2nd Intermissions

I couldn't remember how I made it out of the airport, but what I do remember is sprinting past cars in the parking lot, my suitcase bouncing on the asphalt behind me. When I found my car I shoved the bag into the passenger seat and sat in the drivers seat.
Still numb, I managed to drive all the way home and lay in bed before it hit me.
They were going to fire me. They were going to fire me because Adam lied. They were going to fire me for something I didn't even do. They were going to fire me!
As I burst into tears, I thought that not even Sean Avery would do something as cruel as what Adam did. I would never forgive him. I put myself out on a limb for him, and that was how I was paid back.
By the time I had composed myself enough to stand and get the ice cream out of my freezer, it was after four o'clock and someone was knocking at my door.
"Who is it?" I yelled, shoving the spoon into the frozen treat.
"Angelina! Open the door!" She shouted back.
"Go away!" I screamed, irrationally, but I didn't want her to see me at my worst. I put the spoon in my mouth and I heard her yell, "You gave me a key, dumbass!"
Then the door opened and she added, "I was just being nice when I knocked."
I threw the spoon into the carton and groaned.
Angelina turned the corner and saw me, sprawled in bed, Jersey Shore on the television and ice cream in my hand.
"I heard what happened. Get dressed."
I groaned more as she took the ice cream away and turned off the t.v.
"Where are we going?" I drew out the sentence while changing into a pair of jeans.
"Wear long socks, we're going ice skating."
"Oh come ON, Gina! Where the hell will we go ice skating?"

It wasn't until we were in the car and on the way to Warren Park's outdoor rink when I noticed she had clearly come straight from work. Her dress slacks were a dark brown and her hair was pulled back into a tight half-ponytail. Angelina taught History at a local high school and enjoyed wearing dress clothes even on casual Friday.
"Who did you hear it from?" I asked as we laced up our skates on the benches provided. We hadn't needed to rent ice skates, we both had ours on hand. Mine were hockey skates, where hers were figure skates. We both liked to put on the brakes different ways, so we used different skates. At one time hers were white, but she got a little overzealous with paint one day and now they were a bright green. I tightened my laces one last time and stood on my red, black, and gray skates.
"Troy. He texted me once you left the airport." Angelina stood also and added, "You ready?"
I realized just how relaxing this was as we watched the sky turn colors, skating in circles around the rink. She was still a little rusty and enjoyed staying near the boards, in case she lost her balance. I grabbed her hand and glided her towards the middle as we skated together, talking about the old times. When we dreamed big and lived even bigger. Our teen years were some of the best. We might not have traveled the world, but we traveled across the country and ventured into Canada, basing our travels on NHL teams. Angelina was only older than me by a year, but my birth month forced me to be two grades below her. She was a sophomore in college when I graduated high school and we went to the NHL cities, buying standing room only tickets and wearing our Blackhawks jerseys, no matter the teams playing.
We were in our early twenties when we got tattoos together, we had been saving up for for a while. Angelina had gotten a blue fleur-de-lis on her shoulder, and then it was my turn.
"You were so scared!" Angelina said, making a smooth turn.
I skated ahead of her and started skating backwards, a talent she hated me for.
"And? I still went through with it!"
We went back to skating side by side and we continued talking about my first.
It had to be something that meant a lot to me, and someplace I could hide easy, unless I wanted to show it off.
It hit me that Adam had never seen it. I smiled and bared my ears to the cold winter air, pulling my short hair back in a stubby ponytail. My bangs quickly fell back above my eyes and I rubbed behind my right ear. The Chicago Blackhawks 'C' with the crossed hatchets resided there, hidden for a long time from the light of day. I had been afraid the administration would disapprove of my ink, but now that they had 'relieved me of my duties', it didn't have to hide.
"It's been awhile, huh?" Angelina said, skating at my side.
I nodded and gazed at the fog beginning to rise from the empty rink and go skyward, where the inky-black night sky waited.
"Ladies, it's closing time."

When we were back in the car, I kept thanking her for taking me.
"You have no idea how calming that was." I said, leaning back in the seat.
"I have stressful days too, just not as stressful as your day, apparently. As an added treat, I have these." She fished two pages of paper out of her purse at a stop light.
She handed them to me and I read them out loud.
"You did not." I said.
"I did. You and I, my dear Samantha, are going to a concert tonight."
The band name was unfamiliar, but once we had gotten through all the opening bands and the headliner came on, I instantly recognized them and turned to Angelina.
"No."
"Yes." She beamed and turned back towards the stage. We hadn't seen Mustard Plug since we were in our twenties and they hadn't aged a day. An almost-well-known ska band, Mustard Plug seriously rocked out. We were crushed against other people and kicked in the crowd, but nothing mattered once my favorite song came on. I hadn't heard it in years, but I remember all the lyrics.
"Lolita! I wanna meet cha! I wanna take you in my arms and squeeze ya!" I yelled with the crowd.

