29. Kai
KAI
My typical Tuesday routine is thrown off by a text from Wren.
Wrenley Mae: Are you busy? Can I call?
Wrenley Mae: Need a favor. Call me when you can.
As soon as I walk out of the doors, I dial her number. She answers on the second ring.
“Hey! Sorry for being vague, but I figured a phone call would be better.”
I adjust the strap of my bag on my shoulder, heading toward the parking lot. “No worries, what’s up?”
“So, I have a doctor’s appointment today, and my mom was supposed to be off, but she picked up a shift, and now I don’t have anyone to watch the twins after school.
We really can’t afford another day of their childcare this month, so I was hoping you could…
maybe watch them? It shouldn’t take me long, like an hour or so, but yeah. ”
Before I even have time to respond, she continues. “And if you have practice at that time, I totally get it, but I thought Tuesdays were a different schedule when we had a Thursday game, so I just—”
“Freckles, take a breath,” I tell her. “I can watch them. We have weights at two, but I can go early and dip out, no big deal.”
She sighs in relief that I can feel even through the phone. “You’re literally the best. I would’ve asked Harlow, but she’s taking a big test tomorrow morning, and I know she needs to study.”
“Yeah, no problem.” I make it to my car, tossing my bag inside before getting in. “What time do you need to leave?”
“It’s only ten minutes away, so I need to leave around three.”
I nod, even though she can’t see me. “Okay, do you want me to pick up the twins or just meet you at your house?”
“Well, you’d need their boosters for pickup.”
“True, I have a break now, though. You on campus? I can come grab the seats.”
“Almost. I just need to grab a couple things, and I am headed that way. I just have to turn in my time sheet to Donnelly, and then I just have a lecture today.”
“Let me know when you’re here, and I’ll come meet you. I gotta run by my place and change, but it won’t take long.”
I hear her rustling around, then I hear the beep of her car unlocking. “Sounds good, I’ll text you.”
“See you soon, love.”
At 2:30 that afternoon, I’m sitting in a car rider line, waiting for two little girls that will either be thrilled or pissed to see me.
Wren made sure to call the office and let them know I’d be picking them up today, and Justin will also be riding home with us and should be walking over here right about now.
I drum my fingers on my steering wheel, thinking about how life would look in the future if things between Wren and me worked out this time.
Would I be the one in line picking up our kids someday? Would I ever get the chance to? Maybe during the offseason, but a lot of the stress and responsibility would land on Wren, which I know she could handle, but only if she wanted to.
I’ve always dreamed about having a family of my own, kids running around the house when I came home from the rink, playing with them and loving them, just like I loved their mom.
The future I’ve planned for myself has never leaned one way or another when it came to having kids, boys or girls; I never cared. I never attached one or the other to my dreams, but the one thing that always stayed certain was that I’d come home to her.
To Wren.
Any future I’ve ever dreamed up for myself, she was always the center of it.
A tap on my passenger door snaps me back to reality.
Justin waits outside, waving at me. I unlock the door, and he climbs in.
“Hey, man,” I say as he puts his bag at his feet. “How was school today?”
“Good, well, as good as it can be,” he says, and I get the feeling that he still doesn’t really love school.
“That’s good. How’s baseball going?”
“Way better than school.”
I chuckle. “Fair.”
“The twins are going to freak when they see you. They’ve been talking about you nonstop since you’ve been around again.”
He didn’t mean for his words to hit the way they do, but guilt pricks at me nonetheless. “Is that right?”
Justin nods. “Oh yeah. I think it drives Wren crazy that they seem to like you more than her.”
“Wren’s amazing. You’re all crazy lucky to have her.”
“Definitely,” he agrees. “But still. They missed you a lot. We all did.”
I look at him then, and he’s genuine. I clear my throat, shoving down the emotion threatening to block it. “What time do they come out?”
“Uh…” He checks his phone. “They should unlock the doors in about two minutes. They’ll stand with their teacher until they see us, then they’ll just come to the car.”
I nod. “Perfect.”
A couple minutes later, the doors open, and the first people out the door are two little girls pulling their teacher by her hands.
I grin. “I think they might be excited.”
Justin rolls his eyes, opening his door to hop out. “Told you.”
Squeals and chaos take over as the twins hop into the backseat of my car, sitting in their boosters and buckling while Justin gets back into his seat.
“Hockey Kai! You’re driving us to our home!” Daisy squeals.
