Hockey Is My Boyfriend: Part Three

by Ting, Melanie

  “Okay, I’ll visit you in New Brunswick next weekend. And I’ll go to the NHL awards.” That would be pretty cool. “But I don’t know about the rest of it.”

  But that still wasn’t enough. Jimmy stopped verbally pressuring me and settled for looking sad. And hot. However, I could be stubborn too, and a silence ensued.

  “I got a key for you,” he said, pulling out a keychain with a fob and key. “You can stay here whenever you want. If you feel like having privacy or something. I think this neighbourhood is better than yours, like safer.”

  I nodded. Our neighbourhood was fine, but a little sketchy at night.

  “You can have your friends over too, except not—” He didn’t even finish this sentence. His resentment of Phil hung like a thin curtain between us. Jimmy wasn’t his sweet self, and he probably wouldn’t be as long as the dating game went on. I was an idiot to think that this could ever work.

  “Well, we better get going if we’re going to do lunch,” I said.

  “That’s right, because you’re going out with him tonight. Even though I told you I was coming out here for the weekend.”

  “You know, we need to establish one ground rule here. I am not talking about Phil to you—ever. And vice versa. I think that’s the best way to keep the peace.”

  I didn’t like gossip anyway, and I really didn’t want encourage any more competitiveness between them. There was enough already. Jimmy still looked sulky, so I tried to cheer him up. “Actually, I’m going over to my parents for dinner tonight.”

  My mom said they wanted to talk to me about something, so I was going to dinner and then stay overnight there. Of course I was going to Phil’s parents’ anniversary party in between those events, but I wasn’t talking about that to Jimmy.

  “Oh, really?” His face brightened up. “That’s great. I really want to meet your parents. Maybe I can come to dinner?”

  Panic attack. I was a big believer in need-to-know when it came to my love life and my parents. I did not want them to know I was dating two guys at once. Although it was my dad’s advice during high school, that was mainly to prevent me from having sex with Phil.

  “Maybe another time,” I hedged.

  “Kelly, I’ve introduced you to my family, my whole team at UMaine, and my friends. But you’ve hardly introduced me to anyone.”

  I knew that Phil wouldn’t count. “You’ve met April and Karen. And you already know Deirdre Tough, right? She’s my best friend from the McGill team, and she’s from Fredericton.”

  He cocked his head. “Tough? Does she have brothers that play hockey?”

  “Yes. But she’s probably going to make the Canadian women’s team, so you should know her.” It seemed a little unfair that everyone in Fredericton knew Jimmy, but hardly anyone knew Deirdre—she was a great player too, but female.

  Jimmy shrugged and got back to his main issue. “Kelly, if you’re really considering coming to Chicago, it’s important that I meet your parents. How will they react when you announce you’re moving somewhere with a guy they’ve never even met?”

  I rubbed my face with my hands. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Why are you worried? I’m sure your parents will like me.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that. My dad hated me dating at all. My mom was in love with Phil. And neither of them liked hockey, so he wasn’t gaining any points there.

  “Okay, Jimmy. Maybe you could give me a drive home this afternoon. And I’ll introduce you to my parents. But that’s it. No dinner.”

  He smiled. “Sure, that’s great. Maybe you can show me around your neighbourhood—like where you went to school and everything.”

  So, after lunch, I went home and packed my overnight bag, and then we drove off to Deep Cove. I showed him our little main street, Panorama Park, and the dock. The cove itself was calm ocean water backed by mountains. It felt a little strange to have Jimmy with me—he belonged in my other life.

  “No wonder you love coming home,” he said. He put his arm around me as we walked through the park. The weather was lovely, but there was no putting off the inevitable, so we headed home.

  13

  Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

  What was Jimmy thinking as he walked up the stairs to my house? It was small and cottage-y compared to a lot of the big homes in our area. But it also screamed, “An artistic person lives here!” From the overgrown flower garden filled with pottery shards and gazing balls to the bright blue front door, my mom’s little touches were everywhere. And inside things were even more crowded, since my mom was a big collector.

