Fire & Ice - Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Right after my win on Sunday night, Cassie had to drive me to the airport for me to catch my flight. I booked my ticket on the redeye flight as it was the cheapest flight I could find this time of year. It was hard to say bye to her again with this time being away from her for two and a half weeks instead of a few days. There were some tears involved not going lie, but I managed to get into the airport without major water works happening.
The flight home wasn't bad, I managed to sleep for some of it, only really waking up when we hit some turbulence right before we landed. As I got out into the terminal, I quickly found mom as she was waiting for me right by the baggage carousel. As badly as I wanted to run into her arms, I held back and just walked quickly over to her with a big smile on my face. We gave each other a good squeeze before she helped me find my checked bag.
The ride home was quiet and we were both pretty tired being up this early. After a stop and Dunkin' we both perked up a bit when we got into the driveway. Mom took my backpack inside while I went for my luggage. I barely made it inside before Frank tried to tackle me. I just put my stuff down and gave him the attention he deserves. When he finally left me alone and returned to his bed I got up off the floor and brought my bag over to my room and sat down on my bed for a minute and looked around.
"Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something if that's okay." Mom said from the doorframe.
"What's on your mind?" I asked and took my coffee from her.
"Uhm, there really isn't any beating around the bush on this one. Alyssa and I have talked about moving in together." Mom said and bit her lip and looked over to me.
"Okay, what are you thinking?" I asked waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"I was thinking that I would sell the house. With that money and the bit I've managed to save from all my extra shifts and the night differential it could be my half of a deposit on either a house or two bedroom apartment. We did talk about wanting something new for the both of us so but we haven't really hammered out what exactly yet. The only thing that is certain is that we want to move in together early next year." Mom said.
"Wow, way to lay it on thick right as I walked in the door basically." I said and took a sip of my lukewarm coffee. I sighed and looked down at the cup already losing my taste for the drink.
"I know, I just had to get it out now because I wanted to give you these whole two weeks to think about it. I'm not moving without you McKenna." Mom said.
I looked over at mom before moving over on my bed to sit next to her. Before she could say anything, I leaned my head down on her shoulder.
"This place has some pretty bad memories hm." I said quietly as I felt my eyes water.
Mom wasn't wrong. For most of my life, this house never felt like home. I stayed out all the time to avoid coming home to because of my father. This house never felt like a safe place to be. Travis' house felt more like a home then my own. I think this move is a great idea. Mom can restart with Alyssa and maybe I'll finally have a place that feels like home with the both of them.
"Like I said you don't have to say anything about it now, I just wanted you to think about it if you have any ideas of places you would like to move to or thoughts about it in general." Mom said and cleared her throat.
"I will let you know if I do. Now go call that hot doctor of yours and leave me to unpacking. I want to see her soon." I said and pushed off of my mom.
Mom chuckled and pulled me in for a hug before she left my room, it didn't take long before I heard her talking to Alyssa on the phone. I smiled and started to unpack the bag. It didn't take long and when I was done, I sent Cassie a text letting her know I made it home all right and about how mom wants to move. We got to talk for a little before she had to go help her mom with something which prompted me to get up from the bed and walk into the living room.
"So, when is she coming over?" I asked mom as I sat down next to her on the couch.
"Alyssa is going to sleep over tonight as she is working right now and will be with us all day tomorrow. We can go get our tree." Mom said and started to flip through the channels on the tv.
"Sounds like a plan." I answered and settled down next to her to watch Elf.
Mom and I spent most of the day on the couch watching different Christmas movies. It was nice to just relax with her for a bit. When it got later, we decided to go out to dinner to our favorite Italian spot. The food made me super happy to be home and mom and I had a nice night out together. After we finished eating mom took a meal home for Alyssa and we left. It didn't take long after we got home for the front door to open again and for Alyssa to walk inside.
Though when she walked inside Alyssa seemed off and in a daze. She dropped her bag hardly onto the floor and it made Frank jump. I held onto him as Mom popped off the couch and walked over to her girlfriend.
"Lyss, you okay?" Mom asked and held her hands out in front of her. I watched as she placed her hand gently on Alyssa's shoulder and watched as Alyssa's eyes found moms.
"Today was just a really bad day." I watched as Alyssa's eyes flooded with tears before mom pulled her into her arms. I don't think I've ever seen someone look so defeated before. I bit my lip to keep from crying myself and carefully held onto Frank as he whined for attention. Slowly I walked him over to my mom and her girlfriend to let him stand with them before closing the front door.
