Chapter 22 Yvonne
Yvonne
Ididn’t stay for my team’s celebration, didn’t even bother to change my clothes.
The instant the buzzer sounded, indicating the end of the championship game, I was running to the locker room, ignoring everyone else.
I tore off my pads and skates, grabbing my stuff from my locker and heading for the exit still wearing my uniform.
As I ran I tried not to panic.
It had been a simple body check, something we did a million times in this game, but somehow the combination of momentum and loss of balance sent Toni flying off the boards and onto the ice, landing hard enough to crack her helmet.
When I realized she was unconscious I’d dropped to my knees, sobbing, begging the medics to tell me if she was okay.
Two of my teammates had to pull me away to let them put her on a stretcher.
I was contractually obligated to stay until the end of the game, but my coach at least had the good grace to bench me. I watched as my team scored the winning goal, but I took no joy in it. Not when I didn’t know if Toni was okay.
I was in the parking lot pulling up the Uber app when I realized that I had no idea where they would have taken Toni. My phone beeped and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Unknown Number: Yvonne, it’s Marta Lindstrom. We’re at Seattle Municipal Hospital. Toni was awake and asking for you when they took her back for tests.
Yvonne: I’m on my way.
As soon as the Uber pulled to a stop in front of the hospital I was out of the car and running into the Emergency Room. I waited impatiently as a huge security guard made me go through the metal detector, then I hurried to the reception desk.
Where no one would tell me anything.
“I don’t care about privacy, the woman I’m going to marry is in there!” I yelled.
I’d never yelled at anyone in my life, but I was frantic to see Toni. The receptionist was unimpressed, probably because she got yelled at on a regular basis. Someone grabbed my shoulder and when I swung around, I realized that it was Toni’s father.
“Her mother is back there with Toni now,” Mr. Lindstrom said, his face kind. “Come sit with me and I’ll tell you what I know.”
Two excruciating hours later Toni walked back out, her mother’s arm around her waist. There was a bandage on her cheek, her arm was in a sling, and she looked pale, even for Toni. When she saw me, she gave me one of her bright smiles, but I could see the pain behind it.
“You came.”
Was she surprised?
“Of course I came,” I said, rushing over to her. “Are you okay?”
Her mother had been texting Mr. Lindstrom updates from the treatment room, but I needed to hear it directly.
“It’s just a minor concussion,” she said. “A sprained shoulder. Some bruises. Nothing serious.”
“Nothing serious! You were unconscious!”
“Only briefly,” she said, like it was no big deal.
“How about you girls come back home with me and Lars? There’s plenty of space and I can keep an eye on you both.”
Mrs. Lindstrom said it like a question, but the steel in her tone made it clear that saying no was not an option. I was surprised the Lindstroms wanted me in their house after I’d injured their daughter. I said as much, making all three of them laugh.
“We would have way less respect for you if you didn’t play your best,” Mr. Lindstrom said. “Besides, it’s not your fault that my daughter can’t stay upright on her skates.”
It’s the kind of thing my father would have said, but he would have meant it as an insult. Toni’s dad said it with a smile, clearly joking. I could see where Toni got her sense of humor from.
She rolled her eyes at his teasing, then groaned. “Ugh, my head.”
“Let’s get you home.”
I sat in the backseat of an SUV with Toni as we made the forty minute drive to the family home on Lake Washington. It wasn’t actually that far, but even though it was ten o’clock at night, the traffic was backed up on the freeway.
A few minutes into the drive, Toni scooted as close as the seatbelt would allow and laid her head on my shoulder.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, kissing her head. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I swear.”
“It’s not your fault. Accidents happen in hockey all the time. You know this. It’s a physical sport.”
Her words should have made me feel better, but all I could do was keep thinking about what would have happened if she’d been more seriously hurt.
If I lost her. Despite the use of helmets and pads, traumatic brain injuries remained pretty commonplace in professional hockey.
We’d all heard the stories of players whose lives were irreparably altered by a TBI.
I found her hand and twined her fingers with mine, holding her close to me the entire drive home.
When we got to the Lindstrom house Toni’s mother went into full Mom mode, making us herbal tea, insisting that we both have something to eat, and demanding that Toni take the medicine that they’d sent her home with.
I tried to help, but Mrs. Lindstrom refused, telling me I needed to stay close to Toni. Marta made us all steaming bowls of chicken soup, coupled with crusty bread and fruit.
“You need the electrolytes,” she said, pushing the fruit salad towards me.
After she was satisfied that we’d eaten enough she settled us in their guest room, told me to make myself at home, and left us alone. I helped Toni get undressed and into some sweats, then changed into the second pair Mrs. Linstrom had handed me.
“I would kill for a shower,” Toni said sleepily. “But I’d better wait for tomorrow. They said I might get dizzy. The last thing I want to do is spend another three hours at the ER.”
I was tempted to suggest we shower together, but that would likely lead to some other activities that were not on the approved concussion protocol list.
We took turns washing up and brushing our teeth, me keeping a close eye on Toni the whole time. She seemed a little loopy from the pain meds, and the gash on her cheek where she’d crashed into the glass was slowing being surrounded by a purple bruise, but otherwise she seemed fine. Thank God.
As I settled into bed next to her I told myself I was never going to compete against the woman I loved again.
I just needed to figure out a way to make that happen.
I was one of the top hockey players in the league, I had options, so as soon as Toni fell asleep, I pulled out my phone and started sending some emails.