Carl Hagelin, the best brother
Chapter 2
After practice, Carl and I called Erica. She agreed to meet us for lunch at Del-Monacos. I bounced in the front seat of Carl’s truck. “I haven’t seen Erica in forever”, I say, a little squeal in my voice. Carl smiled and reached for my hand. “Slow down there, Tiger. I’m just as excited to see her as you are”, he said. We pulled in at the same time Erica did. I waited patiently while Carl and Erica greeted each other. Finally, Erica called me over. I flew out of the truck and into her arms. “It’s nice to see you”, I say. Erica smiled. “I heard from Carl that you were bouncing in your seat the whole way here. I’m not surprised”, she said. I smirked at her. “You’re mean”, I complained.
We walked into the restaurant. Carl picked out a table, near a window. We ordered our drinks (Bud Light, DBA, water). I smiled a little as the waitress handed him his Bud Light. “Carl, you order that every time we go to get something to eat”, I say, shaking my head. He smiled at me. “I love this beer. Aren’t I allowed to have it”, he asked. “Yes, you are. But can’t you try something different for once”, I replied. “I might. You want some”, he asked. I shook my head. “No, I don’t want some. I’m not old enough. You have to wait until you’re 21 to drink beer. I’m only 16”, I replied. Erica shook her head. “Is Carl always teasing you like that”, she asked. “Yes. But (I shrugged) I don’t care. He’s a good brother, even if he is a goofball”. We looked at the menus to see what we wanted. I found something that I loved to eat: lasagna. I decided to look through the menu to see if there was anything else that I liked. I spotted something else: chicken caesar salad. I thought about it, then decided I was going to eat healthy today. I put my menu down, looking at Carl and Erica to see if they had decided what they want. Erica had her menu down, but Carl was still looking at his.
I smiled a little. “What”, Erica asked. “Every time we go out, Carl is always the last one to decide what he wants to eat”, I said, laughing. Erica laughed, while my brother glared at me out of the corner of his eye. He put his menu down. “What are you going with today, Lizzy”, he asked. “Something healthy. I’m going with salad. Chicken caesar salad”, I said, tilting my head a little. “A burger with fries. Goes good with beer”, he said, holding up his own drink. Erica rolled her eyes. “I’m getting something that I think is so good: fish and chips”, she said, laughing at the face I’d made. The waitress came back and we ordered our food. I rubbed my eyes. “My eyes are burning, and they really itch”, I said. Carl looked at me. “I hope you’re not getting pink eye”, he said, pulling my hand away. Erica looked at me. “Her eyes are a little red. She could be tired”, she said. Carl nodded. “You don’t have to go to the game tonight. You can stay home and sleep”, he said. I looked up and smiled. “I’m not that tired. I’m going to your game”, I said.
Our food came. Carl and Erica waited patiently and quietly while I said Grace. We talked and ate. I looked at Carl and couldn’t resist teasing him a little. “You should’ve gotten this, Carl. It’s healthy”, I said. He looked at me. “I know it’s healthy. I’m healthy”. I nodded. “I know you’re healthy. You’re strong, too”, I replied. He showed me his arm muscles. I smirked a little. “Eat your food, mister healthy. There will be plenty of time to show your muscles later”, Erica said, pointing at his plate. Carl finished his burger. He looked over at me. I was sitting down, looking out the window, one of my legs tucked under me. I had a dreamy look on my face, and my hand cupped my chin. He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “You okay”, he asked me. I looked at him, a confused look on my face. “Yes, Carl. I’m fine”, I replied, grinning a little. We paid for our food and left them a tip. Carl looked at his watch. “It’s 2:35. You wanna go back to the house”, he asked. My eyes lit up. “Yes, I do! We can watch videos from your Michigan days”, I said, looking from Erica to Carl. My brother glared at me. “Lizzy, I don’t think Erica wants to watch those”, he said. “I don’t mind, Carl. Besides, you looked good in a Michigan jersey. Especially the Big Chill jersey”, Erica said, punching Carl’s arm. Carl smiled at her and grabbed her hand. “Are you sure you’re not saying that because you don’t want to hurt Lizzy’s feelings”, he asked her. Erica smirked at him. We saw the car and climbed in.
