“Are you flying down? I’ll just pick you up.”
“Yeah. What kinds of things does she like? I’d like to get her a present.”
Shit. I don’t have her a present yet. It’s official that I suck as a father. Ignoring that for the moment, I say, “She’ll play with nearly anything. We read to her before bed most nights, so she likes books. She loves to color, so anything related to that would be good.”
He nods. “Okay, thanks.”
“Well, I should get going. Let me know about your flight. Her party starts at three, so just be in by one-thirty at the latest.”
I reach for the bill, but Dad snatches it first. “I’ll get it. Go on. Good luck tonight.”
“Thanks.” As I head out of the building to walk to the hotel, since I chose a restaurant within walking distance, I call Sydney.
“How’d it go?” she answers.
“Fine. We’re good again, I guess. He’s flying down for her birthday party. That’s okay, right?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. My parents will be here. There’s no reason why your dad can’t come.”
“You have a point. So, guess what I realized?”
“What?” she asks.
“I’m a shitty dad. I still haven’t bought a present for her. What did you get her?”
“Nothing yet. I’m waiting for you to come home. Logan will watch her while we go shopping together.”
We’re cutting it close between me coming home, going to the airport to pick up my dad, and we have to go shopping while getting ready for a party, too? I like that she’s waiting for me, though. We’ve yet to shop together for Savannah. That will be nice.
“Is that okay, Ian? You’re not saying anything.”
“Yeah, babe. That’s perfect. Who all is coming again?”
“Well, there’s Mom, Chris, Dad, Logan, Carey, her new boyfriend, as well as Meredith, Lizzy, Noah, Marc, Sylvia, her twins, and Scott.” Wait. What? “Her birthday came up while Meredith and Lizzy were helping me, and they seemed like they wanted to come, so I invited them. Then, I figured I could ask Sylvia if she and the girls wanted to come. It kind of exploded.”
Yeah. Sounds like. “Zane will be there too, babe,” I remind her. “So, she calls Chris Papa. What does she call your dad and what is she going to call my dad?”
“Chris is Papa. Dad is Gramps. Your dad can be…” Her voice trails off. “We have too many grandparents in the mix. There’s Pops. Grandad? Grandpa? Tell him to pick one of those and we’ll introduce him like that.”
“Okay.” I’m finally in the hotel and almost to my room.
“I have to go, Ian. Savannah’s new sheets are done drying, she wants to bake cookies, and she wants Logan to come over. He’s been here nearly every night this week. I think since you aren’t here, he’s the next best thing, so she wants him here. Because when you’re home, she never wants him to come over.”
“So, you’re saying she misses me so much that she wants to see Logan?” That’s some twisted logic. But it is true that she doesn’t ask to see Logan all that often if I’m home. “Let me talk to her while you put the sheets on the bed.”
“Savannah, guess who’s on the phone?”
“Who?” I hear her ask as I enter my room and lie down on the bed.
“Guess, buttercup. It’s your favorite person.” Great. Is she trying to get her to say Lo-Lo?
There’s a scratching noise, Sydney laughs, and then, I hear Savannah say, “Daddy?”
“Hey, little Miss. What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” A pause. “Miss you.”
“I miss you, too. I’ll be home tomorrow night. Are you being good for Mommy?”
“Yep!”
“Good. Mommy said you guys were going to bake cookies. What kind? Are you going to save one for me?”
“Sugar cookies. I save one.” There’s a long pause. “Where you are?”
“I’m in Minnesota. Mommy can show you later on the map if you want.” Since she knows I’m on a trip, she sometimes asks where I am, so I tell her and let her know that Sydney will show her. The map is just on the computer. I’ve started looking it up myself to tell her about how many miles away from home I am and some fun facts about the state. I don’t know if she really cares or remembers, but she’s started asking me what I was telling her before I can get to it.
“How far?”
“About one thousand two hundred thirteen miles away.”
“Woah.”
“Yeah. That’s a lot, isn’t it?”
