“So guess what?”

“You’re pregnant?”

Ali gasped. “NO! Oh my god, Brittany!"

“Well???”

“Okay well, noooooooo,” she replied, mouth still ajar.

Brittany laughed. “You got engaged?”

“No. Not that either. And now you officially made my surprise not cool anymore.” She was driving through downtown Pittsburgh, trying to make her way to work, catching Brittany up on everything via her Bluetooth.

“Don’t pout – just tell me! What is it?”

“Thanksgiving’s at the Neal residence this year – and James is finally meeting my parents!” When Ali heard Brittany squeal, she pounded her steering wheel excitedly with her. “Can you not stand it!?!?!”

“Do you know how excited your dad is going to be?” Brittany replied.

Ali rolled up to a stoplight, halting the car. “How do you think James is going to do? You know….Father to boyfriend, boyfriend to father?”

“Oh, I think your dad will be cool” Brittany answered. “And we both know James will play it cool.”

Ali tried to picture the first day in her head: they’d meet, they’d hang out at the house a little, then they’d all go to the game. They’d also likely join her down by the locker rooms afterwards. If they did, should she introduce them to Sid, too? Shit, everyone wanted to meet Crosby, why wouldn’t they? Her mom always had a thing for Geno, and in fact, that was the jersey she owned. Would James be cool with her parents meeting these guys?

A car horn behind her blasted, snapping her out of her daydream. “Jesus.” Ali waved and hit the gas to catch up to the car in front of her that was now well ahead. “Sorry…some asshole’s behind me. What were you saying?”

“I think you should relax and quit worrying” Brittany replied, her matter-of-fact tone in full force. “In fact, I think they already love him and this isn’t even that big of a deal. Didn’t he get them hockey pucks or something from a game?”

Coming to another red light, Ali rested her foot on the brake pedal. “He did, and they were from goals he actually scored…it was when I went home to visit them.”

“Ahhh. Well, see?”

“Alright, you have a point. I’ll try and relax.” Ali’s knee was bobbing nervously as she waited at the light. “But Britt, I just really want them to see James for who he is, not what he does. That’s all they know right now.”

“But that is who James is, right?”

“A portion, yes.” The light changed and traffic started moving again. Ali merged onto the right lane, then onto the Penn Lincoln Parkway. “Sorry for being such a pest, anyways.”

“Oh please, Ali.”

She rolled her eyes and hit the gas. The clear, late autumn day was a welcomed sight in the city. It was still damn cold, but at least the sun was warm. She grabbed her aviator sunglasses and slid them on as her car faced the sun head-on.

“So what’s new with you, anyways?” she asked Brittany. “I’ve been hogging this whole conversation. My bad.”

“Oh, nothing’s new, really. Tyler and I broke up.”

“WHAT.” Ali gripped the wheel in shock. “Really?!?! When!? And why?”

“Well you know why.” There was a slight tinge of irritation in her tone. “And I did it last night. I just decided I was done with him all together. No sense in stringing him along.”

Ali didn’t know what to say. “Wow. I’m sorry, Britt.”

“Ah, well. We both knew it was coming.”

“Where are you going to live?”

“With my sister, maybe? I really don’t know.”

Up ahead, Ali saw the signs for the Fort Pitt Tunnel, which couldn’t have come at a worse time given what Brittany just admitted.

“I’m gonna lose you when I go through the tunnel, but this conversation isn’t over, okay?”

“Yeah, just text me later.”

Ali pressed the button on her earpiece just as she was heading into the tunnel. Tiny yellow lights flashed by in succession at a similar rate that her thoughts were racing through her mind. She wished she would’ve asked if Beau was any part of her discussion with Tyler, but maybe it was best she didn’t know.

Exiting the tunnel, bright light hit Ali’s eyes and she felt the warmth on her face again. It was the first morning that actually she felt well-rested since her cold. And while she missed James like crazy, she also thought it was nice now and then to have the entire bed to herself. She could stretch out, keep an even body temperature all night, and since there wasn’t anyone there to have sex with, the only thing left was an uninterrupted night of sleep.

Ali ran her fingers through her hair, smiling to herself as she recalled parts of their last night together. She should have to pinch herself every morning to make sure it was all still real, but the size of James inside her was all too real a thing for her to even bother with pinching. The way he just looked at her when he was fucking her, the feel of his hands and the power in them, the power in every part of him...it was amazing. What she loved most was the stark contrast to the comfy, sweatshirt-clad, sloppy-haired James she saw day to day. He was intense when he needed to be, and he was soft when he needed to be. It was a dangerous, yet satisfying combination.

She still hadn’t talked to James yet. He tried calling her late last night, but she was already asleep by then. The game didn’t go so well, and the Pens lost by two. Ali could tell James was bummed by how he sounded in his voice mail. He said not to worry about calling him back; he’d see her when they made it back into town. The fact that he’d be home before she got off work meant she had something to look forward to.

