Jönköping at six to take the ice hockey under sixteens skills training.
Wondering at the flash of anger he caught in Mattias’s eyes, Nico groaned, but agreed. He kept hockey gear at Lars’s house and his dad knew that.
‘And I have four tickets for the HV71 home match on Monday,’ Lars sighed, referring to Jönköping’s Swedish Hockey League team. ‘I planned for you to come, Nico, with Mattias, Felicia and me.’
Mattias interrupted, ‘Now you’re in hospital, let Nico take his family.’
‘But—’ Nico protested but Mattias was grabbing his coat and muttering about how busy he was.
Later, Nico strolled back to the car park with Carina. ‘Do you know what’s bugging my little brother?’
Carina gave an elaborate shrug. ‘Ingen aning.’ No clue. She didn’t deny Mattias’s remoteness, though.
Nico sighed as he saw Carina back to her car and hugged her goodbye. ‘I’ll try and talk to him.’
The journey back to his dad’s place was slow. The snow lay six inches thick now and when he eventually swung into his dad’s driveway he was cautious of the snow that had accrued since he left.
The sound of laughter from behind the house drew him to the back garden where he found Josie, Maria and Hannah, bright-eyed and rosy from the cold.
‘Look, Dad!’ Josie squealed as soon as she saw him. ‘We’ve made snowmen to remind Farfar of us when we’ve gone.’
He moved closer, pausing to absorb the rugby tackle Maria sometimes bestowed as a hug. She shouted, ‘Look men, Mydad!’ The lying snow was scraped and trampled now and from the centre of the welter rose four snowmen – or snow persons – beneath the snowy pines. One tall; one a little smaller with what looked like a swollen chest; and two smaller still, one Josie-sized and one the height of Maria. He grinned, realising the snowy figures were, indeed, them, with pebble eyes and carrot noses. The one with the swollen chest must be Hannah and he could imagine Josie’s literal mind at work there.
‘Fantastic,’ he pronounced. ‘I’ll take photos and send them to Farfar.’
‘It was my idea!’ Josie boasted, bouncing gleefully. ‘Take our photo with them.’
He obliged, and they all crouched down for a selfie, ears and noses stinging in the cold. Then he said, ‘I’ve let Farfar persuade me to take under sixteens’ hockey skills training at six. Do you guys want to watch? Or stay here?’
‘Watch,’ said Hannah and Josie simultaneously, Josie adding, ‘Can we have supper out afterwards?’
‘Supper?’ repeated Maria expectantly.
‘Deal,’ said Nico. It was already after five so he went to his dad’s garage to take down his skates from the wall, unsurprised to find them sharpened and ready. In a box was his practice gear and he brought it indoors to warm up. It smelled musty but that proved you were a hockey player.
It was weird driving to the rink or ishall in Nässjö because butterflies fluttered in his stomach. He’d assisted his dad a few times when he was home for his winter visit but he hadn’t taken a group himself since college in the US when he’d helped coach a junior team, those far-off days of trying to keep up his training and his grade point average simultaneously.
Lars had got someone at Nässjö rink to inform the parents of the change of coach but some would have encountered Nico when he’d helped Lars before. A couple he knew from school.
Hannah ushered Josie and Maria to the seating area behind the boards and a few parents stayed to help with gearing up. One, Henrik, acted as assistant coach and Nico shook his hand. The level of teenage chatter, mostly in Swedish, was enough to pop an eardrum. Nico answered questions about Lars or about college hockey in the States. As he talked he pulled on protective undershorts then strapped on his shin pads and huge hockey oversocks that attached to the undershorts. Stepping into hockey pants, he pulled them up and with familiar, automatic movements, secured lacing and belt. Skates next, snug but not cutting circulation, then the shoulder pads secured at chest and bicep. Elbow pads, checking the slash guard was on the outside, then emerald green jersey. Helmet with face cage but no mouth guard as he’d be talking to the kids. Gloves and stick – it had taken so much energy to dress he almost needed a nap now – and for the first time in a year he was ready to hit the ice.
A check of the kids’ equipment, removal of blade