-Charlie-
“Are you excited to see your brother today?” Sean asks, setting breakfast on the counter.
“I’m so excited!” I respond. “His plane comes in at four thirty. You got him a ticket for the game, right?”
“Of course I did. I actually got him a season pass like yours. That way he can come whenever he wants.”
I stare at him, surprise and love on my face.
“He also has a room upstairs as long as he wants it. Or until we have seven kids and there’s no room.” He smiles.

It’s been two weeks since we got back together, and things are finally normal again. We’ve definitely been trying our hardest to make a baby, which has been a lot of fun. At first, we both wanted to buy a whole bunch of pregnancy tests and take one every day until it showed up positive. But we realized that would be impractical and ridiculous, so we agreed that we would take one every four weeks instead.

The NHL all-star game is a week and a half away, and I’m so thrilled that Sean has been selected for the second time. I’m even more excited that it’s taking place in Columbus, so it’s close to home. Claude, Scott, Kimmo, Andrew and Jake were selected as well, so the ladies all decided to get hotel rooms together.

“Hey, so I was thinking....” I look up at him, nervously. “Do you wanna get married?”
He laughs. “I thought we already agreed to that. You know, I kinda already put a ring on your finger and everything.”
“No.” I blush. “I mean, like... now. Like, during the all-star break?”
He stares at me, eyebrows raised.
“I’ve just been thinking about it. We don’t have enough time to plan anything for this summer, so we wouldn’t be able to get married until next summer. I don’t really want to wait a year and a half to call you my husband. Plus Drew will be home and your parents are going to be there. And Johanna and Kimmo. And Danny and the boys. Janine said she and Brayden aren’t going on vacation like everyone else, and they were thinking about coming for a couple days to see the festivities anyway. It wouldn’t even have to be anything fancy. Just you and me and a handful of the people who mean the most to us. We can still have a reception later on, even this summer if we wanted.”

I’m playing with the food on my plate and my wrist is twitching nervously. Sean puts his fork down and stands up from his chair. He makes his way over to me and wraps his fingers around my neck, rubbing his thumbs across my jaw.

“I would love to marry you at the all-star game. I would marry you today if you wanted. I love you, Charlie. And I think this is the most amazing idea you’ve ever had. I can’t wait to call you my wife.”

My heart swells and I smile and press my lips to his.

“Now I have to get to morning skate so lets get your sexy ass ready to go get your brother.”

I laugh and stand up, grabbing our plates. Sean chooses to grab something else as I walk by, and I know he’s still keyed up even after our morning pre-shower session.

“It’s game day, and I’ve already done all the work once. Keep your hands to yourself.” I scold. He gives me a pout that normally would convince me to follow him into the bedroom and take care of him. But not today. I’m too excited to see Drew. “Let’s go, superstar.”

We finish cleaning up from our breakfast and head to our room to get ready for the day. I occasionally have to swat Sean’s hands away, but I’ll admit I’m enjoying his advances. I love that he can’t keep his hands and lips off me, even though I’m riddled with scars. It takes a couple minutes more to get ready than it should because Sean insists on removing one piece of my clothing every time I put something on. Laughing, I eventually have to threaten him with no sex for a week if he doesn’t let me get dressed. Which of course makes him immediately back off and help me get dressed.

“Okay, you have an amazing morning skate. I’ll have your lunch ready when you get home.” I say, opening my car door.
“You don’t have to worry about that today, baby. Just have fun with Drew.” He responds.
“Drew and I love to cook together. We’ll have fun.” I insist.

Sean simply gives me a big smile and an even bigger kiss before helping me into the car. Another kiss and ‘I love you’ said and I’m on my way to pick up my big brother. The drive to the airport doesn’t take me too long, but feels like forever. I finally reach the international arrivals and hop out of my car.

“Excuse me.” I hear a young woman ask. “Are you Charlie Coleman?”
“Yeah, I am.” I answer, surprised and confused, and a little skeptical.
“Wow, I thought it was you! You’re so much prettier in person. I mean, you’re pretty in your Instagram pictures. But wow.” The girl starts rambling, and I’m sure I’m giving her a strange look. “I’m sorry, I’m just a big fan of yours. I think your relationship with Sean is just so perfect and I hope one day I can find something like that. Can I get a picture with you?”

