Hair, Nails & Hockey

Chapter Five

"Auntie, I'm hungry," Jake whined from the backseat and I sighed.

"I need to go to the bank before it closes and we'll get something to eat," I said as I looked into the backseat and saw Jake and Missy looking out their windows and sitting in their booster seats.

"Where's Uncle?" Missy asked.

"Uncle had to go to work, he'll be back later this afternoon," I said and then stopped at a red light.

When I got to the bank, I took Missy and Jake out of the car and then walked into the bank, holding both of their hands and then walking over towards the first available person. I deposited half of my tips and all of my paycheck, I kept at least five hundred cash for the week, I still needed to go grocery shopping and get some small errands finished, and I liked to pay in cash.

Ian had to take pictures of the Penguins at their first day of training camp, their first game was one week from today and I was nervous about this season, wondering what I was going to do when I'm completely by myself.

When I was finished at the bank, I walked back to my jeep, placing the kids in the backseat. I heard my name and turned around and froze in my spot, mentally cursing that I didn't move fast enough out of the bank.

"Oh my god! Hi Sarah!"

"Anna, hi," I said slowly and tried to sound like I was happy to see my sister's old best friend.

"Oh my god, is this Jake and Missy?" she asked and I nodded my head, "You guys have gotten so big! Oh, Danny will be so happy to hear that!"

"Danny?" I asked and Anna smiled and nodded her head, "She's back in town, haven't you heard?"

"No, but thanks," I said and then closed the back door, "Great to see you, but we have to go."

"Oh, ok, good seeing you too. Bye guys," Anna waved to the kids and then turned around and started to head towards the bank door.

I mentally cursed again and then pulled out of the parking lot, wishing that I didn't see her, '...Shit, she's in town...'

"Auntie," Jake asked and I sighed, knowing what was coming.

"Yeah buddy."

"Did that lady say that mommy was back?" he asked and I gripped the steering wheel.

"Yeah bud, your mom's in town," I said and looked at him in the rearview mirror to see that he was looking out the window, "Is that all right?"

"I guess," he said and it broke my heart at how sad he looked.

"Did you want to see her?"

"Not really," he said and I bit back a smirk because I didn't either.

"How 'bout we go to Friendly's?" I ask and Missy and Jake smile brightly and cheered, I laughed and then nodded my head, "All righty then, we'll go to Friendly's."

The kids were excited to eat lunch at a restaurant, they were usually well behaved, so I never dreaded doing it. We had a small lunch and then headed back home, it was about two when we walked through the front doors and heard people talking in the kitchen.

The kids ran into the kitchen and I heard them scream and I heard laughing. I walked into the kitchen and froze, a giant smile spread across my face at the sight of Jake and Missy attacking their Uncle Craig.

"Sar-bear," Craig said as he stood up, all decked up in his military uniform.

"Craig," I smiled and then walked over towards him and wrapped my arms around him, "Ian said that we wouldn't see you until March!"

"Well, technically I'm not here," he smirked and I laughed a little, "I'm supposed to be at the Gap," Craig said, talking about the Indiantown Gap in Hershey, Pennsylvania, "I have to leave tomorrow so that I can be at work on Monday."

"Well, I'm glad that you're here! I'm so happy to see you!" I said and Craig smiled and kissed my cheek, "Hey guys, why don't you go and get a board game from your room," I said while looking at Jake and Missy, "You can play a game with Uncle Craig."

"Ok!" Jake yelled then grabbed Missy and took her out of the kitchen.

I sighed and then sat in the empty chair and looked at my brothers, "So we have a little issue," I said and Ian and Craig looked at me, "When I was at the bank today, I ran into Anna."

"Anna?" Ian asked and I nodded my head, "I know that name-"

"Danny's best friend," I said and Ian nodded his head. I looked at Craig and he sighed and rubbed his face and then ran a hair through his hair.

"She's back in town, isn't she?" he asked and I nodded my head, "Perfect."

"Hey, no worries, she's not allowed on our property, we'll just call the police," Ian said and I shook my head.

