Netting Crow (Blackhawks Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 23

Finally, Sunday arrived.  It was such a huge relief to know that Corey would be home that evening.  They had an uncommonly early day game in St. Louis at 11:30 and should be home by early evening.  Nathan and I were going to the 3:00 showing of Disney on Ice at the United Center.  Hopefully, we would be able to meet Corey for dinner.

I watched the game.  Corey played well, and the Blackhawks won, ending their road trip on a high note.  I was so excited that Corey would be home until nearly the end of February.  After the game, Nathan and I headed to the United Center to watch Disney on Ice.

As we arrived at the United Center, Nathan asked, "Mommy, are we seeing Corey play today?"

"No, honey.  We have Disney on Ice today.  We just watched Corey play on the TV."

"Oh, yea.  Are we going to see Corey play again soon?"

"Sure, he has some home games coming up soon, so we will make sure we get to some, okay?"

"Okay!"

During the show, I received a text from Corey.  "Just got home.  Call me when you are done.  Dinner?"

I replied, "Dinner sounds great.  I'm thinking another 30 minutes here.  Want to meet at Rainforest Cafe?  That's where Nathan wants to go."

"Sounds good.  Text me when you get there."

"Okay.  I can't wait to see you!"

"Right back at ya, love."

Disney on Ice ended and as we walked to the car, I told Nathan, "Corey will be meeting us at Rainforest Cafe, okay, buddy?"

"Corey!  Yay!  I haven't seen him in a long time."

"I know.  He's been on the road playing other teams around the country."

"That's so cool! Can we travel with him sometime, Mommy?"

"Umm, I don't know, buddy.  Families don't usually travel with the players.  We would have to talk to Corey about it."

As we drove to Rainforest Cafe, Nathan told me all his favorite parts of Disney on Ice.  My five-year-old was chatter box.  When we arrived at Rainforest Cafe, I texted Corey to let him know we were there.  As we walked in, Nathan was in awe of the place.  I had told him about it and explained the deal with all the animals and fish and the waterfall, but he had never been.

"This is so cool!"  Nathan said.

As I walked up to the hostess stand, I heard my phone go off.

"Is there a wait to be seated?"  Corey texted.

"How many?"  The hostess asked.

"Three."  I reply.

"It'll be about 15-20 minutes."

"Okay, no problem." I say as I text Corey back.

"I'm leaving now." He replies.

Nathan and I are wandering around the gift shop looking at all the cool stuff.  We are standing by the fish tank when Corey arrives about 10 minutes later.  Nathan sees him first.

"COREY!!!"  Nathan yells as he runs open arms toward Corey, who picks him up and gives him a gigantic hug.  It is probably one of the best things that I have ever seen.

"Hi, buddy! How are you?"  Corey asked him.

"I'm good.  I missed you.  You were gone a long time." Nathan told him matter-of-factly.

"I was.  I missed you and your mom too.  Sometimes playing for the Blackhawks takes me away for awhile, but I'll be home for awhile now, so we will see each other all the time.  Okay?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."  He says as he puts Nathan down.  Nathan wanders back toward the fish tank and I wander into Corey arms.  Neither of us says anything.  He just holds me and I hold him.  We stand like this for a few minutes before he pulls away and kisses me like...well, like he hasn't seen me in four weeks.

"Hi."  I say breathless.

"Hi, yourself." He replies as he quickly kisses me again.

I was just about to tell him how glad I was that he was home, but our table was called.  As we head up the stairs behind Nathan, Corey takes my hand in his and it feels like he never left.

After we sit down and decide what everyone is eating, Corey and Nathan begin playing table hockey with their straws and straw wrapper.  It is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen.  I grab my phone and take a few pictures and capture it in a video.

"You can put that on your social media if you want."  Corey says as he continues to defend his salt and pepper goal.

"I'm good with just having them for me."  I reply.

"Ashamed of me?"  He asks with all seriousness.

"What?!  No!  But except for a few friends at school, people don't know I know you. And it's not something that I want to announce via social media before I tell my family." I explain.

"Speaking of family...my parents are going to be in town the first week of March.  I want you to go to dinner with us, so they can meet you.  I've already told them about you, so there is no getting out of it."

His parents?!  I knew this would eventually have to happen, but I wasn't ready to meet his parents.

"Really?  Are we sure that we are ready for that?" I ask.

"I wanted you to meet them in Columbus, but you couldn't come, so yes. Really."

"Okay.  Sounds great."  March is a long way off,  I thought.  I will worry about it later.

After dinner, we all headed back to Corey's.  By then it was late, so I put Nathan to bed before joining Corey in his room.  I collapsed on the bed next to Corey.

"Tired?"  He asked.

"Not really.  I don't know...it's just felt like a super long time since I have been here."

"So..." he starts, "I have eight home games coming up."

"Yea, that's crazy that you have so many in a row."

"Which ones do you want to come to?  Or you and Nathan?  Or you and friend or friends?"

"Umm, I don't know.  Amanda and I already have tickets to next Sunday's game with her dad."

"Okay.  Can you and Nathan come to the Friday games and the Sunday game in two weeks?"

"That should be fine.  And maybe I could ask Amanda and Jodi to one of the games.  We can sit in the box."

"Awesome.  I'll write the dates down in the morning, so I make sure to get you the tickets that you need."

"Thank you."  I say as I kiss him.

"Want to watch a movie?"  He asks.

"Sure, that sounds wonderful."

We argue playfully over what to watch before deciding on something.  It doesn't take long into the movie before we are no longer watching the movie, but enjoying the fact that we are together and making up for the four weeks that we have been apart.

If I wasn't a such a pessimist when it came to love, I might actually think that this could be us forever.  But sadly I am, and the test of our relationship was not the distance between us during this road trip.  No, the test of our relationship was just around the corner.