Chapter 11 Lukas
eleven
Lukas
“Congratulations, Lukas. You must be excited for the year ahead.”
Christine, the PR manager for the team, offers her well-manicured hand in greeting. After shaking her hand, I stuff mine in my pockets.
“I’m very excited about this season. I hope we can take the team to the playoffs and beyond. We have a deep lineup.”
“That’s wonderful to hear!” Her nails click on the table as she adjusts a sign.
“I’ve heard great things from the coaching staff already.
Fans are getting excited for another season, and we’ve seen an uptick in season ticket sales already.
” She pats my arm, lingering on my biceps.
“I hope today’s event will boost the ticket sales further. Have you met Slappy yet?”
I almost laugh as I recall all the ways I’ve already met Slappy. I’m pretty sure my way of meeting isn’t what she means.
“Not yet, but I’m sure the beaver will have people’s wallets out in no time.”
“Mascots are big business, Lukas. If Slappy is a hit, this could mean so much for me.”
“You?” I raise an eyebrow. “How would it mean something to you?”
She flicks her hand in the air like it’s not a big deal. “Us. I meant the team, but it was my idea.” She tucks her hair behind her ear, and I decide to just let it go.
“I just want to win, Christine.”
My gaze finds Soupy and Burnsy coming down the hall, and without excusing myself, I walk over to them.
“Hey, guys. I’m glad you’re here. The chick in charge of the promo is giving me ick vibes.”
Sometimes your gut tells you that you shouldn’t have eaten the whole pizza. Other times it tells you to keep your guard up. Christine is definitely setting off my ‘approach with caution’ detector.
Burnsy slaps my shoulder and peeks around me. “She can’t be that bad. So what are we supposed to do here, anyway?”
The three of us walk back to the setup in the local mall, where three long tables await. One for us to sit at and sign autographs, one with merchandise emblazoned with the new beaver mascot image, and the third is manned by people ready to take ticket orders.
“We pose for photos and sign stuff. The mascot will be here too, and Christine said earlier that a reporter will interview us.”
“Your first appearance and interview as the Captain, Piney. How do you feel about that?” Soupy grins, and I hadn’t thought about it like that.
“A little surreal, to be honest.”
“Come on,” Burnsy says. “Let’s get this started.”
Christine hands us our jerseys, and when I peer down at my chest at the stitched ‘C,’ it’s hard to hide the emotions that spring up. My two assistant captains chat with Christine while I step behind the backdrop to take a breath.
Not that my teammates would tease me for getting misty; they know it’s an honour, but I wish my mom could have seen this. She’d be the first one baking a cake and making me feel like I was a king. I can still hear her voice sometimes.
“Lukas!” Christine’s nasally voice grates, and I shake off the memories of Mom before stepping back out. A small line has already formed to meet us.
“Let’s get you in the middle of Matteo and Connor.”
“Your name is Matteo?” I say to Burnsy, and he laughs.
“Yeah, I know it’s weird to hear myself. I’ve been Burnsy for so long that sometimes I don’t respond to Matteo.” He laughs again, and we settle behind the tables for the first wave of fans.
It’s actually fun talking to the kids. Hearing how some of them have hopes and dreams just like I did is kind of neat.
The team had hockey cards printed for this event, and as people line up, there’s a collection jar for donations to a local LGBTQ+ youth shelter that they have the option to contribute to in exchange for the cards.
Most people do, and it may not seem like much to most, but to me, it means everything. Knowing my team isn’t afraid to support a queer cause makes me stand taller and wear this jersey with more pride.
The three of us pose for photos with a young boy, and just as we settle back in, a chorus of squeals erupts.
“Oh my god, it’s him! It’s Slappy!”
My heart pounds as I stretch to find him in the crowd. A tug on my arm makes me look back in front of me. A little girl with enormous glasses, almost too big for her face, and short blonde hair smiles at me.
“Mr. Pine, can you sign my jersey?”
Oof, what a cutie with her sweet voice.
“Of course I can. But you can call me Piney or Lukas. Mr. Pine sounds too official.” Stepping out from the table, I bend to sign the white patch on her jersey above the team name. “What’s your name?”
“Ari. I’m your biggest fan.” She grins, and I smile back. She delivers that statement with a conviction that warms my heart.
“Thank you so much. Make sure you get a hockey card and say hi to Slappy.”
