I just undertook the largest single person voyage I've ever undertaken. Sometime early yesterday I got on my motorcycle in Kitchener, Ontario and hopped on Highway 24 all the way to Highway 403. Got off the 403 at the junction with the Queen Elizabeth Way and took the QEW all the way to the Fort Erie-Buffalo border crossing. From there, I got on Interstate 90 and rode it all the way to Erie, Pennsylvania and drove down to Sharon, Pennsylvania where I got on Interstate 80. Interstate 80 joins up with I-95 in Teaneck, New Jersey. Once I get on 1-95 I just headed south until I got to D.C. when I hopped off, weaved my way through the city and crossed over into Virginia.
When I'm home, my bedroom is the loft above the garage. It's a huge room but the reason I got it was because I'm the only one who wanted it. The loft has two rooms with three stairs between them. The room at the top of those three stairs is my bedroom and the room at the bottom is divided between a games room and a bathroom. Right now though, I've got my back flat down on the floor of the garage and I'm inspecting my bike to make sure I didn't do too severe damage to her on that trek yesterday.
"I was told you were back." I hear a very familiar voice say. I slide out from under the bike and see Sasha standing there wearing a tank top and a very nicely cut pair of jean shorts. Suddenly, I'm silently thanking God for the egregious heat of Virginia summers.
"Yeah, Jack always did have a problem keeping his mouth shut." I groan as I get back to my feet. I take the few steps necessary to reach her and I take her in my arms. "Hey, baby."
"Hey." She replies in a tone barely above a whisper. "Long three weeks."
"For me too." I tell her. "Five days in Anaheim pounding my lungs out on the bike, doing reps on the bench, and going through any number of strength, balance and endurance tests; I was interviewed by 25 NHL General Managers and five sports psychiatrists and the whole time all I could think about was you."
"Good to know I wasn't alone." She whispers back. We kiss for a quick second before continuing to gaze into each other's eyes. "We just going to stand here or are you going to invite me up?"
"You girlfriend, you don't need invitation." I tell her and she takes me by the hand and leads me up the stairs. "I've got grease on my hands and some on my face, probably a little in my hair. Any extra-curricular activities you've got planned are going to have to wait for me to wash up." I walk over to the bathroom, peeling off my t-shirt as I walk and tossing it over on the couch in the games room. I step into the bathroom slowly cursing that old dirty white t-shirt when I realize I've got a little grease just below my collarbone. I stand over the sink and slowly wash the grease off my hands and face. A smaller, olive skinned arm appears around from behind me, takes the water and wipes the grease off my chest.
"You missed a spot." She teases me.
"You gonna help me get it out of my hair, too?" I ask.
"If you ask nicely." She teases me again. I take her hands in mine.
"I know we're in that stage where we're really touchy-feely, but we don't have to be all the time." I tell her. "A large part of the reason I'm in love with you has nothing to do with our physical compatibility."
"And you listen to me. I know the person you are very well and that's why I'm in love with you too. But I also spent the better part of high school wanting to be with you. If you think you're going to use chivalry to deny me that pleasure now, you're going to disappoint me, Mister. And you wouldn't want to do that now, would you?" She questions with a raised eyebrow.
"Shower's kind of small." I tell her.
"So am I." She gazes up into my eyes. I squeeze my fist tight. I badly want to peel every piece of clothing off her body with my teeth.
"I'll just be a second; I'm just going to rinse my hair." I kiss her lips lightly. "Why don't you head off to my room and make yourself comfortable? I promise, I'll be out in less than eight minutes." She sighs and walks out of the bathroom. I make sure the water is awful damn cold when I step into the shower. Within a few seconds, I've got all the grease out of my hair and I'm just trying to collect my thoughts. Having her here, being home, this is a whole different comfort level. I guess I'm having re-entry problems. I step out of the shower and stare at myself in the mirror. I keep repeating a mantra to myself "I can't let her think this is just physical, I can't let her think this is just physical." I wrap a towel around my waist and head out of the bathroom. I climb the three steps to my bedroom and push back the curtain that I've used for three years as a door.
She's lying on my bed wearing my favourite red bathrobe. One of her long olive skinned leg sticks out from under the robe and it's bent just so as to make the eyes follow it up to where the robe is closed again. In this instant I realize one thing, she got her hair cut. I probably should have noticed earlier, but I thought she just had it pinned back. "Your hair looks nice." I tell her.
"I was wondering when you were going to say something." She smiles at me.
