Chapter 11

July 2008 – Seneca Lake, NY

I had come to my parents place for a couple weeks to relax and to just get away from home.  Next week a couple of the guys from the Americans and the Sabres were supposed be to coming out to hang with me, but for now I was by myself and enjoying every minute of it.  I was sitting on the edge of the wooden dock down from my family’s cabin, at Seneca Lake, fishing.  I had 3 trout hanging on a chain and was hoping to get one more before dinner so that I could cook them over the fire.  My hopes were quickly dimmed when a jet ski came within 15 feet of the dock.

“Yo!  I’m trying to fish!” I yelled out, knowing the long, dark haired driver most likely wouldn’t hear me.  I pulled in my line to cast out again when the speed demon headed back to my direction again, but this time at a much slower pace.  She pulled up towards the dock and cut the engine, leaving herself bobble in the water like a fishing bobber.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone fished off the docks around here and I was just heading to my family’s place right next door,” the dark haired minx said to me as I sat there and stared at her with an open mouth.

She was a tanned beauty with long dark brown hair and stunning green eyes.  Her lips were like candy and she had a smile that was probably worth a million bucks.  She was wearing a bright pink bikini top and short khaki shorts.

“Um, hi?  My name is Monica,” she said hesitantly as she waved at me to get my attention in hopes that might stop gawking.

I shook my head and closed my mouth as I proceeded to get up and throw a rope to her so that I could pull her into the dock.  As soon as I had the ski tied off to the dock, I reached out and took her hand to help her up onto the dock with me.

She smiled at me again as she said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I stammered.

“Oh, you do have a voice.  So, do you have a name?” she giggled.

“Shit, yeah.  I’m sorry.  My name is Patrick,” I said, finally getting a grip as she took my hand and shook it.  I don’t think I’ve ever been speechless around a woman and I’m not quite sure why it happened this time.  “Did you say that your family has the house right down from here?”

“Yeah, we bought it this past winter.  My dad’s a lawyer in NYC, so he likes buying properties,” she said with a flirty laugh that had me basically eating out of the palm of her hand.  I think she could have told me that she just released from jail for murder and I still would have been following her around like a puppy dog.  “Are you on your summer break?” she asked sweetly.

“Heh, you could say that,” I said as I turned my attention to casting my reel back into the water.  “I’m a hockey player.”

“See, now I would have taken you for a football player…”

“Um, yeah no.”  I said, shoving away the quote I was so tired of hearing.  I took a deep breath and asked, “So, are you on your summer break?”

She tossed her hair to the other side of her and said, “Yeah.  I am a junior political science major.”

“Oh, I see.”  So she’s a smart chick.

“You here by yourself or is your girlfriend here?” She asked while looking back at the house.

I snorted and shook my head, “No girlfriend and yes, I’m here by myself.”

“So what are you plans for dinner?”

“You?” I blurted out, but quickly asked, “Um, I mean, do you want to have dinner with me?”

Thankfully she just laughed and sat down next to me on the dock as I finished fishing.

If Emma can be in Michigan with her boyfriend, I can definitely be here and pick up a girlfriend, or at least someone I can be with to get my mind off of the woman I might never have.

November 1998

“I don’t understand why I have to be your partner for this stupid ass project!” she cried and stomped as I followed her off the bus.  We were learning about relationships and childcare issues in one of our classes and it was decided that we had to get “married” and have a “baby,” which was this robot doll that felt like it weighed 50 pounds as I ran after Emma.

“Well, it’s your night to have the baby sleep at your house,” I whined as I tried passing the thing to her.

“I don’t want a baby!  Why would I have to learn how to take care of it properly?  Heck, I don’t even want to get married!”

“Ever?” I asked her curiously.

“Yes, ever!” she spat at me.  “You see where marriage got my parents.  Nowhere!”

“But my parents are happily married.  Some marriages just don’t work out…”

“You are just echoing the thoughts of Miss Marcus because you have a crush on her.  I’m surprised you didn’t just walk up and ask her to be your wife,” she said like she was jealous.

“What is that supposed to mean?!” I yelled back at her.

“You have a crush on her!” she cried as she started walking away from me again, still not taking the baby from me.

“I do not!”

“Do too!”

“Ugh! I want a divorce already!  You are a complete pain in the ass!” I screamed at her.

“I’m going to tell you mom that you swore!” she said in her best tattle tail threat.

“I don’t care!  I’ll just tell her that you are truly a pain in the ass…” I half yelled and mumbled as I gave up on going after her and carried the baby back to my house.  I was already prepared to accept the fact that I would be playing a single parent for my project because Emma most definitely was not a girl.

July 2008 – East Lansing, MI

The family reunion was a success of sorts.  I didn’t know what to expect, but what it ended up being was something totally awesome.  First off, Ryan’s whole family was really cool.  There were aunts, uncles, and cousins galore and even though everyone told me their name, they definitely weren’t offended if I didn’t remember it less than 10 minutes later.  Just as I expected from a sports minded family, everyone was really competitive.  I was able to show off my soccer skills in a “friendly” match that ended up becoming quite cut throat.  I was glad my goalie skills were still intact because I ended up making some pretty challenging saves, those including kicks taken by my boyfriend who was quite the talented forward.