Once it was closed I put my hand on Alyssa's back for a moment. I could feel her muscles sag against my hand and I knew it wouldn't be long before she wants to head to bed. So I found moms eyes and nodded my head away from the tried doctors form. Mom got the hint and slowly let go of her while I carefully wrapped Alyssa's arm around my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her waist.
"Hey Alyssa, I'm going to walk you to bed now, mom is right behind me." I said softly as I put one foot in front of the other. Alyssa looked at me and nodded and let me help her into mom's bedroom. Once she was there Alyssa patted my hand and I took that as I sign and slowly let her go. After I moved out of the way mom took my place next to her girlfriend and I slowly backed out of the room. Just as I was about to shut the door behind me, I saw Frank sitting right outside the door. I nodded inside and he jumped up and went right for Alyssa.
The next morning was a quiet one. I tried not to make much noise as I moved around the house. I was surprised to see Alyssa up first this morning. I gave her a mug for coffee and we just sat in silence for a while as she drank it and I flipped through the paper.
"Sorry to ruin your first night home." Alyssa said a while later.
"You didn't ruin it. I want you to be here. Mom and I were going to go Christmas tree shopping today and I wanted you to come." I said and gave her a smile.
"I don't want to intrude on your outings McKenna. I know you two don't get to see each other that often right now." Alyssa said with a sigh.
"You did hear that I wanted you to come right? I want you to be there with us, because you're a part of our family now." I said and moved my hand across the table to cover hers.
I know Alyssa and I have a lot of work to do in getting to know one another but I want too. My mom is committed to her and after the conversation of her wanting to move in with Alyssa I know that this is the real deal between them. So I want to do everything in my power to make Alyssa feel welcomed with my mom and I.
"That means a lot to me McKenna, thank you." Alyssa said and gave me a smile. Before I could answer I heard the door to my mom's room open and it didn't take long to see her walk up behind Alyssa and wrap her arms around her neck. Mom didn't say anything as she leaned down and kissed the crown of her head.
"How are my two favorite girls doing this morning?" She asked not letting go of Alyssa just yet.
"Good, told Alyssa about going shopping for the Christmas tree today." I said and sipped my coffee.
"Look at you. Did you two eat or was it just coffee?" Mom asked.
"Just coffee, how about we go out for something before?" Alyssa asked.
"I like the way you think." Mom said and kissed Alyssa's head again before disentangling from her girlfriend to walk back to her room.
We both followed her lead and got up to get dressed for the day. I went with something warm as it is cold out today. After I was done I took Frank for a walk while I waited for mom and Alyssa to finish getting ready. They didn't take long and when I came back with Frank, they were both ready to go. We piled into Alyssa's truck and off we went. Breakfast was just a quick trip to Dunkin for some more coffee and some donuts. Afterwards, mom gave Alyssa directions to the Christmas Tree stand while I enjoyed the view from the back seat. The thick city landscape started to change into one of more trees and I smiled.
It took us about an hour to get there once we got through the traffic. Just like years past, there weren't many trees left to pick from. Most of the perfect trees were long gone by now. The only things really left with two weeks till Christmas are the misshapen ones, the tiny trees and the trees over 8 feet. But mom and I already knew our plan. We walked up and down the rows together looking the few nice trees that were left. Alyssa kept picking out nice trees but mom and I kept saying no to them. Mom never told her about what we were looking for so we just kept going up and down the rows until we both stopped in front of a tree.
"This one?" Alyssa asked as she took in the tree that was no taller than four feet high and didn't have a lot of branches filling it out.
"One year when McKenna was in middle school PJ drank away the money I saved away to get a Christmas tree. By the time I found out he stole the money from me I was able to only come up with $75. I came to the tree farm myself and asked the farmer what I could get with that. He came back with this tiny little tree that was still kind of full. When I brought it home McKenna was so happy just to have that tiny little tree it kind of stuck after that." Mom said as I started to cut down the tree.
"It was a bad holiday season. PJ was drunk for most of it as he got put on desk duty at work for a complaint that was filed against him for using excessive force on the job. He took out his frustration on us at home." Mom said.
"I was just happy to have the tree, it didn't matter if there was anything under it. Since then it has become tradition to come back to this tree farm and find a tree that nobody wanted and bring it home." I said and made the final cut and watched as the tree flopped over onto the ground.
