A Second Chance at Love

Two weeks and one day have passed since Jolie and Daniel were born. We have been crazy busy, the kids are still in school and Danny has been playing and practicing like crazy. Tonight is game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals.

He’s worked all year to get this far. I haven’t seen him since he left the house yesterday morning. He stayed in a hotel last night with the rest of his team. I felt empty since he left but I knew it was a necessity.

I was busy trying to get the kids fed lunch and the twins settled in for some kind of nap. Tonight was the first game I was going to post-baby. I was excited, a little nervous as well. I planned on getting there super early to avoid the crowd and I was sitting in one of the boxes for the game.

Honestly, I was more stressed I would forget something that I needed with all the stuff I had to pack. I didn’t bottle feed the twins too much and it stressed me out having to pack all of the stuff. Pam was coming over at three o'clock to make sure I stayed calm and to drive with me to the arena. Danny’s mom and Danielle were at home and were due back if he made the finals.

Since it was Sunday, the boys didn’t have school and they were antsy all afternoon. By three o'clock, all I wanted to do was get out of the house. I felt cramped, closed in and out of touch with the real world. It was the first time I was out of the house since I came home from the hospital with them. I felt so much better finally.

Pam met me and we took the boys out to get something to eat. In the restaurant, she told me she found out she was having a little boy this morning by accident. She had an ultrasound appointment at nine o'clock and asked the lady to put it into a sealed envelope. She said the pictures she took gave it away. She had the video done as well so Jeff could watch it later on tonight. She was just five months pregnant and it amazed me every day how attentive Jeff was. He always had gotten such a horrible reputation for being a manwhore, but he had been a great husband so far.

After eating, we headed towards the Wells Fargo Center. It was early, barely five o’clock. It was already crowded, a loud block party going on in the parking lots. The game didn't even start until eight o'clock. I drove into the family lot and we walked towards the entrance. It seemed like all of the people that worked there stopped me to see the babies. We finally got down towards the locker room. The boys wanted to say good luck to their Dad. Ryan ran through the locker room and straight into Danny’s arms. “Kick Uncle Max's butt tonight Daddy.” Danny looked up and smiled at me. Ryan had definitely be calling him that more often, but usually at the house and not around a lot of people. I gave him a quick kiss after the boys had given him their hugs. “I love you, I’ll see you after the game. Kick Maxime’s butt for me.”

We left and started walking away from the locker room when Evgeni stopped me and reached into the stroller for Jolie. “I have presents Raina.” They are in my locker. Come with me. I followed him down the hall and waited outside the locker room. He came back out a minute later with Maxime. Evgeni handed me two boxes. The first I opened was a delicate gold necklace with a tear drop diamond charm. “It looks like rain drop Raina, perfect for Jolie.” The next was a thicker chain, with a tiny “48” hanging from it. I smiled. The gifts were perfect, thoughtful and beautiful.

“I will call you guys tomorrow. Tonight is going to be crazy trying to get down here, so I am staying far away from this area. You guys are the best. “ I gave them kisses and headed back down the hall.

I seen him before he seen me, his head down listening to his I-Pod and stretching. Pam just threw me a look and sped up a little, the boys following. Jordan look up surprised at the noise of all of us coming down the hall. He pulled the ear phones out of his ears and came towards me. “Raina, hi. I just wanted to say congratulations. “Can I see them?” he asked, looking into the stroller.

“Sure”, I said nervously. “That is Jolie Marie and Daniel is in the back.”

He gave me a lopsided smile. “They are beautiful Rainy, good luck with them.”

He walked towards the door of the locker room. Pam just stared at me. “Well that went well.”

We just laughed and headed towards the box we were sitting in. The babies were starting to get fussy. We fed them and watched the guys take to the ice skating during pre-game. Lappy came into the box and immediately took Daniel from my arms and sat down with him. Soon enough Lauren entered and went for Jolie. “Ha, my husband is in love with this little girl. He wanted to come over last week and visit but our kids had the sniffles. So I made him wait.” I just sat back and enjoyed watching the boys play among themselves waiting for the game to start.

Notes