Orlando

When the Stars finally got off for their break, which started on Monday the 22 this year, Val and I all bid Jamie and Jordie farewell. They were going back home for the holidays and to Victoria, British Columbia. Then we bid Tyler and Kaitlyn farewell. The two of them were hooking up for the holidays and were serious about being a couple.

It was perfect timing for the break, because I knew my father was going up to Maryland to visit family and to see the Virginia Tech Hokies, his college football team, play. The plan was to visit for the evening with him before he left and then go visit with my mother and then head back to Dallas. I was going to have three Christmases and so was Val.

The two of us finished packing and made it to our gate in plenty of time. While we sat, waiting for the flight to arrive and to board, I sent a text to my father and mother. I let them know what was going and it was a Christmas miracle, because Valeri Nichushkin was with me. Dreams did come true!

Minutes later, we were in the air on the plane and I was snuggled against my favorite Russian hockey player.

That’s when we broke into song. I had a new song I had discovered and hey, I had turned Val into quite the theatre buff. He was becoming a show-tuney lover, thanks to me. And he wasn’t a complete picky person for music. He loved all kinds.

So, I found my theme song and I actually got Val to duet it with me, which was fun. As a writer, this song was hilarious and truthful. But I didn’t get all fangirly over journalism writing like the female character, but this was so me and pretty much every writer.

I started off the song, by taking on my verse:

"Write what you know"
So they say, all I know is
I don't know what to write
Or the right way to write it.
This is big, lady, don't screw it up,
This is not some little vaudeville I'm reviewing.

Poor little kids versus rich greedy sour pusses
Ha! It's a cinch!
It could practically write itself--
And let's pray it does,
Cause as I may have mentioned,
I have no clue what I'm doing.

Am I insane? This is what I've been waiting for.
Well that, plus the screaming of ten angry editors.
A girl? It's a girl! How the hell? Is that even legal?
Look, just go and get her!

Not only that, there's a story behind the story:
Thousands of children, exploited, invisible.
Speak up, take a stand,
And there's someone to write about it.
That's how things get better.

Give life's little guys some ink,
And when it dries just watch what happens.
Those kids will live and breathe right on the page
And once they're center stage,
You watch what happens.

And who's there with her camera and her pen
As boys turn into men
They'll storm the gates and then--
Just watch what happens when they do.”

I broke off and mimicked the scream like a fangirl, but did it softly, making Val chuckle at me. I didn’t want to be the obnoxious person on the airplane. I nuzzled Val, as I launched into the next part.

“Picture a handsome, heroically charismatic-- (thinking about Val)
Plain spoken, know nothing, skirt-chasing, cocky little son of a-- (thinking of Tyler)
Lie down with dogs and you wake up with a raise and a promotion.

So, he's a flirt, a complete ego maniac.
The fact is he's also the face of the strike--
What a face--
Face the fact, that's a face that could
Save us all from sinking in the ocean.

Like someone said, "Power tends to corrupt"
and absolute power, wait! Wait, corrupts!?
Absolutely, that is genius!

But give me some time,
I'll be twice as good as that six months from never.
Just look around at the world we're inheriting
And think of the one we'll create.
Their mistake is they got old,
That is not a mistake we'll be making.
No sir, we'll stay young forever!”

Val joined me in the song:

“Give those kids and me the brand new century
And watch what happens.
It's David and Goliath do or die
The fight is on and I--can't watch what happens.

But all I know is nothing happens if you just give in.
It can't be any worse than how it's been.
And it just so happens that we just might win,
So whatever happens!
Let's begin!”

We both laughed and blushed deeply. For the remainder of the plane ride, we made sure to keep quiet. Luckily we were almost to Tampa by now. And before I knew it, we were circling the airport and landing. I clutched Val’s hand, smiling at him.

We touched down and ran off the plane, singing at the top of our lungs the last part of the song:

“Give those kids and me the brand new century
And watch what happens.
It's David and Goliath do or die
The fight is on and I--can't watch what happens.

But all I know is nothing happens if you just give in.
It can't be any worse than how it's been.
And it just so happens that we just might win,
So whatever happens!
Let's begin!”