  Coming here still made me joyful. I was a homebody at heart, and these days my parents spoiled me when I visited. My mom made food I loved, and my dad always saved articles and news to share with me.

  Jimmy smiled easily at me. While I was nervous about this introduction, he was completely calm.

  “Hey, Mom and Dad,” I called out. “We’re here.”

  Jimmy kept holding my hand despite my efforts to get loose. Well, it didn’t matter, because my parents would figure out what was going on soon enough. The fact that the dating game was so hard to explain made me wonder again if it was a terrible idea.

  “Who’s we?” my mother asked, as she came from the kitchen. “Is Ph—” She stopped dead when she saw Jimmy. “Oh. Hello there.”

  “Mom, this is James Frechette. James, my mom, Molly.”

  “Nice to meet you, Molly.” James finally dropped my hand and extended his to hers. Stunned would be the best way to describe my mom’s expression. While Jimmy’s face still looked young, he had gained a lot of confidence in the eighteen months we’d been apart. As he asked her about the enormous turquoise vase in our hallway, I had to admire his poise. They chatted away like old friends, while I didn’t have to say a word.

  We all drifted into the living room. Jimmy and I sat on the love seat, and my mom perched across from us. She had brought out cookies and tea.

  “Where’s Dad?”

  “Oh, your father had to work late today. Wedding season is a busy time for florists, you know,” she added for Jimmy’s benefit. Five minutes: the new Olympic record from meeting my new boyfriend to mentioning weddings had just been set.

  She and Jimmy were having a discussion about the Vancouver Art Gallery—something I’d never known him to have an interest in before—when Gino padded in.

  “Sweetie,” I cooed. He jumped onto the love seat between Jimmy and me. That was good, because Jimmy’s strong thigh against mine was giving me thoughts I did not want to have in front of my mother. I rubbed Gino’s back, which caused him to flip over in hopes of belly rubs.

  “He misses you, Kelly,” my mom said. “Nobody else pays him as much attention. Have you talked to April about having him at your place?”

  “I’m still working on her,” I confessed. April was not an animal lover and was worried that Gino’s furniture-scratching and stinky litter box would ruin our pristine apartment. Her exact words were, “It’s enough that I have to clean up after you, without that fat fleabag making a mess everywhere.”

  “Did you want to rub his belly?” I offered to Jimmy.

  He leaned away slightly. “I’m more of a dog person,” he said.

  “Oh, do you have a dog at home in Fredericton?” my mom asked.

  “We used to,” Jimmy said. “But Puddles died a few years ago. My parents were travelling to see my games in Maine, and not having a dog made things easier. I miss him though.”

  I snickered. “Puddles? You named your dog Puddles?”

  He scowled at me. “At least it’s a dog’s name. What kind of name is Gino for a cat?”

  “I named him after one of the Canucks,” I replied indignantly.

  Jimmy considered that for a moment. “You named your cat after a goon? That doesn’t seem like your style. You should have called him Pavel.”

  “Gino Odjick was the heart and soul of the team.” Still, I felt flattered that Jimmy even had an opinion on what my
hockey style would be.

  Naturally my mom had no idea what we were talking about, but for a guest—especially a potential mate for me—she was willing to try.

  “Are you a big hockey fan like Kelly?” she asked.

  He smiled. “Actually, I play hockey—NHL hockey.”

  “Oh really? Are you one of the Canucks?” Happily, she got the name of the Vancouver team right, possibly since we’d just mentioned it two seconds before.

  “No, I play centre for the Chicago Blackhawks.”

  Chicago was probably the only word in that sentence that my mother understood. So she went with that. “Chicago? So how did you and Kelly meet?”

  Jimmy shot me a brief scowl. “Kelly and I met at a hockey camp in New Brunswick. We dated for six months, and we’ve kept in touch ever since. I’m kind of surprised she’s never mentioned this to you.”

