“Good morning, pretty girl,” Miranda says when she drops her bags on the counter and then comes over to us. I knew I had to get a nanny the minute the playoffs ended. I had to get in shape, and I had to get my head back in the game. So I interviewed what felt like a thousand people. Something was always wrong with them, but when Miranda came in, there was absolutely nothing that I could pick at. She is a thirty-year-old single woman who came from Denmark and has raised two other children. Plus, Ari didn’t scream when Miranda held her. I mean, Ari didn’t like it because I was there, but she didn’t cry bloody murder, so I hired Miranda on the spot. “Good morning, Ralph.” She smiles at me and then walks to the kitchen and washes her hands.
Getting up, I walk over to the corner where I have all of Ari’s toys laid out. My house is basically just barely furnished. Cassie was waiting for me to do it with her, but with being on the road and all that, I just didn’t have the time, nor did I want to. This house wasn’t even my first choice, but Cassie wanted it, and well, I just gave in.
I put Ari down on her stomach, and she lets me know with a whine that she is not happy, so I pick her back up, and she lays her head on my shoulder. Yup, totally whipped by a fourteen pound, twenty-five-inch baby girl.
“Aw, she loves her daddy,” Miranda says with a smile. She reaches out to take Ari, but Ari buries her hand under her chest that is pressed to mine. “That’s okay, baby girl,” she says, rubbing her head, then she looks at me. “Did she sleep last night?”
“Yes,” I say. “She woke up twice and then went right back to sleep. She was drinking her bottle when you came in.” I look down at Ari who just watches Miranda. “I will be gone for four hours today. She naps in about three hours, and she likes to—”
“Go to sleep being rocked,” Miranda finishes, and then I smile at her. “She’ll be fine, I promise.” My heart pounds for a couple of seconds at the thought that I’m going to leave her, and she is going to cry. Miranda walks over to the couch and gets her bottle. She walks back to us and holds out the bottle for Ari, who tries to reach for it, but Miranda takes advantage of her arms out to take her away from me. She wants to cry, but instead, Miranda walks away from me, and I want to yell at her and tell her to come back. I want to kick Miranda out of my house and just stay the two of us, but instead, I hear Cassie’s voice telling me it’s going to be okay. I wait for Ari to scream when Miranda sits down, but she starts to talk to Ari as she gives her the bottle. She waits a bit, then looks at me and nods, giving me the okay to walk out. As I leave, I swear you would think I was missing a limb. I make my way out to the truck, and it’s so odd not to open the back door and have to buckle her in.
Once I pull up to the training place, I get out and stretch my legs. Grabbing my phone, I see that Miranda has sent me a video of Ari sitting on her blanket as she sings to her, and Ari shakes her hands and her feet. I walk into the rink with a smile, smelling the ice right away, and my feet are getting antsy to get back on the ice. I started skating when I was three years old, and from then, I never left. I used to skate indoors and then come home and beg to go to the outdoor rinks in the winter. Even when it was freezing, I would be out there until I couldn’t feel my toes anymore. Then once I got into high school, I just got better and better, earning an invitation to the try-out camps. It was tough, but I made it, and every single year, I had to fight to keep my place on the team. Luckily, I have a contract this year, but I also know someone is always ready to take my place.
Turning, I walk down toward the changing room, I stop when I hear someone call my name. When I turn, I’m shocked to see Justin Stone walking to me. “Holy shit,” I say to him as he comes closer, and we hug. “I was not expecting you.”
“Yeah,” he says, laughing. Justin and I played together in Edmonton before we both got traded to different teams. It was thanks to him and his brother Matthew, who is GM for New York, that I even got a call from Nico. I owe them a lot.