by Beth Ehemann
Her emerald green eyes bore into mine and she shook her head vigorously. “Oh, honey! No! I’m not upset with you, not at all. I’m just . . . I don’t know what I am.” She paused and swallowed hard. “I’m worried that because we’re moving I won’t be as close to this baby as I am the others.”
“Aw, mom—” I pulled her into a tight hug, “—yes, you will. I’ll make sure of it. Anytime you want to snuggle with this little nugget, you just call and we’ll drive him or her over for a sleepover at Gigis’ house.”
“Deal,” she sniffed with a smile as she let go.
“The house looks amazing, by the way. I can’t believe you did all this just for us.”
“Yeah, well, I had a cute little elf who was a really big help.” She turned her head and shot Fred a quick glance.
“Hey, Kacie!” Viper called out, pulling my attention from my mom to him.
“Yeah?”
“I need a plumber. Do you by any chance have a good recommendation for me?” he asked with a straight face as Brody was doubled over, laughing hysterically behind him.
Viper, Andy, Derek, Tommy, and I stayed up way later than we should have and drank way more beers than we should have.
“Collins is going to kick our asses at practice tomorrow,” I said to Viper, lifting my beer in the air.
“Correction. He’s going to kill you. I don’t drink, remember?” he rebutted.
“Why don’t you drink, anyway?” Andy asked, popping the cap off another beer.
Viper shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just never really been my thing.”
“I was surprised when I found that out,” Derek said.
“Most people are,” Viper shrugged. “They assume because I’m a hockey player and all tatted up that I must be a big partier, too, but that part is totally wrong. I’m a lover, not a drinker.”
“I believe the saying is ‘I’m a lover, not a fighter.’” I laughed.
“I know, but I’m definitely a fighter so I had to improvise.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
“So let’s talk about hockey . . .” Tommy said, lifting his eyes from the table to Viper and me. “You guys are good this year. Like, really good. Think it might be Minnesota’s turn to finally bring the Stanley Cup home?”
The Minnesota Wild had never won the Stanley Cup in franchise history, and with the way we’d been playing, people were starting to get excited. That excitement also came with a lot of nervous pressure.
“I don’t know.” I took a long, deep breath, puffing my cheeks out when I let it go. “I’m not gonna lie and say it hasn’t crossed our minds, but we don’t talk about it because all of us are crazy superstitious.”
“Really?” Derek’s voice rose in surprise. “Superstitious?”
I nodded. “Oh yeah. You wouldn’t believe the weird shit that goes on in our locker room.”
“Like what?” he asked.
“Well, that crazy bastard right there—” I pointed at Viper, “—has to put all of his left pads on before his right ones. He also has to be the last on and the last off the ice for every single game.”
“I noticed that one . . . the ice one,” Tommy said.
“And Mr. Golden Goalie over there has to drink one of those small bottles of orange juice before every home game,” Viper teased.
Derek and Tommy turned toward me in unison.
“Only the home games?” Derek asked.
Viper answered before I could. “He switches to apple juice for the away games.”
“Why?” Tommy asked.
I gave him a quick shrug. “There was this one really important game back in college. My coach at the time told me that word had gotten out about me and the stands were gonna be packed with scouts and agents. I was a ball of fucking nerves. Someone asked if I wanted something to drink to help calm me down and I said sure.” I grabbed a peanut from the bowl on the table and cracked it open. “They brought me orange juice. I didn’t even think about it, I just drank it. It made me even crazier. Not only did I have a shut out that night, I had a few really amazing saves and, ever since then, I have orange juice before every game.”
Derek cocked his head to the side and frowned, “But not away games.”
“Not anymore,” I shook my head. “I used to do it for away games, too, but I played like total shit once, so I switched it up. So far it’s working for me.”
“Wow,” Tommy said incredulously, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. “I had no idea hockey players could be that superstitious.”