"I spent eighteen hours on the back of a motorcycle yesterday, maybe the sun was still in my eyes." I joke with her. My resolve breaks when she smiles at me again. I leap on to the bed and pull her into my arms. She giggles a little as my arms wrap themselves around her waist. I start kissing her neck and her fingernails rake up and down my back. She takes a little bit of control when she pushes me on to my back and climbs on top of me. I sit up latch on to the sash of the robe with my teeth and pull. The front of the robe opens up and I start kissing at her belly-button vowing not to stop until I reach her neck. My lips are about at her sternum when I hear a knock on the wall and a face pops through the curtain.
"Whoa!" A male voice shouts and I roll my eyes.
"Damn it, Arleigh." I groan and Sasha climbs off me pulling her robe closed. Arleigh steps back through the curtain. I get off the bed, drop my towel and pull on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. "What do you want?" I demand of my cousin as I step through the curtain.
"Well, Jack called me and said that you got home at like 9:30 last night, so I figured I'd drop by and see you." Arleigh explains with a knowing smile. "Guess I wasn't the only one."
"Yeah, but I prefer her greeting." I reply with a chuckle.
"Jack told me that the two of you had finally…" Arleigh's voice trails off.
"Well, he has a big mouth, but yeah." I nod. "Hear you're graduating tomorrow."
"Yup. And I hear you added a Memorial Cup ring to your trophy collection." Arleigh throws the small talk right back at me.
"It's due in a few days via FedEx." I smile. "I hear that since you and my brother took Bishop O'Connell to a state championship this year, you've decided to diverge. He's headed to Boston College to be a star quarterback and you're off to Annapolis to be a star running back."
"You're brother's got a little more courage than I do, I didn't want to go too far from home." Arleigh explains. "Do her parents know about you two?"
"You know what? I don't know." I tell him. Sasha walks through the curtain after having put her clothes back on. "Honey, have you told your parents about us?"
"Uh……well, see the thing about that is that with exams and studying, graduation and everything, I just kind of…you know…forgot." Her eyes are pleading for me to understand.
"Riiight." I answer. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and kiss the top of her head. "You know that this means we have to go tell your parents right now, right?"
"Do we have to?" She groans as I head back into my bedroom for a second to pull on a pair of jeans. I toss a pair of jeans out to her. "What am I supposed to do with these?"
"How exactly did you think we were getting from McLean to Great Falls, love?" I question as she moves back into my room.
"I figured by car." She tells me as she pulls off her jean shorts. I crack a pretty wide smile at the pink pair of panties she's wearing underneath.
"Nope, I haven't had the chance to take you on the bike yet." I smile at her and she roles her eyes at me. She pulls on my jeans and they fall right to the floor. She crosses her arms and stares at me. I toss her a belt. She pulls the jeans back up and tightens the belt. "I'm gonna get you for this."
"Well, babe, I could always buy you leather pants for the next time, but we might not make it to the bike." I smile at her and kiss her quickly on the lips as I walk by. I don't need to see it but I know she rolled her eyes at that last comment. The two of us walk out of my bedroom and across the loft to the stairs. Arleigh finally realizes that we're actually going to leave now and he tries to catch up with us as we head down into the garage. I toss her a red helmet and a jacket. "I did manage to pick you up a few things on the way home yesterday." She seems to like the jacket but tosses an annoyed look at me when she has to put on the helmet. I slide on my own helmet and jacket before getting on the bike and firing it up. "Hop on." I tell her.
She climbs on the back of the bike and wraps her arms around my mid-section. "How hard should I hold on?" She asks.
"As hard as you can." I tell her. She holds me even tighter and I finally realize there's a whole other part of owning this motorcycle that I just love. I steer us down to the end of the driveway and pull out on to the road. She holds on really tight as we exit McLean and work our way toward Great Falls. About halfway through the trip, her grip on my abs lets up a little. By the time we pull into the driveway at her parents' house, the sudden impact of what I'm about to do has just hit me.
"Alright, what's your plan, smart guy?" Sasha questions me.
"Simple, you're going to go into the house and tell your mom. I'm going to take your dad aside and tell him the truth." I tell her simply.
"Okay, so just one thing though." She cuts in. "My mom knows."
"I thought you said she didn't know." I question her.
"No, I said I didn't tell her. My mom is a Supreme Court Justice after all, she's no investigative slouch." Sasha reminds me. "She just kind of figured it out."
