Story was telling him about her day, while they were driving in the car. She was very talkative, not like her Dad. Dennis preferred to listen instead. It was nice to hear her voice while in the car. Once they arrived at the Seidenbergs’ house, Patrice got out and helped Story out as well. She immediately grabbed hold of his hand and led him towards the door, where she rang the bell.
The nanny opened the door for them and ushered them inside. Story hopped up to her Dad, waited till he leaned down to kiss his cheek, and practically ran to her room. She would come back soon to get a snack or something. Patrice had to smile.
“Thank you so much for picking her up.”
“It was no problem, really.” Patrice shrugged his shoulders. “How’s Noah holding up?”
“The doctor said that her stomach is upset, but that’s it. She’s asleep now.” Dennis crossed his arms over his chest. “She needs lots of rest.”
“Of course she does. And you’re home for the rest of the day.” Patrice accepted Dennis’ invitation to sit down in the living room. “Say, do you know Story’s kindergarten teachers?”
“Not really. I’ve heard their names a couple of times, but Rebecca takes care of these kinds of things.” He thought for a moment. “One of them is Sandra and the other one is Emily. Story talks a lot about them.” He looked at his teammate and added: “Why?”
“Because I know Emily, and it was kind of a shock to see her there. The last time I saw her was six years ago and now I find out that she’s been living in Boston for the last four years.” Patrice leaned back and looked at the ceiling for a moment. It was still weird to know that she has been in Boston so long and he hadn’t known.
“How do you know her?”
“I was on vacation in Clearwater Beach in the summer. I just wanted to have some fun, try out surfing, see Disney World and all that stuff. I was there with friends, and so was she, so we spent some time together and had fun. A lot of fun. So, when we both returned from that vacation we stayed in touch, but one day she didn’t respond any more. And now she’s telling me that everything got complicated back then.”
“Wait, so you’re telling me, you had sex with a woman, you weren’t in a relationship with?”
“I was twenty-one! She’d just turned twenty, I think.”
“Don’t get me wrong, please.” Dennis leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. Patrice looked more confused than he’d ever seen him. “It’s just that I’ve only ever known you as a guy in a committed relationship, so it’s hard to imagine you in that role.”
“Ya, and we all know how that ended for me.”
Dennis winced. Patrice had been together with Stephanie forever. They had been engaged and had started to plan their wedding, when Stephanie suddenly decided that she couldn’t go through with this. She’d found someone else, someone who wasn’t a hockey player, and home more to take care of her, spend time with her. It had been a really hard time for Bergy, but the whole team had stood behind him. Now, he could move on. He still couldn’t understand it, but he knew that he’d find the right woman for him some time.
“It looks like Emily has got a kid, though.”
“Yeah?”
“When I picked up Story, we talked for a moment. I asked her out for a coffee, but she declined without giving me a reason. When your daughter dragged me to the car, I heard a boy yell “Mommy” and she picked him up, so I guess it’s her son.” Patrice sighed heavily and crossed his arms. “Well, that would at least be an explanation for not going out for a coffee with me, if she has a husband and kid or something.”
“Well, we can find out. I have to call Rebecca anyway to let her know about Noah. Wait just a second, okay?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Patrice watched Dennis leave the room and head towards the kitchen. Man, Clearwater Beach had been so long ago, but he could still remember everything, especially the time with Emily. They’d timed their trips, so that they were able to go to Disney World, the MGM Studios and the Universal Studios together. They’d had so much fun in and out of bed, that he’d wanted desperately to stay in contact with her, to see her again. Apparently she hadn’t felt the same way about him, so he’d tried to forget her, but he’d kept all the photos from back then.
Thinking back, he had to smile. She’d started talking to him and his friends at a restaurant on the beach. There were still three vacant chairs at Patrice’s table, everything else was full, so they asked whether they could join them. Since then they spent the rest of their time in Clearwater together.
Seeing her earlier had brought him right back to that time. She looked as good as back then, probably even better. The shorter hair framed her face, gave her a more mature look that he quite liked. The freckles on her nose and cheeks were not so prominent because there hadn’t been a lot of sunshine the past couple of days.
“So,” Dennis started before he sat back down on the sofa. “Rebecca says that Emily isn’t married, but yes, that was her son. She said his name is Lucas.”
“No husband?” That was interesting.
“Yeah. So, how about you pick Story up tomorrow as well?”
“Yes!” They heard from behind them and turned around to see Story standing in the doorframe, looking their way with a big grin on her face. “Please?”
“How could I say no to such a clever young lady?”
“Yay!” Story yelled in excitement, only to be silenced by her father, who was still smiling at her, but didn’t want her to wake up her sister.
“That’s decided then. I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow again.”
“You want to talk to Emily again?” Story came around the sofa and climbed in her father’s lap.
“You’re even cleverer than I thought.” Patrice leaned forward to ruffle her hair, a smile on his lips. Tomorrow would be interesting. He’d have the chance to talk to her again, maybe convince her to go out with him. She wasn’t married, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t have a boyfriend. Well, he’d still try.