The minute I got into the car with Helena, I told her we should check out other event planners. I knew we would never, ever use Sofia. Can you imagine? Even when I dropped Helena off at her place, she was still telling me how much she loved Sofia. I just needed to have my space to get everything in my head clear. News flash—it just made it worse. I swear it feels like the Pandora’s box that was Sofia and me magically opened, and now the only thing I could think of is her.
I walk out of practice wearing my track suit and my baseball hat backward. My brown hair under it is still wet from the shower, as I shake my protein shake cup. I unlock my car door before sliding in and starting it. I pull away from the parking area and call my father. We speak daily, sometimes twice a day. He answers me right away. “Hey,” he greets, and I hear he’s in his car also.
“Hey there,” I reply, smiling and then suddenly missing him. It’s strange the way time works. When I was a teenager, I couldn’t wait to be out from under their rules and now there is nothing that calms me down like talking to my father. “Whatcha doing?”
“Just left the rink,” he says, and I laugh. He played for many years in the NHL. He actually got traded to New York while he was in rehab. My uncle Matthew took a chance on him. He met my mother, Zoe, who is Matthew’s younger sister, when he was looking for a house.
“Who were you training with?” I ask as I make my way over to my house.
“Uncle Evan, Max, and Matthew,” he says, “Grandpa Cooper came also.” I smile thinking of my grandfather still lacing up. He may not have the speed he had before, but he’s got the plays all in his head. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing much,” I huff, “just got out of practice and I’m going to go home and get on the bike.”
“What’s the matter?” he asks right away. I knew if anyone could tell that something was bothering me, it would be my father. If I was in front of my mother, she would be able to tell right away. It’s like they have this parent superpower.
“Nothing really,” I lie to him but my father laughs.
“You sound like someone stole your favorite snack at school,” he teases, and I can’t help but chuckle. “How is it to be back on the ice?” He changes the subject, not pushing me, knowing that when I’m ready, I’ll tell him what is bothering me.
“It’s good, felt a little off today but…” My voice trails off and I wait for my father to say something, but he knows that I’m not done. “Can I ask you something?” The nerves start in my stomach and then spread right up my chest.
“You can ask me anything,” he assures me softly.
“How did you know Mom was the one?” I finally ask the big question I asked myself all night.
“Matty,” he calls me by my nickname, his voice going soft, “I like Helena, she’s a nice girl from what I can tell.” I smile because even if he didn’t like her, he wouldn’t tell me, the whole family would be supportive of me no matter what. “But if you are thinking this now, how do you think it will be in the future?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, confusion running through me.
“You aren’t supposed to think you found the one. You are supposed to know. If it’s the one, there isn’t that question,” he explains. “There isn’t any question, it just is. There is no second-guessing when you know it’s the one.”
“It’s fine, Dad.” I cover it up as much as I can to make him not worry. “I was just…”
“It’s a big step, Matty. For both your sakes, if you aren’t sure, don’t rush into it,” he advises, and I nod my head as I pull into my driveway.
“Thanks, Dad,” I say, smiling before I turn the car off and get out of it, grabbing the protein shake and the phone. “I’m going to head on to the bike, I’ll call you later.”
“Love you,” he says, like he always does, right before we hang up. Every single time, even if we talk ten times a day.
“Love you, too, say hi to Mom for me,” I reply right before we both hang up. I walk to the side of the house instead of going through the house. Making my way to the pool house I converted into a home gym, I enter the code on the lock pad and hear the lock turning to open the door. Once it’s open, I walk right to the bike that sits in the corner next to the treadmill.
Once I get on the bike, I start slow and then work my speed up. I chuck off my jacket and then my T-shirt. Two hours later, I’ve finished off the water bottle I started thirty minutes ago as I sit on the weight bench and try to catch my breath. The sweat pours off me as my phone rings from beside the bike.