“Yep. What’s state bird?” She really loves knowing this. It’s always her first question after how far away.
“It’s called the common loon. It lives in the water. It has red eyes.” At this, she gasps. “And it likes to eat fish.” Yeah, I have to do my research. I learned my lesson after I first started this and I had no information to give her. “I’ll send Mommy a pic later, so she can show you what it looks like.” I settle in and start telling her more of these facts about Minnesota until she hangs up to make cookies.
“All I want to do is go home and fuck my woman all day and instead, I’m going to a birthday party for a three-year-old? What the hell, Bruiser?” Noah briefly glares at me as we play a little game of soccer. The game is really easy. The ball can’t touch the ground. It’s like when you were a kid, playing with a balloon, only now it’s a soccer ball you’re passing around.
“It’s not my fault, Rams. I didn’t even know you guys were coming until yesterday.” I take a step and lift my knee to bounce the ball in the air and toward Brayden. “If you don’t want to go, don’t. Besides, you’ll have tonight and into tomorrow.”
He scoffs. “Trust me, I’ll be doing my damnedest to talk her into doing other things.”
Honestly, I’m not particularly looking forward to my first day back being so crazy, but it’ll be worth it for Savannah. I called her earlier today and sang her happy birthday. She seemed tickled by that. She told me I didn’t sing very well, but that it was okay because I tried my best. Yeah. That’s what she told me. It took everything I had not to laugh because she was dead serious.
The game today is early, starting at one, so once it’s over, we’re flying home. At least tonight will be semi-quiet before the hectic activities of tomorrow. For now, I focus on my pregame rituals and then the game itself. The regular season ends in a month, but we’re hoping to clinch a playoff spot. Every game is really important at this point. This road trip has been pretty good. We’ve won three of the four games so far. I don’t especially want to lose today—not on Savannah’s birthday.
In the third period, we’re tied at three. It’s been nicely paced with lots of action up and down the ice. All we’ve been doing every time we have possession is setting up the shot and shooting. We want to score. You score by shooting the puck. If you shoot enough times, it’ll go in eventually. So far, we’re halfway through the third and haven’t had any luck.
The puck rings off the crossbar or dances in front of the net as it passes between the goalie’s back and the net. The goalie does his damn job. Shots go wide. Lots of things work to prevent us from scoring. The good thing is, the Wild aren’t scoring either. Savage, aka Liam Irving, is being a beast in the net right now.
We’re in their zone and I’m near the blue line while Donny shoots the puck. The clock is winding down. The goalie gloves his shot and stops play for a face-off. Kellan Hellsberg wins that, sending the puck toward Gus Zito, who we call Quickie G. He passes it to me as he quickly skates behind the net. I pass the puck to Zane and Z sends it back to Quickie G who makes one last try to score. The puck is deflected by the goalie’s blocker as the horn sounds to end the period.
Overtime, here we come.
I’m not on the ice when I watch the twins, Cal and Collin Kessy, and Rams rush into the Wild zone after gaining possession. I hold my breath. Partly because we need this win and this could be the moment we get it, I can just feel it, and partly because Thing One and Two are just amazing t
o watch.
Thing Two comes up along the boards with the puck. The goalie is staring at him hard and seems ready in case he gives it up to his brother who is coming down the middle, but he passes the puck clear across the ice. He doesn’t give it to his brother, but to Rams, who quickly rears his stick back and shoots over the goalie’s shoulder.
He lights the lamp and we win!
We fist-bump them as we skate over to acknowledge Savage’s hard work, which is usually done by giving his helmet a good rub and touching a stick to his pads. We did good tonight. Hopefully, we can keep this kind of play up. But as we leave the ice, my mind starts turning to Sydney and Savannah. I can’t wait to get home.
“Babe!” I shout as I walk into the room.
“Daddy!” Savannah comes running, and I crouch, just in time to catch her.
