Double Shift

by David Skuy

  “Charlie, I got to thinking after we stopped working,” Julia began.

  “It’s cold,” Charlie said.

  “Hush,” Julia said. “Anyway, Spencer said the problem was we didn’t have the skills. We had the effort, but not the talent. So I asked myself, what if we got some talent and then combined it with our effort?”

  “What an interesting thought,” Alexandra said.

  “I thought so,” Julia said.

  The snow was picking up, and the girls’ hats were covered in white. Charlie could only look on enviously. He had left his hat at home, as usual.

  “So I paid a visit to the guy who was working at the car dealership, where the new Dunn’s Sportsmart is going in, and asked him if he knew of any talent and … Ta-da!” With a huge smile she opened the door and, holding it with her foot, spread her arms wide.

  The boys did not move. Charlie stepped forward. “Julia?” he began.

  She leaned forward. “Ta-da was your cue to go in, dummy.”

  He was almost scared as he walked past her and opened the inner door.

  Bright lights flicked on, nearly blinding him, and he had to blink a few times to focus. The café was filled with men. Off to the side were the rest of the Rebels and Hilton and Jeffrey, and in front of the window, Matt’s dad, and next to him, his mom and Danielle.

  “Yo, Charlie. Close your mouth, you’re catching flies,” Danielle said.

  Everyone began to laugh. His friends had all come in by now.

  “Any of you guys have a clue what’s going on?” he said to them.

  “We must have died from the cold on the walk over and this is heaven,” Scott said.

  “I thought heaven would have a few more puffy clouds, and the angels would be … better looking,” Nick said.

  “I think my heart skipped about ten beats when I walked in,” his mom said. “Matt’s dad called to tell me some of his tools were left behind and he really needed them. I came over to pick them up …”

  “I figured it out,” Danielle bragged.

  “But … what … the movie?” Charlie sputtered.

  “Okay, Charlie: there’s no movie,” Julia said. “Never was. Never will be. Rent it. Buy it. Move on. We’re here to fix the Rainbow Café once and for all. You can go to the Grand later.”

  He stared at his mom. “Did the insurance …?”

  “No dear. They had nothing to do with it. It’s your wonderful friends who organized things — and Paulo.”

  A man held out his hand. Charlie recognized him as the contractor from the car dealership. They shook.

  “I’m Paulo. I understand you and your buddies are here to help. We could use your help if we’re going to get this done by tomorrow morning.”

  “How is this even possible?” Charlie asked.

  “This young lady came by yesterday and asked if we could help out.” He pointed to Julia. “I spoke to the guys, and they were all in favour; and then we got lucky ’cause the new windows didn’t arrive today, so we don’t have to work tomorrow. Anyway, we figured it was a good cause and a way to give back to the community. We can’t deprive the good people of Terrence Falls of their coffee and treats, and Burt here tells me your mom makes the best cupcakes in town. I’m a sucker for red velvet with cream cheese frosting.”

  A burly, broad-shouldered man held up a hammer. Burt certainly looked like he enjoyed his pastries.

  Charlie took a moment to collect himself. The men had already started their work. He could see that most of the damaged ceiling tiles had been replaced. Three table saws lined one side of the dining area. Near the window, they had stacked the used pieces of lumber, and by the kitchen was a neat and tidy stack of perfectly clean lumber with all the nails removed. Judging from all the wood shavings and sawdust on the floor, they had used the table saws to cut the lumber down to size so they could use it properly.

  “What do you want us to do?” Charlie asked Paulo finally.

  “This is a hockey team, right?” Paulo said. “Give me one line to help with the ceiling, another on that wall to help with drywall repair and a third to deal with the floor. Defencemen can come with me for general maintenance.” He grinned. “I might’ve been a rushing defenceman back in the day, by the way.”

  “We’re with ya, dude,” Scott said, and he and Nick saluted.

  “Are you really both defencemen?” Paulo said.

  “I know how annoying Nick can be,” Scott said. “Just tell him to shut up. It won’t work, though. He simply will not be quiet …”

  “Give me strength,” Paulo said, eyes raised to the ceiling. “Okay. Coaches, you’re with Stanislaw to help with the carpentry.” Matt’s dad waved his hand. “And ladies, this here is Jude. He’s gonna fix the appliances and clean up.”

  “Now listen up, people,” Scott said. “I’ll be second in command, so pay extra attention to me. I’ll try to keep things simple because you’re mostly too thick to understand me, especially Nick.”

  “I’ve got an idea,” Paulo said, wrapping an arm around Scott’s shoulders and leading him to the kitchen. “How do you feel about really dirty, messy, difficult jobs?”

  “That’s more Nick’s specialty,” Scott whimpered.

  Charlie, Pudge, Zachary and Jonathon were assigned to the flooring team. A man wearing kneepads was on the floor banging a chisel with a big thick mallet. With each blow a piece of tile flew into the air, and in practically no time the rest of the broken tile was cleared away. The man then brushed some glue into the space.

