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“We thought it’d be a good time to visit!” Mom said as she greeted me with a hug.
“How long have you been in town?”
I hadsomany questions, but everything was happening so fast.
Dad hugged me and held me close. “Sweetie, I just wanna say I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you all this time. You’re a smart, beautiful woman. I’m so proud of you.” He pulled back and stared into my eyes; that’s when I noticed his were glossy with tears. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Izzy. I mean it.”
I had to look away. “Dad! You’re going to make me cry. I don’t want my makeup to run.”
“Sorry.” He laughed and pulled me close for one last hug. “I’ll make it up to you later. I promise.”
“Okay,” I stammered. “I just—wow. I’m shocked. What are you even doing here?”
“Rust invited us,” Dad said, with a coy smile.
Why did it feel likeeveryoneknew something I didn’t know?
Before I could try to get more answers, the arena announcer’s voice began to boom over the public address system. “Dear fans, please enjoy this special presentation to commemorate the first season, and the first playoff round victory, of your Vegas Sin.”
The lights dimmed. A video played on the JumboTron and was projected on the surface of the ice, too. It was a highlight package from this season, backed by an upbeat pop soundtrack. The happy fans clapped and cheered as they relived all the best goals, hits, and crazy comebacks from earlier in the season. The music built to a dramatic crescendo as the video showed Rust scoring the game winner in Game 6 to eliminate the Minnesota Extreme, then immediately being mobbed by his teammates as they celebrated their playoff victory.
The music wound down and the video faded to black. Then the lights in the arena went dark, too.
The crowd stirred, anxiously sitting in the dark, until a bit of text, projected on the ice, slowly surfaced. It read:
“A Captain Has Emerged.”
The crowd went wild with anticipation. The fans had been eagerly awaiting, and debating, who their captain should be all year long.
I turned to Rust. Iknewit! I knew this was the secret—sorry, the “surprise”—he’d been looking forward to all week long! There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. The captainhadto be him. None of the other players had their friends and family standing on the ice.
The wink he gave me from across the ice all but confirmed it, too.
Suddenly, triumphant and hope-filled music began to play. Rust’s name, number, and likeness were projected on the ice—and then the word appeared above it, in giant letters,CAPTAIN.
The arena announcer roared, “Las Vegas, please give a warm hand to your very first captain … number four …Rust Walker!”
The fans went bananas, all standing on their feet, and began to chant his name. “Walk-er! Walk-er! Walk-er!”
Rust skated around the ice and waved at the crowd, showing his gratitude. After his lap around the rink, Rust glided to center ice, where Coach Miller was waiting for him. They shook hands, and Coach handed Rust a new jersey. Rust took off his old jersey and put the new one on—the one with the “C” stitched on the front—and the crowd went crazy again. His teammates showed their respect by tapping their sticks on the ice, too.
I was so proud of him! I couldn’t believe it. I wiped tears from eyes as I watched Rust put on his new jersey. The C looked like it belonged on his broad chest.
Rust was the captain.Mycaptain.
Then one of the sound guys ran up and handed Rust a microphone. The crowd quieted, eager to hear him speak.
“Thank you all,” he said, speaking to the crowd. “What a ride this first year’s been. I don’t think any of the pundits expected us to go this far, did they?”
The crowd went crazy, reveling in their team’s success against the odds.
“No one but you. You all believed in us since day one. And we could sense that. So, on behalf of all my teammates, thank you all for your support. It means so much to us to play here. We’re proud to be Las Vegans.”
The crowd whistled and cheered.
With microphone in hand, Rust skated up and down the red carpet, looking at us—his guests. “I want to thank my friends and family, too. Without you, none of this would’ve been possible.” He went down the line, shaking hands and hugging his friends and family. I was happy to see thefellasgive each other a big hug, too.
When Rust got to me, our eyes met. He was even taller in his ice skates, and I had to really crane my neck to stare up at him. But for that moment, time stood still, and it felt like we were the only two people here, even though thousands of people were watching us.