"And she hasn't told your dad?" I keep pushing this.
"Neither she nor I have a death wish." She tells me and kisses the end of the nose. "Good luck, honey." We get off the bike and head up to the house. She opens the door and walks in and I hesitantly follow her. I'm standing there in the entry hall to their house just trying to work on exactly what I'm going to say to Mr. Rabb.
"Hey, Brad!" Mr. Rabb cheers as he walks into the hallway and he shakes my hand. "I heard you've been crossing the continent for the last few weeks."
"Been giving my passport a pretty good workout, sir." I chuckle.
"Sasha also says that your mom and dad bought you a restored Harley for your birthday, mind if I go take a look?" He asks me.
"Not at all, sir." I push open the door and me and Mr. Rabb head out into the driveway. "Enjoying the Senate recess, sir?"
"Your mother and I spent the last five months working on an immigration reform package only to come up against a bipartisan effort to kill the bill." Mr. Rabb informs me as we head down the driveway. "Always good to know that one bipartisan effort gets rejected by another." He walks around the bike in the middle of the driveway. "Your old man has great taste in motorcycles."
"Apparently it was Jack that picked it out." I tell him.
"Still…I had a bike when I was younger." He informs me. "You really gotta watch the speed limits; the cops will make a bee-line for any young guy on a motorcycle who's breaking the speed limit even a little."
"Good to know." I plaster on a smile. "Mr. Rabb, there's something I think I gotta tell you."
"Am I gonna like it?" He asks.
"That really depends on your perspective, sir." I answer. "I think it's a good thing. See, sir, your daughter and I have kind of started dating." He looks like he wants to say something but I figure that it's better for the moment if I just keep talking. "Now, before you say anything just yet, I figured I should clear up a few things. I am completely in love with your daughter, I know that sounds cliché but it's true. My intentions are good, I'd like to assure you of that even though I'm not sure exactly how I can. I'm well aware how tough it is to find a woman like her."
Mr. Rabb stands there, his arms crossed across his chest, he's just glaring at me and nodding his head. "Are you done?"
"I think so." I nod nervously.
"Well, I know you to be a nice kid, I know you have a direction in your life and that you're capable of working really hard for something if you want it badly enough. Most importantly, I can see it on my little girl's face whenever she's around you that she's happy with you." He walks over and gives me a pat on the shoulder. "What matters most to me in all this is her happiness and as long as that is what matters most to you, I don't think you and I will have any problems."
I breathe a sigh of relief. "Sir, I just want you to know that if my and Sasha's dating should ever evolve to a certain other level on the relationship scale, I will absolutely come to you for your permission first."
"Okay, but for both our sake's let's just hope that's like six or seven years down the road, alright?" The two of us walk back up to their house. "So, are you going to make it to the graduation tomorrow?"
"Yes, sir." I nod. "Though, I'm not looking forward to wearing a tie, it seems like I've only been wearing suits lately."
Sasha's staying at her house tonight before graduation and I'm heading back home, likely to take care of the bike a little more or maybe shoot some pool with Harry up in the loft. When I get back to the house, I see Jack, Tim and Arleigh standing in the driveway with the Roberts boys A.J. and Jimmy. We're all interesting physical contrasts. Dad tends to refer to Jack, Arleigh and I as "the skyscrapers" I'm the shortest one in the group; Jack and Arleigh are both a little over six-foot-four. Tim's known as "the short Ross" because at just under five-foot-eleven, he's dwarfed by the rest of us.
The Roberts boys are the real interesting contrast. A.J. Roberts just looks like he stepped out of Top Gun. He's a tall, lanky and blonde, all of which we know he got from his mom's side of the family. A.J. was a star Safety with Annapolis football before graduating and now he's an F-22 pilot at Pax River. Jimmy's the opposite, he's shorter, stouter and dark-haired. But he's smarter than a whip and all Roberts, there's no mistaking it from the moment you meet him.
"Hey Brad, we've been challenged to a game of three on three." Jack cheers as I pull the bike into the garage and close the door. I toss my jacket off. "You, me and Timmy against the rest of them." Jack sends the basketball my way. We've got a basketball net above the garage door. I chuckle and toss the ball back over to him. "I'd hate to embarrass Ensign Roberts on his first leave."
"Bring it on, Ross." A.J. takes the ball from Jack and checks it to me at the top of the key.