I smile at her in my rearview, making sure they’re both buckled before making my way through the parking lot. “I am.”
“Can we get milkshakes?” she asks. Justin shakes his head, hiding his smile by looking out his window.
“Would Wren say yes?”
Lily cuts in before Daisy can answer. “That would be a no.”
Daisy glares. “You are no fun.”
Lily shrugs. I shake my head and pull out onto the road.
“How was school today?”
“It was artist day, so we all got to be artists,” Daisy says, clapping her hands together. “It was so much fun.”
“Everyone got paint everywhere. It’s going to take them forever to clean it up,” Lily tells me, a lot less enthused than her sister.
“Was it fun at least?” I ask her.
“Yeah, it was fun.”
“Kai!” Daisy basically yells. “Can we listen to Justin Bieber?”
Justin groans, and I shake my head.
Just like their sister.
An hour and a half doesn’t seem like a long time until you’re asked about snacks every two seconds, can’t find Mr. Buttons, and end up distracting them by letting them paint your nails.
Sadly for me, they couldn’t agree on a color, so my nails are currently pink, orange, red, and green. Quite the color combo, if I do say so myself.
After what feels like a short eternity, I hear the front door open, and the twins rush to greet Wren as she walks in, pretending to be sugar gliders and jumping onto her.
“Oof.” Wren stumbles back slightly, but a smile is on her face. “Did you really miss me that much?”
“No, not really. We painted Kai’s fingernails and did a spa,” Lily tells her, dragging her toward me.
“He didn’t get us milkshakes because he asked what you would do,” Daisy chimes in.
Lily crosses her arms, looking at her twin as she speaks. “And I told him that you would say no, so no.”
Daisy rolls her eyes. “You are no fun either.”
Wren laughs. “How was school? Did you get more worksheets today? We need to do those before dinner.”
I look toward the twins, raising a brow. “Hmm. That’s weird. I think I asked about those, and you said you didn’t have any.”
Both girls hide behind their hands, giggling. Wren gives me a sympathetic look before her eyes snag on my nails. She brings her hand up to cover her laugh, but it’s no use.
“Didn’t know you were so adventurous when it came to nail styles,” she teases.
I stand up, wrapping my arms around her and giving her a quick peck on her lips. “And I didn’t know these two were so artistic.”
Wren looks back at her sisters, who are now making gagging sounds. “Go wash your hands, then get the worksheets out. I want them done before we have dinner, because then you two both need to shower and get to bed.”
Lily heads for the stairs without complaining, but Daisy sighs dramatically, claiming her legs are too tired.
I shake my head, laughing to myself as Wren walks over and gets her going up the stairs.
Once the girls are sitting back at the table working on their worksheets, I pull Wren to the living room, sitting on the couch before pulling her down with me.
“How’d the appointment go? Is everything okay?” I ask, rubbing my hand up and down her back.
She sighs. “Yeah, it went okay. I didn’t really learn anything, but they ordered some blood work and an ultrasound that I have to do soon.”
I study her for a moment, not wanting to push, but also worried. “You don’t have to tell me, but what was the appointment for?”
Her eyes widen at that, as if realizing she never mentioned it before this morning.
“Oh, right. I was a little frantic this morning and forgot to explain.” She repositions herself so that she’s fully facing me before continuing, and I settle further back into the couch, trying to relax.
“You know how I’d get those really awful periods in high school?
Well, they never got better. If anything, they’ve gotten worse.
Not only do they last forever or surprise me out of the blue, they also come with a lot of really, really awful cramps. ”
I nod in understanding. “Like the day we thought you were sick at practice.”
“Exactly like that, but some days I can barely get out of bed. They’re so bad they make me nauseous at times,” she continues.
“I saw a doctor in London and was supposed to follow up once I got back home, but I’ve been too overwhelmed to make the time.
That last one was pretty awful, though, so I decided it was time to make that more of a priority. ”
I want to tell her I’ll go to every appointment if she wants me to. I’ll research every specialist. I’ll pay whatever she needs, drive wherever she needs, fight whoever doesn’t listen to her, but instead, I give her what I can at this moment without feeling overbearing.
“I’m proud of you.” Taking her hands in mine, I start making small circles on the back of her palms. “You need to make time to take care of yourself, so any time I can help, you let me know, okay?”
“Okay,” she says, leaning forward and kissing me quickly. “Are you staying for dinner?”