"Did we know each other then?" Alyssa asked.
"We met just after that. It was right after New Year's. You caught me in the on-call room patching up my arm." Mom said and took the axe from my hand.
Alyssa didn't say anything but pulled mom into a kiss and I promptly turned around to not watch them. When I got the tree loaded on the sled, I turn around and found them still going at it.
"Alright love birds, child is present." I said loud enough to pull them apart from each other.
Both women pulled away from each other and helped me pull the tree back towards the front of the tree lot. Once there Alyssa actually paid for the tree and together we got it into the bed of her truck. As we got back into the truck and started to warm up mom and Alyssa started to make plans for the rest of the day. They wanted to go out Christmas shopping while I was perfectly content with just going back home to relax.
The drive back to the house didn't take long and with their help I got the tree inside without any major damage to it. After we got it secured in the stand they were off and I took up residence on the couch. For most of the day I just lounged around and it wasn't until the afternoon I got up to get. Travis sent me a text to come over so I grabbed a few things before locking the door behind me and walking down the street. I didn't bother knocking and just walked in the front door.
Dawn came around the corner so fast it made me jump as I wasn't expecting it. When she saw it was me she pulled me right into a hug and it was really nice to see her. Travis came down to save me from his mom and pulled me into his room. That is where I spent the night. It was actually where I spent most of my time home. Travis and I got to catch up for the first time in a while and it was so nice to see him and have this time together. We got to play street hockey again and went to the rink a lot to keep our conditioning up.
Travis told me about how the band is getting some real traffic on their social media. They have gained a few thousand followers over the last three months of having show's and he is getting really excited about it. I have a feeling this band might be the one that takes him away from hockey. They are right on the edge of something really great.
When I wasn't with Travis or at the rink, I was at home with mom and Alyssa. Alyssa has come over often since I came home. She is really putting in the effort in getting to know me and I have appreciated it. As it got closer to Christmas, Alyssa dropped the bombshell that she actually sold her one-bedroom apartment and is going to be moving into the house with mom until they find a place together. It was a surprise to me but it looks like mom knew it was happening.
A few days before Christmas Alyssa, mom and I went out with a real estate agent to look at a few properties we earmarked together. Two were two-bedroom apartments while another two were houses. After looking through the first apartment we decided pretty quickly that we wanted a house. So we skipped the other apartment and looked at the houses. The first house was bigger than we needed. Four bedrooms, three baths, large yard, it was just too big. The second house was a bit better. A three-bedroom house one bath and a small yard. It was better than the first but wasn't right for us so we passed on it and mom is having the real estate agent narrow down the search. With the new search details given it wouldn't be long before he would be back with more places to look at.
Before I knew it, Christmas was here. Both mom and Alyssa have the day off after both working long shifts Christmas Eve. I was happy to have them both home for Christmas. We didn't go big with gifts which isn't something new. At first I told mom not to get me anything. I didn't want anything. The only thing I wanted was to have Cassie here with me which is something that she can't get me. But still, there were a few wrapped boxes under the Christmas tree Christmas morning.
While I let mom and Alyssa sleep in, I made us all a big breakfast. I started with pancakes and then some bacon and eggs. When I was finishing the eggs was when both Alyssa and mom slowly made their way down the hall.
"Merry Christmas!" I said and handed them both a cup of coffee.
"How long have you been up for?" Mom asked and took a plate as she sat down at the table. I turned off the last burner and put the dirty pan into the sink before joining the pair at the table.
"For like an hour but just sit and eat and then we can open the presents." I said and took my own plate.
We all dug into the food I made and I even snuck Frank a few pieces of bacon. Mom didn't like it though and she kept hitting my hand to get me to stop. After we were done, we put all the dishes in the dishwasher and gathered in front of the tree.
"Can I go first?" I asked took my normal seat on the floor with Frank sitting just next to me.
"No, I go first, don't you know that?" Mom said and pushed the two boxes towards me. I sighed and opened them up. The first box contained a few new Henley's in different colors and it put a smile on my face. I needed new ones so badly, the ones I have now are so stretched out and have holes in them. The next box is a pair of brand-new snow boots. Something I have been wanting to get myself for a while now as it has been snowing basically every day since I got back from thanksgiving break.