"Alright, just let me test something out first." I take the ball, eye the net and line up a shot. I move back a step to the arc and hang a three pointer toward the basket. It careens in off the backboard and I smile. "I'm ready. Take it out above the arc." I tell him and we trade positions. The game starts up by A.J. firing a pass over to his little brother. Jimmy works into the paint down low with Tim guarding him. Jimmy tries to bounce a pass into Arleigh under the basket but Jack takes it and heads out to the arc to change the possession.
Jack lobs a quick pass over to Tim. Now, my little brother's a solid athlete but his strength has always been playing shooting guard in a basketball game. It's just a pity he never tried out for a team. He looks me right in the eye and nods. He sends a great three point shot up toward the basket. I go running for it but I've got to make sure I time the play just right. The ball bounces off the backboard and smacks against my palm. Even though Arleigh's trying to get between me and the basket I slam the ball through the hoop with authority. Both Arleigh and I come down hard on our feet on the pavement.
"Damn, I forgot you were good at this too." Arleigh groans.
"Natural athlete, my friend." I smugly tell him as I check the ball to him. He sends the ball to Arleigh who's moving hard through the key Arleigh pulls a lay-up and sinks the basket.
"Me too, Ross." A.J. taunts me as he checks the ball back to me at the top of the arc. I smile at him, lean back and hang another three pointer on the basket. This time it swishes through the mesh without ever touching the backboard. The ball falls through to the pavement and a resigned A.J. Roberts takes the ball and hands it to me as we switch positions again.
"We're gonna be at this all day." I tell him as I check the ball to him. He sends a pass over to Arleigh. Arleigh moves into the paint before sending a no-look pass up to Jimmy at the top of the key. Jimmy fires up a shot that Jack bats away from the basket and it lands on the pavement. For the next hour or so, the six of us sweat our way around the basketball court trying furiously to be the first team to twenty-one. We're up 20-17 and A.J. checks the ball to Jack at the top of the key. Jack moves the puck over to Tim at the far right side of the arc before heading into the paint under the post. I cycle out to the free throw line Tim moves in toward the key before tossing a no-look pass out over to me. I dribble for a few steps before making a hard drive to the basket and leaping into the air. A.J. goes up with me to try and knock the biscuit back in my face but I slam it down over him.
"21-17, game over boys." Jack takes the ball and bounces it over to Arleigh.
"Yeah, we'd better be getting home." A.J. nods at Jimmy and the two of them head for their car at the end of the driveway. I shake hands with A.J. and he gives me a pat on the back. Jack , Tim, Arleigh and I sit down on the grass next to the driveway.
"Damn, I miss three-on-three games." Jack groans as he sips from his water bottle. "Just hasn't been the same since you went to Canada and Arleigh went off to flight school. We've been trying to have Harry and Tommy Rabb stand in for you guys but it's not the same."
"Yeah, Tommy's a pretty good athlete but he's just not tall enough to play with the big boys yet." Arleigh tries to push his hair back. "Harry's kind of small and enjoys burying his nose in a book, he's kind of like little Timmy that way." Arleigh pushes Tim back on to the grass.
"Hey, I drained a couple from the field out there on the court and I'm going to be playing hockey for Yale next year." Tim counters.
"Yeah, but your brothers going to the NHL, Jack's heading to Boston College for football and I'm headed off to play football for Navy, so I guess among us, you're the weak one." Arleigh jests.
"Yeah, well I'm headed in for a shower." Tim gets up off the grass and heads up toward the house.
"I should probably go get some rain room time as well, I got a date tonight with Mary-Lou Penner." Jack pats me on the shoulder as he walks by and on up to the house. I get up from the grass and pick up the basketball. Arleigh gets off the grass and motions for the pass. I toss him the ball and he hits a jump shot from just inside the key.
"So, you and Sasha, huh?" Arleigh questions as he chases down the ball.
"Yup." I nod as he passes the ball back to me. "It's a great feeling man."
"Sex with her? I bet." He chuckles and I toss a hard pass at him.
"Come on, that's my girlfriend, man." I shake my head at him.
"I've known you since we were toddlers, bro, I know when you want to get something off your chest." He watches as my shot ricochets to the side of the basket after hitting the backboard.
"Yeah, I would like to be able to tell my buddies that I'm dating her without them telling me how hot she is. Like I don't already know." He tosses the ball back to me.
"Well, it took you four years to ask the girl out, you'll have to excuse us if we don't entirely trust your judgement in this regard. And as to the first thing, boo-fucking-hoo for you; your girlfriend's hot and you don't like that we joke with you about it, get over it. It's a blessing from God." Arleigh walks over and smacks the ball out of my hands before firing another jump shot at the basket.
