by Kat Obie
Scotty pulled up his travel calendar. While he pretty much knew he should be back before the week was up since they were only gone for two games, he was looking at the longer trip afterwards. The Sound would be playing in Philly soon, and it should be between the two trips that she was taking for her conventions. It was exactly as he thought.
“I’m just not quite ready for it. I might wait until you get back.”
“Sounds like a plan. I know it’s both welcome and unwelcome news.”
Alice shifted the subject quickly. “Tough game tonight.”
“Yeah. That wasn’t the win I was hoping for.”
“They seemed tougher than I thought. I should have known the chief would expect excellence, but that didn’t seem like an awful team. But it seems like Crestor had things under control.”
“Yeah. I still hate the shoot out.”
“I do too. But you got the win.”
“We did. I just hope they don’t get a hefty upgrade at the trade deadline.”
“Cleveland might get an upgrade too. It’s an interesting market if the rumors are true. I would hate for Petey to be sent down to make room, but there are some interesting names being bandied about and it’s not just potential free agents.”
Scott didn’t like the direction of the conversation. It meant changing up the team dynamic, and he wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing. Besides, he needed to talk about something else. “Maybe. But I’d rather not think about too many trades. I can’t control it. Hey, quick question: do you have anything planned on February 12th?”
“I don’t think so. Just working that day. Why?”
“No reason. Just curious if you were home between conferences.”
“Yeah. Do you want me to keep the date open?”
“Please do.”
“Okay.”
Scott was grateful that she was distracted. Normally she would be asking so many questions and trying to figure out what he had up his sleeve. Instead, she was open to the idea of doing something with him without prying.
“Will do, babe.” Scott couldn’t stop his yawning. “So, I think some sleep is called for.”
“Yeah. I should sleep too, but it’s not the same when you are gone.”
“Trust me, I feel the same way. But I will soon see you.”
“I can’t wait.”
Scott kissed his fingers and placed them on the screen. “Night babe. Je t’aime.”
Alice returned the gesture. “Night Scotty. I love you too.”
“Night, I’m going to hang up now.” He wasn’t ready to hang up, even though he was just yawning and staring at his girlfriend.
“Alright.”
Neither of them were eager to shut off their phones. They smiled and looked at each other for far longer than they probably should have.
“Try to get some sleep,” said Scotty finally, and he hung up the phone.
He was glad that the police had caught someone. He hated the toll all the stress was taking on his girl. He wanted to make her smile. Instead of heading off his iPad, he did a quick search. He looked at airline and hockey ticket prices in Philly. It would be easy to treat Alice to a game in her favorite city and maybe get to hang out with some of her friends.
Alice
Alice heard Scott’s alarm go off earlier than she wanted. She turned over in dismay. She had planned to get up early.
He always got up with her when she got up for work. But at that moment she wasn’t a fan of returning the favor. Scott let go of her and the alarm stopped. He tried to be quiet even though he kissed her ear which sent everything tingling.
“Ugh, it’s too early,” complained Alice.
“Sorry. I have morning practice. I’ll be back soon. You don’t have to get up.”
“No, I want to. What do you want for breakfast?” asked Alice as she pushed herself up to a sitting position.
Scott smiled, surprised. “Hey, isn’t that my line?”
“Well, normally, I’m the one who has to get out the door early. Since it’s you getting up early today, I could make some food for you.”
“Please tell me that means you will eat breakfast with me too.”
Alice shook her head. “Yeah, not with these nerves. My stomach is crankier than usual. I will be lucky to stomach a coffee today.” Scott gave Alice a look that was clearly disapproving. “Just because I have a cranky stomach doesn’t mean I can’t make you anything. Do you want your usual, or would you like something else?”
“The usual is fine,” said Scotty who was disappointed.
“What?”
“I hate how much you skip breakfast.”
“I will. Just not anytime soon. It’s fine. I’d rather have my stomach settle down so I’m not immediately following the meal with meds.” Alice reached towards him and kissed him lightly. “Go shower, I’ll make an egg white omelet and a side of Canadian bacon.”