By the end of the evening we turned to less strenuous activities to more alcohol oriented games, including beer pong.  I ended up being Drew’s partner because Ryan’s cousin, Tyler had already claimed him for his own.  Drew and I were definitely the masters and ended up not only being the winners, but also completely shit-faced.  Ryan had to put me in front of him on the 4-wheeler because he was afraid I was going to fall off the back if he didn’t.

The rest of my two weeks was highlighted by trips to Lake Lansing to do some speed boating and a little fishing; four-wheeling on off road trails, camping with some friends of Ryan and Drew’s, and lots of family dinners over at the Miller house.  Ryan and I were somehow able to get in a lot of “couple time,” which was much needed because back in Buffalo it seemed that we never had enough time. 

“So do you like it here?” Ryan asked quietly as we sat on his back porch one evening taking in the sounds of the frogs and crickets and watching the fireflies in the trees.

“It’s amazing.  I definitely love it here,” I answered honestly as I leaned back against him.  “I can understand why you want to spend your summers here.”

He took a deep breath of air and I felt his chest vibrate as he murmured, “Mmm.  Definitely.”

“What would you be doing if it wasn’t for hockey?” I asked quietly, not trying to break the ambiance of the evening.

I felt him run his fingers through his hair as he thought of his answer.  “I guess I would have gotten into something with music or maybe even teaching.  God, I don’t know what I’d do without hockey…What would you be if you weren’t allowed to be a firefighter?”

“I wanted to get into exercise physiology and be a trainer or something.  I might have also been able to play soccer professionally.  I was actually offered a try-out for the US Women’s soccer team, but I turned it down.”

“Seriously?!  After the other day, I can understand why they asked you to try out.  You are an amazing goal keeper,” he said as he squeezed me tightly, as if to emphasize his surprise.

I giggled a little remembering Patrick saying that it was his fault I became so good.  “Yeah, Patty thinks he’s the one that made me so good.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Cause he always made me play in goal when he was practicing his slap-shot,” I said, still giggling.

I felt Ryan begin to chuckle at the thought too.  “Interesting.  Does he really think the goal is that small for soccer?”

“Nah, he just likes to take credit for everything.”

“I see…I guess he could take the credit for getting us to together,” Ryan said thoughtfully.

I stopped laughing at this point and just smiled as I turned my head towards him to look into his eyes, “Very true.”

He leaned down and kissed me softly and whispered, “I am now basically in debt to him for the rest of my life.”

“For the rest of your life?” I asked confused before kissing him again.

Once his lips left mine he whispered again, “Yeah, because I want to marry you, Em.”  Before I could say anything his lips were back on mine again with his hand threading through my thick hair, trying to change my mind’s direction.  Of course it semi-worked because he knew that I went into a comatose state when he did these things.  I moaned into his mouth and left him take me over for a moment.  When he pulled back he was smiling like a sly cat.

“Marry me, Em,” He breathed heavily into my ear.  “I love you and I want you to marry me.  I want you to officially move into the house with me and I want you to help make it ours.  Once we are settled, we can plan the wedding.  We won’t rush anything if you don’t want to.”

He was good.  He thwarted any argument I might have by making sure he gave me all the answers before I voiced them.  How could I say no?  I was definitely comfortable with him and I was probably the happiest I had ever been right at this moment.  I looked up into his liquid brown eyes and lost myself in them as I said, “Yes.”

February 2009

“We haven’t seen the last of this blizzard, folks.  This is a very dangerous storm and with the already 4 feet of snow that is lying on a majority of the flat roofs in the city, the extra 2 feet that is expected to night might just be the end of some of them.  Please, be careful if you are out shoveling and take many breaks.  Otherwise, enjoy the snow and snuggle up with a loved one with a warm mug of hot chocolate.  This is Jack Yarnall and this is your Channel 8 weather forecast.  Back to you, Joy.”

“Ugh!”  I said as I smacked myself in the head and turned the TV off.  Tonight’s shift was going to suck ass and most likely I would end up stranded at the work for at least the next 36 hours if not longer.  The last storm that hit, I was ended up basically living there for 72 hours straight.  I was throwing my work sweatshirt over my head as my cell phone began to ring.

“Hello?”

“Emmy!”

“Hey… what’s going on?” I asked as looked around, making sure Ryan was not within ear shot.

“You headed into work?” Patrick asked anxiously.

“Yeah.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m at home yet,” I answered quietly, worried as hell yet my heart leapt when I listened to his familiar voice.

“Oh, is he home?”

“Yeah,” I answered annoyed because sometimes Patrick could be a little dense.  Its hockey season so if Ryan isn’t at the rink with Patrick, then of course he would be home.  “I can’t talk to you right now.”

“I miss you, Emmy.”

“Stop, please,” I choked out, thinking about how guilty I was feeling at the moment.

“Well, call me when you get to work because I want to talk to you.”

“Okay,” I said as I bit my lip.

“I love you.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”