Stay, Stay, Stay

Two days after my first encounter with the team I’d be stitching and bandaging for what I hoped would be many seasons, I experienced my first game day. I’d gotten to know everyone better and the other medics were coming around. I’d met nearly all the men individually and was well on my way to feeling comfortable.

I arrived at the rink several hours before puck drop dressed in khaki pants and an official Penguins apparel which consisted of a black short sleeve golf shirt that fit quite nicely and a black team jacket that I carried over my arm. My hair was pulled into a bun on the top of my head and the make-up under the thick black frames of my glasses was simple, exchanging red lipstick for milk and honey Chapstick. I made my way to the medical room smiling at players as I passed. Inside the room Pascal Dupuis and Sid sat on exam tables talking candidly about their days.

“Hey Beatrice,” Pascal called as I walked in, his accent, like Marc-Andre’s was distinctly French. “Are you excited for your first game?” He asked as I set my coat and purse down on one of the desks and made my way towards them.

“I am.” I smiled, rubbing sanitizing lotion onto my hands. “And I told you guys to call me Bea. Beatrice is my grandmother.”

“Of course,” he laughed.

“Are you waiting for someone or is there something I can help you with?” I asked, scanning the room for my coworkers.

“Dave went to get more tape, but Sid just got here.” Pascal replied, referring to one of the other medics. “I didn’t realize you have so many tattoos.” He looked at my bare arms curiously. It was the first time I didn’t have my arms covered.

“Oh, yeah.” I smiled. “I have more.” I pulled up one of my sleeves revealing a giant sunflower.

“Beautiful,” Pascal remarked looking closely.

“Anyway, where does it hurt?” I let the short sleeve fall and turned to Sidney.

“My right shoulder is stiff, I think I did something in practice earlier.” He replied pulling off his shirt, revealing his solid, sculpted upper body. I told myself to be calm, that this was my job and his body was just like any other body I’d worked on, the only difference was his helped him make millions of dollars and was jacked.

“Do you mind?” I asked, motioning towards his shoulder.

“Not at all,” he sat up straighter.

I ran my hand over his smooth and strong shoulder, again trying to calm my mind and body from their excitement. I ran my hand along its curve, from his neck down, and then from the front to the back. It felt tender, but nothing to be alarmed over.

“I think you’ve just tweaked your trapezius, which is far more painful than it is serious. I did the same thing a few months ago and...” I trailed off realizing that I was rambling.

“I kind of figured.” He smiled at me for the first time that day. Little lines forming next to his eyes.

“I can probably massage some of the stiffness out, other than that we’ll put some deep heat on it and hope it works itself out.” I suggested, my hand shaking slightly.

“It’s worth a try.” Sidney smiled again and went to go lay on his back.

“Actually, it’s probably better if I kneel behind you,” I spat out nervously, remembering a specific technique I’d learned in a massage therapy class.

“Sure.” Sidney sat back up. “Is that a... sexy zombie?” He asked, grabbing my left arm as I was about to move behind him.

“Yeah, a pin-up.” I laughed nervously, looking at my forearm in his hand, the green coloured zombie on a a purple background, posed like a classic pinup staring back at us.

“That’s really cool,” he ran his fingers over the image. “The detail is so precise.”

“I should hope so,” I laughed. “It took about eight hours.” I didn’t mention the price, it was easily one of my most expensive pieces, but also my favourite.

“You said you had other ones?” He asked looking back at my face. “Where are they?”

My arm was still in his hands, he’d turned it over and was looking at the other tattoos that had all blended into a sleeve. “My shoulders, hips and onto my thighs.” I hadn’t notice Pascal leave, Sidney and I were alone in the room.

“That’s really cool,” he let go of my arm and I walked behind him, climbing onto the table and positioning myself behind his shoulder. He was taller and much bigger than I was, which made it harder to fit my hands around his whole shoulder. I had grown used to working on people bigger than me at my previous job, but Sidney was much bigger than the wealthy members of the gym I’d worked on. I straightened my back trying to gain height so I could put more of my weight into massaging the muscle. I used the heel of my hand to loosen the tissue and avoid hitting the problem area directly. Usually there was one area that was knotted, and the rest of the muscle became tense as a result. I couldn’t imagine how silly I must have looked, kneeling behind a man so much bigger than me, trying to push my weight into his shoulder. When I felt the muscle start to relax and started massaging in circular motions with the tips of my fingers looking for particularly tight areas.

“How did you hurt your shoulder?” He asked breaking the silence in the room. My fingers slipped and he flinched, I’d found my tight spot.

“Sorry,” I softened my touch. “I got checked in derby and landed weird.”

“Derby?” He asked leaning his head to the left so I could get a better angle.

“Roller derby,” I clarified, I’d forgotten that not everyone was familiar with my beloved sport.

“Wow,” he replied. “I’ve never actually seen roller derby played.”

“You should come check it out sometime,” I finished up massaging his shoulder and moved it gently to see if his range of motion was any better. “How does that feel?”

“Much better,” he moved his shoulder and arm in circular motions. I got off of the table, and headed towards the cabinet where I hoped to find a tube of deep heat. As I searched through the cupboards Evgeni Malkin and James Neal walked in. I thanked God that they hadn’t come in earlier to witness me on the table behind Sidney.

“What’s up, guys?” I asked casually, walking the tube I’d found in a drawer over to Sid.

“You look good in Penguin shirt.” Malkin winked at me, his broken English endearing. “I come for icepack for knee and you for heart.” He sat on the table where Pascal had been.

“Icepack I can do.” I laughed and went towards to refrigerator freezer on the other side of the room. Sidney sat, still shirtless, rubbing the lotion onto his shoulder.

“Make that two,” Neal called, sitting on another table. I took two ice packs from the freezer and looked for towels, finding them in a basket next the fridge.

“You have boyfriend?” Malkin asked when I handed him the cold pack wrapped in a team towel.

“Nope,” I replied amused, giving Neal the other pack.

“Why not? You have girlfriend?” Maklin winked, laughing at himself.

“Not anymore,” I smiled, looking at three men for a reaction. Malkin grinned, while the other two didn’t react.

“You like girls?” He asked, his eyes full of excitement.

“I like people.” I responded, again searching Sid’s face for a reaction.

“So hot,” Malkin stared at me. “You have lots of girlfriends?”

“Give her a break, Geno,” Sid responded before I could answer. I smiled at him.

“Why? Just questions,” Malkin shrugged his shoulders. “I want to know strange, pretty girl. Go eat sandwich Sid!” He laughed referring to what I would later learn is one of Sidney’s many pre-game rituals.

My game behind the bench went much better than I had anticipated. There were no injuries that required a stretcher and the fights were kept to a minimum. My only real work was stitching up a laceration above Deryk Engelland’s right eyebrow during the intermission. It was a result of the only fight the entire game, which made my job much easier. My view from the bench was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I could hear, see and smell the game on a whole new level. For some reason the other medics weren’t as partial to the ice level action, Larry suggested I get comfortable with the position because out of everyone I took up the least amount of room, which was apparently a good thing.

The Penguins won 3-1 against the Phoenix Coyotes and the dressing room with abuzz with energy post-game. Even though it was a pre-season game, the boys seemed elated to have another win under their belts. From the medical room I could hear the celebration music and the loud conversations. My first game done and I knew I had the best job in the city.