Jeremy Roenick is a staple to the Chicago Blackhawks organization. Although his skill is known around the world, his off ice issues are too. Little does everyone know he had a daughter who stayed quiet up until 2009 when Jeremy retired and returned...
While Rachel is still making it through opening day and her first hangover I was in the middle of finding us a new house. The dogs were absolutely tearing the apartment apart and I was ready to have some space to breathe again. So while Rachel was being a big girl being a successful business owner I was being the family man looking to move us to a place that was close to the United center and the restaurant so we don't have too much trouble getting to work. Someplace that has a place for Rachel to run and a big backyard to play with the dogs. I was hoping to find my forever home and hoping I can find it quickly.
And I honestly thought this was going to be easier than this. I'm a pretty chill guy and when it comes to making decisions I can usually come to a conclusion pretty quickly. But I've looked at at least 100 houses in past three hours and I couldn't find one I loved. This was a big decision and Rachel wasn't here to help me with it. She told me that whatever I chose she would love because she would be living with me. But I want it all to be the best for her. I plan on living at this place with her for the rest of my life. This is where we will raise our kids and where I'll come home to after a long game. And I don't want to make the wrong decision then not be able to fix it because I already bought the house. But I also don't want to live in this tiny apartment anymore. I'm going to lose my mind in here for sure.
After looking for three straight hours I take a break from staring at a computer screen. I used different websites and some places my elder hockey friends suggested but I didn't find anything I connected to. So I set the laptop to the side as I run my hands down my face. I let out a long sigh as I shake my head. If I couldn't even find us a place to live what makes me think I can do all of this? I'm not like her, she always knows what to do. She is so good with these decisions, she always knows what's best. But if it's not hockey I usually don't know what to do. Rachel trusts that I can do this for us but I'm worried I'm going to let her down. That I'm not what she needs me to be
I hear a message go off on my laptop letting me know there was a new posting. I was going to ignore it for the simple fact that the thought of looking through another house made me sick but the location it had was perfect for what I was looking for. So I pull it up and see what we're working with.
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No lie, the house was amazing. It was brand new which is why the listing hadn't come up earlier. No one had lived in it before and it was all state of the art. The kitchen was the biggest room and I know Rachel would love to get lost in there and entertain our friends and family. There was five bedrooms and four bathrooms between the two levels. The living room was big enough to hold her family and mine and there was a basement to store everything. The backyard was fenced for the dogs and there was plenty of places for Rachel to run. It almost seemed too good to be true.
So I message the seller who answered me back almost immediately. The house just hit the market but it is available for a walk through and it was already fully furnished. I call Rachel and tell her my finding, a house like that won't stay available for a long time, so if we were interested we needed to get the jump on it.
I grab Rachel from the restaurant and we head a little outside the city limits to a nice new house in a nice neighborhood. We meet the seller and she takes us around the house giving us a tour. The bedrooms were nice and big and I think Rachel enjoyed the colors even though they were pretty bland. She can still decorate the place and make it feel like our home.
We end up back in the living room and the real estate agent excused herself to answer a call about another showing she had scheduled later. I go to the back door and look out into the backyard. I let out a long sigh as I try to imagine what I can build out here.
"What are you thinking about" Rachel wonders as she wraps a arm around me. She nuzzles her face into my said as I wrap my arm around her too.
"This house is perfect" I admit. "A little too perfect."
"Is there a such thing" she giggles.
"Of course there is. I know because I get to see you every day and that's proof enough" I smirk.
She playfully hits my chest before laughing at my silly compliments. "I'm still not sure this is what you really want" she claims.
"Why is that" I question.
"A few months ago the word marriage made you want to throw up. You obviously don't want to commit to a future, so buying a house sounds a little... off" she admits.
"I told you, I don't know a lot about my future but I know that one without you in it isn't one for me. Maybe I need to think through marriage and family but being here in this house with you right now, I know this is where I need to be. I want this more than you will ever understand" I argue.
"I just don't want to be left here" she whispers.
"We have three dogs right now, I think you will be fine until I return" I tease.
She smiles up at me and in the moment I knew we were going to be okay.
The agent comes back and we tell her we're going to take the house. So we figure out payment options and when the water and electricity would all be turned on. We can move in in a few days and since it is fully furnished the only things we would have to buy is little things to decorate. The kitchen appliances and all other non furniture things will come with us from the apartment so for the most part we were ready to move. On paper at least.
After closing the check book we go to Rachel's restaurant to celebrate. She gets us two glasses of wine and we raise our glasses to the air.
"Here's to our new home. May it bring us lots of love, lots of laughs and lots of memories we will never forget" she smiles.