Angelina dropped me off back at home and I managed to fall asleep peacefully, without the help of ice cream or anti-depressants. My best friend had single-handedly picked me up out of my hole of despair and unemployment to a better place, filled with tattoos, memories, ice skating and concerts.
When I woke up, feeling significantly better than yesterday, I turned on my computer and decided to update my resumé, just in case. My phone began to ring and I didn't answer it, just let it go to voice mail. I finished my resumé and grabbed my phone off of my bed, quickly dialing my voice mail.

"Doctor. This is Rocky. I regret to inform you that we will no longer be needing you on our staff. But since prior to your..mistake, your performance was impeccable, so we will gladly be a positive reference. You can pick your final check up at the corporate offices. If you cannot pick it up, they will mail it to you in a week. Feel free to add the following number to your resumé." He then transferred the voice mail onto a different line and a number was read off to me in a robotic voice. I scrambled for a pen and wrote it down, closing my phone.

"Well, now it's official." I set my phone down lightly on the desk and sighed. Pulling my hair back into another ponytail, I added the name, number, and title to the ever growing resumé and sent out e-mails to all my old friends in college, hoping that they knew someone who needed help in their practices.
I checked my watch and shut down the computer. Sitting down on my bed and turning on the television, I flipped through channels until I found the Blackhawks game.
Huet was in net and we were tied in the 2nd. Oh, until he just let that one goal through. The game was now 4-3 Blue Jackets and the camera panned over to see Cristobal slamming his stick into the goalpost until it finally broke under pressure, just like him.
I pitied him and knew that during the 2nd intermission, he would have to be evaluated for mental health. I itched, knowing that I wouldn't be in the locker room to help the guys. Someplace in my chest ached and I decided to step into the shower instead of watching them lose.

When I walked back into my room, towel-drying my hair, we scored and tied it. I allowed myself to do a little dance and retreated into the bathroom to finish my after-shower ritual.
I heard Pat Foley yelling and I ran back into my bedroom, just in time to see Toews score another goal. The game was 6-4 and I smiled, hoping Huet could hold on until the 3rd period was over. I was surprised he was still in the net, though. Columbus scored another goal and the lead was cut in half. 6-5 and the game ended at that. I breathed a sigh of relief and left my room, turning off the television. The laptop was opened once again and I checked my e-mail.
Already residing in my inbox was a reply from someone who I remembered from high school.
I laughed when I read her utterly unprofessional e-mail. She started with good intentions, but it quickly dissolved with her excitement, I guess. Her husband was starting a new practice in Budlong Woods, a quickly deteriorating neighborhood near my apartment. She said if I was interested to call the given number, they would be waiting to hear from me.

I quickly grabbed my phone and dialed the number, thinking it was too good to be true.
It wasn't, and I had an interview set up for Tuesday.
The time had flown by with True Life reruns and my phone began ringing around ten.
I answered it before I could see who it was.
"Hello?" I said into the receiver.
"Sam?" Someone whispered.
"Antti?"
"Yes. I'm sorry I have to be quiet, hold on." I heard some rustling and a door close.
"What are you doing?" I found myself whispering now as I rolled over in bed, clicking off the television and drenching myself in darkness.
"I have to hide in the bathroom, I can't wake Tomas up." Antti replied in a normal toned voice.
I found myself smiling and said while laughing, "Tomas is such a crab."
"Yes he is. So I assume...you're...okay?"
The mood was serious and I replied, "Of course I'm okay, Antti, I don't have a choice to be okay about the decision or not."
"Do you have income set up?"
"I'm working on it. I have an interview for Tuesday."
I heard him sigh and ask, "Where?"
"A new sports medicine place my friend's husband just opened."
"Sports medicine, huh? If you get the job, I will promise that you will have customers."
"Oh?"
"Tomas and I already agreed to pay visits to wherever you work next. Sports medicine just makes it easier. We think that the other guys will come too. The coaches won't tell us anything about your situation."
"Well, I wouldn't think that they would care, but Antti, you don't have to out-source your health. Dr. Harper is perfectly capable." I blushed from his offer.
"You can't turn us down, isn't that illegal here?" He chuckled and I quickly replied, "Oh you smart ass!"
It was quiet before he said, "So..now that we don't work for the same team now..." He let his sentence trail and I knew exactly what he was talking about. I had thought about it earlier in the shower.
"Sure, I'll give you a chance, Antti."
I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, "Okay. Okay that's good. We're in Detroit right now, and I think I'm going to play tomorrow- so I'll talk to you tomorrow night, if you are not busy?"
I giggled at his uncertainty and said, "Sure. Call me when you can. Don't stay up too late."

As I lay there in bed, my cell phone now dark and resting next to me, I allowed myself to be cheerful. I might have a job, I already have regulars, I have a best friend who is fantastic at everything, and I might have a new boyfriend- one who was a friend before a lover. Things were looking up, and deep inside, I thought that I deserved them from being usurped from my place of power within the Chicago Blackhawks organization. Life was definately looking up.