We grabbed our bags and exited the airport. We hopped into a car that was driven by my sister. I held onto Val’s hand the whole time though. I was nervous but excited. I knew that my parents would approve of Val, because...who wouldn’t? But he was just so calm, nice, happy and adorable. He had everything. He was near perfect.

We arrived at my dad’s for the dinner. My car was there too. Before we got out, I turned to the Russian, who was gazing around with wonder.

“Ready?” I asked.

He nodded, cracking the puppy-dog smile, like he was going to let his tongue loll out with happiness. I patted him on the shoulder and we walked into the house. My dad and his girlfriend were moving about their kitchen, prepping for dinner. According to my sister, my dad’s girlfriend’s son and daughter were also coming. The call time was 6:00pm, but we had gotten there around 4:30pm instead. That was fine though.

I led Val in behind me and introduced him to everyone. It was awkward and shocking, but I was happy. My dad was more than approving of the bilingual winger. We then walked over and sat on the couch. Of course, there was a Bowl Game playing on the TV. It was one of two teams I didn’t care about though.

Val didn’t seem to be paying any attention either. His eyes were on me. I didn’t mind. I had my arms wrapped around him and I hugged him close. I glanced up at him, seeing his big sweet blue eyes shimmering in the dim light.

Turns out Megara, the daughter of my dad’s girlfriend, was already there. She finished getting ready and came out to say hi and meet Val. She was sold, and she told me, “Good catch, he’s a cutie!” I had to agree, he was. He was my baby Russian.

She actually started chatting to him. He kept glancing to me, but I nodded my head. I knew he was okay. He could speak to her. I went to help my dad out, leaving them to chat some. I struck up conversation with my dad and his girlfriend. I told them about Val and how we’d met and what all had happened. They knew most of what was going on, from conversations here and there and they knew I had been texting back and forth with him.

I could hear Val every now and again with his broken English that was to die for. He was saying things like, “I like play hockey for Dallas Stars. I play winger. I shoot at goal all the time, drive net.” or “I get better, but it’s normal.”

Meg, as we called her, was well educated enough to understand him, so it was fine. I wasn’t needed. He wasn’t exactly talkative, but he carried the conversation and slowly relaxed and got more comfortable. And before long everyone was there and we gathered around to eat. Val and I sat together.

When we were done with dinner, everyone pitched in to clean up and then we went over to the living room, where the tree was with all the presents. Val came, but he kept the animals at bay. Tucker the dog, who was Meg’s and Brownie the cat, which was my dad and his girlfriend’s. He was loved by the animals and showed them love back, while the rest of us got to the gifts and our “Christmas” scene. I got a lot of fun stuff, including a new pair of headphones and lots of chocolate and candy in my stocking (including kit kat). When it got to my last gift, I was told to go into the dining room.

Now, before I had met Val, I had thought about getting my own hockey stick just so I could fool around with it. I had no luck in Orlando finding anything hockey, except for Val and his Val-ness. I had his stick still, but I wasn’t going to ever play with that!! It was like an autographed ball - it was special to me and I was going to keep that and mount it on my wall.

I followed the instructions from my dad and pulled back the curtain. There, was a new hockey stick. It was green and black in color. I turned around and walked over, carrying it. I sat back down, making sure to avoid the light and fan on the low ceiling in the process.

Val was grinning at me. We knew that I had his stick still, but that I wasn’t going to use it. I leaned over, holding the stick in one hand. I whispered into his ear, “I’m going to name my stick. I’m going to call him Klyushka.” He spun around looking at me with those sparkling blue eyes.

“Klyushka?”

“Да, я звоню ему клюшка. (Yes, I’m calling him Klyushka.)” I smiled.

“You speak Russian?” my dad questioned.

“A little bit. I learned it from this dude and also on my own. It came in handy though.”

We finished up present time and began to split up. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law left, as did my sister. Then Val and I loaded my stuff into the white vibe, which was my car. We said our goodbyes and once more I was complimented on my choice with Val.

He was friendly and thanked my dad for having him and all that. He was so nice and well-mannered. He really was perfect. Maybe it was how he was raised and I was happy that he had been raised right!

We left my dad’s and went back to my mom’s, who had gone out of her way and went to pick up Lilly and all of the things I was bringing back for the break. I had already had everything packed up and ready luckily. And it was cool, cause the roommates were there to help her out as well.

