Reunited

“Honestly, that was probably the worst meeting I’ve ever been to,” Simone complained. She adjusted the belt that lay across her shoulder. “I can’t believe my boss thought it would be a good idea to be a part of that.”

“Why? What happened?” Jordan asked as he drove toward the arena.

“Nothing,” Simone said, glancing at the brunette. “Literally nothing happened. All those men did was talk about sports.”

“Why is that a bad thing?” Jordan asked. “You love sports.”

“I know, but sports talk? I can do hockey talk, no problem there. The rest of the sports, not really a fan of talking about. Also, I didn’t travel all the way from Pittsburgh just to talk about hockey.”

“Well, tonight you can relax and watch the game with me,” Jordan smiled, pulling into the players lot. He turned off the ignition and looked at the red head to his right. “Do you want to meet the guys before or after the game?”

“I usually see the guys in Pittsburgh after the game, but it’s really up to you,” she replied with a shrug.

Jordan opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the loud bang of his window. He turned and peered out at the man standing there.

The man wore a huge grin and was waving like a mad man.

Jordan sighed and opened his door to talk to the new arrival. “What’s up, Devan?”

“Coach told me I’m starting tonight,” he smiled. “I figured he wouldn’t start me after last game, but he told me I’m in tonight. Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you brought your girlfriend.”

Chuckling, Jordan shook his head. “It’s alright. She’s not my girlfriend. She’s an old friend in town for work. Devan, this is Simone. Samo, this is Devan Dubnyk, our goaltender.”

“Nice to meet you,” Simone smiled. “And congrats on starting tonight. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

“Do you follow hockey?” Devan asked as Jordan and Simone joined him on the way to into the rink.

“Yes, I do,” Simone told him. “It’s hard not to when you go to school with this kid.” She lightly elbowed Jordan in the side.

“Favourite team?” Devan inquired, holding the door for her to enter the building.

“Good question. As much as I would like to say you guys, it’s got to be Florida.”

“Really?” Jordan raised an eyebrow. “You seriously like Florida?”

Simone laughed and shook her head. “No, I just wanted to see what you’d say.” The three adults stopped outside the locker room door. “Pittsburgh is my favourite team. They have been since I was little. I mean, who wouldn’t love Lemieux and Jagr.”

“Probably the goalies they played against,” Devan offered, taking a hold of the door handle. “I’ve got to go get ready. Are you heading up to the box or are you joining us?”

“I’m going to show Samo up and introduce her to whoever is there and then I’ll be down,” Jordan told him.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Simone,” Devan said, shaking her hand. “I’m sure I’ll see you after the game. I hope you have fun with this kid.”

“I’ll try,” Simone smirked.

Devan nodded and disappeared behind the locker room door.

“He seems like a nice guy,” Simone said as the pair walked to a set of stair, which they started to climb. “Why are all goalies awesome?”

“What do you mean all goalies are awesome?” Jordan raised an eyebrow at her.

“Think about it. Jeffy was always fun to be around and he had a great sense of humour, well most of the time. Marc, the Pens goalie, loves to have fun, never stops smiling and always seems to be excited about something. From what I saw of Devan, he seemed to have the same personality as the other two.”

“Are you basing this on the only goalies you know?”

“Pretty much,” Simone shrugged. “I can’t really say anything about the people I haven’t met. For all I know, Neuvirth and Varlamov could be complete opposites and have dull lives.”

“Do you want to meet them?” Jordan asked, opening the door once they reached the top of the stairs.

“Who? Neuvirth and Varlamov?”

“Yea.”

“If I had the opportunity, I guess so. I love meeting new people, especially when they play hockey. Who are you playing tonight anyway?”

“Washington.”

“How did I not know that? They played in Calgary the night before last. They dominated.”

Jordan nodded and looked around the box. He noticed that only one person had arrived.

“You guys are lucky tonight,” Simone continued. She was unaware of the other man in the area.

“Why is that?” the man asked, inviting himself into the conversation.

“Oh, sorry sir, I didn’t notice you,” Simone said, red rushing to her cheeks. “I’m Simone Cheauseur, a friend of Jordan’s”

The man smiled and shook her outstretched hand. “Good evening, Miss Cheauseur. I’m Steve Tambellini, the Oilers’ General Manager.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr Tambellini, but please call me Simone.”

“Likewise, and you may call me Steve. Now what were you saying about the team being lucky tonight?”

“Oh, what I meant was Mike Green’s out with an injury tonight. I read that he got hit in the face pretty well with the puck and is taking the night off. I would assume it’s to let the swelling go down.”

“You’re probably right about that,” Jordan said. “I watched the replay and he didn’t look in the best of shape as he skated to the bench.”

“It’s unfortunate, since he’s one of the best d-men in the league,” Simone added.

“You must know your hockey pretty well,” Steve interjected.

“I know a bit,” Simone smiled. “I went to high school with Jordan and I lived across the hall from a Pittsburgh Penguin for a little over a year, so I’ve gotten to know the team very well. They like to keep me up to date with what’s going on in the league. Come to think of it, hockey is a big part of my life.”

“Look, Samo, I’ve got to get back downstairs. I want to talk to Doc before the game. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”

“Sure thing, Jordan.”