Disclaimer - I do not own anything even remotely related to The Mighty Ducks. I only wish I had thought of them first…
Italics indicate character thought.
It took much less time than Beau would have thought to get a deal finalized and get the book in print. By the end of April it was in stores and she was surprised at how much support her publisher was putting behind the first Mighty Ducks book. That's right. The first. After much discussion, it was decided that her book would be the first in a series of undetermined length. Each would be 40-100 pages long and would focus on one particular member of the team and something that was happening with them. Already she had spoken with Charlie, gotten his permission, and was working on The Mighty Ducks #2: Cooper and the Triple Deke. It would center on the character fashioned after Charlie as he worked with his coach on his trademark skill and it would also follow him as he dealt with his mother dating a new man and ultimately getting re-married. The third book would detail Adam's move to the team and the fourth, she was pretty sure, would focus on Connie and Guy as they became more than friends. This would be their lives and Beau was touched that they had given her free reign to write about them. They had even offered to sit down with her and tell her their favorite stories of their adolescence.
Just two weeks after the book first hit the shelves her agent called her, his voice excited. Apparently it had been selling so well, due mostly to large in-store displays and word of mouth, that several television shows had been calling to request interviews. Regis and Kelley and the Today Show wanted her!
"This is too freakin' weird." She was sitting on a hotel room bed talking to Charlie on her cell phone and she couldn't stop herself from getting up to look out the window for the one millionth time. She was on a very high floor at the Plaza, her room holding fresh flowers and the nicest bed that she had ever slept on. New York City was veiled in a rainy haze as she looked out over the hustle and bustle and smoothed a wrinkle out of the suit jacket hanging on the armoire. "I wish you were here, Charlie."
He laughed on the other end. "Yeah? So do I! I would much rather be there than studying for this Chemistry exam." He was busy doing some last minute early morning cramming but he took the time to pause and set his book aside. "Are you nervous?"
Now it was Beau's turn to laugh. "Yes!"
"You did great when Matt Lauer interviewed you yesterday. You were charming and adorable and intelligent."
"Ha!" She scoffed and looked into the mirror, messing with her unruly curls fretfully. "I could barely form a complete sentence." Propping the phone between her ear and her shoulder she pulled on her charcoal gray pants and smoothed her palms over her thighs to make sure the pale pink pinstripes were straight.
"Hey, I have exciting news for you."
"Hang on." She set the phone down briefly and yanked the pink top over her head, shaking her hair out of her face. "Okay."
On the other end, Charlie chewed on his pencil, and then went back to his doodling. "You know how the Red Wings have been trying to find a home game for me to come up and visit and see everything, yadda yadda yadda?" He paused for effect. "Well, I talked to them since you're going to be in Detroit for that NPR radio show this weekend and they have a game on Saturday, so I'll be there too."
She grinned, more thrilled than he had thought she would be. "Charlie, that's great! I've missed you a ton this week. All I have on Saturday is that show at like 10am that morning and then I'm free. I'll call the publishers and see if they can change my flight back to school for Sunday."
"Charlie, this is absolutely too cool." Beau had leaned over as they walked down the long hallway, whispering in his ear. His eyes darted over to meet hers and she was thrilled to see the excitement displayed there. He only nodded before turning his attention back to the Red Wing's owner who had been talking non-stop since they had arrived. He was leading them up a tunnel and suddenly they were in the outside hallway of the arena, fans milling around, waiting for the game to start. The older man turned to face them both.
"Charlie, we would like to have you come up and watch the game in the owner's box. There are some people for you to meet, some things to be discussed." He turned his gaze briefly on Beau. "Miss Mayland, we thought you would like to watch with the other players' families, to get a taste of what things will be like for you when Charlie is here playing full time."
Charlie looked at Beau, unsure if she would be okay with spending the rest of the afternoon in the company of complete strangers. She flashed a beaming smile and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I'll meet you afterwards." And she walked off in the direction she was pointed. God, I love her.
"Beau, that's an interesting name." Beau couldn't help but notice that it was said with a hint of disdain. She smiled harder, determined to be the picture of support for Charlie.
"Thanks, Cassidy." Cassidy Atsur was the tall beautiful blond wife of one of Detroit's most famous players. They called him the Turkish Terror and his wife was a world class bitch. When Beau had sat down in the seat left open for her, she had immediately been swarmed by several young and very put together women. Cassidy appeared to be their leader.
It only took about five minutes for Beau to realize that none of these women actually watched the game. As a hockey player herself, she was thrilled to be at a professional display, and she longed for Charlie to be there so she could discuss the amazing plays that were being made. But it would have to wait. It seemed that these ladies spent the three periods gossiping.
