Chapter 12
Wade
(FORMERLY SAMMY THE MALAMUTE)
“Erika! What are you doing here?” I’m stunned but not so stunned that I don’t recover enough to say, “Get in here, girl. It’s freezing outside.”
I reach out and take Erika by the hand, not even considering whether she wants me to touch her or not. I mean, she’s here, right?
Once I have her inside and out of the biting wind, door closed and locked behind her, she stomps her cowboy boots on the mat.
Erika smiles. “Why do you look like Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation?”
I glance down at my robe and bare feet. “I was in the hot tub.”
If I was still smoking I would assume this was a cannabis mirage. That I had conjured Erika up during a dehydrating hot tub session. But I don’t smoke anymore.
Maybe Mr. Armstrong’s hot tub is a time machine?
Maybe this is future Erika?
Though she’s still holding my hand and seems pretty happy to see me so maybe this is past Erika.
“Ah,” she says. Her brow furrows and her shoulders tense. “Are you alone?” She glances behind me like she expects a hot girl in a bikini to appear.
As if. Fuck hot girls in bikinis. Well, not literally. The only hot girl I want to fuck is standing right in front of me wearing jeans and a red sweater.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m alone. Yes. Totally alone. Well, aside from the guy who lives next door who was talking to me.” My palms are damp. I sound like I’m protesting too much, which I’m not.
I’m just nervous.
Erika looks like…an angel. There’s pink in her cheeks, snow flakes in her hair, and she’s standing next to Nathan’s family of Christmas trees, which is casting a warm glow over her already radiant presence.
It makes my mouth dry and my heart ache.
“Do you want to take your coat off?” I ask. “Do you want a drink or anything?”
Do you want to move to St. Louis with me and live happily-ever-after?
“I could use a drink.” Then she shakes her head. “Not alcohol or anything. Water is good.” As she shrugs out of her denim jacket she looks around the house. “Wow. Fancy. I bet they have sparkling water. I’ll take that.”
“Great. Awesome. Coming right up.”
God, that sounded stupid. I resist the urge to smack myself on the forehead. Taking Erika’s jacket, I hang it up in the closet.
“How was your…flight?” I ask, searching for an answer or explanation as to why she is here.
Did she fly, take a bus, drive? Was she already in Chicago for like weeks and weeks and I just didn’t know it?
Is she en route to Europe or a Canadian ski resort or maybe she’s moving to Alaska and she’s here to tell me goodbye forever?
“It was on time,” Erika says, sounding amused. “Otherwise, it was winging through the air in a tin can with free pretzels.”
So she flew up here. Recently.
“Excellent. Sounds delightful.”
I hate the way I sound. Awkward and polite.
Erika sounds normal. I need to be normal.
So without thinking anymore about it, I blurt out what’s in my heart, “I’ve missed you.”
“What?” Erika looks surprised.
“I miss you.” I grab her hands. “I’ve missed you so damn much. It’s been thirty-nine days since we saw each other in New Orleans.”
It had been a trip we’d planned together during my fall break. A quick weekend getaway to solidify our relationship.
We’d spent two days exploring the city and having amazing incredible sex for hours both nights.
Then she’d broken up with me and left me crying in the airport.
I’d been working up the nerve to tell her I was in love with her and instead she’d told me that it was over.
Standing by a sandwich kiosk staring at a breakfast sandwich and damn near sobbing.
An elderly woman had told me not to cry—that sandwich vending machines have come a long way.
But now Erika is in Nathan Armstrong’s living room and she says the words I’ve dreamed of for the past thirty-nine days.
“I’ve missed you too. I’m sorry I broke up with you in the airport.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered where it was. I didn’t want to just end things. I thought we could come up with a solution.”
“We talked about it over and over. You don’t want to move. I don’t want to move. What are we supposed to do?”
Erika has her hands in her back pockets and she is staring at me earnestly.
I do the only thing that makes any fucking sense. Putting my arms around her, I say, “I’ll move. I love you, Dragon Lady. More than anything in the world.”
Tears appear in her eyes. “You would move to Dallas to be with me?”
Having experienced living apart from her for the past two years and now being tormented for the last thirty-nine days thinking I had lost her for good, leaving the familiar stomping grounds of Chicago doesn’t seem important any more.
What’s important is the woman I love.
And she’s a Dallas Dragon.
