Chapter 20: Family Night

Twelve thousand people stood for the national anthem, and I stood in the tunnel in my black dress.

My mother's gold ring sat on my thumb.

Nolan was behind me in the shadow, in a borrowed ticket-taker's jacket.

"Breathe," he said.

"I'm breathing."

"Do it again."

Out on the ice, the lights went gold. A band played the team's fight song.

Lars skated out alone in his captain's jersey.

The roar came down on him from every row.

He lifted one glove, and the sound doubled.

He had never been more beautiful, and I felt nothing at all.

The owner stood at a podium by the boards, a heavy old man in a camel scarf.

"Folks, tonight is about family," he said. "And nobody here is more family than the man wearing the C."

Another roar.

Belinda came out of the opposite tunnel in her cream dress.

Lars took her hand and kissed her cheek. The crowd made a long, soft sound of approval.

The scoreboard woke up.

The tribute began. I did not look at it.

I looked at the section by the glass, where eleven faces from the Saari Tap sat in a row.

They held a hand-lettered sign that said Joss.

The plumber stood and lifted his cap.

When the film ended, the lights came up on Lars.

The owner passed him the microphone.

"Thank you," Lars said. His voice cracked in the right place. "This has been a hard season for my family."

A hush.

"My wife and I have walked a long road. Tonight I want to announce that my family is growing."

He put his hand on Belinda's stomach.

I walked out of the tunnel.

I walked across the ice in my flat shoes, past the bench and the boards and the gate.

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