Arctic Thunder (19 page)

Donnie blinked in blurry hugeness behind his glasses. “Yes,” he said, sighing. “I don't believe I'm doing this, but yes!”

“Thataboy!” Ben said, clapping him on the back. “Okay, guys, let's get Donnie suited up.”

Gwen and Mike led Donnie to the equipment and helped bundle him up. The equipment was a bit sweaty from Grant, and Donnie grimaced as the cold wetness of the recent sweat touched his skin. Clad in his new suit of armour, he waddled over to the net and turned around.

Tyler Snowshoe gasped. “Jeez, he's big in there!”

It was true! With Donnie's size there didn't seem to be a whole lot of net to shoot at.

“You okay, Donnie?” Ben asked.

“Yes, Mr. Watson,” Donnie said without much enthusiasm.

“Mike,” Ben said, “show Donnie how to stand.”

“I know how to stand!” Donnie cried. “I watch Grant every day. I've seen the DVDs.” As if to emphasize his point, Donnie placed the blade of the goalie stick on the floor and put his left hand on his hip. He actually looked like a lacrosse goalie!

“Okay, everybody,” Ben said, “get into lines. Time for passing plays.”

The players started to run some plays and were careful not to hurt Donnie. He took a few shots off the chest pad, and when he didn't feel any pain, decided to keep his eyes open. Ben smiled and walked over to the stage to write a few notes.

A few minutes later Mike tugged at Ben's sleeve. “Dad, get your head out of your papers and watch this!” He pointed to the action at the other end of the gym.

Ben turned in time to see Gwen, Joseph, and Tommy moving toward the net. Donnie stood in perfect lacrosse fashion and watched as the three players moved the ball around the crease. Joseph quickly passed the ball over to Gwen, and Donnie shifted to that side. Gwen immediately flipped the ball to Tommy, who one-timed a shot at the open net. In acrobatic fashion Donnie flopped back and snapped his goalie stick across, catching the shot in the huge pocket of mesh.

Ben gasped. “Holy crap! How long has he been doing that?”

“Since about the fourth shot!” Mike cried excitedly.

Ben strolled to the other end of the gym as each line ran in on Donnie, trying to score. Mike faked a pass to Mark and fired a bounce shot to Donnie's left. The big boy flicked his leg out and took the ball off the toe of his shoe. Gwen, Mitchell, and Billy worked the ball around until Gwen caught a pass in full flight in front of the net, flipping a shot over her shoulder. Donnie threw his upper body in the way, and Gwen swung her stick in anger at the post.

“There's no place to shoot!” she cried in exasperation to Ben. “He covers the whole darn net!”

Mike laughed. “He's also covering the angles like a monster cat.”

Ben blew his whistle and walked over to Donnie. All that could be seen of Donnie's face were eyes and cheeks pushing against the inside of his mask. “Who the heck are you and what have you done with Donnie?” Ben mock-demanded. “You're amazing!”

Donnie tapped his stick nervously on the floor. “I don't really know, but … but I watched Grant a lot, you know? I watched this stuff on YouTube, too. I kind of … I don't know … I kind of pretended at home I was Steve “Chugger” Dietrich, the NLL goalie. He's bigger like me, and he's a great goalie. I guess I daydreamed a bit that maybe … I dunno … that maybe I could really be part of this team.”

“Well, my friend, Mr. Donnie,” Ben said, placing a hand on each of Donnie's massive shoulders, “if Grant isn't able to play, your daydreams may just come true.”

Donnie's head snapped up, surprise and joy in his eyes simultaneously. “Are you serious?”

“Of course, he's serious,” Tommy said over Ben's shoulder. “Now get back in net, because one way or another I'm finally going to score on you.”

Donnie squinted at Tommy. “Let's see you try,” he said as he lumbered back between the pipes.

CHAPTER 22

A
s it turned out, Grant's index finger and thumb were both broken, and he was done as a player. The boys were all pretty choked, but Donnie's first experience in the net hadn't been a fluke. At every practice he grew in confidence and became harder and harder to score on. He was big and played the angles flawlessly. It made him an imposing figure in the net. And in true Donnie style he studied everything he could put his hands on: YouTube videos, the DVDs Mike had at home, and anything else he could find on the Internet. Mike told Ben that at recess one day in the boys' bathroom Donnie was standing on a toilet with the stall door propped open so he could see his full body in the mirror. He was in his goalie stance, shifting back and forth. When Mike burst in, Donnie stumbled off and clattered to the floor.

