Chasing Cities

Prologue

~Sinikka's POV~

New York City has always meant a lot to me. I'm not sure how to explain why, but it's always held a special place in my heart. I constantly heard about it as a child, even though I grew up in a small town in the faraway country of Finland. My mother spoke of the time she and my father had visited the city before I was born, how a new sight or smell greeted them everywhere they went.

When I went there after moving to Boston, I discovered that it was just like every other city. Sure, it was larger, and there were a lot more attractions, but underneath all that was just another city. A city full of buildings, cars, noise, pollution, and (of course) sports.

I still loved New York City, though. The same things that attracted me to Boston attracted me to New York.

My father's name is Tuukka Rask. If you cheer for an ice hockey team known as the Boston Bruins, you surely know very well who he is. He has informed me that two of his favorite teams to play are the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers. He loves going to the big city. He's always heavily preferred the city over the country and suburbia, even though he and I both grew up in a town with a small population of 30,000.

My father became the only biological parent I have when I was eleven. That was the year that my mother died, the year that I made the big change of moving from Savonlinna to Boston. He's the only parent remaining in my life, but thanks to his team's constant road trips, I barely ever see him. It upsets me that I can't spend time with my dad like every other kid I know.

I never had two parents like I wanted to, but I was content with one. When my mom died, I thought that my father would be my one parent, which is a logical but incorrect assumption. Although he's great at raising me, it's like I never see him. He's been more like half a parent instead of a full parent.

I'm not the type of person to complain about my personal inconveniences, so I kept my mouth shut for almost three years.

When I finally talked to my father on February 27, 2020, he listened very carefully. After I was done, he was very interested in helping me. He knew that he would never understand how I felt, since his father never played professional hockey, but he would try to understand.

After a few moments of thinking, Dad winked at me.

"I'm going to plan a surprise for you," he patted my shoulder. "Before your mother passed, I promised her that I would raise you to the best of my ability. I suppose that means having some fun in the middle of all the work."

I had no idea what he was talking about until the next morning at around six-thirty. I came downstairs to go to school, and I was surprised to see my dad standing in the kitchen, in the middle of a phone call.

I was very skeptical of his behavior. The Bruins bus wasn't going to leave for Brooklyn until twelve noon, and Dad wasn't usually up at such an early hour unless he had practice. I was about to ask him what he was doing up until I heard the words coming out of his mouth.

"Yes, I am Tuukka Rask, Sinikka's father," he glanced over at me as I walked into the kitchen, wondering who he was talking to about me. "I will be excusing her from school for a week. She will return on Monday, March 9. Yes, it's a vacation. Thank you so much for understanding. Goodbye!"

When he hung up, I walked right up to him. "You're taking me on vacation?"

"You're going to be coming with us on the Bruins trip, kiddo," he giggled a bit as he spoke. "I called your school aware of the fact that you're supposed to notify them of vacations more than five hours in advance, but they understood my situation, thankfully. It looks like you're already dressed, but you can still sleep for about four more hours if you want to."

"Thank you so much!" I ran over to him and wrapped him in the tightest hug. He lifted my 5-foot-7 frame into the air and spun me around a few times.

Once my feet were on the ground again, I grinned up at him. "You're the best father ever, Dad. You didn't have to do this for me. I love you."

"I love you too, and I absolutely had to do this for you," he patted my head. "For me, part of being the best father I can be is letting you experience some of the fun of being in the NHL. Remember that I promised your mother that I would raise you as best I could. For me, that's not constantly leaving you at home while I go on frequent road trips with my team. You deserve to come with us at least once a season."

"That's so great!" I squeaked, hugging him again. "Mom would be so happy if she knew that you were doing this."

"I hope that she's watching us from up above and smiling to herself at our little family," he looked up at the sky as if he could actually see my mother there.

"She definitely is," I leaned on his shoulder, then yawned. "You know what? I'm going to accept your offer of four extra hours of sleep. After all, I do believe that I need it."

"Go lay back down," he smiled at me. "Your growing body needs a lot of sleep, and it's difficult to get it with all of that school you have in the way."

I woke up at 10:30 to the delicious smell of pancakes cooking. Upon following it into the kitchen, I discovered that my dad was making two plates of the pancakes.

It's hard to believe how much my father spoils me sometimes.

"Dad!" I rushed over to him. "You made me pancakes?"

"Of course," he shrugged. "What kind of vacation would this be if I didn't make you an awesome breakfast to start it off?"

"You're the best," I smiled as he placed my stack of pancakes in front of me. He complimented the stack with raspberries, blueberries, and butter. While we ate together, we discussed our plans for the stay in Brooklyn.

We decided that we were going to see the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, which had a beautiful assortment of plants and flowers. Next up would be the famous Brooklyn Bridge, followed by a trip to the Brooklyn Museum. Finally, my father and I would end the night with a trip to Coney Island.

The Bruins bus picked us up at our Back Bay house at almost exactly twelve noon, and we were off to New York City with the rest of the Boston Bruins team by 12:30.

My father and I were beginning the trip that would forever change my life.