“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Kara’s Dad had said when he’d opened her present two days ago. She’d given him a Bruins jersey with ROBINSON on the back. He already had enough soccer jersey with his name and she thought that, now that she was so into the sport, she would make him a fan as well. She was sure that he’d love it and having a Bruins jersey signed by the whole team might not be a bad start. He’d acted all stupid, but she’d seen the smile on his lips when he’d thought that she wasn’t looking at him.
Kara herself had gotten a wonderful photo album with all her photos from Germany in it. She’d never gotten round to doing it and her Mom loved these things. In the last ten years or so she’d made wonderful photo albums, calendars and other things. Now Kara had something she could always look at to remember that time. There were dates and places written next to the photos.
She’d spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with her family and they’d exchanged the presents on Christmas Eve. They’d always done it this way and that would probably never change.
Right now she was with Mika at a friend’s house in Los Angeles. She’d met Rachel, a local radio host, a couple of times, but now she was out of town and she didn’t know when she’d be back. Good for Mika, because that we she got to live in this beautiful, retro-chic house. Rachel had a door in a wall that led nowhere. Vinyl covers were all over the walls. You could tell that a music lover lived her. Partying with Rachel was one of the best things in the world, because she would always dance and sing along to the music.
While Kara changed into her bikini and a summer dress, Mika had already been wearing her outfit when Kara had arrived. She would spend the first night here with Mika and the second night, after the game, at the hotel, so that Mika had some time alone with Tuukka. This wasn’t going to be a big party, rather a little get together with delicious food that was already arranged in the kitchen, good music and a pool. It would be good for the guys and they would only stay until ten or eleven. They had to be up early the next day for practice.
When the doorbell rang, Kara opened the door, inviting half the team inside. The others had already had plans or simply wanted to sleep. Then there were Chara and Seidenberg who wanted to work out a bit more before they headed to bed.
Kara got a hug from everyone and an especially tight on from Soupy and Benny. Benoit’s present was in her suitcase and she’d give it to him later. Whisk him away from all the others to steal a kiss or two from him and then hand him his present. The others would be busy.
The first thing Mika did was show everyone the house before they headed to the kitchen so that everybody could get something to eat. They sat outside, next to the pool, and enjoyed the beautiful view over the city. Kara wasn’t very talkative, because she’d talked so much the previous days. Luckily Mika and the guys provided enough entertainment so that she could enjoy listening to them. Of course they talked about what they’d done for Christmas.
“I was with my family.” Benoit leaned back when he was finished with the food on his plate. “That’s why my flight landed a earlier than yours.”
“How is your Mom then?” Patrice asked him and put his plate down.
“Good. Misses me, but that’s Mom’s, eh?” Everyone around the table chuckled. Even Mika, who missed her family around this time even more than usually. Thank God her parents had sent her plane tickets to Finland for next year so she could come and see them. Kara thought about accompanying her. Mika would stay for three weeks, so Kara could come and be with her for the second week and then move on to Germany maybe. It was a possibility she should consider.
When everyone was finished, Kara started piling up the dishes. Mika wanted to help her, but Kara declined the help. “You talk some more to the guys. I get to see them pretty much every day.”
“I’ll help you then.” Benoit got up and took the plates from her. Kara tried to gather the rest and carried it to the kitchen. In silence they put the dishes in the dishwasher and as soon as they were finished, Kara took Benoit’s hand and led him to the guest room in which she was staying.
“I wanted to give you your Christmas gift, before I forget it.” She took the wrapped book from the nightstand and handed it over.
“Thank you!” He kissed her and quickly unwrapped his gift. His eyes shone like those of a small child on Christmas morning when they were allowed to unwrap their gifts. There was the inner child in every adult. “Oh no, you didn’t.” A loud laugh echoed from the walls and put a smile on Kara’s face.
“Well, you said that you wanted to learn Swedish to piss Tuukka off, so I-“ She was stopped by Benoit’s lips on hers.
“Thank you. I love it.” He let go of her again and pulled something out of his pocket. “I got you something as well.” He handed her a small box and watched her open it. In it was a charm bracelet with three charms. A pencil, a soccer ball and a star. Kara simply stared at him. For a moment that seemed like forever she couldn’t breathe. He’d remembered her story. He’d listened and remembered it. She felt like she’d pass out any minute now, so she concentrated on her breathing.
“Are you okay?” Benoit’s voice made her realize where she was and forced her to breathe, which was a good thing. “I hope you like it. It’s not the original, but I thought you might maybe still like it.”
“It’s beautiful”, she mumbled. She wouldn’t cry. Not here, not now, not in front of him. She had to get him out of room so she could try to pull herself together. “Thank you.” She kissed his lips before quickly looking down again. Don’t cry. DON’T CRY!
“Let me put it on your writ. I just hope it fits.”
“That’s not a good idea. We want to go in the pool, remember? You should maybe go there now before the others start wondering where we are. I’ll just get some towels and I’ll be with you in a second.”
“Okay.” He left her alone but not without giving her another kiss.
When the door closed behind him, Kara could finally let everything out. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at the bracelet. Nobody had ever given her such a beautiful gift. Not because it was expensive, but because he’d actually listened to her and given her something she’d wanted when she didn’t even know that she wanted it.
Her heart ached, her stomach was turning upside down and her whole world seemed to shift. Right there and then she had to admit to herself, that she was completely and utterly in love with Benoit Pouliot. Something she didn’t want and didn’t know how to deal with.
“Get ahold of yourself!” she scolded herself. Taking a deep breath she got up from the floor and put the box with the bracelet down on the nightstand. She wiped away her tears and took off the dress. She had to spend some more time around people.
As soon as she got to the door that led into the garden she started running and jumped into the pool. That way nobody would see her tears and they’d assume that her eyes were red from the chlorine, not from her tears. A few confused looks from the guys made her explain herself: “We’re here for a pool party, aren’t we? And I couldn’t wait to get into the water.”
“She’s got a point,” Soupy said before he joined her.
Roughly three hours later the two women said goodbye to the guys. They’d see them the next day at the game and now they were finally alone.
“So, what in the world is going on? Ever since you were alone with Benny, you’ve been acting different.” Instantly Kara tore up again. She couldn’t control. “What is going on, Kara. Talk to me.”
“I love Benoit.” Her voice was barely there, but Mika could make out what she’d said. “I am in love with this man, Mika. I have no idea what to do about this.” She took Mika’s hand and led her to the guest room. Mika knew the story about the charm bracelet and when Kara showed it to her, she understood.
“Come here.” Mika guided her friend to the bed and lay down with her. She held her and wiped away her tears until she finally fell asleep from exhaustion. No words were needed. Knowing that Mika was there with her was already enough help.