"What about everywhere else? The grocery store, the daycare, the school- The arena!" I said and Ian sighed, "That's not our property and we were never approved of a restraining order."

"The daycare and school, they'll be fine there, Danny's not that stupid to try something there," Craig said and I nodded my head, "She probably doesn't even know about your new job, Ian, so that should be fine too."

"So just everywhere else," I said and Craig sighed.

"Of course this shit happens when I'm home," he smirked and Ian and I snorted.

"Maybe she followed you," Ian suggested and I slapped his arm, "Ow!"

"You're home early," I said and Ian nodded his head.

"Yeah, he called me just as camp was over, telling me that he was about a half hour away from the house. I left before I could download the pictures, so I have to go in later and finish it," he said and I nodded my head.

"Uncle Craig! Come on, let's go play!" Jake yelled as he ran into the room and grabbed Craig's hand and walked him out into the living room.

Ian and I were left alone in the kitchen, I rubbed my face and then threw my hair up into a bun, "Are you going to be here long?" I asked and Ian nodded his head, "I'm going to go for a run."

"All right," he said and I stood up, patted Ian's shoulder and then walked out of the kitchen, up the stairs and into my room.

I changed into sweats and a hoodie and then grabbed my sneakers from the closet and laced them up. I heard my door open and looked to see Rocko walking into the room, "Do you wanna go for a walk?" I asked and his head perked up, "Do you wanna go for a walk?" I repeated and Rocko whined and trotted over towards me and placed his front paws on my lap and whined a little, "Huh? You wanna go for a walk?" I giggled when he tilted his head and then pawed at me, "Walk?"

"Quit teasing that dog!" I heard Ian yell as he walked up the stairs and went into his room.

I laughed and kissed Rocko's head, "Come on boy," I said and watched as Rocko jumped a little and then walked towards the door, bouncing up and down and then running down the stairs, nearly running Missy over because he was excited. I walked towards the door, grabbing my ipod and headphones from my purse and pulling my hair into a tight ponytail. Jake and Craig were sitting on the ground playing battleship, I waved towards them and then grabbed Rocko's leash, "I'll be back."

"Be careful!" Craig said and I nodded my head.

I placed my headphones in my ears, turned my music on, leashed Rocko, walked out of the house and started to walk. When I got to the bottom of the driveway, I stretched a little and then started my jog.

-Ian-

"Hey, how 'bout you two watch some cartoons?" I asked and then turned on the Disney channel.

Jake and Missy sat on the couch and started to dance and sing along to the show. Craig and I walked into the kitchen, I made some coffee and then rubbed my face.

"You two work too hard," Craig said and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Yeah, but Sar loves her job," I said and smiled, happy for my sister, "She makes it really well in tips too."

"That's because she's good at what she does and she's a nice person," Craig said and I nodded my head, "Has she been cashing the checks in that I send her?" he asked because Sarah wasn't for the first few months.

"Yeah, she uses it on the daycare that the kids are at," I said and he nodded his head.

"Good, everything helps," Craig said and I nodded my head, "Is the daycare five hundred a month?"

"A thousand, and one hundred goes towards the bus company that picks the kids up and brings them to the daycare."

"Damn," he said and I nodded my head.

"Yeah, but it's the only daycare that's opened until seven, and with both of our schedules, it's a big help," I said and Craig nodded his head.

"How do you like your new job?"

"It's good, I like it so far. The guys are pretty cool," I smirked and Craig laughed.

"One of my Commanding Officers is a big Bruins fan," he said and I laughed, "Kept on busting me when he found out that we lived close to Pittsburgh."

"Gramps was a big Pens fan, but we were never really brought into it," I said and Craig shook his head.

"You still do the Pirates?"

"Yeah, I took pictures for the paper, but not I take pictures for the sports network. This'll be interesting this spring, the Pens and Pirates' schedules are going to clash, I just know it."

"Time management, my friend," Craig said and I snorted and took a sip of my coffee.