"Yeah, you're right." I run over to the basket and collect the rebound off the backboard.
"Your brothers been trying to get it out of you about what she's like in the sack?" Arleigh asks me.
"Not just them, most of my hockey team back in Kitchener." I tell him as I pass him the ball.
"Well, you're being unusually tight-lipped then, because I remember after you had sex at the World Juniors last year with that USA Hockey chick, you were bragging about it for months." Arleigh laughs, takes a few steps and dunks the ball.
"It's different with Sasha." I tell him.
"How so?" He questions as I open the garage door so we can put the basketball stuff away.
"Well for one thing, it's better." We share a laugh. "For another thing, Samantha was just kind of a random hook-up at the time. We're friends now but we met maybe eighteen hours before we had sex. Sasha's my girlfriend, that comes with certain obligations and responsibilities and stuff that I haven't had to really deal with before."
"True." Arleigh nods his head. "So, no fooling what's it like with her?"
"Fantastic!" I enthuse. "If sex got any better, it would be fatal."
He laughs. "You coming to the graduation parties tomorrow night?"
"Of course." I grin evilly.
I'm standing here at the back of the school auditorium with Tim. Tim graduated like ten days ago, around the same time I did. He actually got a graduation ceremony, for me it was just me and the other graduating Kitchener Rangers from Eastwood High who then had to head off to Anaheim for the draft combine. There's a pretty good sized graduating class here. I can see Jack, Jimmy and Sasha all sitting together, since students are seated in alphabetical order – Rabb, Roberts, Ross - and Arleigh is sitting up near the front. Sasha's the Valedictorian, so she gets to deliver a speech that I know she's spent the better part of the last week working on.
Up at the front of the auditorium, the Priest is finishing up the prayer that starts the ceremony. After he leaves the lectern on the stage, the principal takes his place. I honestly could give a crap less about the highlights and moments to remember for this senior class at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell. Really, I can think of a hundred more entertaining things I could be doing right now but I'm not hear to listen to the principal's address. I'm here to support my beautiful, loving girlfriend and when this ceremony gets to that part, there really is no place I'd prefer to be.
The Principal's address stretches on for about twenty minutes at the end of which is the presentation of academic awards to the graduates. When Sasha wins both the math and science awards, Tim and I engage in a little boisterous clapping and I let out a few enthusiastic whistles from my spot along the wall at the back of the auditorium. When the football coach calls up Jack to receive the school's award for athlete of the year, we engage in the same spectacle minus the whistling. By the time the presentation of the academic awards is over, everyone has come to the realization that we've been in this auditorium for almost an hour and no one has received a diploma yet.
The Principal once again takes to the lectern to introduce the valedictorian. Sasha's got her speech in hand as she strides toward the middle of the stage. She looks great. She's got a great knack for make-up, even though she's not really one of those daddy's princess- girly girl types. She always appears very understated and cute. She clears her throat and launches into her speech. Earlier in the week she was apparently flipping out, worrying about whether her speech was going to be any good. So, Jack set her up with dad's former main speechwriter from when he was President. Morley's a hell of a writer, so I'm sure all he did was help Sasha add a little flare to her speech while retaining all the points that she wanted in the speech.
She's got a pretty engaging speaking style; I think it's the result of a natural charisma she has. It's a quiet kind of charisma, the kind she conveys solely with her eyes and with her smile. She can make everyone feel like she's looking just at them. When she links eyes with me at the back of the room at she blushes. She's done that a lot lately. I think it's one of two things, either she can't believe we're openly in love or she thinks I'm picturing her naked. Admittedly, the two are not mutually exclusive. After a speech of about fifteen minutes, she finishes and the entire auditorium is on its feet. Tim's cheering and I'm whistling at the back of the auditorium. Sasha's blushing as the Principal shakes her hand and makes her the first to receive a diploma.
Thank God this ceremony is soon coming to an end. Tim and I hoot and holler when Arleigh gets his diploma, then again when Jimmy Roberts gets his and last when Jack gets his. Then all the graduates toss their caps into the air as their congratulated aloud over the sound system. The graduates mingle with their parents and photos are taken at a rate resembling teen pop star arriving at a restaurant based on the Hall of Mirrors. Sasha's getting pictures with her parents, Jimmy with his, Arleigh with his and Jack with ours. Tim and I are talking about whether or not the Phillies can win their division this year.
