Chapter 33 JP - THANKSGIVING GREETINGS & GROCERIES
“You ready?” I asked from the shotgun seat of my truck. I wanted to drive this morning, but Ali refused to get in the truck unless she was behind the wheel. Turns out, that was a good decision because I would’ve had to drive one-handed through the last couple hours of snowfall.
Ali’s knuckles turned white on the wheel as she carefully turned into her parent’s subdivision, which was already a little icy.
Ali grew up in the part of town with nice houses that were built close to each other on little postage-stamp sized lawns, making the whole sub look a little cookie-cutter.
My dad’s log cabin on the older side of town had five-acres that backed up to Herb’s and the Christmas tree farm.
Ali’s eyes flashed to mine for a brief second. “Gonna have to be, right?”
“It’ll be okay. And if it isn’t, we’ll ditch out and go to my dad’s. Sound good?”
Her face softened. “You think Hank will recognize me?” she asked about my old beagle.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I do. He always liked you better than me.”
“That’s not true,” she said with a small smile.
“Ha, yeah, right. I turned into chopped liver when you were around,” I said, making her full-on grin.
When Ali pulled into her parent’s driveway, I stared at the large ranch-style home for a second because it was almost unrecognizable.
At some point in the last decade since I’d been here, they’d painted the dark brick white and they put a darker stain on the wood accents, giving it a more modern look.
But it was nice to see that her parents still decorated with the same Christmas wreath and lights every year.
“Annie’s already here,” Ali said, pointing to the Range Rover parked beside us. While ice dancing didn’t bring in much money, Anastasia was apparently making a decent living off of social media and coaching.
“Ready?” I asked.
Ali shivered, despite the heat still being on in my truck. “How are you so calm?”
I smirked. “We’ve done much harder things than this.” I licked my lips and stared at the front door. “Think about it this way, what if I told you that if you didn’t get out of this truck, you’d have to compete a long program today?”
“Yeah, absolutely not,” she said with a snort.
I grinned. “See, this is nothing in comparison.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to keep that little trick in mind when it comes time to actually birth these babies,” she mumbled.
I cringed in sympathy, making her laugh while she popped open the truck door and jumped down.
As soon as Ali started up the pathway, the front door flew open, revealing Ali’s doppelganger—except with deep red lipstick and long blonde hair with curls in it.
Ali and Anastasia were technically identical, but after growing up with them at Centre Ice, their subtle differences were obvious to me. Ali had a birthmark above the corner of her smile, and Anastasia was slightly taller and her face was slightly thinner.
In terms of their personality, they were total opposites, but they complimented each other.
Anastasia unapologetically advocated for herself while Ali was a bit of a people pleaser.
Anastasia spoke with her hands and craved drama and being the center of attention, while Ali liked to blend in, which was kind of apparent in how they liked to dress.
Today, Anastasia wore tights, heels, a plaid skirt, and tight red top that matched her lipstick, making it look like she was about to go to a fancy dinner party.
Ali and I were both wearing comfy athleisure wear in shades of grey and black.
“I’m so happy you’re home!” Anastasia called out with a bright smile. She immediately pulled Ali in for a hug, then froze like a statue. She grabbed Ali’s arms and pulled back. Her eyes dropped down to Ali’s stomach. “Are you…?” Her eyes widened. “Are you…?”
Ali gave a tiny nod, and I held my breath, hoping for a good reaction so I wouldn’t have to jump in.
Anastasia immediately started jumping up and down and crying. She grabbed Ali into another hug. “This is so exciting. I’m going to be the best Auntie ever.” A second later, she pulled back again and hitched a thumb my way. “Wait, he’s the baby daddy, right?”
“Yeah, JP is the dad,” Ali said with a smile.
Anastasia’s shoulders sagged with relief as she smiled at her sister. “Hi, JP,” she said without even looking at me. She grabbed Ali’s arms and pulled her into the house. “We have so much to catch up on. Did I tell you I dumped Pierre’s ass?” She rolled her eyes.
Ali laughed and looked back at me with a smile, all her stress completely gone. I gave her an encouraging nod.
“And I have to hear all about how this happened.” Anastasia gestured to Ali’s stomach. “Wow.” Her eyes trailed over Ali. “We look so cute pregnant.” She nodded in approval.
“Pregnant?” Ali’s dad’s voice boomed from somewhere inside the house.
Anastasia’s smile turned to a cringe. “Ooh, sorry,” she mouthed to me, looking absolutely not sorry.
“Oh, and Grandma is here by the way,” she told Ali.