"How did you know I needed them?" I asked and walked around the living room in the new boots.
"You were on the phone with me and complained about having to walk from the hockey house back to you dorm. I think your words were 'fuck I just stepped into another snow mound and now my feet are frozen.' So I hope these will keep your feet dry and warm." Mom said as I walked to my room to get her present and Alyssa's.
"They definitely will, thanks mom." I said and gave her a kiss on the head before sitting down on the floor again. "Okay my turn! Alyssa this is for you." I said and handed her the bigger box.
"I thought we weren't doing gifts?" Alyssa said and looked at my mom.
"Don't look at me, she didn't tell me that she was getting you anything." Mom said. Which is true. I didn't tell mom I got something for Alyssa.
"Just open it please." I asked and gave her a smile. Alyssa just nodded and ripped the paper off the box. When she saw the ice skates, Alyssa gave me a look like she didn't know what to do with them.
"Playing hockey means a lot to me. When I'm home, mom and I skate usually once a week together. Knowing how serious you and mom are, I wanted to get your own pair so you can join us. I know you said earlier when I came home that you didn't want to intrude on our time together but I want you around. And if you are worried, these skate can also come with a full set of pads and a helmet." I said.
"That means a lot to me to hear you say that McKenna, thank you. And yes, I am 100% going to take you up on that offer for the pads." Alyssa said and pushed the wrapping paper on the floor. I stood up from the floor and pulled her into a hug. When I pulled away I caught mom wiping away a tear. I didn't say anything but pick up the small box from the floor and handed it to her.
I watched her unwrap the box and open the lid. I couldn't see the necklace from where I was sitting but I just watched mom. Her eyes watered over as she pulled the necklace out from the box and hold it up for me to see.
"I know he stole it from you when he was leaving for the last time. Though I couldn't find the original, I had this one made for you." I said sat next to her on the couch.
Mom didn't say anything held the necklace out for me. The shiny 23 in white gold caught the light and made it look extra bright. I took it from her and clasped it around her neck.
"Thank you Mac" Mom said and pulled me into a hug. I wish I could do more for mom to help with the memories of the last time we saw my father in the house. But I know having this necklace again will help heal those times.
"Your welcome." I said and looked down at the floor covered in paper.
"Hey wait, I still have a gift for you McKenna." Alyssa said and held out a card. I took it from her and opened it up. Sitting inside the card are three tickets to the Boston Bruins game that's tomorrow night. I jumped off the couch and looked at Alyssa.
"How did you get these?" I asked and looked at the seats. They are center ice in the top row of the lower bowl.
"I know a guy and he owed me a favor." Alyssa said and tried to hide her smile.
"Thank you thank you thank you!!" I said and almost tackled Alyssa into the couch. I could hear her laughing from underneath me as I finally got up from the couch.
"I gotta go show Travis, he is going to be so jealous we are going!" I said and ran out of the house in my pajamas and down the street to my best friend's house.
I was right, once Travis saw the tickets he was so jealous. He kept trying to take them from me so I had to shove them down my shirt. Dawn separated us and I spent a few minutes with them before going back home. By the time I got home, mom and Alyssa collected most of the garbage from the living room floor and started to bag it up. I helped them finish up and when we were done we all settled onto the couch for a Christmas movie marathon.
It didn't take long into the first movie that I got up and called Cassie. I was very excited to fly back to school in two days because I miss her badly. Sleeping without her next to me is weird. I don't feel complete without her around. She has wholly worked her way into my heart and not having her around feels like I'm missing my right hand. We talked for a little bit and went over my flight details. My flight lands in Wisconsin at 11pm on the 27th. We said bye a little while after that and I returned to the couch.
After we finished the movie we actually turned off the tv and got dressed. The three of us went over to Alyssa's apartment to help her pack the things she wanted to take with her in the move. Right now Alyssa lives in a one-bedroom apartment a few blocks away from the hospital. She already has a storage unit and moved a lot of stuff into it as most of her apartment was bare when we got there. But together mom and I helped Alyssa wrap up some fragile items and boxed them away.
It took us most of the afternoon to get everything boxed up but once we were done and everything was stacked, we left Alyssa's apartment and went home. On the way there we stopped and picked up some Chinese food as none of us wanted to cook anything after all the packing. When we got back to the house we all ate dinner on the couch in front of the TV and watched Home Alone. This had been on the best Christmases I have ever had.