“Go Aspens!” She pumps her fist, and I watch as she finds the adult she’s with and they drop money into the jar before she steps over to Ben. Well, to Slappy.
He’s finally arrived close enough to the tables, and I don’t know where all the kids suddenly came from, but he’s absolutely mobbed by them.
Slappy’s costume isn’t what I expected. I thought the costume would be big and bulky, for one thing. A chubby, cuddly beaver to pander to the families and dole out big, squishy hugs. But Slappy is far from a chubby critter with big teeth and a giant tail.
This beaver wears furry pants that cling to him with coverings that look like beaver feet stretched over his shoes.
There’s no padded belly either. More fur covers the upper half of the suit, with a tan fur patch for the belly.
Mitts with beaver feet cover Slappy’s hands, and the beaver head is simply a hood.
A brown mesh conceals his face completely, with fake teeth over the mouth part and a pair of giant blue eyes sitting slightly higher than where Ben’s are under the hood.
Slappy steps forward, reaching out a paw, but then holds up a finger and spins around to show the kids his giant tail. I don’t know how, but he brings the tail down to give one kid a high five. All the kids want to do it now, and Slappy bounces around, high tail slapping everyone that’s in reach.
The smile forming on my face as I watch him interact hurts my face. If he’s this good at a meet and greet, what will he do when he’s performing?
“I was expecting one of those big, bulky suits for a mascot,” Soupy whispers next to me. “But correct me if I’m wrong here…is the beaver kind of sexy? That suit is snug in all the right places, and even under the fur, I can tell they’re fit.”
“Not wrong,” I croak.
I want to tell Soupy how right he is, but I keep my mouth shut because I can’t trust myself right now. I’d likely sound like a breathless teenager when they see their crush. Hell, I might even wax poetic about how amazing Ben is and completely blow this secret.
Instead, I focus on the people in line and try to ignore the commotion around Slappy.
Inevitably, Slappy finally reaches the tables and waves to the three of us. We all wave and laugh, and the little girl I met earlier steps in front of Slappy. He gives her a tail slap and points to my autograph on her jersey.
She jumps in excitement, and I can’t hear what they’re saying, but he leans down close and clasps his hands over his heart.
Slappy holds out a paw for a fist bump, and she bounces over to her adult again.
“Okay, can I get the three of you over here?” Christine motions for us to join Slappy in front of the table for photos.
“Nice to meet you, Slappy. Welcome to the team,” I say.
He points to his mouth, and I chuckle.
“Right, sorry. I forgot you can’t talk.”
Slappy gives me two thumbs up just before we have to say cheese, and as we crowd together, my arm naturally goes around his waist. With a quick squeeze to his hip, I release him once the photo is done.
The rest of the event goes smoothly, and Ben entertains as Slappy the entire time. He’s more of a draw than the three of us, and instead of being miffed that the fans chose a beaver, I’m ridiculously proud of how well received he is.
“Holy shit. Look at that!”
Soupy elbows me, and I turn my head to watch Ben in a handstand, waving his tail around with every step. When he returns to his feet, he motions to the crowd to have them clap in a rhythm, and the three of us stand and join in.
Slappy motions for everyone to stand back, and Christine waves us over.
“You three do some crowd control. He wants space for a routine.” She’s giddy about it, and I can’t say I blame her. I’ve seen the things Ben can do close up, and it goes beyond whatever he’s about to throw down for the crowd.
The crowd continues to clap, the excitement of what’s about to happen growing, and I’m swept up in it all, too.
Finally, Slappy removes his tail and hands it to a kid nearby and gestures for him to keep it safe.
When he’s satisfied the kid knows not to run away with it, he resumes a position at the far end of the clearing we created.
He makes it look easy as he bounces on his toes, takes a step and does two tumbling somersaults, which is all the space he has.
From there, he returns to a handstand and walks while he offers high fives with a foot.
Instead of a controlled return of his feet to the floor, like he taught me that night in the park, he drops to his stomach on the floor before doing the worm and popping up on his feet with a flourish.
It’s only a small display of the skills he has, and it’s impressive in the small space at the mall. He runs back to get his tail from the kid and then stops in front of me. Ben gives me the tail and turns around, making a huge deal of sticking his ass out so I can get to the snaps.
“Uh, sure, Slappy, let me help you with that.”
My hands fumble with the snaps, and I smack his ass by accident as I try to catch the tail before it falls. Not a little love tap either. My hand connects with one of his snugly covered cheeks with a solid clap.