I have a fan? What? I smile and agree. She snaps a selfie and thanks me profusely. This is so strange. She asks me a few more questions which I happily oblige before I hear someone clear their throat behind me.

“Don’t tell me you’re too busy being famous to remember about your dear brother?”
I shriek and pull away from the girl, not caring how rude it may seem. I throw myself at Drew as best as I can, and he laughs before picking me up and spinning me around.
“I missed you, monkey.” He says, using my childhood nickname.
“I missed you so much, Andy.” I breathe as he puts me down.

The girl has left, so I focus all my attention on Drew. I take a quick selfie with him, making sure to get the ‘International Arrivals’ sign in the background and post them as we head to my car. I notice that the girl has posted her picture and tagged me, so I retweet her as well.

“@SrACharlieC: Welcome home, big brother! #IMissedYou #USArmy #MilitaryFamily”

“So I get to see the new house.” Drew says as we get into the car.
“Yep. It’s pretty much all moved in except the basement. We haven’t completely decided what to do with it yet.” I respond.
“Yeah, Sean said you have a lot of room down there. What are you guys thinking?”
“We’ve talked about a couple of things. Another master bedroom for guests, a man cave, a personal movie theater, a play room for our kids... I think the only thing we’ve really decided on is that one half will be turned into a guest room.” I respond.
“Kids, huh?” I turn scarlet and he laughs. “I wouldn’t mind being an uncle.”
I have to tell him. I mean, it’s Drew. He’s literally the only blood family I have left.
“We, uh... we’ve talked about kids. Yeah...” I stammer.
“So when will Uncle Andy be able to spoil his niece or nephew?” He chuckles.
“Hopefully soon.” I admit. “We’re trying, at least.” Drew’s smile is brilliant. “We haven’t told anyone though. Just Johanna and Kimmo, since I had a false alarm at their house a couple weeks ago. And now I’m telling you.”

Drew reaches over and rests his hand on top of mine.
“I’m so excited for you. I can’t wait.”
I smile over at him.
“So when will I get to become an Aunt?” I ask, turning the table on him.

To my surprise, Drew actually blushes and rubs the back of his neck.
“Oh my gosh, you have a girlfriend!” I shout.
“No, not really. She’s not my girlfriend... yet.” He responds.
“Well why not? Who is she? When can I meet her?” I start throwing questions at him.

“CHARLIE!” He yells, cutting me off with a laugh. “Chill for a second. Her name is Ella, she’s an Air Force pilot. I met her in Okinawa and we kinda just clicked. We hung out on base a lot, and off base a couple times but it wasn’t ever anything official. She’s from Maryland. She’s still on deployment, but she’s coming home next month so I asked her to go to dinner with me when she comes home and she said yes. You’re definitely not meeting her right away, because I don’t want you to scare her off.” I punch him in the shoulder and he laughs. “No, seriously. I just don’t know if it would be anything serious. You know how different everything is when you’re deployed compared to here. But I promise if it does become serious, you will meet her.”

“I’m happy for you, D.” I say, smiling. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

We pull up to the house and Drew lets out a whistle.
“Definitely different than what we grew up with.” He says.
“I know.” I respond. “It looks really big from the outside, but it’s actually really homey inside. It’s perfect.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He winks and gets out of the car, heading for the door and leaving me to grab his bag. Ass.

“This is beautiful.” I hear him say as I lug his bag into the kitchen.
“Glad it was worth it to leave your heavy ass bag with your crippled little sister.” I spit.
“Oh shit, I totally forgot. You honestly don’t even look like anything is different.” He blushes and I can tell he feels really bad.
“It’s okay.” I laugh. “It feels good to be treated like normal. It’s honestly not a big deal. I was just messing with you.”
“Can I see it?” He asks, taking his bag from my hand and putting it by the dining room door.
“Yeah. Let’s go in the living room tho.”

I lead him to the gigantic couch and plop down. He sits next to me and I shift so I’m sitting on the edge of the couch. Since Sean took up so much of my time this morning and I knew I was going to be in the public eye, I chose to wear a black maxi skirt and a pink sweater. Maxi skirts and dresses have become my go-to for when I can’t wear sweatpants and don’t have the time to put jeans on. They look nice, cover my prosthetic, and are basically no work at all to put on.

