Fire & Ice - Chapter 21: Chapter 21

The next morning when I woke up for my classes Becca was waiting outside my dorm room for me. I let her in while I made Cassie and I breakfast. Just as I plated the eggs Becca stole my plate and I just rolled my eyes and made myself some more food. When we finished breakfast Becca and I left for our classes after I gave Cassie a kiss. We didn't make it far from the dorm hall when Stacey walked up to both of us. She slung her arm around Becca's shoulders and I could see my friend relax in her hold. It put a smile on my face as I watched Becca lean her head into Stacey's shoulder and we continued to walk to our first class of the day.
Today's classes were okay as they were more like study sessions for our midterms coming up later this week. When my classes were over I went over to the rink and laced up my skates to get some time on the ice. There are public skate sessions tonight and I'm going to pick up a shift to make a little extra money before I head home at the end of the week. As I got onto the ice I took a deep breath and did a few laps. I could feel the ache in my chest but I just pushed through it. I wanted to put in some work right now on my own before practice tomorrow.
There isn't anybody else on the ice right now but the nets are set up so I went back into the locker room and grabbed my sticks and some pucks. When I got back to center ice I dumped the bucket of pucks on the ice and took a few of them towards the net to shoot around. I went light at first getting used to the motion again with my ribs and when I thought they were warmed up enough I tried some slap shots. This time I was expecting the pain so when I felt it shoot through my side it wasn't too much of a surprise. The feeling was uncomfortable but manageable. During a game with all the adrenaline going through me I doubt I would feel the pain till after the game is over.
Just as I finished shooting around I heard someone come onto the ice behind me. I turned around and found a few of the guys team members in practice uniforms take the ice. Turns out the men's team was having a last minute practice and so I had to leave the ice. As I was taking my skates off I heard a door shutting so I looked up from the floor and found coach standing in the middle of the locker room. I didn't pay him any mind as I finished wiping down my skates and put them away.
When I was finished I was about to leave the locker room when I heard him call my name. I rolled my eyes and walked over to his office. As I got there I left the door open and walked inside. I didn't bother sitting in the chairs in front of his desk, just stood by the door hoping not to be here long.
"How is your side feeling?" He asked.
"Ready to play" I answered.
"I saw you practicing just now, you look good." He said.
"I feel good, I expect to be going on the trip to Boston." I said.
"You're post made it seem like you needed to be elsewhere then playing hockey." Coach said.
"Well you said I needed to change my attitude, consider it changed. If I'm not on that Boston trip, you are going to have a more explaining to do to the reporters why your number one pick was left behind again." I said and clenched my jaw. When coach didn't respond right away I turned my back to him and left his office. It felt pretty go to tell him off a bit. He deserved it. I checked in with the manager of the rink to confirm my shift for the night before I made the walk back to my dorm.
The rest of the week seemed to fly by. With studying for and taking my midterms along with practicing harder to get back up to speed, it didn't leave much time to do anything else. Cassie and I didn't really see each other as she was in the library most of the time while I was training. The only time we really saw each other was when we eventually fell asleep together in the same bed.
As Friday rolled around I packed the last of my clothes into the one big duffle bag I had brought with me and met up with team for the flight to Boston. Cassie already drove home yesterday as she finished her midterms. It was hard to say goodbye to her even if it is only for a few days. But it needed to be done. We are flying out to Boston on Friday so I'll get to spend some time with mom before I have to go practice later in the afternoon.
When we all got to the airport, Coach handed us our tickets and I wasn't surprised to see we were all at the back of plane. I just found myself a window seat and pulled my headphones over my ears for the flight. It was still early enough in the morning that most of the team was looking forward to getting some sleep on the plane. So once we all got seated we got into our own worlds and knocked out for the flight.
I woke up when my head smacked against the window on the landing. It wasn't the best way to wake up and I much rather someone just shake me awake. But when I looked to my right I found our goalie Nicole still very much asleep. I gave her a shake as we drove over to our gate and the plane hooked up.
It took about ten minutes to get off the plane. Just about everyone made a bee-line for the bathroom on the way to baggage claim. But it was fine because even though we all went to the bathroom when we got to baggage claim we still had to wait for our bags to deplane. It definitely took a while to get everyone's gear together. Thankful nothing was lost and it doesn't look like anything was broken in transit here.