  “Wait five minutes and then put the new tile in,” he said gruffly. “Make sure it’s in the centre.” He got up and began chiselling out another damaged tile.

  “Did any of you guys know about this?” Charlie said.

  “Not me,” Pudge said, still wearing the same stunned expression he had when he walked in to the café. Zachary and Jonathon both shook their heads.

  Charlie wondered if he looked as bewildered as Pudge. He felt it. This was all so unbelievable.

  “Good call, Paulo,” Charlie heard Scott say. “That’s exactly what I would have done if I’d known what to do.”

  “Are you going to be here all night?” Paulo replied.

  “You’d have to put a bullet in my head to get me outta here,” Scott said.

  “Paulo, don’t dismiss the idea right away. Consider the advantages,” Nick said.

  Paulo’s booming laughter seemed to energize the crew, and they kept up a hectic pace for the next hour. Most of the broken floor tiles were fixed in short order, and each new one fit perfectly. Charlie had just plopped in another when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. A tall woman with round glasses and a toothy smile waved at him.

  “You’re the reporter from the Examiner. Lorie, right?” he said.

  “Guilty as charged.”

  “I … um … didn’t expect you … Are you here to help too? It’s awful nice of you. I don’t really know what you can do. We have lots of people …”

  She clapped her hands gleefully and laughed as if Charlie had made the funniest joke ever. “I’d love to help, but I’d likely cause more damage. I’m here on official business. I want to cover the story: the community pulling together; a family fighting to stay in Terrence Falls, the town they’ve grown to love. The story writes itself.”

  “How’d you hear about it?” he said.

  She looked at her notebook. “A certain Julia Chow called the paper tonight. This story will be huge. Everyone will be talking about it, and I predict lineups around the block when the Rainbow Café opens. Trust me. This’ll be a gold mine. Anyway, your mom said I could take a few pictures and talk to you guys for some quotes. Can you crowd together for a pic?”

  They stood together, arm in arm. Charlie felt silly, and he knew he was grinning like a fiend.

  “Thanks, Lorie,” he said, and she flashed a thumbs-up and went off to photograph Spencer’s team as they put in another piece of drywall.

  Charlie’s group had one tile to go. As the m
an chiselled it out, Charlie noticed Julia sweeping up some broken ceiling tiles in the main room. He slipped out of the kitchen.

  “Don’t expect me to say thanks or anything just because this is the most amazing thing ever,” Charlie said to Julia.

  “As if I care where you live,” Julia said.

  “It’s a nice Christmas present,” he said. He had a feeling a few guys were watching, but he didn’t care. “I guess I should give you something too,” he said.

  “Any ideas? I love presents.”

  “I was figuring on a pack of gum and a bag of chips.”

  She looked impressed. “That’s very generous — and I’ll take it … but maybe you could also take me to that party …”

  “Maybe … I will.”

  Zachary popped his head out between the kitchen doors. “Hey, tile boy. You wanna put in the last one?”

  “Get back to work,” Julia said softly. She blushed and began sweeping again, and he went to the kitchen to finish the tiling.

  But it sure did not feel like work. At this pace they would get it all done by morning. His mom would be able to reopen soon, she would make enough money to pay the bank, and he could barely stop himself from screaming at the top of his lungs.

  Charlie Joyce wasn’t going anywhere!

  26

  THE LOVE OF THE GAME

  Brandon outhustled the Thunder centre for the puck and he backhanded it to Philip at the Rebels’ blue line. Philip rifled it across the ice to Spencer, who took it on the fly and pressed forward along the right boards. A metre across the red line he dumped it in. The puck whizzed around the wall behind the net, and Nazem was able to get to it first.

  “We’ve got Matt and Pudge next up as wingers, with Charlie at centre,” Hilton announced, pacing as usual behind his players.

  “We need to open it up,” Charlie said to his linemates. “Let’s try to carry it in and attack down low, with the trailer getting in front. They aren’t the fastest, so keep an eye open for the counterattack.”

  The Thunder right defenceman did a good job against Nazem and he was able to shovel the puck behind the net to his partner. He gave his centre a sharp pass at the hash marks. Brandon gave chase, and he caught him just over the Thunder’s blue line. The puck carrier fought hard and was able to get to centre, but then, either ready to change or simply tired of Brandon’s backchecking, he dumped the puck in between Spencer and Philip and peeled off to the bench. His linemates did the same. Brandon was winded too and he headed over.

  “Heads up, Charlie,” Hilton’s voice rang out.

  Charlie was over the boards before his words were out.

  “Good shift,” Charlie told Brandon as he sped by.

  He heard a cowbell from the stands. Spencer caught up with the puck about three metres in front of the crease. He took it on his forehand and swung wide right. Charlie noticed Philip cheating up on the left. He must want a change, and Charlie figured Spencer was bagged too. Charlie charged inside the blue line, spun backward and waved his stick. Spencer obliged with a pass and immediately took off for the bench.