“It’s.... It’s not pretty.” I say, turning my face away from him.
“I know, Char.” Drew says. “But I’m your brother. You know I’ll love you no matter what. I just- I have to see it.” He sounds pained. I look back at him and see that he’s staring down at his hands.
“Okay.” I whisper.

I pull the skirt up to my thigh and Drew takes in the sight of the metal.
“Do you want me to take it off?” I ask. It makes me nervous, since Sean and my doctors are the only ones who have seen me without it on.
“Yeah.” He chokes out. “Yeah, if that’s okay.”

I roll the spandex down and remove all my under layers, like I always do. My hands are shaking a little, but I will them to be still. Eventually, I only have one more layer left.
“You ready?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
I pull the last layer off and Drew sucks in a breath. Neither of us say anything for a minute and when I finally look up at him, Drew has tears in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Charlie.” He says.
“Why are you sorry?” I ask.
“I don’t know. I’m your big brother. I’m supposed to protect you. And I didn’t.”
I laugh.
“You and Sean are the exact same. Both crazy. It was my choice to join the PJs. I knew the risks. Yeah, losing my leg sucks. But I’m still alive, right?”
He looks at me, bewildered.
“How are you so strong? So confident? Shit, I struggle thinking about being lost in the Japanese jungle for a couple days.”

“I am not confident.” I laugh. “I didn’t tell you this, but I actually broke up with Sean for two weeks because I had a mental breakdown.” His eyes go wide. “I thought he was better off without me, because I had absolutely no confidence in myself. I’m still struggling with it every day. Every morning, when Sean has to help me in the shower, I wonder when he’s going to realize I’m not worth it. I think about how I can make But I started talking to someone, and we’re working on it.”

Drew sighs. I know I just threw a lot at him. He saw his baby sister’s amputated leg for the first time and found out she’s seeing a therapist, completely lacking all confidence what so ever.

“He’s taking good care of you?” He asks.
“Yeah, Andy. He really is.” I stress.
“Good.”
“We, um... we talked about getting married this morning.” I say, beginning the process to put my prosthetic back on.
“I would hope so, that rock on your finger means something.” He laughs. I chuckle a little.
“No, I mean... we talked about actually getting married. Like, in less than two weeks. During the all-star game. Sean was chosen to participate.”
Drew’s head snaps up.
“Why so soon?”
“Well, we don’t have time to plan anything for this summer. And neither of us want to wait until next summer. You’re home and his parents will be there... I just thought that it would be good, you know?”
“Wow. My baby sister is getting married in less than two weeks.” He breathes. I'm a little nervous he won't be okay with it, until I see a smile cross his face. He pulls me in for a hug and I know this is the moment I have to ask him what I really want to know.
“I, uh.... I was hoping that you would... you know, give me away?” I ask nervously.

His breath catches, and when he pulls away, I look to see that he’s wiping his eyes.
“I would be honored.” He says, reaching over to hug me again. “I always figured Dad would do it.”
“Me too.” I say sadly.
“I’m so happy you’ve asked me.” He admits.
“I love you, Andy.” I say, kissing his cheek.
“I love you too, monkey. I’m so proud of you.”

After our emotional moment, we head into the kitchen and start making lunch for when Sean comes home. As he’s pulling the pan out of the oven, we hear the door open and laughter fills the house. Not too long after, I see my fiancee and three of his teammates come into the kitchen.

“Hey, babe.” Sean says, wrapping his arms around me and giving my cheek a kiss. “Hey Drew.” He says, shaking my brother’s hand.

“I guess it’s a good thing we made a big lunch?” I ask, eyeing the hungry hockey players.
“In his defense, he told us we weren’t invited. But we didn’t listen.” Rinaldo says.
“You guys never listen.” I laugh. “Drew, meet Zac Rinaldo, Michael Raffl and Jake Voracek. Boys, meet my brother Drew.”

Pleasantries are exchanged, and lunch is served up. We decide to sit at the formal dining room table, which makes me laugh to myself. We’re so not formal. But as I sit between my brother and my fiancee and listen to the boys bicker over the silliest things, I can’t help but smile. This is my family. This is where I belong.

Notes

It's almost wedding time!!!!