As soon as the door to our house opened, I raced upstairs to say the rosary. It would take about fifteen minutes to say it. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name”… “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee”… “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit”…
While I prayed, Carl and Erica hung out downstairs. From other times that they were by themselves, and I was doing something else, I knew that they didn’t get into that much trouble. They were having cokes. “You’re so lucky to have a sister like Lizzy. She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met”, Erica said. “I know. When I held her for the first time, I had a feeling I was holding someone special… and different”, Carl replied. Carl’s words are true. When I was eight, I was diagnosed with autism. Kids at my old school used to ask me: “How do/did you learn if your learning style was/is different than a teacher’s teaching style?” The truth: it wasn’t easy. But, that was then. Now, I go to a private school, where there are kids who have the same thing as me or something related to it. I have a lot more friends there, and honestly, school is a lot more fun.
The rosary is complete. I kiss the cross, hang it on a nail on the wall, and run downstairs. “Which game do you want to want to watch first”, Carl asks. I smile. “Senior Night. I’m skipping to the end, where your two goals are”, I say. I walk to the disk rack, pick out a disk, walk to the TV, and place it in the player. I grab the TV remote and the player remote and sit on the couch and click “Play”. The familiar ice of Yost comes onto the screen. I look at Carl, a smile on my face. “You miss it, don’t you, Carl”, I asked. “Yes. It brings back memories”, he said in reply. I let it play. My mind shifts. I’m back at Yost, and the band is playing the Swedish national anthem…
I hear the notes of something that sounds familiar. I see the band out of the corner of my eye. I turn to the right, where my parents and my brother, Bobbie, are standing. All of them are crying. I frown, wondering what was going on. I pull on Bobbie’s sleeve. “Why are you crying? Did something happen”, I ask. Bobbie picks me up. “No, nothing bad happened. They’re playing our anthem. Carl’s anthem”, he replied. My eyes grow wide. “Sweden’s anthem”, I say. He nods, then points to the ice. “Look at Carl”, he whispers. I look at the ice. Carl is moving, shifting on his skates. I can’t see his face that well, but I can tell from his movements that he is trying to fight back his emotions. My throat tightens up at the sight. I can feel tears forming in my eyes. I swallow hard. My mom is wiping her eyes and my dad is looking at Carl. Finally, the anthem is over. The players start skating. I can see Carl slowing down because he is by our seats. I call his name. He looks up. I can see his eyes moving, from me to Bobbie, from mom to dad, then back to me. I give him a thumbs-up and a smile. He smiles back. We do our special wave, then he smiles at our parents and brother. Then, with another wave, he skates away.
I can feel someone shaking me. I start from my daydream and look around. The Senior Night game is midway through the first period. Carl is looking at me. “What happened? I thought you wanted to watch this”, he said to me. I smile a little. “I just had a little daydream about being there on Senior Night. You were trying to fight back your emotions because they were playing the Swedish anthem”, I replied. Erica looked surprised. “You could tell that”, she asked. I nodded. “Of course. When you see the same people every day, you get used to their habits”, I replied. We watched the end of the first and all of the second period. It was the start of the third. I smiled and gave Carl a little nudge on the shoulder. “This is where it gets interesting”, I said. He smirked at me, then gave me a tight hug. We watched it. There was three minutes left on the clock. I nudged Carl. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go back in time for a while”. I shifted my mind. I was at Yost once again. There was a minute left in the game…
“Get the puck, Carl”, I yell. I’m getting nervous because we are down by one. I didn’t like overtime, but tonight was a special night, and I didn’t want to lose. So, I chose overtime. Bobbie reaches over and grabs my hand. He is letting me know that he feels the same way. “Shoot it, Carl! Shoot it”, I hear my dad yelling. I quickly turned my head back to the ice. A shot is fired from Carl’s stick. “Please go in. Please go in”, I pled. I see the net move. My eyes move quickly. I see a puck sitting in the goal! I let out a loud scream of triumph and jump up. Tears are coming down my face, but I don’t care. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Carl getting mobbed by his teammates. I shift to my right and see Bobbie, mom, and dad hugging. I let out another scream. Bobbie turns and picks me up. I bury my head into his shoulder. He gives mom another hug. “Look at Carl”, dad says. I turn my head to look at the ice. Carl’s teammates on the bench are attacking him. I know he doesn’t care. He pulls away from the mob and turns in our direction. He catches my eye. “I love you”, I yell at him, wiping the tears from my face. He smiles at me. He points at his eyes, places a hand over his heart, then points at me. I know what he is saying, and I smile. “Thank you, Carl”, I yell. He nods. He does the “I love you” signals at Bobbie, mom, and dad. I smile again.