“You know I just call it bacon, but sounds good.”
Alice got up and that cued the dogs that it was time to go downstairs. Chloe immediately hopped off the bed as usual. Surprising everyone, Backup decided to leap off the bed as well. Scotty caught Backup before the little pup crashed to the ground from such a great height.
Alice immediately asked, “Is he okay? I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. He decided yesterday that he could handle the stairs in both directions. But I figured he would realize that this bed is much larger than a stair.”
“He’s good. But we might want to set up some landing pads for him around the bed,” Scotty said as he set down the confused pup. He leaned down, “You gotta watch where you are landing. I know you are growing up so quickly and soon you will be able to leap down without getting hurt, but you need to grow a bit more.”
Upon standing up, Scotty pulled Alice in close and kissed her. She smiled and said, “Don’t start something you can’t finish now.”
“Oh I can finish. I just don’t want to do it that quickly for your sake. So I’ll be good.” He let her go.
Alice went downstairs. She fed the dogs and set about making breakfast for Scotty. She was glad his kitchen was easy to navigate. Even though she was a competent cook, she didn’t spend more time in the kitchen than she had to. She started the coffee.
When Scott came down, everything was cooked but she hadn’t had a chance to plate it. He smiled. “Smells good, babe. I could get used to this.” He loaded up a plate with his favorite morning meal.
Alice teased, “Don’t get too used to it. You might end up hungry along the way.”
Scott grabbed her by the waist and held her for a moment. Alice just inhaled his scent with pleasure since it was a mixture of his woody cologne, soap and just natural scent. Scott nibbled at her neck when he said, “That’s no fun. I like having you cook for me.”
Eventually, he broke away so he could eat his meal. Alice sat on the counter across from him, drinking some coffee. In between bites, he asked, “Have you heard from anyone?”
“Not yet, but I expect to hear from everyone later. I know the plan was for people to come in about noon. The one variable was if they got Noelle up and onto the road in time. My dad will be here at noon.”
“That’s not too bad. Plenty of time after practice. Do you need me to pick up anything on my way out?”
“Mm-hmm. I don’t think so.” Alice looked in the fridge and freezer to make sure they had everything. “Crap, I meant to pick up some chicken fries from Giant Eagle and forgot.”
“Chicken fries?”
“My niece is super picky, so she prefers her chicken nuggets to be in the shape of a French fry. I don’t get it. But I was going to get a bag and forgot. Would you mind running to Burger King for a box of them on the way home?”
“Okay. That’s easy enough. Anything else?”
“Nope, I got everything else covered.”
“Just remember to relax today, okay? It’ll be fine,” Scott said so reassuringly, it almost sounded cocky. It was clear he didn’t have
one doubt while Alice tried to keep her doubts in control. She really wanted to impress her family and she wasn’t sure if she could.
“I’ll try. You are one of the few boyfriends they have ever met. Not only am I introducing you to them, we started living together. They have never cared for my boyfriends before so, yes, I’m nervous.”
Scott put his empty plate in the sink and grabbed Alice in a romantic embrace. He kissed her and said, “It will be fine. But don’t forget, I’m dating you. Not your family. I’ll always be there for you. Unfortunately, it’s time for me to head out to practice.”
13
Alice
Alice was driving herself crazy and she knew it. She needed to relax, so she threw on an acoustic album while she finished the last-minute cleaning. Lunch was ready and the house was spotless. She even had her jersey and purse ready to grab so they could leave for the game at a leisurely pace.
Chloe and Backup rushed towards the garage door which meant that Scotty was home. When the door opened, he handed her a small Burger King bag. “Hey, baby.” He gave the two pups some attention.
“Hey, how was practice?”
“Not bad. Focused on some of the special team drills mainly today. I might have a surprise for you at the game this evening,” he said with a sly grin.
