The Moonstone Starlet

Chapter 20

For the last couple months of the season Antti Niemi had taken over the role of starting goalie. Elia loved Niemi so she was pretty thrilled he was getting the chance to start the playoffs as well. To celebrate she shot a music video with Antti set to Rihanna’s “Only Girl in the World”. It turned out hilarious, with Niemi in full goalie gear skating awkwardly as Elia and the ice girls skated to an elaborate sexy dance choreography. It was the first in what would come to be known as “The Goalie Videos,” a series of tongue-in-cheek music videos starring goalies.

If regular season hockey was exciting, playoff hockey was a non-stop adrenaline rush. Every second of every game seemed like life or death. After three games against the Preds, the Blackhawks were down 2-1. Burish was finally cleared to play by the team medical staff, and was making an impact in a big way. They came back in the second half of the series to win three in a row and advance to the next round.

The videos posted on the Blackhawks website and Elia’s website started exploding in views. The Chicagoans that had yet to jump on the bandwagon were finally on and catching up learning about their favorite players. Suddenly everyone in the city knew Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, Dave Bolland, Sharp, Ladd, Duncan and Toews. Shirts saying “Don’t TAZE Me Bro” started popping up all over Wrigleyville. All over the city men were growing out beards. Kaner couldn’t grow a beard so he grew a mullet. Elia declared she would stop shaving her legs.

Game 1 of the Western Conference Semi-Final was played on the Blackhawks’ home ice against the Canucks on May 1st. Elia didn’t show up to the Hawks morning skate like she usually did. The night before she had been out at Sheffield’s with Niemi for a while, before he went home around 10:00 p.m. He said she stayed out to meet some people, and probably just overslept this morning after being up late. Kane texted her before practice and said she just replied that she was at home. Patrick wasn’t worried, but Jon remembered something. It was the first Saturday in May.

He left the United Center and drove to her to her house on Elk Grove in Wicker Park. It was a quiet tree lined street. The large Oak trees were just starting to bud, but the grass and some tulips were growing outside. A small yard in the front had some tomato plants starting to grow. Through the front windows the house looked empty. The front gate was locked, so Jonathan climbed around over the small white brick wall that sealed in the yard. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door. There was no answer. He tried the door handle, and found it unlocked. Stepping through the door he looked around the first floor. There was a half full coffee mug on the counter in the kitchen. He went up the stairs to the second floor, which was empty, and continued up to the third floor where Elia’s room was. The Chicago Tribune was on the floor, the second page of the sports section read “No Downs at Churchill Downs?”. Her laptop was on her bed, open to an editorial on the website The Blood Horse.

“When the choir sings ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ this Saturday at Churchill Downs, there is one horseracing figure expected to not be in attendance: Elia Downs. Despite owning and training two of the favorites in the race the starlet has reportedly decided it is not worth her time..”

Jon stopped reading. He saw Elia outside on her balcony, sitting against the fence with her knees to her chest and her head down. He walked over and knocked lightly on the door. Elia looked up, her face red and puffy and covered her face with her hands. “Go away, Jonny, please?” He opened the door and walked out onto the small balcony.

“I don’t want to talk,” She pushed out, her voice cracking. She was wearing what looked to be Kane’s Derrick Rose jersey, and underwear. If she had makeup on before it had all been wiped away by her tears. She put her head back down and wrapped her arms around her legs, her body shaking softly. Jonathan sat down across from her and put his hand on her arm. “Hey. What happened?” He rubbed her shoulder. “Are you upset about missing the Kentucky Derby?”

She sniffed, her sinuses congested from crying. “No, I didn’t want to go. I hate going.” She started crying again. “Okay, come here,” Jon said, pulling on her arms. At first she resisted, than she unwrapped herself and scooted towards Jonny. He pulled her into his lap and held his arms around her. Her head rested in his shoulder, sobbing. Jon rested his cheek on her head as she cried. She smelled like bergamot, the ocean, and jasmine. They sat on the balcony for a few minutes, listening to the birds singing and some kids playing in a yard down the street. Elia started calming down, he felt her shaking less, felt her breathing slow down. Jonathan always seemed to calm her down.