I come back to reality. I look at the TV. Overtime has just started. Carl shoves me in the shoulder. “You’re going back in time for this, aren’t you”, he asks me. I nod. “Sorry. It’s what happens when I watch something like this”, I say. Erica smiles. “Carl doesn’t care. I do that sometimes, especially when it’s this game”, she says. Carl rolls his eyes. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here with two silly girls”, he says. We watch the first three minutes of overtime. Carl shoves me. “What”, I ask. “It’s time for you to time-travel”, he replies. I nod. My mind shifts again. The overtime is almost over…
I’m sitting on Bobbie’s lap. This overtime has made me nervous. I’m even more nervous now because there hasn’t been a goal yet. I shift my position. “That’s the third time you’ve done that in the past ten minutes”, Bobbie says. “I know”, I say. I look up at the clock. 45 seconds left. “Come on, you guys. Score”, I yell. The seconds tick down. I can feel the sweat on my hands now. I watch Carl step onto the ice. “Score, Carl”, I yell at the top of my lungs. He receives the puck from his teammate. 7 seconds left. He takes a hard shot. GOAL! I yell at the top of the lungs, my arms raised above my head. I can feel the tears forming in my eyes. “Thank you, Carl! Thank you”, I whisper. Bobbie, mom, and dad are hugging. Mom has tears coming down her cheeks. I’m watching the dog pile in the corner. Carl is in there somewhere. It doesn’t matter. I’m happy, not just for me, but for all the Seniors this year. I’m most happy for Carl. Not just because he is my brother, but also because he’ll be the first Swede ever to graduate from Michigan. Bobbie picks me up and hugs me. “Well, I’m glad that’s over”, dad says. Mom silently agrees, tears still in her eyes.
We walked into the restaurant. Carl picked out a table, near a window. We ordered our drinks (Bud Light, DBA, water). I smiled a little as the waitress handed him his Bud Light. “Carl, you order that every time we go to get something to eat”, I say, shaking my head. He smiled at me. “I love this beer. Aren’t I allowed to have it”, he asked. “Yes, you are. But can’t you try something different for once”, I replied. “I might. You want some”, he asked. I shook my head. “No, I don’t want some. I’m not old enough. You have to wait until you’re 21 to drink beer. I’m only 16”, I replied. Erica shook her head. “Is Carl always teasing you like that”, she asked. “Yes. But (I shrugged) I don’t care. He’s a good brother, even if he is a goofball”. We looked at the menus to see what we wanted. I found something that I loved to eat: lasagna. I decided to look through the menu to see if there was anything else that I liked. I spotted something else: chicken caesar salad. I thought about it, then decided I was going to eat healthy today. I put my menu down, looking at Carl and Erica to see if they had decided what they want. Erica had her menu down, but Carl was still looking at his.
I smiled a little. “What”, Erica asked. “Every time we go out, Carl is always the last one to decide what he wants to eat”, I said, laughing. Erica laughed, while my brother glared at me out of the corner of his eye. He put his menu down. “What are you going with today, Lizzy”, he asked. “Something healthy. I’m going with salad. Chicken caesar salad”, I said, tilting my head a little. “A burger with fries. Goes good with beer”, he said, holding up his own drink. Erica rolled her eyes. “I’m getting something that I think is so good: fish and chips”, she said, laughing at the face I’d made. The waitress came back and we ordered our food. I rubbed my eyes. “My eyes are burning, and they really itch”, I said. Carl looked at me. “I hope you’re not getting pink eye”, he said, pulling my hand away. Erica looked at me. “Her eyes are a little red. She could be tired”, she said. Carl nodded. “You don’t have to go to the game tonight. You can stay home and sleep”, he said. I looked up and smiled. “I’m not that tired. I’m going to your game”, I said.