Alice was intrigued, but Scotty would to be tight lipped about what he had planned. He would hold out and make her wait. Alice would have to settle for a clue or two. “Really? Should I be worried?”
“Nope. But you will like it and know it when you see it.”
“Okay. But cryptic much?”
“Yeah. You love the suspense,” Scott said with a chuckle. Alice just rolled her eyes. She really wished he would just tell her.
Both of the dogs were desperate to go out for a walk. They were keeping Scotty almost pinned to the door hoping to nudge their dad out. “Let me take the pups out.”
Alice said, “That would be perfect.”
Alice put away the cleaning supplies and got a beer out. She sipped straight from the bottle rather than taking the time to put it in a glass. She hoped to take a few sips before anyone showed up. Of course, the doorbell rang.
Alice opened the door. She saw her mom, sister, and niece. Her niece looked like a miniature version of her mom, with long straight blonde hair. She bounced into her arms for a hug. “Aunt Alice.”
“Hey, Noelle.”
Noelle smiled and lowered back to the ground. Allison asked, “So, where’s your new man? I would have thought he would be here to meet us.”
“He’s walking the dogs. I’m surprised you didn’t see him as you were driving through the neighborhood. Do you need to go to the bathroom, or would you like a drink?”
Everyone wanted a drink, and they went to the living room. Everyone got settled in, and Alice worried about where both her dad and Scott could be. Scott should have been back by now, and her dad was usually on time.
There weren't any messages on her phone, so she decided to make a lame excuse to get something out of the garage since she figured she could look for Scott or give him a call in private.
As soon as she walked out into the garage, she saw the most ideal situation ever. Scott and her dad were talking to each other in the driveway while Chloe and Backup were playing in the front yard. She loved seeing her two favorite men chatting casually and looking extremely comfortable.
“Hey. I see you two met without any problems.” She gave her dad a hug before standing close to Scott, basically inviting him to grab her around her waist as he so often did. “Everyone else is inside. We probably don’t want to keep them waiting too much longer.”
Scott called for Chloe and Backup to come to him. The dogs instantly came to him. He took the precaution of putting Chloe back on a leash, and Backup just went straight up the garage steps. Alice put down the garage door.
As soon as they got inside the house, the little 4-year-old was there to greet them. She was enchanted by the two dogs, especially Backup since he was tiny like her, and kept saying, “So cute,” in a sing-song voice.
Chloe was behaving well and didn’t seem to have any of the malice that Scott mentioned when they first started dating. She wondered if Scott was having her on about Chloe’s behavior with women.
At first, everything felt stilted and awkward. They had the lunch that Alice prepared: burgers, salmon, salad, and pasta salad. Noelle had the chicken fries. It seemed like their guard was up despite the charm Scotty mustered. But there was polite conversation. Things seemed to be okay, and Noelle was being silly with her food which helped to put everyone at ease.
As per usual, Alice and Noelle were the first two people done eating. Everyone else was talking and taking their time. She took Noelle to the family room to play while everyone else finished up their meals.
She always loved the private playtime with Noelle. Normally, Alice would go along with whatever game or toy Noelle wanted to play with. She wanted to pet the dogs, especially Backup. So Alice paid attention to Chloe as Noelle was telling her how much she wanted a puppy and how she couldn’t wait to go to the hockey game.
Everyone started to come into the family room. Scotty immediately sat down behind Alice and she just leaned back against him. He hugged her tightly. He whispered into Alice’s ear, “You seem so good with her. I can’t wait until we can have our own.”
Alice’s eyes went wide for a second. It was something she wasn’t expecting to hear. They’d never talked about having kids. She whispered back, “I love spending time with her, that’s for sure. I don’t do it enough and I see some of me in her. But I’ve never really thought about having a child of my own.”
“Really?” he whispered back to her.
They continued to whisper back and forth with each other. She was sure her mom and sister would assume they were just saying sweet nothings. “Yeah. Kids are a ton of work. Some days, I feel like I can barely keep myself together, and the idea of raising a child scares the shit out of me.”