When I pulled up to my mom’s house, I parked and got out right away. I walked around and grabbed Val’s hand. Then we walked up to the front door and entered the house. My mom was inside and she greeted us warmly. I introduced Val and that’s when she turned into such a mom. You all know what I mean, right? She gets all “awe” and grabs the camera and all of that stuff. Well, after we got over that, I was finally free to go over to the couch and I pulled Val with me. He was grinning and looking around. As soon as we sat down, I saw a glimpse of gray wander into the house.

“Lilly!!” Val screamed. He jumped up and walked over to the cat, who came straight toward him. She chirped with her mewing noise and welcomed Val’s petting of her. I watched them, smiling. Sure I felt betrayed by my own cat, but hey, whatever man. She was on her back and letting the Dallas Star rub her belly.

When they both had enough, he returned and sat down beside me on the couch. I gave him a look and he shrugged. My mom brought over some cookies for us and then told me how we were going over to her boyfriend’s house for Christmas. I was fine with that. It was still Monday and so we had a whole day still. We had until Saturday to play around. It was a rare long holiday for an NHL team, but no one who was a Dallas Star was complaining.

We enjoyed the remainder of the evening together, chatting and my mom got to know Val some more. Then we all went to bed. I told Val, that my mom was a bit protective and that she didn’t want me to sleep with a man just yet. My sister had the same thing happen. He didn’t question or complain and happily agreed to take the couch.

The next day, I woke up and found Val still asleep on the couch with Lilly perched on the back just chilling. I walked over and he blinked awake, sensing my presence or something. We cleaned up and then went outside and I got my first ever hockey lesson, after grabbing Klyushka from the car and a dead tennis ball.

And by the end of the lesson - four hours later - I had mastered the art known as cradling. And I found that - like him - I had a left handed shot. So, we both passed the ball back and forth in the grass. (He had his stick with him too of course.)

Then we came back inside, ate and chilled on the couch. It was just him and me for the day. My mom had gone out and said we could hang out for the day. And while we did, being a writer, I had the need to type up some of my ideas, so I did. I continued with some of my stories, while he watched me and also played on his phone, texting with Tyler and Jamie and his own family and friends.

I was typing up a story called “Devyatka,” which I felt a little awkward about, given that it was a fanfiction and it was about Jamie and Tyler and him and had Brad Marchand as a psychopath. He liked my writing though and seemed fine with the content and all. I had to explain to him and I even google translated some of it for him. He laughed at me.

“You think of me like baby?” he asked.

“Of course!”

“And Daddy Jamie and Daddy Tyler...?”

“Oh come on, sure you know some writer types. No matter where you come from, it’s gotta be the same kind of thing. We writers are ultimate fans and strange.”

“That true.”

“But if this ever happen, I kick “Marchy” and not be baby at all.”

“Of course, of course.”

I began to work on another story, which was one called “No Place I’d Rather Be…” This one I got a look from him with.

“Kazer?”

“Kaner and Tazer - Blackhawks.”

“I got to have you meet them in reality...I guarantee you’ll have a fun time with that. They are a couple pieces of work and you are quite spot on with this characterization of them both.” - of course this was all in Russian. But I had to laugh that he knew the Blackhawks.

“You’ll have to let them know about these awesome fanfics about them.”

“Right!”

We had a good laugh. And that’s when a new idea hit me. I started another story. This one I called “Orlando” and it was the story of how Val and I met. And this one Val approved of. He helped me with the Russian parts and helped to co-write it. I could make a hockey writer player out of him yet!

For the remainder of the day we did this and then around 11, with my mom not there, Val and I kissed and made out on the couch. I pinned him on his back on the couch and then we had some fun. We weren’t going to go all the way, but it was nice to be alone and to be able to make out and enjoy the time alone.

Tuesday came and went and soon we both fell asleep, snuggled together on the couch. Luckily when we woke up, my mom still wasn’t there and so I could enjoy snuggling against my blond haired, blue eyed Russian hockey player from the Dallas Stars.

Notes

Man this is another long one. I drew from my own experience and what happened here, but I'm just inserted Val into this. :)


Next up: Part 2 of this...