“I think a lot of athletes do crazy shit like this, but to us . . . it’s normal.” I laughed. “Well, as normal as we can get.”
“I, for one, am hoping like hell that you guys go all the way,” Andy, who’d been pretty quiet most of the evening, finally said. “Not only selfishly, because it would look great on my résumé, but for you two . . . and your whole team. You guys deserve it.”
“I’ll drink to that.” I lifted my beer bottle in the air briefly and took a long drink. The other guys followed suit.
“What are you guys raising your glasses to?” Kacie called out from the family room. I looked over at her and she arched an eyebrow, smirking at me.
“We’re toasting how incredible we all are for putting up with your asses,” I teased back.
“Psh—” Michelle rolled her eyes, “—I’m pretty sure that’s the other way around.”
“Wow,” I said softly, turning back to Viper. “Your woman answered that pretty quickly, dude.”
He pulled the corner of his mouth up and gave me a quick nod. “She’s totally right, though. I’m definitely the pain in the ass of the two of us.”
“Why don’t all of you pain in the asses come sit with us?” Alexa slurred, waving us over with one hand as she almost knocked her wine glass out of her other hand.
“Whoa,” I mumbled, looking at Derek.
“I know.” He pressed his lips together, closed his eyes and nodded. “It’s going to be a long road trip tomorrow. I’m gonna need barf bags for sure.”
Just then, there was a soft knock on the front door. Kacie sat up straight and frowned at me as I glanced down and checked the time on my phone.
10:53
Perfect!
“Who’s that?” Kacie asked, climbing to her feet.
As she walked toward me, I gave her an innocent shrug. “How am I supposed to know?”
She pursed her lips together and rolled her eyes dramatically. “You know everything.”
“That’s true,” I agreed playfully.
I followed along behind Kacie as she made her way up to the front. She pulled the wooden door open and squealed so loudly I was sure dogs for miles around ran and hid under beds. She thrust her water bottle against my chest, knocking the cap off and spilling it all over my shirt in the process. Darla took a huge step forward and they crashed into each other, hugging and rocking back and forth.
“I didn’t know you were coming too!” Kacie said through tears, her head resting against Darla’s shoulder.
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Darla shot me a quick wink over Kacie’s shoulder. “I wanted to get here earlier, but I had to finish my shift at the hospital before I could drive up.”
Kacie peeked around Darla. “Did Neil come with you?”
“Uh,” Darla said through a heavy sigh. “We’ll have to talk about him . . . after a glass—or five—of wine.”
“Uh oh.” Kacie sucked in air through clenched teeth. “Well, come on in and tell us all about it.”
It took a solid five minutes for Darla to make her way around the room, hugging and greeting her friends. I watched Kacie’s sparkling eyes as they danced from person to person in the room, a huge smile plastered to her face.
That look . . . that smile . . . that was the reason I did everything I did. To watch the love of my life be that happy over something as simple as having all of her friends together in one room was worth every tex
t, every headache, every stressful moment hoping it would all come together in the end.
Once Darla was in, we all crowded in the family room together. There wasn’t an inch of free space on the couches and some people were sitting on the floor, but we didn’t care. We just wanted to be together.
“Where are the kids?” Darla asked, taking a sip of her wine.
“In bed,” Kacie said. “It’s after eleven. They’re all asleep in the playroom together like a bunch of mice, laying across each other.”
Michelle shook her head. “No, your mom went in a little bit ago and straightened everyone out, covered them up and turned the TV off.”
“Of course she did.” Kacie rolled her eyes with a giggle. “Okay, so tell us why Neil isn’t with you.”
Darla had gotten engaged to Neil awhile back and, shortly after, they both applied for jobs at Loyola and moved to Chicago. Considering he didn’t come up with her, I’m assuming things weren’t going well after all, if they were even still going.
Darla took a deep, heavy breath. “Okay, so here goes. Apparently Neil, aka Doctor-Sparkling-Water, was really Doctor-Couldn’t-Keep-His-Dick-In-His-Pants.”