Once everything was collected, we made our way over to the waiting bus to take us over the hotel. On the way over Coach gave us the room assignments and I was roomed up with Toni for this trip. But jokes on him, I'm going to be staying in my own bed while we are here. Toni was happy to hear she will get the room to herself and would take of covering for me if coach comes looking.
As we got to the hotel we all disembarked from the bus, grabbed our bags and walked into the hotel. Coach got us checked in and let us know we have the night off but have practice tomorrow morning at the arena as the game is at night. Since it was my home coming a lot of old teammates and friends from high school sent me texts that they are coming out for the game. I'm excited to get to see everyone but I'm nervous that my father will break his parole and the order of protection and try to see me.
But I can't live my life in fear. Coach handed me the room key and Toni and I made our way up to the room. I was in the middle of texting Dawn a thank you for dropping off Travis' car at the hotel for me to use when Toni stopped in her tracks and I ran into her. I looked up from my phone and saw Toni standing in front of the door.
"You are going out tonight right?" She asked as she pushed the key into the door lock.
"Yup, Travis gave me his car keys and his mom dropped his car off at the hotel so I'm going to surprise my mom at work. She thinks we are getting in later tonight so I'm so excited surprise her." I said and shouldered my duffle bag.
Before I could turn to leave I heard someone call my name. I turned around and found Becca running down the hall.
"Did you really think you were going to be able to leave me behind? Aren't you going to show us around town?" Becca said and caught her breath.
"Yes, yes I was, I'm going to go surprise my mom at work. You really want to be there for that?" I asked and watched as Stacey finished walking up behind us.
"Sure why not." Becca said like an excited puppy.
"Don't you think she should be able to see her mom alone Becs?" Stacey asked.
"Well yes but we have nothing to do all day here." Becca reasoned.
"How about this, I'm going to surprise her mom and find out about her shift tonight and then afterwards once I find out her schedule for today, we can then do something." I said.
"Deal, Becca come with me to the room." Stacey said and dragged Becca away before she could respond.
Toni only chuckled behind me and I gave her a smile before I headed back down to the ground floor and out a side door to avoid any lingering team members in the lobby. Travis' trusted navy blue 2015 Ford Expedition was sitting right where Dawn said Malcolm parked it. I threw my bag into the back seat before climbing into the driver's seat and took off towards the grocery store. When I got there I was in and out because I wanted to be quick and I also didn't want people to know I was back in town yet until I saw my mom.
With flowers in hand, I made my way through the winding halls of the hospital and up to the floor I know my mom works on. I wasn't sure where she would be right now but as I turned the corner I saw her standing outside a room with her head in her hands. I could tell she is having a hard day just from her body language so just as I was about to walk over to her another woman stepped in front of her. I stopped in my tracks and took the red head in for a moment. When mom looked up from her hands and saw the red head, mom put her head on her chest while the red head wrapped her arms around her. Is this the women who mom hooked up with? They looked very comfortable with each other and it's something I've never seen with her and my father.
I let the scene play out for a few moments and moved over to the side of the hallway let anyone walking by go through. The red head was talking to my mom and it seems like whatever she said was working in getting her to calm down. But suddenly mom let out a groan and the red head sighed and looked at her pager. Mom lifted her head up and leaned against the wall. The moment is clearly wrapping up and I started to walk over towards the two when the red head leaned in and kissed my mom on the temple. It was such a tender and warm moment that brought tears to my eyes knowing just how much she suffered staying with my father. The red headed women gave mom a smile and then she was gone around a corner.
I gave mom a second to collect herself before I walked over to her. When I got next to her I didn't say anything, I just lightly bumped shoulders with her and her head snapped up ready to bite my head off. It took her a second to process it was actually me though. Once I saw it connect in her eyes, a few tears fell onto her cheeks and she threw her arms around my neck so fast I had to drop the flowers onto the floor to avoid them being crushed in between us. It was a good thing I was braced up against the wall because mom put some force behind her hug.
It took a few minutes for mom to unhinge her arms from around my neck. When she did, she tried to say something but it just got caught in her throat and I pulled her into another hug.
