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“You do? Are you famous too?” he asks with excitement.
“We both play for something called the NHL. It means. . .” I give my head a shake. “Yeah, I’m famous.” That explanation seems easier. “The place I’m taking you to skate is the same arena that’s on TV.”
“I told my friend at school I was going to skate with a famous hockey player, but he didn’t believe me,” he says.
“That’s too bad. Even though it shouldn’t matter what he thinks,” I say to Crew.
“I told him he was a poo poo head,” Crew states.
I laugh for a second and then realize maybe I shouldn’t have laughed because Skylar may not want me condoning those kinds of words.
“Did the boy tell the teacher you called him. . .poo poo head?” It feels weird to even repeat those words and saying it with a straight face is even harder.
“Mrs. Button told me to take a time-out and think about what I said. She told me it wasn’t nice to talk that way,” he relays.
“I think Mrs. Button is right. It doesn’t matter if that kid believed you or not. You know the truth. No point in getting in trouble because the other kid is a shi. . .a troublemaker.”
“Mommy said the same thing,” Crew says.
“That’s because your mommy is a smart lady.”
The rest of the ride is quiet. I catch the little guy looking out the window and when I announce we got to the arena he once again lights up. We head into the arena and I help him with his helmet and skates.
“Are we on television now?” he asks.
“No.” I smile. He really is adorable. “The television is only on when we are playing a live game. We also have practices here, just like you do at the arena with your friends.”
“This is so cool,” he beams.
We skate a few laps around the rink together and then I show him how to skate backward.
He falls down. “Don’t worry. The best way to learn is by falling,” I advise.
“Okay.” He smiles, not seeming fazed at all and he passes me his hand to help him up.
After, I show him some techniques he can use to skate faster.
“When I was a boy, my parents sent me for figure skating so I would be more agile on the ice,” I explain.
“What is agile?” Crew asks.
“Just so I could do different things with my feet to get around other players and skate faster,” I clarify.
“Maybe I should tell Mommy I want to figure skate,” he says.
Oh shit.
“That can come when you’re older. For now, we can practice some things together,” I deflect and he seems appeased.
After an hour I say, “Why don’t we go pick up your mom for lunch?”
“I’m hungry.” Crew nods.
We head out to the stands to take off our skates, and I pass him his water bottle and apple slices Skylar packed for him.
He falls asleep in the car on the way back to the apartment. I text Skylar we are on the way to pick her up and she messages she’ll come down to meet us.
She gets in the car. “Hi, how did it go?” She looks from me to the back seat. Crew’s nodded off to the side sleeping soundly.