“Hey, little Miss.” I stand upright as she grabs my beard and kisses my cheek when I kiss hers. “Where’s your mommy?”
“Gone!”
That’s when I notice Logan sitting on the couch. “Where’s Sydney?” I walk over and sit on the chair with Savannah in my lap.
“Lizzy is making her cake and she wanted Syd to taste a sample or something. She should be here any minute.”
I nod. “Are you having fun with Lo-Lo?” I ask Savannah.
“Yep. He sleeped over.”
“He did? Hey, did you save me any cookies, birthday girl?” While I wait on Sydney, Savannah shows me that she did indeed save me not one, but three cookies. I share them with her. She also shows me her new room. Sydney did a great job, and Savannah is in love. “Can Daddy sleep over in here with you tonight? I think I like this room better than mine.”
“Nooo,” she giggles. “Sleepovers not in my room!” Right, because sleepovers mean camping out in the living room.
We return to the living room to sit in the chair. Damn, I missed her so much.
“I guess I should go since you’re here; I don’t think there was any reason Syd was wanting me to wait for her,” Logan says, standing up. “Come tell Lo-Lo goodbye, Savannah.”
She hops out of my lap long enough to hug him, say she loves him, and then she’s back to sitting with me.
“Thanks for sitting with her.”
“Anything for my favorite niece. See y’all tomorrow.”
Once he’s gone, I grab the remote and turn on Savannah’s favorite movie. She rests her head on my shoulder, one hand still absentmindedly playing with my beard, and I slouch down a little to get comfortable. It feels good to be home.
Savannah has dozed off and I’m nearly asleep myself when I hear the door open. My eyes crack open. A second later, Sydney appears in front of me. “Hey, babe,” I whisper.
She doesn’t answer. Instead, she leans down, cradles my face in her hands, and kisses me. Soft and slow, our mouths get reacquainted with one another as if it has been years and not ten days. She breaks into a smile, ending our kiss too soon.
“I missed you,” she whispers.
“I can tell.”
Sydney laughs as she sits on the arm of the chair. “I see someone else missed you as well. I told you.”
“Yeah. How does her cake taste? Why is Lizzy making it anyway?”
“Because she’s a master! Apparently, she’s really good at decorating. Not to mention, based on what she had me try, she can make some damn good cakes, too. I wish she made an entire cake for me to try instead of just a cupcake. She’s a cake genius. If it wasn’t for Meredith suggesting I ask, it probably wouldn’t have happened either.” It’s like she suddenly notices it’s just us. “Where’s Logan?”
“He went home since I was here.”
“Damn it. I wanted him to stay, so we could go ahead and go shopping.”
“We’ll just do it in the morning. I don’t really feel like going anywhere tonight anyway.” I adjust Savannah so Sydney can sit in my lap with Savannah in her lap, all without waking her. She must be really tired. “Any birthday traditions?”
“Actually, yes. And I told Savannah that we were doing them tomorrow when you would be here.” She leans her head against mine. “We fix her favorite breakfast.”
“Pancakes and bacon,” I interrupt, causing her to turn her head and smile at me. Yes, I feel ridiculously damn proud to know her favorite breakfast.
“We also eat a cupcake at breakfast because it’s her birthday. I need to make those,” she says the latter more to herself than to me. “Then, there’s her party. My family is always there. This is actually the first year that there will be non-family members attending, so that should be interesting. There’s nothing really special about it. Cake, ice cream, chips, and presents. She gets to wear a tiara. After her party, we watch her favorite movie. She gets to have a bubble bath before bed, and that’s pretty much it, I think.”
Sydney reaches out to adjust Savannah’s bracelet, which is just like hers, and I suddenly feel like an idiot. Duh. Why didn’t I think about my go-to gift already? I’ll get her something else too, of course, but I think it’s time Savannah had her own necklace.
“I’m glad you’re home,” Sydney says.
“Me too, gorgeous. Me too.”
“What time does your dad get in tomorrow?”