“Life is going to pass us by so fast. I don’t want to waste anymore time being without you. So yes, I will happily and without any reservation move to Dallas to be with you. Though I will not switch my hockey allegiance. Racketeers forever, just so you know. Some shit is sacred.”
Now she’s really crying. “I’m pregnant,” she blurts out.
My mind goes blank. Like, nothing there, man. Just every thought I’d been having dumps out of my brain and onto the hardwood floor.
“What?” I ask. “What do you mean?”
It’s a stupid question.
But is she saying…
“I’m pregnant. We’re having a baby, Wade.”
In my most profound statement ever, I say, “Whoa. That’s crazy.”
Her face falls a little. “That’s it?”
“Give my brain a second to catch up.” I stare deep into her delectable green eyes and say…
“I love you with all my fucking heart and in the immortal words of the Queen of Christmas, all I want for Christmas is you and our baby. You couldn’t give me any better gift.”
“Really? You’re happy? Because I wasn’t sure…”
I’m actually kind of…thrilled. “Are you kidding? I love kids. And this is fate, babe. Just total fate.”
“Good. Because I’m actually happy too.”
“You’re going to be the mother of dragons,” I murmur, in awe at the entire concept.
Erika gives a watery laugh. “You’re an idiot. My idiot.”
I kiss her because there’s nothing else to say.
And it’s the only thing I want to do.
We’re chilling on the massive couch after spending two hours mostly naked and totally in love.
I’ve never been so happy in my whole entire life. “This is the best Christmas ever, babe,” I tell Erika.
“This setting is just so perfect,” she says, snuggling into my arms.
We’re watching Home Alone on the giant TV in joggers and sweatshirts, cuddled under a blanket together. We just finished breakfast and it’s Christmas Eve. Nathan and the rest of the fam will be home soon so this is our last little bit of time together.
“All these trees,” she says. “Six of them.”
Oh, wait. I finally get the tree symbolism. “Six trees,” I say. “One for each member of their family. Now that’s cool.”
“By next Christmas we can have a mini tree for our little mini.”
Holy shit. “That’s an awesome idea.” I kiss the top of her head. She smells like cinnamon.
“I don’t want you to move to Dallas, Wade. I want to move here, to Chicago. I’ve already graduated and you’re still in school. Plus, you have your job with the Racketeers and I’m going to have to resign as the Dallas Dragon. I can’t be a pregnant mascot. It’s not a good look.”
“Not unless your mascot marries another mascot.” I squeeze her closer to me. “Are you sure? I’m cool with moving to Texas if that’s what you want.”
“I’m sure.”
The front door suddenly swings open and a pile of people seem to tumble in.
Immediately, I see Isabel. She runs straight toward the couch, hauls herself up with a strength that amazes me considering her height and the height of this massive couch, and exclaims, “Wade!”
Then she spider crawls across the couch with so much speed she’s like the chick in the Exorcist and jumps square on my gut.
“Hey, Is! Merry Christmas Eve!”
Dr. Hughes’s parents are in the doorway. Michael’s mother is holding Oliver, who is barely visible in a snowsuit. There’s just two eyes and a slap of pink on each cheek sticking out.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, it’s nice to see you. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Wade. Sorry for barging in,” Mr. Hughes says. “Didn’t realize you were still here.”
“I wasn’t sure what time you were getting in.” I’m tossing Isabel in the air as I scramble to get down off the couch. “This is my girlfriend, Erika.”
She waves and smiles. “Hi.”
“Erika, these are Michael’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes.”
“Call us Lorraine and Clayton,” Michael’s mom says. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Erika. We’re very fond of Wade.”
Damn. I almost blush. The Hughes’ are good people.
“We can be out of here in ten minutes,” I tell them. “And here, let me help you.”
They’re loaded down with luggage and giant shopping bags overloaded with gifts.
“Thank you. And nonsense about rushing off. Do you have plans for lunch? We have a whole slew of people coming over. We’d love to have you join us.”
I look at Erika. She gives me a small shrug and a smile.
“We’d love to.” I’m not supposed to meet up with my own family until six so we have plenty of time. “Thank you.”
I’m grabbing bags and trays of food while Erika takes Oliver and peels his hood down off of his face.
Kevin screams and runs around the house on the TV and that’s kind of how I feel.
My phone buzzes.
It’s Mr. Armstrong.
Hope you're getting your balls jingled. Merry Christmas, Wade.
That makes me laugh out loud.
A lot has changed in three years.
All of it good.