Our food came. Carl and Erica waited patiently and quietly while I said Grace. We talked and ate. I looked at Carl and couldn’t resist teasing him a little. “You should’ve gotten this, Carl. It’s healthy”, I said. He looked at me. “I know it’s healthy. I’m healthy”. I nodded. “I know you’re healthy. You’re strong, too”, I replied. He showed me his arm muscles. I smirked a little. “Eat your food, mister healthy. There will be plenty of time to show your muscles later”, Erica said, pointing at his plate. Carl finished his burger. He looked over at me. I was sitting down, looking out the window, one of my legs tucked under me. I had a dreamy look on my face, and my hand cupped my chin. He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “You okay”, he asked me. I looked at him, a confused look on my face. “Yes, Carl. I’m fine”, I replied, grinning a little. We paid for our food and left them a tip. Carl looked at his watch. “It’s 2:35. You wanna go back to the house”, he asked. My eyes lit up. “Yes, I do! We can watch videos from your Michigan days”, I said, looking from Erica to Carl. My brother glared at me. “Lizzy, I don’t think Erica wants to watch those”, he said. “I don’t mind, Carl. Besides, you looked good in a Michigan jersey. Especially the Big Chill jersey”, Erica said, punching Carl’s arm. Carl smiled at her and grabbed her hand. “Are you sure you’re not saying that because you don’t want to hurt Lizzy’s feelings”, he asked her. Erica smirked at him. We saw the car and climbed in.
As soon as the door to our house opened, I raced upstairs to say the rosary. It would take about fifteen minutes to say it. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name”… “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee”… “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit”…
While I prayed, Carl and Erica hung out downstairs. From other times that they were by themselves, and I was doing something else, I knew that they didn’t get into that much trouble. They were having cokes. “You’re so lucky to have a sister like Lizzy. She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met”, Erica said. “I know. When I held her for the first time, I had a feeling I was holding someone special… and different”, Carl replied. Carl’s words are true. When I was eight, I was diagnosed with autism. Kids at my old school used to ask me: “How do/did you learn if your learning style was/is different than a teacher’s teaching style?” The truth: it wasn’t easy. But, that was then. Now, I go to a private school, where there are kids who have the same thing as me or something related to it. I have a lot more friends there, and honestly, school is a lot more fun.
The rosary is complete. I kiss the cross, hang it on a nail on the wall, and run downstairs. “Which game do you want to want to watch first”, Carl asks. I smile. “Senior Night. I’m skipping to the end, where your two goals are”, I say. I walk to the disk rack, pick out a disk, walk to the TV, and place it in the player. I grab the TV remote and the player remote and sit on the couch and click “Play”. The familiar ice of Yost comes onto the screen. I look at Carl, a smile on my face. “You miss it, don’t you, Carl”, I asked. “Yes. It brings back memories”, he said in reply. I let it play. My mind shifts. I’m back at Yost, and the band is playing the Swedish national anthem…
I hear the notes of something that sounds familiar. I see the band out of the corner of my eye. I turn to the right, where my parents and my brother, Bobbie, are standing. All of them are crying. I frown, wondering what was going on. I pull on Bobbie’s sleeve. “Why are you crying? Did something happen”, I ask. Bobbie picks me up. “No, nothing bad happened. They’re playing our anthem. Carl’s anthem”, he replied. My eyes grow wide. “Sweden’s anthem”, I say. He nods, then points to the ice. “Look at Carl”, he whispers. I look at the ice. Carl is moving, shifting on his skates. I can’t see his face that well, but I can tell from his movements that he is trying to fight back his emotions. My throat tightens up at the sight. I can feel tears forming in my eyes. I swallow hard. My mom is wiping her eyes and my dad is looking at Carl. Finally, the anthem is over. The players start skating. I can see Carl slowing down because he is by our seats. I call his name. He looks up. I can see his eyes moving, from me to Bobbie, from mom to dad, then back to me. I give him a thumbs-up and a smile. He smiles back. We do our special wave, then he smiles at our parents and brother. Then, with another wave, he skates away.