After about twenty more minutes, our friends collect out in the lobby of the auditorium. "So, what are we going to do and where's the party tonight?" I ask looking to Jack and Arleigh for an answer.
"Well, those of us currently wearing ties and dress shirts for graduation purposes are going to need to go change. And the party is at Shelley Newton's house tonight because her parents are out of town." Arleigh explains.
"Well, we can do this all in one trip then." I theorize. "We'll all hop in Jack's car, we'll stop at Sasha's first so she can change, then Jimmy's because it's between our house and Sasha's, finally we'll stop off at our house. Since Arleigh only lives right down the street and Shelley Newton lives around the corner, we can kill the remaining birds with one stone."
"Sounds good." Sasha nods.
"I'm on board." Arleigh chimes in.
"Mom and dad want to take me and A.J. out for dinner since he doesn't get a lot of leave time. But I'll stop by at Newton's party later on." Jimmy explains and the rest of us nod.
"See you there." A bunch of us pat Jimmy on the back and head out to Jack's car. For our birthday this year, Mom and Dad got Jack a very nice restored old Pontiac Firebird. Arleigh climbs into the shotgun seat. I'm in the back sandwiched between Tim and Sasha. I've got my arm wrapped around my girlfriend and her shorter haircut is being lightly tousled by the wind. I kiss the top of her head lovingly and she looks back at me. "What was that for?"
"I was really proud of you during that speech." I tell her and she nestles against my chest. Jack drives us from Arlington out to Great Falls. The whole way Jack and Arleigh are talking football, you just know that if Boston College plays Navy next year, those two are going to be having all kinds of fun advising their coaches on how to shut the other one down. When we stop in front of Sasha's house, she gets out and runs up the driveway to the house. I sit in the car with the guys mostly talking about sports. My cell phone rings and I pick it up. "Hello."
"Brad, it's Kate. Listen, I just got off the phone with the General Manager of the New York Rangers, he didn't speak with you at the combine but he wants to interview you tonight. He's going to be in Washington for a family wedding and wants to know if you can meet him at the Capital Grille at 6pm for a drink tonight." My agent explains to me over the phone.
"Yeah, tell him I can make it." I tell her.
"Alright, you'd better be on time, Brad because if you're late or you don't show, it looks bad on me and worse on you." She lectures me and hangs up the phone.
"Who was that?" Jack looks over the front seat at me.
"Kate, she wants to know if I can make it to a meeting with the General Manager of the New York Rangers for an interview tonight at the Capital Grille. I gotta change into a blazer when we get home, throw on my leather jacket and helmet, get on the bike and head for D.C." I tell my brother. There's a few moments of silence and Sasha heads back down the driveway toward the car. She opens the door, puts on her seatbelt and curls up against me again.
"Why's everyone so quiet?" She looks around.
"Brad, you wanna field this one?" Arleigh jumps in.
"What did you do now?" Sasha looks slightly annoyed.
"I got a call from Kate about five minutes ago saying that I have an interview with the General Managers of the New York Rangers at the Capital Grille tonight." I wince as I finish my explanation.
"No, Brad, you were finally home and the season was over this was going to be one of the few times we could spend without hockey and finally getting to have a real relationship." She answers and I feel really bad. I know the guys are about to laugh so I pre-empt their smirks.
"Guys, mind your own business for the next few minutes or I'll introduce you to a few alternate uses of a hockey stick." I tell them and there's silence. "Honey listen, it's just a quick meeting, you head off to the party with these guys and I'll meet up with you when I get their."
"Brad, it's your brother's graduation, it's your cousin's graduation and it's the first time your whole family's been together in what, like four months? Six months? You couldn't just say that you couldn't do it tonight but you'd be willing to meet him any other time, any place he wanted?" She questions feverishly, shaking her head at me. Jack pulls the car into our driveway back home and we al pile out.
"Listen, when we first agreed to go out, you knew that I was in the draft this year, you knew that I wanted to be a professional hockey player. How is it that you feel you have a right to be pissed off here?" I accuse her. Why I've gone here I don't know but Jack and Arleigh are standing behind her emphatically waving me off and shaking their heads, their eyes wide with shock. She's got her hands on her hips and her lips are pursed.