Ali merged onto the highway that would take her the rest of the way to the airport, the sun finally out of her face. Overhead, a steady stream of airplanes were completing their descent into Pittsburgh International. It was one of her favorite sights: watching airplanes arriving and leaving, especially on sunny days. Hopefully grad school would happen at some point, then she could spend all her days watching planes come and go and actually make bank while doing so.

This thought made her sigh. I have too much to look forward to, so don’t get yourself down about this. Ali promised herself no more concerns on the future unless it involved Thanksgiving. This perked her up, and she carried the smile that came to her face all the way into work with her.


* * *

James was asleep on the couch when Ali came home from work around 7. When she came into the living room, she found him lying on his side, one arm under a pillow, the tattoo of his last name peeking out from beneath. He was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt, looking as comfortable as ever.

She walked over and sat down next to him, running her fingers through his hair until he woke up.

“There she is” he said dreamily.

Ali loved Sleepy James. Not only was his voice always a level deeper than normal, but his accent was always a little more pronounced. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Welcome back.”

He stretched, taking up even more of the couch. “Thanks….glad I’m not in Chicago anymore, that’s for sure….” He yawned, but opened his available arm to her.

Ali slid in next to him so that they were spooning. “This is more like it.” She felt James wrap his other arm around her. The bright mix of colors in his sleeve tattoo stood out against his white t-shirt as he hugged her tight against him.

“Good shift?”

“Mm hm. Good trip home?”

“Mm hm.” James caught a bit of Ali’s perfume on her neck, so he kissed her there. “Talk to your parents about Thanksgiving?”

“I did.” Surprised he even brought it up, Ali leaned her head back a little so she could see him. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Guess I’m just excited.”

They looked at one another, and Ali realized that he actually was really looking forward to meeting her mom and dad.

“What?” he asked, his crooked smile growing. “You’re surprised I’m excited, aren’t you?”

“Aren’t guys supposed to be afraid of their girlfriend’s father?” she said with a laugh. “All my other boyfriends were.”

“And haven’t I surpassed all expectations built by those chumps?”

Ali smiled. “Yeeesss…”

“Alright then.” He kissed her softly. “Sounds like we got some planning to do.”


* * *


(3 days later)

James stood on one side of the kitchen island, bent over a piece of paper, chewing on his pen. Ali stood opposite of him, bent over and studying her own piece of paper.

“So here’s what we have” he said, “Celery, carrots, butter, bread, potatoes, garlic—“

“We have garlic.”

James drew a line across the paper. “Cranberry sauce?” He watched Ali shake her head. “You don’t like cranberry sauce?”

“You do?” She stared at him, surprised.

“The shit in the can is like…..amazing, Ali.”

She laughed. “Yeah, but you actually like that stuff?”

James penned it down on the paper. “We’re doing it. I don’t even care.”

“I can’t believe I’ve been sleeping with someone who likes canned cranberry sauce.”

He reached across the island and tapped her nose with the pen. “Focus, babe. This is heavy stuff for me.”

“Well what’s even left?” Ali was reviewing her sheet. “I have: tablecloth, fancy napkins, flowers, air fresheners—“

“Air fresheners!?!”

“You play hockey. Time to accept it.”

He stood up, pretending he was offended. “Really?”

“Oh, James – they’re just those ones you plug into the socket” Ali replied. “They’re not huge glowing banners saying your gear stinks.”

The pair looked at one another.

“So after cranberry sauce, then what?” James stuck the pen on his bottom lip by the pen cap, staring at the paper. Ali watched him move his lip, flipping the pen back and forth. He looked up slowly.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She smiled.

James looked at the paper. “Holy shit.” He spit the pen out. “The turkey!”

“OH MY GOD.” Ali started to laugh. “How did we almost forget the turkey? That would’ve been rich.”

Penning it onto the paper, James stood up with a look of satisfaction. “Okay, so that covers that.”

“So how do you want to attack this?” Ali took the list from James and compared the two. “I could get all of this, I mean…it’s not a problem, it probably wouldn’t even take that long.”

“No, I want to help. I want to come along.” He was smiling at Ali proudly. “Besides, I want to be the one to pick out these air fresheners we need so badly.”

“Can I drive?” she asked him.

“I’m not putting a thawed-out bird in my car, so yes.”

“Perfect.” Ali stood on her toes and kissed him. “Let’s go.”

They got into Ali’s black SUV and headed to the closest Target store to tackle the household list. One by one, they knocked each item off the list. They argued for a second over cloth napkins, but decided they’d likely only use them once, so it really didn’t matter what color they were. They picked up a dark navy blue pair.

“Table cloth” Ali said, leading the way down the adjacent aisle.