I can feel someone shaking me. I start from my daydream and look around. The Senior Night game is midway through the first period. Carl is looking at me. “What happened? I thought you wanted to watch this”, he said to me. I smile a little. “I just had a little daydream about being there on Senior Night. You were trying to fight back your emotions because they were playing the Swedish anthem”, I replied. Erica looked surprised. “You could tell that”, she asked. I nodded. “Of course. When you see the same people every day, you get used to their habits”, I replied. We watched the end of the first and all of the second period. It was the start of the third. I smiled and gave Carl a little nudge on the shoulder. “This is where it gets interesting”, I said. He smirked at me, then gave me a tight hug. We watched it. There was three minutes left on the clock. I nudged Carl. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go back in time for a while”. I shifted my mind. I was at Yost once again. There was a minute left in the game…
“Get the puck, Carl”, I yell. I’m getting nervous because we are down by one. I didn’t like overtime, but tonight was a special night, and I didn’t want to lose. So, I chose overtime. Bobbie reaches over and grabs my hand. He is letting me know that he feels the same way. “Shoot it, Carl! Shoot it”, I hear my dad yelling. I quickly turned my head back to the ice. A shot is fired from Carl’s stick. “Please go in. Please go in”, I pled. I see the net move. My eyes move quickly. I see a puck sitting in the goal! I let out a loud scream of triumph and jump up. Tears are coming down my face, but I don’t care. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Carl getting mobbed by his teammates. I shift to my right and see Bobbie, mom, and dad hugging. I let out another scream. Bobbie turns and picks me up. I bury my head into his shoulder. He gives mom another hug. “Look at Carl”, dad says. I turn my head to look at the ice. Carl’s teammates on the bench are attacking him. I know he doesn’t care. He pulls away from the mob and turns in our direction. He catches my eye. “I love you”, I yell at him, wiping the tears from my face. He smiles at me. He points at his eyes, places a hand over his heart, then points at me. I know what he is saying, and I smile. “Thank you, Carl”, I yell. He nods. He does the “I love you” signals at Bobbie, mom, and dad. I smile again.
I come back to reality. I look at the TV. Overtime has just started. Carl shoves me in the shoulder. “You’re going back in time for this, aren’t you”, he asks me. I nod. “Sorry. It’s what happens when I watch something like this”, I say. Erica smiles. “Carl doesn’t care. I do that sometimes, especially when it’s this game”, she says. Carl rolls his eyes. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here with two silly girls”, he says. We watch the first three minutes of overtime. Carl shoves me. “What”, I ask. “It’s time for you to time-travel”, he replies. I nod. My mind shifts again. The overtime is almost over…
I’m sitting on Bobbie’s lap. This overtime has made me nervous. I’m even more nervous now because there hasn’t been a goal yet. I shift my position. “That’s the third time you’ve done that in the past ten minutes”, Bobbie says. “I know”, I say. I look up at the clock. 45 seconds left. “Come on, you guys. Score”, I yell. The seconds tick down. I can feel the sweat on my hands now. I watch Carl step onto the ice. “Score, Carl”, I yell at the top of my lungs. He receives the puck from his teammate. 7 seconds left. He takes a hard shot. GOAL! I yell at the top of the lungs, my arms raised above my head. I can feel the tears forming in my eyes. “Thank you, Carl! Thank you”, I whisper. Bobbie, mom, and dad are hugging. Mom has tears coming down her cheeks. I’m watching the dog pile in the corner. Carl is in there somewhere. It doesn’t matter. I’m happy, not just for me, but for all the Seniors this year. I’m most happy for Carl. Not just because he is my brother, but also because he’ll be the first Swede ever to graduate from Michigan. Bobbie picks me up and hugs me. “Well, I’m glad that’s over”, dad says. Mom silently agrees, tears still in her eyes.