“She’ll probably forget all about hounding me for being single now that you came here all knocked up, so thanks for that,” she said before wandering further into the house.
“Knocked up? Did I just hear that?” her dad thundered.
“Oh, fuck,” I whispered under my breath. If her dad was going to punch me, I’d have to let him.
Ali scampered further into the house while I was still struggling to take off my snowy boots with my good hand. “Ali, don’t leave me,” I whisper-shouted.
“I’m cold.” She tried for an apologetic look, but she was totally laughing.
I shook my head at her.
And then her dad stepped right in front of me, blocking her from view.
He was still well-built, probably from years of training hockey players, and he looked almost the same as I remembered, just shorter—probably because I was taller—and he had more hard lines creasing his face and thinner gray hair.
After seeing me, he held the sides of the hallway and dropped his head.
“Coach,” I said, swallowing hard. “I’d shake your hand, but I’m injured.” I said the last part loudly, hoping he’d take pity on me and not swing at my head.
When he picked his head back up, he didn’t look angry. He looked…relieved. “I’ve never been happier to see you.”
It clicked to me then.
He thought he was going to see Mark Rossi standing in his foyer, not me.
“Call me Ivan.” He gave me a bone-rattling pat on my left shoulder, making pain shoot through my whole body.
“Dad!” Ali gasped from behind him. “Don’t hit him, he just had surgery.”
“I didn’t,” he said gruffly before turning back to me. “I didn’t hit you, did I?” he pretty much demanded.
“No sir,” I answered, shaking my head.
“See,” he said to Ali. Turning back to me, he gave me an approving nod. “C’mon, I’ll get you a beer.”
“He can’t have that either,” Ali sing-songed. “He took some meds.”
“Fine, fine, he’ll have a water,” Ivan muttered as he led me into their den.
____________
For the next couple hours, Ali and Annie chatted in the kitchen with their mom, Sofia, and grandma, Marina—both of whom shed some happy tears about the babies—while I sat in the den with her dad watching college hockey.
“Gotta say, I thought you hated me,” I told Ivan.
He smirked with his eyes still glued to the TV. “Nah, I had a feeling about you.”
“A feeling?” Even though he was one of our trainers back at Centre Ice, this was the most words he’d ever spoken to me.
He chuckled to himself. “I knew you liked Alinna.” He briefly glanced at his daughter in the kitchen. “And I knew you had talent. I wanted you to make it. You three boys didn’t need any more cheerleaders. You needed someone to push you.” He shrugged and drank another gulp of his beer.
I smirked to myself as I took another sip of water. If only I could go back and tell my teen self that he didn’t hate me.
“Ivan,” Sofia snapped, “You didn’t get cream of mushroom soup?”
Ivan swore under his breath.
“We need it, Ivan!” she yelled at him.
“We can get it,” Ali volunteered. “Right?” She looked to me for approval.
“Yeah, for sure.” I pushed up to my feet and followed her out to the foyer.
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“Thanks. I feel like we haven’t spent much time together today.
” She gave me a small smile. “Thanks for coming with me. Not, like, to the grocery store,” she added quickly, her cheeks flushing, “but…here.” She worried her bottom lip for a beat.
“Maybe we could stay a little longer? Like, maybe a week?”
“Yeah, no problem.” I gave her an easy smile, and her nerves seemed to dissipate.
“I have a couple weeks until I have to start meeting with the team physical therapist. We can stay as long as you like. I’m glad you’re happy,” I said with a smile.
I had a feeling, or maybe a hope, that we’d be staying longer, so I packed a few extra outfits.
We held hands as we walked into our old local grocery store together, and it felt like all was right in the world. For the first time in a while, I didn’t feel any pressure, just peace.
The store, which I went to about once a week for my entire life until leaving for junior hockey, felt much smaller than I remembered.
“I have a feeling we’re going to need more eggs too,” Ali said as she grabbed a cart. “Want to get the soup and meet me by the eggs?” she asked.
“Sure, I’ll be quick.” I gave her a wink as we parted.
As soon as I turned the corner, a mom with a kid came into sight.
They were right in front of the soup cans I needed, so I slowed my pace to wait for them.
I didn’t feel the slight sting I used to when I spotted a boy with his mom.
Instead, I felt a little hope. I pictured what Ali would look like pushing our babies around in the cart, and a goofy smile came to my face.
“Woah! You’re Lightning McQuaid!” the kid exclaimed.
I laughed. “Yeah, I am. You a hockey guy?”
The boy nodded fiercely.
“Can we get a picture?” the mom asked, her face blushing bright red.