"I saw a picture of your husband last night." Christy Buffington rested her chin on her well manicured fingernails. "So cute!"
Beau smiled, tugging at her black blazer and feeling very dark amidst their pretty pastels. "Oh, Charlie's not my husband. He's my boyfriend."
Cassidy sucked her teeth. "Oh, honey! You better get that ring as soon as possible. You don't want a good looking man like that Charlie of yours coming into this league free."
I shouldn't be having this discussion with them. Beau only smiled. She had hopped a non-committal answer would shut them up. She was wrong.
"You have to understand that for these men…they are on the road all the time. They have temptation in every town. And men are not perfect, isn't that right ladies?" She looked around at her cohorts who all nodded and rolled their eyes knowingly. "So they have their indiscretions and we have ours. And they take good care of us for being so understanding." It was unmistakable the way she picked a piece of lint from her sparkling tennis bracelet. "But a ring, that ensures that they keep taking care of you."
Beau felt sick. Literally sick to her stomach. Charlie would never cheat on her, that she knew. But this was…uncomfortable. She shook her head to clear her muddled thoughts and realized that Cassidy Atsur was still talking.
"We've seen it a million times." She paused and they were all nodding again. "These beautiful young girls who think their boyfriends," she said the word with contempt, "love them. One month into the season and they are on a plane back home to mommy and daddy. And what do they expect? It's not fair for them to think that they should hold these boys back."
An extremely beautiful Asian woman nodded as she dug through her oversized Louis Vuitton purse. "Boys will be boys!"
They all laughed and Beau smiled, feeling her heart sink into her stomach. What the hell have I gotten myself into?
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" It was the second weekend in a row that Connie and Guy were able to be together and he was so grateful to have her there to talk things through with. He nodded at her question, leaning back on the couch in their living room.
"Yeah. I had applied for the program a while back and then did the interview. I wasn't sure I would get it, but I got the letter a week before the draft."
Connie was glad to see that his face didn't fall anymore at the mention of the draft. She had always known that professional hockey was Guy's dream, but it was good to see him moving past that and getting on with his life. She just wasn't sure that Teach for America was the best way of getting on with things. "Don't they put you in like the worst schools in the world, though?" She tried to picture Guy breaking up a fight and couldn't do it.
He pulled out a thick packet and handed it to her. "It tells you all about it in there, but basically yeah, the schools are in need because other teachers don't want to be there. But I really think I could make a difference. I love kids, I've got a math background, and I'm like the most patient person I know."
She thought about him putting up with everything she had ever done, with everything that had happened with the Ducks, and with just the sheer craziness of living with Adam, Fulton, and Charlie. Smiling, she flipped through the book. "You are patient." She looked up at him, wanting to better understand. "So how will this all work?"
He launched into the same spiel he had given his mother, hoping it would sound better to Connie than it had to the woman who had spent the better part of the last hour yelling at him. "Well, they have all these different regions, but I've been placed in Minneapolis, which is great!" He was thrilled about that. "So, this summer I go out to LA for five weeks and do this intensive training. Then they send all of us, they call us a corp, back to Minneapolis and we get placed in a school and we teach there on their salary for at least two years."
Connie nodded, still looking at the book. "I like their motto. One day all children will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education." She looked up at Guy, already knowing from his body language what his answer would be. "Are you sure you want to make this commitment?"
He nodded solemnly. "This feels really right, Connie."
Charlie couldn't stop talking on the limo ride to the airport. There was his contract, which as a first round draft pick was quite lucrative. There were the other players he had met. His locker room. The realtor he had met who already had apartments she wanted to show him. The top of the line gear he had been fitted for…the list went on and on and Beau was trying her very hardest to listen and respond. I am happy for him. I am really happy for him. She focused on him.
"So did you have fun getting to know some of the families?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him and nuzzling into her hair. She could do nothing but smile.
"It was definitely interesting."
Katie: Thank you! I am so flattered and I don't even know what else to say. Thanks again!
BellaLou: As always, thanks! I'm sorry you were upset about Guy. It just wasn't in the cards for him I'm afraid. Don't worry, things will work out for him. Watch out with that being emotionally invested in Beau and Charlie. There are some rough waters on the horizon…
antiIrony: Thanks!
Cc: Glad you enjoyed. I am feeling the need to write about Guy now. He's kind of fun to try to pin down. Let me know how I'm doing!
flyinghawk: I'm so glad you think the grammar's getting better! Let me know if I start slipping again!