“Do we even need one of those?” James asked. He watched Ali mull over the different types laid out before them. “I mean…isn’t that technically just one more thing for us to clean?”

Ali considered this. “You have a point.” She thought for a minute more, staring at the shelves. “But see, my mom always has a table cloth. She has a collection of them for just about every holiday. I think she would appreciate it.” When she looked at James, he was smiling at her.

“You’re cute when you get domestic, babe.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, no tablecloth.”

“Officially scratched?”

“Officially scratched. Which leaves us the air fresheners.”

“I’m all over this.” James led the way (much to Ali’s surprise) to the aisle, and they stood among the heavily fragrant choices. Both of them stared quietly.

“Nothing that smells like flowers.”

“I agree” Ali said. She lifted the packet of a plug-in air freshener. “How about this?”

James leaned over her. “What the hell is a Cashmere Dream?”

Ali sniffed it. “Beats me.” She lifted it up to James’ nose, and he made a face.

“If that’s a cashmere dream, I don’t want to have it.” He smiled at Ali and tickled her back.

They both went back to staring at the shelves.

“How about this?” James picked a dual pack of plug-ins, scratching the scented sticker attached to the packaging. “Seems festive?”

“Falling Leaves and Pumpkin Spice.” Ali sniffed it. “Ooo.”

“Ooo’s are good!” He tossed it in the red basket Ali was holding. “That’s it…Part One – complete!”


* * *


The next task had less decision-making, but more debating involved. They grabbed a grocery cart and followed along with their list, getting all the ingredients for the dinner.

“You know what we forgot?”

“What?” Ali watched James jog across the floor towards the baked goods. From where he stood, he held up what looked like a pumpkin pie. She gave him a thumbs-up, so he brought it back with him.

“Can’t forget the best part” he said, setting it in the cart.

“I thought the canned cranberry sauce was?” She smirked at him, but he remained silent.

They made their way over to the giant freezer case where all the turkeys were. James lifted the absolute largest one out of the case and held it by its mesh handle.

“Too big?”

“This might be the first time I ever say this to you, but yes.”

James grinned. “Really? Thanks.”

“Don’t get horny” Ali said and leaned over the case. She dug around for a bit as she looked for the right turkey. “How much do we think we’ll eat, anyway? And do you want there to be leftovers?”

“You think too much.” James picked up the huge turkey and put it in the cart. “Guess you’ll have to live another day with big meat in the house.” He kissed her forehead, then started hunting for the next item on their list.

Behind him, Ali pushed the cart and turned the corner to the next aisle. James was collecting cans off one of the shelves as she approached, which he proceeded to shoot towards her, free-throw style.

“Heads-up!”

Ali caught the first two cans he tossed her, and nearly missed the third. From there, they proceeded to the checkout with all their items checked off their list. As Ali began to unload the cart, James picked up a magazine. He rolled the cover back to read one of the pages.

“Hey babe, check this out.”

He held out the page he had been reading, and Ali saw that it was a picture of him, dressed in his full uniform, sitting on a bench in the locker room.

“What the hell!?!?” She grabbed the magazine, happily surprised. She flipped to the cover. “Why didn’t you tell me the Pens had a press mag out?”

“I actually didn’t know until now” he said, laughing. “I remember us doing a shoot for this, but we do so many that they all run together.”

Ali tossed it onto the moving belt. “It’s coming home with us.”

When all the items were out of the cart, Ali and James moved up to pay. The cashier went to scan the magazine, but her eyes moved from the cover slowly up to James, and then back again.

James gave her a shy smile. “Hi.”

The girl, who was all of maybe 17 years old, was speechless. “Are you…”

“Yep.” James looked at Ali and gave the back of her neck a little squeeze.

”Ohwow.” The girl scanned the magazine, not moving her eyes from James. Eventually, she had to bring her eyes back to the other items on the belt. James shoved his hands in his jean pockets and waited, feeling a little awkward.

Without further delay from the cashier, they were able to pay and haul their stuff out to the car. Once they had everything loaded and were sitting inside, Ali reached over and took James’ hand. “Can I just say something?”

James turned his large frame in the seat to face her more, giving her his full attention. Ali wanted to kiss him for being so attentive to her. Even the look in his eyes was alert and bright as they gazed at her.

“I just wanted to say thank you.” She looked down at his hand in hers. “I never really had luck in the past with this sort of thing, you know? So, I guess…I guess I’m sorry it took so long for this to happen, but I’m glad you’re as excited as you are to meet my parents. And I’m really impressed at how you’ve wanted to help. I really appreciate that.”

When Ali looked up again, James was smiling. “Are you done?”

She blinked. “Uh……yes?”

James leaned in and kissed her. And when he was done kissing her, he kissed her again. “This is gonna be fun, babe. I promise.” He kissed her one more time to make sure she understood.


* * *