"Hey, if I knew you would be crying this much I would have bought a box of tissues with the flowers." I said trying to get the tears to slow. My joke worked and I heard mom chuckle and she pulled away from me enough to wiped her face.
"I thought you were getting in later." Mom said as she continued to clean up her face.
"Yea I lied. I wanted to surprise you. I also wanted to know when you are working till tonight to make some plans." I said and handed my mom the flowers I bought her.
"I don't get off till 10pm. It's my last shift for the next 5 days though." Mom said.
"Okay so we can do thanksgiving on Monday then and tonight I'm going to have a few teammates over to hang out, if that's okay." I said.
"Of course it's okay. Malcolm just brought over a pile of wood, it's out on the back porch if you want to light a bonfire tonight, it's not going to get that cold outside tonight." Mom said.
"Sounds like a plan, do you have time now, we can get something for lunch if you haven't eaten." I proposed.
Before Mom could answer her beeper went off and one look on her face and I knew our time together just came to an end. I knew better then to bring up the mysterious red head now, there isn't ever enough time when she is at work to ask her things. The look of dread on her face was something I didn't like to see. Hopefully with some time together we can talk about what's been going on here.
"I gotta go honey. I love you and I'm really glad you're home, I'll see you tonight." Mom said and took off running down the hallway. I held onto the flowers I got her and sighed. I don't think I'll ever get over these moments when she gets to be a superhero.
I waited until she turned a corner before I walked up to the nurses stand. I knew a few of them from mom bringing me around and from my time in the hospital as a patient and said hello to a few of them. I left the flowers with them though, I hoped that they would brighten there day because I know some times it gets hard working here. On my way out I sent a text to Becca, Stacey and Toni and asked if they wanted to hang out at my house for the night. Becca replied yes right away with Stacey not far behind but Toni said she was going to hang out at the hotel as she has some team stuff she needs to do. So I swung back around to the hotel's side entrance and picked up my friends before making my way home.
As I pulled onto my block I smiled when I saw a bright red W flag flapping in the wind at my house. It was like a homing beckon guiding me the rest of the way home. I parked Travis' car on the side of the street and I grabbed my bag from the back after I got out. I opened the gate and let Becca and Stacey inside the yard. We walked up the steps and I unlocked the front door. When I pushed the door open I heard a bark from inside and smiled when our three year old German Shepard Frank jumped off the couch to great us. I pulled him right into me and smiled as he licked all over my face.
"Alright that's enough boy. So, welcome to my crib, it's not much, but it's home. This is Frank, he's kind of like our guard dog but deep down inside he is just one big mush, aren't you." I said and ran my hand through his head.
"You guys can make your selves at home, I'm just going to take him on a walk real quick and say hi to Travis' mom and dad." I said and grabbed Franks' leash off the hook next to the door.
Becca and Stacey took a seat on the couch as I left the house. Frank did his business quickly and I managed to spend a few minutes chatting with Dawn and Malcolm before heading back home. As we got close to the house I let Frank off the leash and he walked himself back up the steps and I opened the door for him. Becca and Stacey were playing around on their phones when I got inside. It didn't take long for me to suggest a place for us to get lunch and we were off again. I did manage to remember to shoot my mom and text to ask her if she wanted me to get her something to have for dinner later.
I took Becca and Stacey on a tour of my hometown and drove past a lot of my old stomping grounds. Finally I pulled into the burger joint that wasn't far from the ice rink. A lot of after practice and game dinners were spent here. Travis and I even have burgers' named after us on the menu. When I walked in the owner Tommy came around the counter and pulled me into a tight hug. We chatted for a few minutes while Becca and Stacey picked out what they wanted to eat.
With the orders ready, Tommy went into the back and got them ready for us while we took a seat in the booth Travis and I usually sit in when we come here. It didn't take long for Tommy to come back with our meals and we all dug in. As we finished up I tried to pay but Tommy would let me. He just asked for a win tomorrow against Boston College and a goal and I couldn't help but laugh and nod.
After lunch I took Becca and Stacey over to the rink. We aren't going to be playing here tomorrow but I still wanted to show it off. This place is my haven, where I went when I felt like nothing was going right, where I learned how to play hockey, where I met Travis. This old barn has almost been torn down a few times but the town came together to save it, myself being at the front of the charge.
