Crazy Beginnings and Happy Endings
seventy-three
"Why haven't you shown me this picture before?" I asked. I was moving into Max's house and we were cleaning out the closet in the guest room.
"What pictures?" Max asked, pulling the last box off the shelf. He walked over to the bed and placed the box on it before making his way to me and looking at the picture frame in my hands.
"Your World Juniors picture," I said. I was going through the players, trying to see if I recognized any.
"I don't really show people my pictures," Max shrugged. "Well the ones that are put away."
"Aww," I smiled. "Little Sid. Wasn't he a bit young to play at the same time you did?"
"I guess not," Max said. He pointed to one of the goaltenders. "There's Flower."
"Wow, you guys all look so young," I said. "Lots of these guys play in the NHL now too."
"Like who?" Max asked.
I gave him a weird look. "What do you mean who? You play against them."
"I know, I just wanted to see if you actually knew," Max chuckled.
"Oh, well," I looked at the picture again. "Getzlaf plays for Anaheim. Phaneuf plays for the Leafs. Gorges for the Habs. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards are with Philly. Seabrook is in Chicago. Both him and Getzlaf played for Team Canada in Vancouver."
"That's right," Max said, his voice was surprised.
"Josh Harding plays somewhere too," I said. "Dallas, maybe."
"Minnesota," Max corrected. "But that's still impressive that you know all that."
"Thanks," I smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You know, my favorite team was always Anaheim."
"What?" Max took a step back and put his hand over his heart, pretending to be shocked and hurt by my words. "Why?"
"When I was younger, I liked to watch the Calgary Hitmen play against the Swift Current Broncos," I explained. "Getzlaf played for the Hitmen. He's a good player. And Zach Smith played for the Broncos. He's in the NHL now, too. I don't know which team because I stopped watching hockey a couple of years after he started in the WHL."
"When did Smith start there?" Max asked.
"Um, 2004/2005 season, I think. That was Getzlaf's last season in the WHL."
"Oh, so why did you watch the Hitmen?"
"Well, it started out that I followed the Broncos," I said. "My cousin, Nicola, used to live in Saskatoon and was a friend of a hockey player named Aaron Richards. I used to go to Saskatoon for the summer because Mom and Dad always took a parent vacation for a couple of weeks.
"So basically, he befriended me and when he started playing in the WHL, I started to follow the Broncos. Then during his second season, I started to follow the Hitmen instead. I don't really know why, but I just did. I still kept tabs on the Broncos, but then Aaron got traded to the Moose Jaw Warriors. That was in 2003 or something.
"Anyways, I tried to keep track of both the Warriors and the Hitmen, but that's a lot harder than you would think when neither team is close by. So I lost track of where Aaron went and paid attention to Calgary. Besides, they acquired Justin Pogge, who was practically a god at his job."
Max smiled and chuckled at my last comment. "So after the WHL, did you watch the NHL?"
"Not really," I replied. "I caught the odd game, but not too much. And when I moved away, I didn't bother getting a TV because I knew it would just be a distraction."
"Oh," Max said.
"But I still liked Anaheim," I smirked. "They are a very good team."
"How's that?" Max asked.
"They have Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf," I said like it was obvious.
"But the Pens have-" Max started.
"No," I shook my head. "You guys have a good team too. Lots of the teams are good now."
"That's true," Max said. "How about we move this stuff to the storage room and then go out and say hi to the guys that are still in town."
"Deal," I nodded, grabbing a box.
"What pictures?" Max asked, pulling the last box off the shelf. He walked over to the bed and placed the box on it before making his way to me and looking at the picture frame in my hands.
"Your World Juniors picture," I said. I was going through the players, trying to see if I recognized any.
"I don't really show people my pictures," Max shrugged. "Well the ones that are put away."
"Aww," I smiled. "Little Sid. Wasn't he a bit young to play at the same time you did?"
"I guess not," Max said. He pointed to one of the goaltenders. "There's Flower."
"Wow, you guys all look so young," I said. "Lots of these guys play in the NHL now too."
"Like who?" Max asked.
I gave him a weird look. "What do you mean who? You play against them."
"I know, I just wanted to see if you actually knew," Max chuckled.
"Oh, well," I looked at the picture again. "Getzlaf plays for Anaheim. Phaneuf plays for the Leafs. Gorges for the Habs. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards are with Philly. Seabrook is in Chicago. Both him and Getzlaf played for Team Canada in Vancouver."
"That's right," Max said, his voice was surprised.
"Josh Harding plays somewhere too," I said. "Dallas, maybe."
"Minnesota," Max corrected. "But that's still impressive that you know all that."
"Thanks," I smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You know, my favorite team was always Anaheim."
"What?" Max took a step back and put his hand over his heart, pretending to be shocked and hurt by my words. "Why?"
"When I was younger, I liked to watch the Calgary Hitmen play against the Swift Current Broncos," I explained. "Getzlaf played for the Hitmen. He's a good player. And Zach Smith played for the Broncos. He's in the NHL now, too. I don't know which team because I stopped watching hockey a couple of years after he started in the WHL."
"When did Smith start there?" Max asked.
"Um, 2004/2005 season, I think. That was Getzlaf's last season in the WHL."
"Oh, so why did you watch the Hitmen?"
"Well, it started out that I followed the Broncos," I said. "My cousin, Nicola, used to live in Saskatoon and was a friend of a hockey player named Aaron Richards. I used to go to Saskatoon for the summer because Mom and Dad always took a parent vacation for a couple of weeks.
"So basically, he befriended me and when he started playing in the WHL, I started to follow the Broncos. Then during his second season, I started to follow the Hitmen instead. I don't really know why, but I just did. I still kept tabs on the Broncos, but then Aaron got traded to the Moose Jaw Warriors. That was in 2003 or something.
"Anyways, I tried to keep track of both the Warriors and the Hitmen, but that's a lot harder than you would think when neither team is close by. So I lost track of where Aaron went and paid attention to Calgary. Besides, they acquired Justin Pogge, who was practically a god at his job."
Max smiled and chuckled at my last comment. "So after the WHL, did you watch the NHL?"
"Not really," I replied. "I caught the odd game, but not too much. And when I moved away, I didn't bother getting a TV because I knew it would just be a distraction."
"Oh," Max said.
"But I still liked Anaheim," I smirked. "They are a very good team."
"How's that?" Max asked.
"They have Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf," I said like it was obvious.
"But the Pens have-" Max started.
"No," I shook my head. "You guys have a good team too. Lots of the teams are good now."
"That's true," Max said. "How about we move this stuff to the storage room and then go out and say hi to the guys that are still in town."
"Deal," I nodded, grabbing a box.
♠ ♠ ♠
So the part I am planning is coming up, sometime, but it might take awhile to get there. Hopefully the updates aren't too boring, if they are, let me know, I'll think of something to make them better.