There were a few things Donnie had to work on, like stepping out of the net to meet long shots and moving back against the crossbar when players had the ball in close, but he was indeed very good. With the exception of Mike, though, Donnie lacked what all the other players were short on — experience in a real game. How would they react against another, more experienced team? Would they be intimidated? They looked great in practice, but once an actual game came along would they disappear into the woodwork?

The ice on the Mackenzie River had finally broken up, and Victor invited everyone to his camp for a team getaway before they left for Edmonton and St. Albert. There was now more than twenty hours of daylight, and the weather was fantastic. It took three boats, but Victor, Ben, and the team finally arrived at Victor's camp for a one-night getaway. It was a great team-building experience, and Mike was thrilled to see the terrific camaraderie among his fellow players.

Ben had purchased a second-hand boat from another RCMP officer who had transferred south, and this trip was his first chance to try it out. Mike was ecstatic when Ben turned the wheel over to him for part of the trip. Nothing could wipe the smile off Mike's face. When they reached Victor's camp, Joseph was on the shore to greet them and help land the boats. He had been helping Victor and several other elders over the past few weeks and actually seemed to enjoy the work.

It was late in the day, and Joseph had a fire going on the shore. Mike and Ben smelled fish cooking as they ambled up from the boats. The team settled around the fire as Victor and Joseph prepared a meal and refreshments. Mike gazed across the river, then looked around the fire at the happy faces of his teammates. “This is all pretty sweet,” he whispered, leaning close to his father.

Ben smiled. “You're right, son. It's pretty nice, isn't it?”

“I'm sorry I was so … I don't know … crappy to you and Mom when we first moved here. I never guessed it would be like this. It really feels like home now.”

Ben wrapped his arm around Mike's shoulders and pulled him close. “It does, doesn't it?”

Gwen grabbed a soft drink from the table near Victor's cabin and strolled back to the fire. Hesitating for only a moment, she plunked down beside Mike. He glanced over and smiled before turning back to Tommy, who was sitting across and to the other side of Ben. Gwen took a sip and waited for the right moment. Even though they had gotten to know each other better, they really hadn't spoken much except to yell for passes or smack each other on the back when one of them scored a goal. But at least they were on friendly terms now. “Hey, Mike,” she said.

“Hey, yourself, Gwen.” The flames from the fire reflected in her eyes, and Mike felt his face flush. “This is great, isn't it? I love it every time I come out here with Victor.”

Gwen nodded, then peered at the fire before turning to Mike. “I … I'm sorry I treated you so badly when you first moved here. I shouldn't have. It's just … well, things happened when I was young. I …”

“You don't have to explain anything, Gwen. We all have things that bug us from time to time. I was pretty weird when we moved here, too. I hated this place and didn't even know what it was all about. I hated it because I had to leave all my … my old friends in St. Albert. Pretty stupid when you think about it. This place is great, but I hated it, anyway.”

“My dad was from the South,” Gwen said. “He left when I was seven and never came back. He never wrote, never called. He doesn't even know what I look like now.” Gwen's voice quavered as she looked away. Slowly, she turned back to Mike. “If you had a daughter, wouldn't you want to know what she looked like?”

Mike nodded. “I sure would. Your dad doesn't know what he's missing. I mean … you're great.”

Gwen touched Mike's arm. “Mike, I've hated everybody who ever moved here from the South. I hated them all because they made me think of my father. That's why I hated you. But no matter what I did, you're the first person who didn't run away or avoid me. You kept being nice to me.” She paused. “Thank you. You don't know how much it means.” Gwen stood, then leaned close to Mike's ear. “And that kiss was really nice!” Spinning on her heel, she walked briskly around the fire toward the cabin.

Mike's face burned like wildfire. He suppressed a nervous giggle as he returned his attention to where Tommy and Donnie were sitting. The two boys were staring at Mike, and Tommy's eyes were almost as big as Donnie's. Donnie whispered something to Tommy and then they both pursed their lips and made smacking sounds. Mike shook his head and tried to look mad, but he started laughing, anyway.

