t play, Matt made sure to ride my ass every chance he got. He was like a second father to me, coming to all my games and cheering me on…sometimes even attending my practices. In the winter, when our dads put up an outdoor rink in our backyards, he was out there putting me through drills. All of our hard work paid off when the Kamloops Blazers drafted me in 2000.
The WHL wasn’t the NHL, but I played like it was. Even though I was a province away, Matt and I still talked to each other all the time. He would dissect my game for me and tell me what he thought I should work on. My first season I was able to get eighty-seven points in seventy games, earning myself the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year. I managed to follow up with eighty-three points in sixty-one games in my second season. That earned me the attention of the Nashville Predators, who drafted me in the summer of 2002.
I ended up being reassigned to the Blazers after playing in the October game with the Predators, while Matt went to the University of Alberta. Then, towards the end of March that season, Matt calls me up and informs me that he met “the one” while on a spring break vacation in the States, and the best part was that she went to the Austin Peay State University in Tennessee; he would be applying for a transfer there the next day so that he could be with her, which would also mean he could hang out with me a lot more when I eventually went to play with the Predators full time. They ended up getting married five months later.
Not long after their wedding, they discovered that Ashleigh was pregnant. On April 14, 2004, little Matt Junior was born, and they asked me to be his godfather. Twins Tyler and Cody followed on February 21, 2007, but by that time I had been traded to Philadelphia. I had briefly seen them a couple times after some of my games and during short holiday breaks, but those were the last time before I got traded to Phoenix. Both of us were pretty busy, so it was hard trying to find time to get together, whether it be in person or just for a simple phone conversation. What was once a bromance had dwindled into a few texts here and there, mainly something quick, like “happy birthday.”
“Sir?” the cabbie said, ripping me out of my thoughts. “Sir, we are here.”
“Oh, sorry,” I answered, handing him the fare. “Keep the change,” I said, grabbing my bag and getting out. I gulped as I stared at the DCF building, thinking about just how drastically my life was going to change when I walked in there. I had to fight the urge to turn around and hail another cab back to the airport. But I couldn’t take the easy way out. No matter how bad I wanted to go back to the way things were before I got that phone call this morning, I couldn’t do that to the kids. I thought I was shocked at what had happened and what was to come; I could only imagine how they must be feeling about the loss of their parents. While I’ll be the first to admit that I’m probably not the most suitable person to take care of them, at least they won’t be separated in different foster homes. I can at least manage to watch them until more permanent arrangements can be made for them.
“Can I help you sir?” the older receptionist asked when I stepped up to the desk.
“Uh, I’m looking for a Miranda Bogira? I’m Scottie Upshall…”
“Oh, Mr. Upshall, she’s waiting for you. Just go down that hall, and it’s the fifth door on the left.”
“Thanks,” I said, walking down the hall towards Bogira’s office. Raising my shaking hand to the door, I knocked quickly, hearing a soft come in in return.
“You must be Mr. Upshall,” the petite woman sitting at the desk said.
“Scottie,” I nodded in confirmation.
“Miranda,” she returned. “Sorry to rush, but I’m already running behind today, so you’re going to get the CliffsNotes version on the way,” she said, standing up and grabbing her sweater. I followed her out to her car, putting my stuff in her trunk and making myself comfortable for the car ride to the children’s “foster” home.
“Like I told you on the phone,” she started when we got on the highway. “There’s no family left…at least that we know of. We don’t have any foster families here that have the space or anything to take one three extra kids. Given their ages, we prefer to keep them together—losing both of their parents is going to be traumatic enough for them, even if the twins aren’t old enough to quite understand what’s going on. I assume you’re going to be taking them back to Phoenix?”
“Yeah, and the sooner the better. My GM already thinks that my reason for coming here is bullshit, so he only gave me a couple of days leave of absence.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure you give you the information for the Phoenix area DCF before you leave then. Do you have enough space for the kids?”
“I should. I have a three-bedroom apartment. But um, I don’t have anything….kid-friendly, for lack of a better word.”
“You’re probably going to have to move all of their stuff with you, unless you would rather just buy everything new once you get back to Phoenix.”
“I wouldn’t even know what they needed, let alone where to begin shopping.”
“Well, I could see if I can find the number of one of the moving companies for you,” she offered. “They can pack everything up, and then ship it to your apartment, unless you want to drive there.”
“With a five year old and almost three year old twins? I think flying would be my best bet. Traveling all that way for them is probably already going to be a nightmare, I’m not going to make it worse by driving cross-country.”
“Yeah,” she agreed as she parked in front of a modest-looking home. “Ready to see the kids?”
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It's a little shorter than normal, but I had to break it up here or it would have ended awkwardly. And, I didn't edit it, because I'm about to fall asleep sitting here, so excuse the errors.Comment, por favor??