  Charlie continued skating backward with the puck. He was in no real hurry because he needed to give the twins time to get on, and he was also wary of being last man. The Thunder centre came forward to pressure him. Robert raced to the right corner. Charlie waited until the forechecker committed and passed it to Robert. Pudge then set up on the left, with Matt on the right. Charlie glided into the slot.

  The Thunder left winger cruised in to join the forecheck, forcing Robert to pass to his brother behind the net. The winger backed off and the centre stood in front, waiting for Christopher to make his move. A light went off in Charlie’s head, as if he was seeing a movie. This was Pressure 2, the breakout Hilton had been trying to teach them. Christopher faked a half step to his left and came around the net to Andrew’s right. Charlie had to make a quick decision. The play called for him to criss-cross with Pudge. But then he’d leave the slot uncovered. On the other hand, Hilton had been preaching for them to trust each other.

  Charlie had to swerve not to run into Pudge. His bud had also committed to the play. Charlie cut up the right side in time to see Christopher drop pass to Robert when the centre forechecked him. Robert promptly carved sharply to his left and snapped a pass to Pudge about two metres inside the Rebels’ zone. Matt had cruised into the neutral zone and Pudge gave it to him. He wasted no time, one-timing a pass to Charlie at centre. Fooled by the quick puck movement, the Thunder right winger had let him go, and the left defenceman was backing off, so Charlie had lots of room. He kept outside, picking up the pace, making as if he was going it alone. He gained the blue line, and then at the hash marks slammed on the brakes. Matt slowed slightly.

  “To the net,” he yelled, and Matt took off like a shot.

  That cleared the way for Pudge as the trailer, just like they had talked about. He gave it to him once Pudge had crossed the line and then cut behind the left defenceman, who had a tough choice. Pudge was barrelling toward the net with the puck, but he also had to worry about Charlie sneaking behind him. He opted to deal with Pudge and charged out, going down on one knee, his glove to his side, his stick blocking the passing lane.

  The ice sprayed a metre high as Pudge stopped short and saucered the puck over the defenceman’s stick. Charlie took it and continued on net without breaking stride. The other defenceman in front with Matt pivoted on his right foot. Charlie saw that he was going to throw himself on the ice to block a pass across. The goalie was already well out of the net playing shot all the way. Charlie didn’t hesitate. Before the defenceman could sprawl, Charlie slid the puck under his shin pads. Matt had turned sideways, facing Charlie. In perfect position, he had time to stop the puck, take aim and, with a snap of the wrist, roof it under the crossbar.

  Matt had missed almost two months with a concussion, and this was his first goal since his return. Charlie could not contain his joy. He leapt in the air and pumped his fist.

  “Welcome back,” he screamed and gave Matt a bear hug.

  “If I knew you could pass I’d have come back sooner,” Matt joked.

  Pudge draped his arms across their shoulders. “Are you still playing with the Rebels?” he said to Charlie.

  “I’ll stick around until I get a better offer.”

  They all laughed and skated to the blue line where Christopher and Robert congratulated them.

  “That was fun to watch,” Robert said.

  His brother tapped their shin pads, which was about as expressive as he ever got, but his eyes were shining. Charlie drifted slowly back to centre. This was one moment he wanted to savour. A couple weeks ago he was leaving Terrence Falls. Then Paulo and his boys had pulled it off with a marathon work night and fixed the café. The Rainbow reopened to huge crowds. Lorie’s story had been front-page news, and it was as if the entire town had rediscovered his mom’s place all at once. Since then his mom had made enough money to catch up on her bank payments — she had even been able to buy Christmas presents.

  “Go, Rebels, go! Go, Rebels, go! Go, Rebels, go!”

  Scott and Nick were conducting the cheering crowd. Rebecca pulled Scott’s hat over his eyes, and he spun and began to conduct with his back to them all. Julia and Alexandra kept the cheer going while Danielle kept the beat with her cowbell. The referee’s whistle startled him. Charlie could have kicked himself. It was the middle of a game, and he was watching the crowd.

  “Set up, number eight,” the ref said.

  There was nothing he would rather do. It was 1–0 in the second period, playing with the Rebels, for his favourite coach, and with his mom and sister — and Julia — watching. The referee held the puck over the dot. Charlie had his stick in a reverse grip. On a whim he straightened up, backed up a touch and, holding the stick normally, went with the forehand sweep. Caught by surprise, the other centre could not match his quickness, and the puck whirled straight to Robert. The left winger pressured. Robert banked a pass off the wall to M
att. The right defenceman moved up, but Matt brought the bouncing puck under control in time and batted it deep before absorbing the hit.

  Charlie raced after it. He felt like he could fly, as if his skates had rockets in the blades.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  David Skuy spent most of his childhood playing one sport or another — hockey, soccer, football, rugby. Now he is a writer and lawyer who lives in Toronto, Ontario with his wife and two kids. He still plays hockey once a week and remains a die-hard Leafs fan.

  He began writing the Game Time series to try to capture the competition, the challenges, the friendships and the rivalries that make sports so much fun.

  His book Undergrounders won the Silver Birch Award in 2012.