“But you want them?”
“One day,” was Alice’s answer which surprised her. She could see them having a family together. He would do everything he could for his children. Scott must have liked that answer since he just hugged her tighter.
From that point on, everything felt less stilted. Everyone got along well. Maybe it was because she finally relaxed.
It felt like it was too soon when Scott said he had to get ready for the game. He went towards the bedroom to get changed into the prerequisite suit.
As per usual, it didn’t take him long to get changed and he came back down in one of her favorite slim-fitted suits that just seemed to show off his body. But he also had a little gift bag in his hand.
He knelt by Noelle and handed her the bag. Alice smiled since she knew he’d gotten Noelle a jersey. They’d talked about getting her one and whether or not he should sign it. Noelle pulled out the wine-colored jersey with a gold logo, white accents, and Scotty’s number 34 on it. Scotty smiled and said, “I thought you might like wearing the same thing that I and your Aunt Alice will have on at the game.”
“Thanks.” She turned to Alice and asked, “You have one too?” Alice nodded, and almost as quickly Noelle turned to her mom and asked if she could wear it at the game. Her mom said it was okay.
When Scott didn’t stand up, it made Alice curious to see if there was something more in the bag. They hadn’t talked about doing anything more. Noelle dug in the bag and pulled out a tiny Gritty plushie that fit into her hand. She stood up and did her ‘Gritty dance’, which involved doing a big stomach circle and shaking her butt as she said, “It’s Gritty. He’s funny.”
Alice couldn’t help but smile. She mouthed to Scotty, “Thank you.” She was equal parts surprised and happy. She knew that the only reason Scotty found the plushie was because of her and the fact she’d taught Noelle about Gritty. It was the perfect add-on gift.
Scott stood up. “Sorry that I can’t stay longer. It’s good meeting you a
ll. I know Alice said you might head home straight from the game. If that’s the case, I hope we get together soon.”
After he left, it allowed for some more frank talk about their impressions of Scotty. Noelle was smitten and showing everyone her new Gritty toy. Everyone else thought that overall he was a good guy, even though they weren’t thrilled how quickly Alice moved in with him. Having their overall stamp of approval felt like a major win.
Scott
Scotty felt bad about leaving Alice alone, but the lunch hadn’t been bad. She made it sound like it would be so much rougher. They were perfectly fine.
He had no idea how good she was with kids. It was cool to see since he hoped for a family one day. He knew it was too soon for them, but one day.
Getting to the rink was easy. He immediately got out of his suit and into shorts and a t-shirt as a base layer. He also threw on one of his favorite ball caps backwards. He could be at ease again without the monkey suit.
All the guys trickled into the locker room which was a good sign. He hoped to start a small soccer ring to help with hand-eye coordination before getting into his gear.
Lager entered the room and sat down next to Scott. He immediately asked Scott, “How did it go with her family?”
“It wasn’t that bad. I could tell her mom and sister were trying not to like me, and now I understand why Alice can be so hard on herself. She gets some intense pressure from her mom. I don’t think her mom is aware of how much pressure she puts on them. But it was so much fun watching Alice with her niece; she loves that little one.”
“Can’t expect much more than that.”
“Yup. Want to play around?” Scotty grabbed the soccer ball.
“Sure?” They kicked the ball around.
Scotty felt loose and relaxed, which was always a good sign before a game. He looked forward to surprising Alice with the Sound’s power play. The music was fun during warm ups, and he found himself singing along to a few of the songs as he played around with a puck and just doing some stickhandling skills.
He looked towards the bench and saw that Alice and her family were sitting in the front row. Alice and Noelle wore his sweater, and he noticed that her sister wore a Sound hoodie that might have come from Alice’s collection of clothes. Noelle looked so excited to be at the game. He couldn’t help but smile when he noticed how Alice was pointing him out and talking to Noelle. It was cute seeing her teach her niece hockey.