She quietly started to talk. She told him it was too hard to be there. It was like watching a movie of the life she should have had. And now with Rosie Napravnik riding Hallows, and all the media coverage about her being the first female since Elia that could win the Kentucky Derby. Elia admitted she was jealous, that she wished it was her and not Rosie, and she was a horrible, petty person for being jealous of someone else’s success. And now she was ruining Jon’s day and he should be concentrating on the game. They were silent again.

“I’m fine you know.” She said after a while. “Everyone will be mad at me, because I wasn’t there. But it’s not my sport anymore. They have to find a new star. Its time for someone else to be their story. And one day I can come back as just another owner.” She pulled back from his shoulder. “I’ll just be me.” She half smiled, and Jonny smiled back at her. She leaned back in, resting her head on his shoulder and looking out into the yard. They sat together quietly for a while longer. “Do I have snot on my face?” She asked suddenly, “Oh god, this is so embarrassing.” She got up to go inside to get some tissue. Jon got up and followed her inside. After Elia blew her nose, she gave Jonathan a hug and thanked him for coming over. She said it meant a lot to her.

They hung out for a while watching Family Guy reruns while Elia drank some more coffee. Together they went to the team pre-game dinner, and then to the United Center for their first game against the Canucks. It was a bad game, full of hooking, slashing and tripping. It seemed like everyone was taking a trip to the sin bin. The Canucks won 5-1. The Blackhawks didn’t let them revel in momentum. They took the next game 4-2, and didn’t stop, winning the next two in Vancouver. The Canucks were able to get one more win in Chicago, but the Blackhawks finally finished the series on the Canucks’ home ice.

The team celebrated back at the hotel that night. A lot of drinking champagne and wrestling. Elia thought it was weird how much guys just liked to wrestle each other. Patrick and Elia sat on a chair together with an iPad. Patrick was showing her pictures of the Stanley Cup and explaining that the team that wins gets their name engraved on it. Each player gets to take the Cup for a day. He was trying to train her to say “Stanley Cup Finals” instead of “championship series”. She decided to head to her room and get a shower before she drank too much and fell asleep without one. She soaped up her hair, letting it sit for a long time, standing in the steamy room with her eyes closed. She heard a door creak open.

“Hello?” She called out.

She didn’t hear anything. She rinsed off her head so she could open her eyes. She peaked out the shower curtain, but didn’t see anyone. Then she looked down, and noticed her hands. There were brown spots on her palms. She grabbed the shampoo container on the edge of the tub and poured it out into her hand. It was hair dye.

“Oh my God, it’s happening.” She said, terrified and breathless. She turned off the water and reached for her towel she had slung over the curtain rod. She wrapped the towel around herself and opened the shower curtain. Her clothes were gone. She repeated her earlier statement, her voice rising in panic now. Slowly, she peaked out the bathroom door into the rest of her room. Nobody was there. She walked out, and saw her suitcase was missing, the blankets off her bed, everything was gone. It was the day of reckoning. Adam and Sharpie had gotten her, and they had gotten her good. She looked in the mirror at her now darkened hair, wondering what it would turn out to be when it was dry. It looked almost purple.

Elia left her room wearing nothing but a towel, disgusted that she had to walk down the hallway with no shoes. She was knocking on Adam and Sharpie’s door when she heard someone sigh behind her. “God damn it not again,” she said, turning around to face the Coach.

The next morning on the plane back to Chicago all the guys were ribbing Elia about her hair. Adam and Sharpie were thoroughly pleased with themselves. Elia was pissed about having maroonish-purple hair, saying it made her look like she was copying Katy Perry. They intentionally waited until the end of the season when Elia would have no time to strike back.

The Western Conference Finals flew past in a blur as the Blackhawks swept the San Jose Sharks. Byfuglien became a city-wide fan favorite after scoring three game winning goals in the series, and the team finally got to stop answering questions about Antti starting in goal. This team was not stopping until they won the Stanley Cup.

“Okay everyone,” Elia stood up on a bench in the locker room after the game. “Party tonight is at 63 E Lake, go straight to the roof. Nine o’clock! I’m inviting the cast and crew from Transformers! You guys rock you fucking killed it out there tonight!” Elia was excited. It was finally warm enough outside for rooftop parties, and this place was the sickest rooftop around. It was in a private apartment building, so she had to find a resident willing to reserve it on their behalf, but it had a bar set up, multiple patios, a hot tub and an infinity pool. There was literally nothing else anyone could want in a party. Sam was working on getting Revolution Brewing to bring beer and food. Since the final game of the series had been an afternoon game, everyone had time to go home and take a nap, meaning there was no excuse to not show up.

