I get up and walk to Zoe, grabbing my wine glass, and then walk to the seats. I take a seat, leaving the seat next to me open, and Zoe sits in it. Karrie and Zara sit behind us. Looking at the ice, I see the guys skating shooting at the empty net. I brace myself for when he skates out. I am ready for anything and everything, I tell myself. Then I see him walking to the ice and then skating onto the ice. He’s wearing his helmet, and I thought I was ready. I. Was. Not. My heart speeds up just a touch, and my stomach dips as I see him nod to the kids watching and then skate to the goal. He puts his mask on his face and then gets down into position. I spend the whole time trying not to look at him but failing miserably while I listen to the chatter around me. The noise almost drowned out by the beating of my heart echoing in my ears. The team skates off the ice, and I turn to the girls to see Zara and Zoe chatting away while Karrie just looks at me. I smile at her and bring my wine to my lips, taking another sip.

The lights turn off, and they start introducing the players. One by one, they skate on the ice, number by number. When they show his picture on the jumbotron, the crowd goes wild. They show clips of his saves from last season, and there is a cool shot of him going down and then doing a glove save. Then it switches back to him standing in the back waiting to go out. He walks to the ice and then glides on, holding his hand up to wave to the crowd. Looking from right to left, he skates with his hand in the air, going toward center ice where everyone else is lined up. He doesn’t smile, and he doesn’t talk to the person next to him. He just stares ahead as the rest of the team is introduced. The crowd goes equally crazy for Viktor, the new player on the team, and when Evan comes out, you can’t even hear anything because the cheering is so loud. I look over at Zara who stands there proudly with a smile on her face.

After the national anthem, the crown settles down as the players take their place on the ice, and the girls settle down in the seats. Allison joins us. “I need more than just a glass of wine. I need the bottle with a straw.”