“Nine thirty. He flies out Monday at the same time. He’s going to stay the night here. That okay? He said he’d get a room if we’d rather he do that.”
“What do you think?” she asks instead.
“Well, I told him it depended on if you were okay with it.” I don’t think my dad is going to give us any problems, so there’s no need to worry about that.
“He’s your dad,” she says, still avoiding the question.
“Babe,” I warn in a low tone. That’s all I need to say. She’ll know from just that one word exactly what I want, which is for her to talk. There’s some kind of issue here. She needs to spit it out already.
“He doesn’t like me, remember?”
I turn my head, so I can whisper in her ear. “He didn’t like you because he knew I was crazy about you and he didn’t think I should be so insanely in love with a girl I wasn’t even with. It had nothing to do with you, Sydney.”
She laughs. “That’s why no one on my side liked you.” She looks at me, resting her forehead against mine. Her brown eyes stare into mine as if she’s searching the depths of my soul. “Do you think we would’ve stayed together had we gotten together sooner?” When my eyebrows pull together, she adds, “I mean, if we started dating when I told you I loved you the first time or when you came back two years later, do you think we would still be together now or that things had to happen like they did for us to be together and stay together?”
“Babe, I think you’re thinking too much. The only thing that matters is we got together and we’ll be together indefinitely.” I interlace my fingers with hers as I lift her hand, nodding to the bracelet. “Infinitely.” Something about her gaze makes me add, “And even if something happened to break us apart, I think we would find our way back to one another. The infinity symbol loops around and overlaps in the middle. Imagine that the symbol represents our lives. We’re a part of that, right? So, we’re two people on the symbol. If we started going in different directions, we’d run into each other again at some point and be reunited to travel it together. That’s how it’s happened so far. We met, went around by ourselves until we crossed paths again and again and again, and now, we’re going around it together.”
The corners of her mouth flex as if she doesn’t want to smile, but then she laughs. “Who are you and what have you done with Ian?”
“What?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“That speech you just gave. It’s unlike you and weird. But I like it. You haven’t really said anything like that since you gave me the bracelet.” She’s still giggling under her breath a little.
I shake my head at her. “You’re such a bitch for laughing. See if I try to reassure you again.”
“I’m sorry. You threw me off with the big speech, which you have t
o admit isn’t like you. I don’t know why I found it funny, except maybe because you were so serious.”
“Whatever.”
Soon after that, Savannah wakes up. Or, rather, Sydney wakes her up. She doesn’t want her to sleep too much before bedtime and then not want to sleep later or wake up really early in the morning. There’s something about how Sydney laughed that bothers me more than it probably would normally. So, later, when we’re getting ready for bed, I ask, “How are you feeling? About us?”
She sets down her toothbrush and leans her hip against the counter. “Good. We have hiccups, but that’s expected, and we’ve worked through them.” She glances away and then finds my eyes to quietly say, “I’m happier than ever.”
I grin. “Good. That’s good, babe.” I grab my toothbrush, slather on some toothpaste, and start brushing, flicking my eyes over at her as she flosses.
“What’s your five-year plan?” she asks.
Plan? I’m supposed to have a plan? What kind of plan? I pause long enough to say, “Whatever yours is.” That’s a good answer, right? I may have come up with something good earlier, but I’m blanking right now.
She raises an eyebrow at me. “What if my plan is that I want to be married in six months and have another baby in the next two years? What if I’ve changed my mind altogether and I want to be a stay-at-home mom who home schools our kids? What if I want to move into a house before that baby comes and have my own library? What if—”
I interrupt her, shrugging and saying, “Sounds good to me.” I spit and rinse my mouth.
Her eyes widen as she openly stares at me. “You’d be okay with all of that?”
Don’t even need to think about it. “Yeah.”
A burst of air leaves her mouth and deflates her chest. “Wow.” She grabs the edge of the counter. “I think I might faint.” Her voice is so soft that I glance over just in time to see her sway. Fuck. She’s serious.
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