"You may be one of the most self-absorbed, egotistical, eighteen year-old men I've ever met." She goes into a tirade. "You may be a good hockey player, I don't know. But if you think that's all it takes to be a good person, you got a hell of an awakening coming." She storms off up to the house with Jack, Tim and Arleigh and I head for the garage. I pull off my old t-shirt and pull on a golf shirt, blazer and leather coat. I fire up my motorcycle and pull on my helmet. What the hell is with her?
I love this bike. It's a great way of forcing you to think out your problems. I wind through the streets of Arlington and cross the bridge into the District. I love the Capital Grille; it's got to be one of the best restaurants in the city. I park my bike in a place I know is secure and trot down the block to the restaurant. "Ah, Monsieur Ross, comment ca va?" Henri the Maitre'D greets me as I enter the restaurant.
"Tres bien, Henri. Et toi?" I smile at him.
"J'ai ete mieux." Henri answers.
"La merde arrive." I joke and he laughs. "In all seriousness, Henri, I'm supposed to have someone waiting for me at the bar, it's an interview."
"Ah yes, right this way." Henri takes me to the bar where Mark Shanahan is waiting for me. Shanahan is a taller man in his early fifties. He was a legend in his day when he played for New York.
"Mr. Shanahan." I shake his hand as I sit at the bar next to him.
"Brad, glad you could make it." He nods at me.
"Hope you haven't been sitting here long." I tell him.
"Less than five minutes, don't worry about it." Mike assures me. "I am getting hungry though, the food at my hotel sucks. What's good here?"
"They do a great dry aged sirloin and filet, of course if you like veal this is the place for it." I tell him. He waves the bartender over.
"Can I get the filet, rare with vegetables?" Shanahan tells the bartender and the two of them just look at me. "You gonna order something, kid?"
"I wouldn't want to impose." I tell him.
"Nonsense, you ever heard of the expense account? I sit here and interview you, I can write off my meal, my hotel and even my cab fare to the restaurant as a business expense, go nuts!" Shanahan says enthusiastically.
"As long as you're sure." I'm still unsure of the ground I'm walking on in this conversation.
"Absolutely." He tells me.
"Can I get the Swordfish Jardiniere?" I ask the bartender who nods and heads over to place our orders.
"You'll never guess who I was talking to." Shanahan starts and I raised my head in inquiry. "Spencer Kraft, I was up in Hartford for the Wolf Pack's Calder Cup celebration. I can't believe that kid had four goals and ten assists in the last two playoff series. Anyway, I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said I could draft you."
"Awful nice of him." I say.
Dinner took a lot longer than I planned. Shanahan and I got to swapping stories over dinner and an interview that was supposed to end at 7pm actually ends about quarter to nine. This isn't going to make Sasha feel any better about the whole damn thing. I hop on the bike and head back home. I pull my bike into the garage, toss my jacket and my blazer on to my bed and head for Newton's party around the block.
As I walk into the party house du jour, I hear the loud thumping bass of the music and the smell of beer is undeniable. I stride around the crowded house looking for my friends when Arleigh and Jack intercept me. "Hey man, before you blow your top, we tried to stop her."
"What the hell are you two talking about?" I question, the worry plaguing the back of my mind. The direct me through the house to the sunroom at the back where two of Sasha's girlfriends have her hoisted in the air by her legs doing a keg stand. There is a surrounding pack of guys counting the seconds she's been drinking. The rage festering in me is now leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. "Put her down." I tell the girls through gritted teeth and they lower her back to her feet. I turn to the guys who were counting. "You all have better things to do than watch me rearrange your faces, now scatter." I tell them and they can tell I'm not fucking around.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the superstar!" Sasha chants tauntingly. "What's with the hissy fit? Afraid of getting a little dirt on your halo?"
"More like worried what will happen to you if your parents catch you drunk off your ass." I answer. "How many of those keg stands have you done?"
"Like…I dunno, maybe two." She slurs. Jack has his hand up in the air with all his fingers pointing up to tell me it's actually five. "What's it to you, you pretty much told me today that you had better things to do than spend time with me. You know, you can be a real bastard sometimes." She tries to walk toward me but stumbles. I catch her on the way down.
"That's it; I'm getting you out of here to sober you up." I tell her.
"And what if I don't wanna go?" She tries to sound defiant, really she just sounds tired. "Superstar, always has to be the hero."
"I've thought of that, too." I tell her and hoist her up over my shoulder. I walk through the house carrying her and back out the front door.
"Are you gonna put me down?" She asks through her drunken haze.