  My mom shook her head. “You would be amazed at what Kelly neglects to tell me. She’s a very private person.”

  Thankfully, my dad walked in the door before they could bond any further over my secretive ways.

  “Hi, darling.” He greeted my mom with a hug and the usual bouquet. Tonight’s flowers were pink roses.

  “Oh Tak, they’re beautiful,” she said, kissing him. Then she turned towards us. “Kelly’s brought a friend to meet us.” She could not have put any more emphasis on the word “friend” unless she made air quotes.

  Jimmy stood up, so I did as well, thus dislodging Gino to the floor. He grumbled briefly and then collapsed like a furry speed bump.

  “Mr. Tanaka, I’ve really been looking forward to meeting you,” Jimmy said with enthusiasm. “I’m James Frechette.”

  “Uh, call me, Tak,” my dad replied automatically. He looked Jimmy over with a guarded expression. My dad was not going to be as easily won over as my mom. And if Jimmy thought his semi-famous name might cut any ice around here, he was wrong.

  My mom brought my dad a drink and sat beside him. They were doing their whole cute and affectionate thing, which inspired Jimmy to put his arm on the couch behind me. My dad’s eyes narrowed, and Jimmy removed his arm.

  We discussed exciting things like the weather and how long we had lived here. My mom popped up to check on dinner and then returned.

  “Whatever you’re making sure smells great,” Jimmy said.

  My parents exchanged glances. “Well, you’re certainly welcome to stay for dinner, James,” my mom said.

  “Thanks, I’d love to,” he replied. I groaned internally. I had specifically asked him not to come to dinner, but as usual he was relentless.

  “I think Jimmy wanted a tour of our house.” I jumped up and pulled him by the hand.

  My dad muttered something about that not taking long. I took him to see my mom’s pottery studio first, and once we were outside, I spoke honestly.

  “I don’t think you should be inviting yourself to dinner.”

  “Why not? Your mom said it was okay. I think she likes me. By the way, I can’t believe you never told them anything about us.”

  “What? It’s not that big a deal. I was living in another province—what am I supposed to do, call home and say, ‘Oh Mom and Dad, I met this great guy and now we’re going steady.’ Or give them a blow-by-blow description of what else we were doing?”

  I giggled, but Jimmy was still upset.

  “We were in a relationship. I told my parents as soon as I met you. I know I was at home, but still—that’s how important you are to me.”

  And the opposite implication was clear. “I like to keep my personal life to myself.”

  “I’m sure they’ve met Phil,” he groused.

  “Ground rules,” I said. But he was right. Why hadn’t I ever mentioned Jimmy? We had both been in Vancouver that Christmas, but I had never made the effort. Was it because Jimmy had been only eighteen years old, and I hadn’t taken our relationship seriously?

  I put my arms around his waist. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I should have told them.”

  “You’re so hard to pin down, Kelly. I didn’t realize you were the same with your parents.”

  I tried to explain. “I have this weird relationship with my mom. I mean, I love her and I think she’s great, but when I was growing up I felt like I wasn’t exactly the kind of daughter she wanted. You know, someone to go shopping with and talk about boys. So I avoided all of it, which only makes her more curious and makes me back off more.”

  Jimmy kissed me and wrapped his arms around me. “I know a way you can fix that.”

  “You do?”

  “Give her something first. Figure out what you feel comfortable sharing and then share it—first—before she can ask. She’ll be so glad you’re sharing that she’ll back off.”

  I considered this. “Will that really work?”

  He nodded. “I’ve learned to do it over time. So many people want a piece of you when you get to the NHL, that I had to figure out how to defend myself. Reporters especially, they all want something new. If you keep giving it to them, you end up with nothing for yourself.”

  “Wow. That’s brilliant,” I told him. “I’ll have to test it out.”

  He grinned. “Did you just call me brilliant?”

