The Day Has Come (Counting on Hockey #4)

Chapter 23: Here

It's been a week since Cole's illegal check to the head, brought to you by Zdeno Chara in the second period of our home game against the Bruins. Cole is still in the hospital, and he won't be in games for the rest of the season, playoffs would be questionable. He's had two brain surgeries to fix bleeding, and a surgery to fix his shoulder, which was broken in the check. I guess the check was one of the worst in NHL history. Chara was suspended for seven games.

Aiden and Addi are paying a short visit to me this week. They're only here for three days, and I've taken off the games while they're here so I have more time to see them. Aiden works for the Rockford Icedogs AHL team in Illinois as one of the equipment managers, and Addi works for a law firm in Chicago. She's not an actually lawyer, but she's one of their assistants in a way. 

I had told Cole that I would just tell them to reschedule until he had left the hospital, but he insisted that they still come, to get my mind off of this ordeal. I feel weird not being with him at the hospital, knowing he's bored out of his mind once again, his third time in the hospital in the past seven or eight years. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

I turn off my blow dryer just as a knock on the door comes. I squeal in my head and run from my bathroom into the living room. I pull the door open with force, and outside stands my best friends.

"Aiden", I squeal. "Addi".

We all wrap our arms around each other in a group hug. We all step back and forth on our feet, loving the hugs we haven't had in almost two years. 

"Oh my God. It's so good to be here. I've missed you so much", Addi says, being the smallest of the three of us, even in heels, which she's always in.

"It hasn't been the same not seeing you everyday", Aiden says to me. 

I let them into the apartment and show them into the guest rooms. They put their suitcases down and we go back into the living room to talk. We sit in the group of chairs next to our picture window. 

"How's Mr. Hot Stuff?" Addison asks. 

"He's doing well. His teammates are at the hospital with him right now, and he should be back home this weekend. Zdeno Chara is suspended seven games for it, since the injuries were so severe, and this wasn't the fist time Chara had served a dirty hit. I personally think that he should be out the entire season, but I'm biased".

"That must have been horrible to watch. I'm so sorry",  Addi said. She gives a small, relieving smile.

The three of us catch up and talk about anything and everything. Jobs, family, relationships. Addison found a guy, who's five years older than us, and she works with him in Chicago. Aiden is dating a guy he met at a meeting conference.

"Let's go do something", Aiden states as we finish up our millionth round of conversations. 

I think of things that we can do. There's not much to do this time of year, especially in Saint Paul. I suggest the zoo, thinking that's the only place we could go. Neither of them are much into museums, so it's our best bet on activities. 

Aiden and Addison each go to their rooms to change and get themselves ready for the frigid January air of Minnesota. I go into my own room and put a pair of leggings under my skin tight jeans, making them even more skin tight, then layer on a t-shirt, a flannel shirt, my Wild windbreaker jacket, and my winter jacket. No, that's not excessive. This is Minnesota for crying out loud, it's freaking cold. 

I find the twins in the living room and we leave for the zoo. It's a few blocks, so we take a taxi. I pay the fare and we walk into the gates of the Zoo. I check the weather, and the app tells me it feels like it's -13 outside with the wind factor, but without it, it's 2 degrees. Once we enter the zoo, the first thing we do is search for hot cocoa. We find it at the zoo's first café in the park and each buy a large cup of it. As cold as it is, we don't mind because we're having fun together. 

After taking shelter from the wind almost twenty times, we finally finish our walk around the zoo. I call in a taxi and it picks us up at the entrance of the zoo. I tell the driver to drive us to the hospital where Cole is, and he drives away silently. 

While walking through the entrance of the hospital, the three of us take off our layers of gloves, scarves, and hats. We take the elevator to the fourth floor and take a right, then a left, and then another right, Cole's room all the way at the end of the hall. The door is cracked open just a little bit, but I know only the guys are in there, so I don't need to knock. 

I walk through the door first, then Addison, then Aiden. The six guys that are in the room look over at us. It's Cole, Zach Parise, Eric Staal, Charlie Coyle, Darcy Kuemper, and Jonas Brodin. 

"Hey, Mere", the five players say to me, then turn back to Cole and continue their conversation for a quick minute. I go around the far side of the bed and sit on the edge. Addi and Aiden stand close to me and say their hello's to Cole. 

"Hey, we know you", Parise turns to Aiden. "But where?" 

"I worked with Carin Anderson a few years ago through the intern program, the same year as Meredith. We've known each other for about six years now". 

"That's it", Parise snaps his fingers in accomplishment. "Why do you two look so much alike?"

"Wow. Nothing gets past you, does it Zach?" I say sarcastically. He pinches me. 

Addison laughs. "We're twins". 

"Ahh, that explains a lot".