Make It Back to Me

May 31st 2010
The United Center was alive with excitement as Evelyn, Phoebe, and Kita walked in. Shuffling along the concourse with the fans, Ben Eager’s wife found her stomach in knots, a nervous feeling taking over her body. As a player’s wife, the playoffs took a toll on her mental strength; not only did she have to convince herself that things would work out, but she had to convince her husband too. She had to be a rock for the both of them.

With Baby Ben’s carrier in her hands, she followed Phoebe and Kita through the sea of people until they were at their usual seats, surrounded by familiar faces.

“You’re back!” an older man exclaimed as Evelyn took her seat next to him. Evelyn grinned, nodding to him as she realized how much she had missed sitting in the stands. Ever since her son had been born, she had sat with the rest of the wives and girlfriends in the reserved box, knowing her son wouldn’t be able to handle the loud noises of being in the crowd. She was still unsure about having him with the rest of the rowdy Blackhawks fans, but she at least had to try. She missed it.

“He is so cute,” the man’s wife squealed as Evelyn pulled her son into her lap. Kita gushed from next to her as she pulled his jacket off, revealing a tiny Blackhawks Jersey, Eager the name on the back.

“He’s so big, Lyn,” Phoebe laughed, watching the baby lean back against his mother’s stomach. “I can’t believe he’s only four months old.”

“Tell me about it,” Evelyn laughed. “He clearly takes after his daddy,” she told them as she glanced at the scoreboard to see the clock ticking down from twenty seconds. She held her breath as the seconds ticked down, knowing the loud buzzer would sound throughout the arena as warm-ups started. The crowd began to cheer as the large screens showed the boys walking from the locker room and toward the ice, just as the buzzer went off loudly.

Her eyes were glued to her son as he sat contently in her lap, his fingers in his mouth as he bounced around. “It seems he’s not fazed, Lyn. You’re doomed; he’s going to be a hockey player just like his dad.”

Evelyn looked down at Baby Ben as he removed his chubby fingers from his mouth and pointed toward the ice, making a whining sound. “He knows Daddy’s out there,” she laughed, standing up with her son in her arms. “We’ll be right back,” she told her friends, skipping down the steps until she was against the glass, laughing at the teenage girls in Toews and Kane jerseys who glared at her.

When Ben immediately noticed his family, he skated over. Evelyn grinned at her husband as he smiled at their son, knowing everyone’s eyes were on her. She watched as Ben took his glove off and flattened his large hand against the glass and her son mimicked his father’s actions, causing a few squeals to emit from the women around them, watching the scene.

Ben tilted his head toward Evelyn’s right, and she smiled. She stepped up to the photographer, whose camera lens was shoved through the holes hockey glass had in them for that specific reason. “Excuse me,” she said, moving in front of him to grab the puck Ben shoved through the hole. She stood back up and handed it to her son who squealed and smiled his toothless smile at his father. “Good luck,” she mouthed to Ben as she kissed her fingers and pressed them to the glass. Ben nodded, giving her a wink before he skated away and went back to warm-ups forgetting about how exhausted his body was; he had a renewed sense of energy.

-

With five minutes left in the second period, the score was tired at zero. The game was so unlike the high-scoring Game One which saw the Blackhawks finally edge past the Flyers six goals to five. Evelyn was on the edge of her seat along with the rest of the twenty-two thousand people in the United Center. She was surprised by how well Baby Ben was handling the noise and excitement. He was usually pretty fussy when they sat in the wives and girlfriends box, but as they sat with the rest of the crowd, he sat almost entirely still on his mother’s lap, his big blue eyes glued to the action on the ice.

She knew her son, at just four months old, had a passion for hockey just like his dad.

With just under three minutes in the period, everyone held their breath as time seemed to move in slow motion. Marian Hossa wound his stick back before taking a wicked slap shot. Everyone jumped and screamed as the puck sailed into the net and the goal horn went off. As Chelsea Dagger blasted through the arena, Evelyn danced with Phoebe and Kita, Baby Ben squealing and cooing in her arms. “Fuck yeah, Hoss. That son of a bitch is getting a kiss when I get down to the locker room!” Kita exclaimed, as she watched the boys celebrate on the ice.

“Adam would love that,” Phoebe laughed, shooting a look at Kita who burst into a fit of giggles.