Ben stood and moved to the edge of the fire. Holding up his hands for quiet, he said, “First of all, I'd like to thank Victor … and Joseph for making it so nice out here for us tonight. The food's great, the company's fantastic, and this —” he indicated the sky and the river “— is unbelievable. A few months back I don't think Mike or I imagined we'd be somewhere as beautiful as this.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “This is our schedule for the tournament, and it isn't easy. Our first game is against St. Albert.”

There was a slight sigh from the group and then everyone looked at Mike.

He shrugged and smiled. “Hey, man, if we're going to kick some St. Albert butt, it might as well be in the first game we play.”

“Yay!”
Donnie yelled a little too enthusiastically. Tommy bumped him with his shoulder, but everyone nodded around the fire.

“Our next three games are against Leduc, the Edmonton Warriors, and then Red Deer,” Ben said. “All good teams. But from what I've seen, we can beat everyone if we execute what we've learned and play like a team. Lacrosse is a game of control and a game you win as a team. If we win most of the loose-ball battles, play good D, and control the ball, we're going to be tough in every single game.”

Walking to the edge of the circle of players, Ben bent over and clutched a balled-up piece of clothing to his chest as he headed back to the fire. “I wanted this to be a surprise. Donnie came up with the name. Someone told me that Gwen was quite the artist, so I asked her to keep it a secret and had her draw up the logo. Victor was good enough to get a couple of local businesses to sponsor the cost of having them made. Guys, I'd like to introduce you to your team jersey!” He held the jersey high and let it fall out to full form.

There were a few “Whoas!” and “All rights!” around the fire as the players talked excitedly among themselves. The jersey was black and gold like the Boston Bruins' hockey jersey. The logo was a player in a parka holding a lacrosse stick as if he were about to throw a cross-check. The expression on the face was an aggressive snarl. Above the logo was inuvik and below that was arctic thunder.

“Now for the cool part,” Ben continued. “Remember when you guys told me what numbers you wanted a while back? Well, look at this.” He turned the jersey around. In the middle there was a big number 33. Across the shoulders was debastien.

Ben laughed. “Officially, welcome to the team, big buddy.” He held the jersey out to Donnie.

For once Donnie's eyes weren't enormous. In fact, they were closed. A single tear squeezed out of the corner of his left eye and trickled down his cheek. Blindly, he held out his hand into which Ben placed the jersey. He hugged it to his chest.

Tommy patted Donnie on the back. “Congratulations, Donnie. You're an amazing goalie and just about one of the nicest guys I know. I'm sorry it took me so long to see that. I wouldn't want to be on a team without you.”

The rest of the players nodded.

“Yay, Donnie!” Tyler cried.

“You da man, Donnie!” Bobby added.

Ben then presented each player with a jersey. When the jerseys were all distributed, the kids gazed at them proudly. Then Joseph got to his feet, cleared his throat, and said, “Guys, I guess I've been a bit of a creep to all of you.”

Mike nodded in exaggerated fashion.

Joseph glared at him. “You don't have to agree that much! But, Sergeant Watson, I mean, Coach, I want to thank you for giving me a chance on this team. And, Mike, thanks for bringing lacrosse with you to Inuvik. Most of us didn't know anything about what a great game it is. Most of us didn't have any idea what a great guy Donnie was before you got here. I was mad at the world because of problems I made for myself, and … well …” He smiled mischievously. “Well, nobody knew Gwen had a heart, Mike, until you kissed her!”

The boys all laughed. Gwen shook her fist at Joseph. It was hard to tell who was blushing the most — Mike or Gwen. Joseph turned red, too, but mostly from laughing at his own joke.

“Thanks, Coach,” Joseph continued, “and thanks, Victor, for believing in me when no one else did. I won't let any of you down. I won't repeat the mistakes I've made. I promise. I have to admit I'm pretty confused. I don't really know what I'm going to do in the future, and sometimes … I don't know … I don't even know what it feels like to be Inuvialuit or anything. I mean, I've been so busy thinking first about making the NHL and then feeling sorry for myself that I don't even remember how to speak my own language anymore. I guess I'm still a bit lost, but I have this feeling that things are going to get better.”