Around eight o’clock Elia got a phone call from Jonathan.

"When are you heading to the party?" Toews asked Elia.
"I'm at Rebar right now with Sam and Rebecca getting classy cocktails," Elia replied.
"What is a classy cocktail?"
"I don't know but they cost $20 a pop so they better be classy as hell."
"Are you heading to the party after that?"
"No, we were going to swing by the Viagra triangle for a drink or two cause Sam says she is sick of working for me and wants to get a sugar daddy."
"Wait, what? You're going where?"
"You've never heard of the Viagra triangle?"
"No!"
"It's the vortex of bars and restaurants where Rush and State collide, where old dudes go to pick up young women. You might want to write that down, I can draw you a map if you want, for after you've blown through all the underwear models you meet at your hair salon."
"That's not where I've met all the girls I date...when are you heading to the rooftop I thought the party started at 9:00?"
"Tazer, you can't show up to a 9:00 o’clock party at 9:00, that is so lame! Actually Niemi will probably be there at 8:30 so you could if you want."
“I don’t understand, why would you say it starts at nine if you don’t plan to get there at nine? Shit, I’m getting another call.”
“Ciao bello!”

The three girls eventually arrived at the rooftop part around 10:00, which was still pretty early according to Elia. At the top of the building the elevators opened up to a relatively large room with a bar, bathrooms, a pool table and a couple couches. To the left were doors leading out to an astro turf lawn where the pool and the hot tub were located. To the right were doors leading out to another bar, and a plethora of seating and tables. Most of the team had a arrived already, and a dj was playing music at a makeshift booth outside. Sam had done a great job arranging catering service. Even if she hadn’t scored a sugar daddy at the Tavern on Rush she might at least get a raise. News of the party had been getting around town, and tons of people had shown up. As soon as she walked outside Elia was rushed by Versteeg, who was freaking out about Rosie Huntington-Whiteley showing up with the rest of the Transformer’s actors that were filming in Chicago. Elia tried to discourage him from hitting on her, she might have been engaged to the Transporter guy. She still couldn’t believe he had dumped Camilla.

While Elia was heading to the hot tub with a bottle of wine, Patrick Kane had grabbed Jonathan and pulled him behind the building wall near the infinity pool. Kaner spoke in a harsh but whispered tone. “Dude, why the fuck did you come here with Gabrielle?”
“She called me an invited herself out with me, I didn’t ask her to come.” Toews replied.
“You’re fucking blowing it, man. Do you realize what you’re doing?” Kane rubbed his hand through his mullet, pacing in a small circle before turning back to Toews. “Every day for the past year I have had to listen to you go on about how you’re in love with Elia and tonight was the perfect opportunity for you to make a move, and you come to this party with some random?”
“I don’t want it be like this at some party where everyone is around and drunk,”
“What do you want it be like Jon, it’s not going to be anything! You’re running out of time, do you even know that? Do you know what happens after the Stanley Cup? Elia literally starts filming a movie the next day. Do you know what happens after that? She has to finish the movie, after that she’s filming a movie with Woody Allen in Paris from January to March of next year, do you know what happens after that?!”
“I’ll find time!”
“Did you know she talks to Crosby every few days on the phone? Did you know she got Alex Ovechkin’s number when we were in Washington? She’s been flying out to the East Coast an awful lot Jonny, and I don’t know if she’s fucking him but she’s for sure fucking somebody and it’s not you and you are fucking yourself over like this.”

Jonathan looked back at him stunned. Kane stared at him a second longer before walking back to the party. Kanye West had shown up and taken over the dj booth, rapping new songs from his album that would drop in the fall. Kris Versteeg had run up to him and confiscated the microphone, “Hey Yeezy, I’m gonna let you finish but I’m the best rapper on this team and I challenge you to a throw down.” Instead of getting a beat down, Kanye actually laughed and the two started rapping together.

Elia was in the hot tub with Bolland, Julia, Shia, Buff, Tomas, Sharp and Abby, drinking out of her wine bottle and laughing. Somehow Bolland had just gotten her to agree to get his name tattooed on her ass if he scored a series winning goal. Toews looked over at the hot tub as he walked back to the party, and saw Elia sitting next to Shia. He found Gabrielle and left.

Notes