"Are you gonna try and run?" I try very hard not to sound angry or condescending.
"Maybuh…" She sounds a little odd. "Oh, I'm gonna be sick." I immediately lower her down off my shoulder. She bends over to throw up and I make sure her hair is out of her face. After a few minutes, she stands quasi-upright again. "I'm okay now."
"Not quite." We keep walking back toward my house. "But you will be soon." We get to the house and I take her up to the loft.
"So, what's you're grand plan to sober me up, Einstein?" She questions, still slurring heavily.
"This." I tell her as I bring over a bottle of water. "Drink up; it'll lessen your hangover." She eyes me suspiciously before gulping down the bottle of water. I head over to the mini-fridge and pull out another bottle. "Thirsty, huh?"
"No, I'm trying to impress you." She shoots sarcastically. She gulps down the second bottle of water. "Is this your grand scheme?"
"Just phase one." I tell her. After she's done the second bottle. I take her gently by the hand and lead her into the bathroom.
"What now?" She asks.
"Shower." I tell her. "I can be in here, if you want or I'll stand outside with the door open."
"Why with the door open?" She questions with a harsh tone.
"Because if you pass out in the shower, I've got to be able to hear it." I tell her. "So, in or out?"
"In." She tells me reluctantly. She slowly peels off her clothes as I turn on the shower and she climbs in. "Will this really help?"
"Helped me after the boys initiated me up in Kitchener last year. Also, it'll help wash the beer and puke smell off." I tell her.
"So, you've been drunk, what's wrong with me getting drunk?" She accuses me.
"I was in private and a thousand miles from the Washington press, I also didn't do it in anger, which you obviously have." I tell her. "You know that you can't do this stuff, reporters around here would love to use it to try and embarrass your parents."
"Yeah, whatever." She says as she climbs into the shower. "Why's the water cold?" She asks.
"Because it works better this way." I tell her. After a few minutes in the shower she steps out. "You feel better?" I ask her.
"A little." She answers. I wrap my bathrobe around her and she ties the sash closed. "Why are you being so nice?"
"Actually, I'm being a little bit of a prick." I tell her. "But I swear, I wouldn't do this if I didn't love you." We head into my bedroom and I close the door behind us. "Feel free to use any of my stuff as some pyjamas and get some rest."
"You're not taking me back home?" She walks over to my dresser.
"We both know that would only land you in trouble. I've got both your cell phone and my cell phone on me in case your parents call. With your mom's history with the bottle, there's also a solid chance this would only stir up some sleeping ghosts." I explain to her as I sit on the edge of my bed. She pulls on a pair of my boxers and an old USA Hockey t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. "Honey, get some sleep. I'll make sure you aren't disturbed." I head for the door. "Also, be sure to sleep on your stomach." I smile at her and close the door.
I spend the next three hours or so playing pool in the loft and watching a movie on the television. I check up on her periodically to make sure she's sleeping well and on her stomach. Around one in the morning, I hear a creak from my bedroom door and the soft padding of feet heading toward me I turn around to see her walking toward me. "Hey." I smile at her.
"Hey." She walks over and gives me a loving hug. "I said some harsh things to you."
"Wasn't you talking." I tell her as we sit on the couch.
"It was a little bit thought." She explains to me in a weak voice. "A part of me really resented that you had to go today. I know you want to be a professional hockey player, I know it's your dream but I have looked forward to just having some time with you for a long time." She curls against me. "It just seems like there's always an intrusion."
"Hey, you come first." I kiss her cheek. "The reason I'm in love with you is because I know you're a secure enough woman to realize that I have this dream and that you won't be threatened by it…eventually."
"For all we try not to act like it, I guess we have to remember that we're still only kids." She hugs me even tighter.
"Does your head hurt?" I brush the shorter strands of hair out of her face.
"A little." She answers, a subconscious hand going to her temple. "Do you always wake up a lot when you've been drinking?"
"Yeah." I nod at her. "It's one of the reasons not to do it to excess." We share a smile and she rests her head on my shoulder.
There's a few moments of silence as we just watch the movie. Then I swear I can hear a loud urgent shout "BRAD!!" There's a few seconds of break and then another one "BRAD!!" It's getting louder. "BRAD!!" It's in the garage downstairs. Sasha and I get up and rush over to the stairs where we seen Jack and Tim standing at the bottom.
"What?" I ask.
"Come quick, it's Uncle A.J., they had to rush him to the hospital, it looks like a stroke." Tim explains.