  His arms were still tight around me, and I leaned my head against his chest. “Jimmy, I have to tell you—I’m not completely comfortable with this whole dating thing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, switching gears between the two of you is hard—I feel like I need time to myself in between.”

  He nodded and rubbed my back. “That makes total sense, Kelly.”

  “So, if it’s okay with you, I’d prefer to have dinner with my parents by myself.”

  “Oh sure, I understand.” Then he squinted down at me. “Did you just use my advice on me?”

  I blinked up at him. Next to my mom, he put the most pressure on me to talk about relationships, and now I had a defence for that.

  * * *

  “What happened? I thought James was going to stay for dinner,” my mom said after he left.

  “I told him you guys wanted to talk to me about something.”

  I set the table. It felt a little weird there was only the three of us. My brother now went to Waterloo, and instead of coming home for the summer, he was on a work placement.

  “We could have done that afterwards. Also, Kelly, didn’t you say you were staying over because you’re going to a party at Phil’s house? Isn’t James going as well?”

  Okay, time to put my new strategy into play. Unfortunately, my dad had just walked into the kitchen, so I’d have to tell both of them. My dad would like nothing better than to go through life never hearing anything about my social life. It was tough to tailor your message to two such opposite audiences.

  “I want to tell you something. This summer, I’m dating Jimmy and Phil. I’m, um, playing the field.”

  Both my parents stared at me.

  “Remember, Dad? It’s something you suggested when I was in high school. I’m taking your advice.”

  This seemed to be enough information for my dad. He opened the oven door. “What’s for dinner?”

  My mom clearly had way more questions, but Jimmy was right. She hugged me and thanked me for telling her. “It’s nice to know what’s going on in your life, even if I don’t quite understand—”

  I hugged her back. “I’m hungry. Are we eating now?”

  Dinner was delicious. My mom had made this chicken casserole dish I loved.

  “I should learn to make this,” I said, and my mom pretended to faint. “April insists that we take turns cooking, and she’s getting tired of my salads.”

  “You’re welcome to come over anytime for lessons. I remember trying to get you to learn all through high school. And when you come over, don’t forget, you promised to clean your junk out of your bedroom.”

  That sounded like non-stop fun.

  After dinner, my dad cleared his throat and gave my mom a significant look. This
meant big news.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked in a panic.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” my dad replied. “But your mom and I have come to a decision. Now that you are all settled in your job, and Roger is busy at Waterloo, we have a little freedom.”

  “Freedom? For what?”

  “Well, we didn’t want to burden you with our problems, but my business has not been doing that well lately.”

  My mom chimed in. “It’s that big supermarket moving in across the street. They have all these cheap bouquets that don’t even last a week.”

  “Really? I had no idea. Do you need financial help?” I didn’t know why I was offering since my bank balance was negative if you counted student loans.

  “Of course not, dear. But given the steady decline in revenue, I’ve decided to accept an offer for the building from a developer. They’re offering a lot more than I could get by selling the business itself.” My dad didn’t seem too upset about this though.

  “A developer? What are they going to put in there?”

  “They’re buying the entire block so they can build a new condo development with retail on the ground floor. They have offered me retail space in the new building, but I don’t have to decide immediately.”

  “But what are you going to do it instead?” My dad worked six days a week, and it was tough to imagine him sitting around doing nothing. He didn’t even have any hobbies that I was aware of.

  “We’ve decided to rent the house out for a year and go and live in Japan.”

  “Japan?” This was shocking. Seriously, the farthest vacation my family had ever taken was Hawaii, and now he was making it sound like Japan was no big deal.

  “Yes, your mom has been investigating artist residency programs, and she’s found one that works with pottery kilns built into the earth—”

  “Anagama, they’re called,” my mom added. Naturally, she knew the Japanese word and not my dad. How was someone who looked Japanese but spoke zero Japanese going to get along there?

  “The program she applied for is on Hokkaido. I thought I might do a little research into my roots while we’re there.”