Walking through the halls there were so many memories of from youth leagues and high school games hung in pictures on the wall. When we got to the lounge area of before the entrance of the rink, I saw one of my old high school jerseys framed hanging up on the wall. I smiled and just looked at it for a few more second before I went over to it and pulled it off the wall.
"Uhm, Mac, I don't think that is a good idea." Stacey said and I continued to walk over to the office. When I got there I knocked on the door and opened it. Like always Mike is sitting behind his desk typing away on his old desktop. He looked up at me and smiled.
"You know, I would have signed this for you before I left for Wisconsin." I said and lifted the frame up a little.
"Well I always knew you would be back so you can sign it now for me." Mike said and threw a black market towards me.
With some help from Becca and Stacey I got the jersey out of the frame and signed it for Mike before putting it back up on the wall. Mike Connolly is the owner of the rink and is the closest thing to a grandfather I've had. He was always there when I needed that extra support, always offered to give me some extra shifts at the rink when we were running low on cash, always pushed me during my senior year to make up for the missed playing time in junior year to be able to make it into a D1 school with a big scholarship.
I didn't stay too long to chat with Mike, he said he needed to start opening the rink for public skate starting soon. I'll be back to see him before I leave anyway. But before I left I did ask him for the schedule for veterans sled hockey team to maybe catch one of their games before I left. Mike gave me an updated copy and I left him to open up the rink for the night. Before we left I took Becca and Stacey over to one of the equipment closets and unlocked the door with my key. Inside I quickly found what I was looking for, my hockey sled. With some help from Becca and Stacey I got it out to Travis' truck and brought it home. I wanted to bring it back to Wisconsin with me and it was part of my plan for Cassie's Christmas present.
With the sled tucked away in the truck for now I ended up dropping Becca and Stacey back off at the hotel for the rest of the evening and showed my face for a little while before taking off again. When I got home I happily laid out on the couch and it wasn't long before Frank settled onto my legs. I flipped through some TV channels and ended up leaving on the news. It didn't take me long before I ended up falling asleep after the long day.
When I woke up again the news was still on but it was already pushing 8pm. I knew I needed to get up and order some food for dinner before the restaurants started to close. With Frank in tow, I got back into Travis' truck and made my way to an Italian place not far from the ice rink. Walking inside I saw all the familiar wait staff and gave them quick hellos as I made my way to the counter to place my usual order. While we waited for the food to be ready one of the owners Carmella, came from around the counter with a few meatballs for Frank and me to snack on. I got to catch up with her for about a half hour before our food was done. But once again when I tried to pay Carmella wouldn't take my money, just wishing me good luck for the games with weekend. I did manage to sneak some money into the tip jar when she wasn't looking.
Frank and I hit the road again. The night was quiet and cool, normal for this time of year. I was happy that we didn't get any snow yet otherwise this trip would have sucked a bit. When we got back home I fed Frank his actual dinner and ate some of my pasta but left the majority of it for when mom will get home. Just as I put the lid back on I heard a car come down the street and then pull into the driveway. I got up from the table and made my way over to the front windows. When I got there I found mom getting out of her car and closing the door behind herself. I opened the front door for her and saw mom smile at me as she walked inside.
"You know, I kind of thought I made it up when I saw you at the hospital before." Mom said as she took her coat off and shoes.
"Nope, I'm real, and I'm here." I said and gave her a smile.
Once she put everything else down mom pulled me in for another tight hug. I closed my eyes and just clung onto mom and drunk in the moment. After a few more seconds I pulled away and made mom come sit at the table and got her food ready for her. We didn't talk about anything too crazy just a little about our Thanksgiving on Monday. Then I got to surprise mom with her very own Wisconsin jersey. She was so excited she almost choked on the food she was still eating.
Mom tried it on and laughed because the jersey was just a bit big on her. After she finished her dinner I put everything away while mom took a shower and got ready for bed. When she was done in the bathroom I jumped in for a shower. As I finished up I almost tripped over Frank as he was waiting right outside the bathroom door. I said a quick goodnight to mom and went off to my room to sleep, Frank opting to join me. Just as I settled into bed I got a text from Cassie, hope you had a good day settling in at home, I know you are going to great tomorrow<3. It put a smile on my face and I sent a quick reply saying I was going to bed now and I'll message in the morning.