They watched as the seconds after the goal turned from celebrate to roughing with some of the Flyers. Evelyn held her breath as she watched the scene, players being removed from one another as the referees disengaged the situation. She smiled when she saw Ben skate onto the ice as play resumed. Kita nudged her they watched the ice, Baby Ben sitting straight up in his mother’s lap as if he knew his dad was on the ice.

A sharp pass from Dustin Byfuglien landed on Ben’s stick, and as he skated toward the net, he let the puck off his stick with a flick of his wrists. If she had blinked she would have missed it, but Evelyn had seen it. The puck landed in the back of the net as Ben skated and flung himself into Jonathan Toews’ arms, the goal horn sounding again as the United Center went crazy for the second time in under thirty seconds of game play.

Tears sprung to Evelyn’s eyes as Kita and Phoebe wrapped their arms around her and Baby Ben, the emotion of the situation getting to her as she watched her husband yell and scream in celebration.

“Twenty eight fucking seconds,” Evelyn breathed, her eyes wide as she sat back in her seat.

-

Despite a goal from the Flyers in the last few minutes of the third period, the Blackhawks had won Game Two of the series, two goals to one with Ben’s goal being the game winner. Evelyn eyes widened as she watched Ben exchange words with Chris Pronger who had just picked up the game puck. “Oh god,” she sighed, knowing he’d more than likely get in trouble for the incident, his reputation preceding him.

The girls felt as though they were talking on clouds as they headed toward the locker room, finding most of the other wives and girlfriends already in the lounge. “There’s the wife of the man of the hour!” Tomas Kopecky’s wife gushed as Evelyn walked in.

She grinned. “He scores the game winner and only gets third star; what a tough crowd,” she laughed, plopping onto the couch, her son in her arms after he had refused to sit back in his carrier when Evelyn had tried to put him in there. She found her lap and Ben’s chest were two of her son’s favorite spots to be. Not that either would be found complaining.

The door to the locker room swung open and Patrick Sharp shot a smile at his fiancé and then the rest of the women. “Come on in, ladies.” Evelyn stayed in her spot for a minute, her body tired and sore from lack of sleep and her workout regimen she’d been doing with Ben since the birth of their son.

“Where’s Lyn?” she heard Ben ask as the women walked into the room.

“Coming!” She called back, leaving her purse, the diaper bag, and Baby’s carrier in the lounge. She grinned as she walked in, Ben standing up from his stall, looking as attractive as ever dressed in his suit. As soon as he saw her, his arms reached out to take their son from her. He ran a paw over his son’s thick, light brown hair as the cameras came toward him, wanting a few words. Keeping his son in his arms, he answered a few questions about the game, and then about the baby in his arms.

“My son,” he told them, smiling proudly. “He’s four months old now.”

“His name?” one of the reporters asked as Baby Ben cooed into his father’s neck.

“Ben Jr.,” he answered, standing up and slinging his equipment bag over his shoulder before he grabbed the championship belt the players awarded to each other after the game. Happy Ben had gotten it, Evelyn smiled, taking their son back from him as they left the locker room.

-

At home, all three members of the Eager family were near sleep as they lounged in their living room, ESPN on the TV as it showed that night’s highlights. Ben grinned as he watched his goal, and although he didn’t say anything, Evelyn knew he was proud of himself. Baby Ben finally dozed into a deep sleep as he lay in his bassinet. Ben smiled at him as he threw an arm around Evelyn’s shoulders. She laughed and reached forward—knocking his arm down to the couch—as she grabbed the WWE title belt. She stood, putting it around her waist as she laughed at herself.

“I’ve always wanted one of these,” she said, continuing to laugh. She stretched her arms up, one angling behind her as she posed.

“Okay, Randy Orton,” Ben laughed knowing which professional wrestler she was imitating, standing up as he turned the TV off.

Evelyn winked as she grinned up at her husband, “I love Randy Orton,” she squealed as Ben grabbed her around the waist and kissed her possessively before he lifted her into his arms and over his shoulder.

“It’s time for bed,” he told her, grabbing Baby Ben’s bassinet in his other hand. As Ben literally carried his family, thoughts of hockey again flooded into his mind. The Blackhawks were going to win the Cup, and he wouldn’t allow anyone to tell him otherwise. Knowing his time in Chicago was coming to an end, and he and his family would soon be relocated, he refused to leave anything left undone.