Free Father Briar and The Angel by Rita Saladano Page B

and the hot slap of the
stick against the puck, launching it towards the net. Whenever
Brannaska scored, Cedric would jump up and down beside her. His
excitement was exciting. When the locals won, he hugged
her.
    Oh, yes, she could get in
to hockey.
    “ When do they play again?”
she asked.
    “ This weekend, up in Thief
River Falls.”
    “ What an odd name for a
town. Are there really thieves up there?”
    “ None that I am aware of.
But there is a river, and there are falls, lovely little falls. And
a high school hockey rink, of course.”
    Of course. Every town in
Minnesota had at least one place for the teenage team to play, in
addition to a dozen or more for the neighborhood kids.
    “ Would it be alright if I
attended that game, too?” This was a leading question; she darn
well better be able to attend the game with him!
    Your support for the team
is always welcome,” he said with a sly smile, knowing that she
wanted a little more. She got a little squirrelly, he could see her
positively vibrating in her puffy down overcoat, but he wasn’t
quite ready to let it go yet.
    “ The Church is, as always,
chartering a bus to take the congregation’s fans up there. You
could ride with them.”
    “ With them?” she asked.
“Aren’t you going?” She tried not to let her frustration show. Her
faced turned red and she pursed her lips up into a pouty, kissy,
fish face.
    Now he figured he’d been
winding her up long enough.
    “ Yes, of course I’m going,
I have to drive up a little early to have lunch with a fellow
pastor in Thief River Falls, and then I’ll go to the game.” He
grinned his trademark grin. Thanks to the Navy’s generous dental
program, his teeth were perfect. She wanted to kiss him right on
the mouth. “Why don’t you take the Church bus up and we’ll find a
way for you to ride back with me.”
    “ That is exactly what I
wanted to hear,” she said.
     
    So that is exactly what
they did.
    The church bus was lively
and fun. It was a three hour ride and so they occupied themselves
by singing songs and playing bingo. Julianna watched the Northern
Minnesota countryside unfold outside the windows, and when they
frosted up, she put her fingertips to them and pressed little
peepholes so she could see the world.
    Sometimes she felt as
though her relationship with Cedric was like watching the world
through a peephole. She could see a bit of life, sometimes
beautiful things, sometimes a bit of the sun or the sky, but never
a whole picture, never a whole moment, never the whole of
love.
    It was as though she would
always have to wear blinders, that she’d never be able to see or
feel what the rest of the world saw and felt, that she’d miss out
on so much.
    But it was beautiful, too!
And safe. If she never could experience all of love, she could
never then feel the crushing loss when it ended, right?
    The wheels of the bus went
round and round, rolling towards Thief River Falls.
     
    Outside the arena, the
atmosphere was festive as the townspeople tried to shake off the
winter blues with some good old fashioned rivalry. People
materialized from the frozen over fields; Julianna couldn’t believe
how many people turned out.
    “ It must be everybody in
three counties,” she thought.
    It was, and probably more.
Thief River Falls High School Loggers were the best team in the
state of Minnesota, a place that takes high school hockey as
seriously as they took their farming, their religion, and their
complaining about the weather.
    What prep football is to
Texas, prep hockey is to Minnesota. Games between great teams
routinely drew over five thousand souls, and tickets on the “black
market” could get expensive. The black market in Brannaska
consisted of Bjorn’s Café, a breakfast spot favored by farmers and
fans alike, as their apple fritters and Sunday Smorgasbords were
unrivalled throughout Central Minnesota. A twenty five cent ticket
could, sold by the proprietor-cum-auctioneer, who was