The girls all gasped as I looked over at Viper, whose jaw started ticking. Darla and Viper obviously had a history, but they would always be good friends. I knew he wanted to kill any guy that messed with her, especially Neil. He hated that guy.
Hated. That. Guy.
“I found out that he was sleeping with half the nurses in the NICU.” She took a huge swig of wine, practically emptying her glass.
“How did you find out?” Kacie asked.
“Two nurses got into a screaming match in the hallway and I, along with a couple of other people, went over to break them up. In the chaos of it all, someone asked what they were screaming about and Sharon, the disgustingly skinny one, said she found out that Kandi was sleeping with Neil.”
Kacie leaned forward on the couch, completely engrossed in Darla’s story just like the rest of us.
“So anyway,” Darla continued. “When I heard what she said, suddenly it became a three-way screaming match and let’s just say I had the loudest voice. It was ugly, but in the end, it was him I should have been mad at . . . not them.”
“Holy crap,” Alexa said, hugging her wine glass.
“So . . . that was a couple of months ago. We broke up, he asked for the ring back, I told him to go fuck himself and then I sold it and bought myself a really nice TV.”
“Atta girl,” Viper said proudly.
She gave him a quick, tight smile and kept going. “I spent a few weeks feeling sorry for myself, but then I perked up and realized I had found my dream job in an amazing city and I had a lot to be thankful for, so screw him. One night, I went out with some friends and had one too many beers. I came home, decided I was going to die if I didn’t have pizza rolls, so I turned the oven on, put them in, and then proceeded to pass out on the couch. An hour later, I woke up to the smoke alarm screeching, the kitchen all hazy, and the fire department banging on my door. Now, I’m dating Shane.”
We all sat staring at her with deadpan expressions on our faces. I shook my head quickly. “Does anyone else feel like you somehow missed a huge part of the story?”
“Sorry.” Darla giggled. “Shane is a fireman. My little Irish Chicago fireman who’s hot and sweet and hot and wonderful . . .”
“But is he hot?” Kacie teased.
Darla raised her hand, pinching her fingers together. “Just a tad.”
“Wait. Where is Mr. Hot and Wonderful?” Dani asked.
Darla tilted her head back and forth, staring up at the ceiling as she thought for a second. “I told him about it and we discussed it, but ultimately decided for him to stay back. We really like each other, so we’re making an effort not to move too fast and ruin everything. I’ll bring him up next time, for sure.”
“Well.” Michelle let out an exasperated sigh. “That’s one hell of a story. Hopefully I remember it in the morning.” She giggled as she tipped her wine glass back, swallowing what was left of it.
Without moving my head, I slid my eyes over to Viper, who watched Michelle lick the edge of her wine glass. He finally looked over at me and wiggled his eyebrows up and down. He raised his hand, cupping his mouth as he leaned toward me. “When she starts licking wine glasses, that’s a good sign that the Viking is going to get to come out and blow his horn tonight.”
I started coughing and choked on the gulp of beer I’d just drank. Wiping my lips with the back of my hand, I shook my head. “You have a way with words, Finkle. That’s for sure.”
The next morning I got up extra early, jumped in the shower and high-tailed it over to mom’s, hoping to get breakfast going before everyone else woke up.
Just as I suspected, mom was already wide-awake and had every single burner on the stove cooking something different.
“What are you doing?” I asked quietly as I walked over and put my arm around her, kissing her cheek gently.
“You know me. I can’t ever sleep, so I figured I’d get up and get breakfast going. It’s gonna take a while.”
“I know. That’s why I tried to get over here early. What can I do?” I turned the sink on and started sudsing up my hands.
“Uh . . .” She turned halfway and looked around the kitchen, the corner of her mouth pulled up as she thought about what she wanted me to do next. “Fruit! There are going to be a million hungry little monsters in here in a little while and they love fruit. Start cutting up all the fruit you can get your hands on.”
“Got it.” I went to the fridge and pulled out strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, dropping them all together in the big colander on the counter.
“So last night was pretty fun, huh?” Mom put her hand on her hip and started flipping crackling pieces of bacon over in the pan.
“It was fun. I think I’m still in shock, actually. I can’t believe Brody did all that.”
“You know . . . he told Brody not to say anything, but this whole thing was Viper’s idea.”
I froze and spun toward her slowly. “Viper?”
She nodded without turning around. “Uh huh. I mean . . . Brody was wracking his brain, trying to think of a way to save your perfect Christmas, and Viper threw this out to him. Brody did all the calling and planning, but the idea started with Viper.”
“Wow,” I shook my head in amazement. “If you would’ve told me to guess who suggested this to Brody, Viper would have been my last guess.”
“I know,” she scoffed. “That boy has a lot more good in him than people realize.”
“He does,” I agreed with a nod as I plucked the stem off a strawberry. Viper and I got along great for the most part, but last year after an incident with Michelle, I kinda let him have it. Things have been a little tense ever since, but him suggesting all of this to Brody really meant a lot to me.
“Hey!” Mom called out with a laugh. “No time for breaks.”
I jumped and swung my head toward her, not even realizing that I’d stopped cutting and zoned out. “Sorry,” I shook my head quickly. “I was just thinking about Viper and got a little lost.”
“Oooh, you were thinking about me?” A familiar voice quipped from the doorway of the kitchen. I turned my head and Viper, wearing black pajama pants with big Santa heads on them, grinned at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head. I wasn’t thinking of you like that. Mom was just telling me that this weeklong party thing started out as your idea and then Brody ran with it.” I walked over and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. “So thank you. It means a lot to me that you cared too.”
“Anything to help my boy get laid,” he joked. I pulled my hand back and smacked him hard in the stomach. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he said through a laugh. “First of all, obviously homeboy gets laid plenty, the evidence of that being the newest little bun in your oven. And B, I really do care.” He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me toward hi
m, kissing me above the temple.
“Get your lips off my wife before I remove them from your body.” Brody barked playfully as he came through the back door.
“Awww, come here, Brody. I have a kiss for you too. Don’t worry.” Viper held his arms out straight in front of him and strode across the room toward Brody, who laughed and slapped him away.
“All these people in here and I’m the only one working,” mom said as she shot us a wink.
“Sorry!” I apologized again, returning to the strawberries.
“Good morning, babe.” Brody nuzzled into my neck. “I didn’t even hear you get up this morning. How early did you sneak out?”
I shrugged. “A while ago. I didn’t want to wake you.”
“What can I help with, Sophia?” Viper clapped his hands loudly, rubbing them together.
“Uh—“ mom craned her neck and peeked over at the pan of cinnamon rolls on the counter, “—those rolls should be cool enough by now. Would you mind icing them?”
“You got it,” he said.
“Good morning!” Lauren sang happily as she came into the kitchen.
“Ugh, isn’t she the most annoying human first thing in the morning?” Alexa grumbled from right behind her.
One by one, people started flowing into the kitchen and everyone began fluttering around setting the tables, pouring milk and juice into cups, cutting eggs and sausage into super tiny pieces so they were ready for all the little ones. It was chaos, but wonderful chaos.
An hour later, the chaos was over and the kitchen looked like a tornado had gone right through the middle of it.
“Holy cow,” I said in awe as I surveyed the damage.
“How can they make that much of a mess so quickly?” Michelle muttered.
“I’ll tell you what,” Brody declared. “Since Alexa and Lauren are leaving in a little while, and since we’ll be out of town for the next couple days leaving all the kid stuff to you girls, the boys are going to clean the kitchen this morning.”
“We are?!” Viper exclaimed.
“Yes, we are,” Brody repeated, throwing a balled up napkin at his head.