Playing House

As soon as the girls and I walked into the house, we were greeted by the loud shrieks of my children. They were being chased around by Brent, Duncan, and Ben, but when he saw us, Ben slowed and came over. I also heard a lot of talking, and when I peeked around the corner I saw the whole team was once again in the house. Erin and Lyss walked towards the living room, giving us a little privacy.

“I need to talk to you,” we said simultaneously. I furrowed my eyebrows.

What did he want to say?

He pulled me upstairs and into his bedroom, where he shut the door. I looked at the bed, which was one big jumbled mess of sheets and pillows and blankets. Ben noticed my odd glance at his bed and his cheeked tinged pink.

“Oh, uh…yeah,” Ben sounded, looking at the bed and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “It’s…not the same…without you in it with me.”

I smiled at him and nodded.

“So, congratulations on the custody win,” he offered.

“Thanks. Although I guess I should be thanking you. You’re the one who made it all possible,” I told him.

“I’m sorry for being a jerk,” he blurted.

“You haven’t been-”

“Yes I have. I was just, you know, nervous. About stuff,” He noted. I smiled, knowing that he was trying and failing to be subtle.

He grabbed my waist and pulled me in, looking down at me before brushing the bangs out of my eyes.

“I know we moved fast, but I love you,” he said genuinely.

“I love you too,” I smiled. He leaned down and kissed me innocently, but before he could pull away I deepened it. He groaned and pushed me up against the door, tugging at my lower lip with his teeth. Just as things got a little more heated, there was a soft knock on the door.

“It’s me, uh, Duncan,” he called. "Keith," he added right after. Ben chuckled at his teammates obviousness.

“Really? I had no idea,” Ben teased, opening the door. Duncan shoved him slightly before telling Ben he had a phone call downstairs. Ben nodded and we all went downstairs. I sat on the couch and Maddie came and sat on my lap. Adam Burish, who was sitting next to me, lazily slung his arm across my shoulders. He removed it almost instantly, and when I turned I saw Ben glaring at him. I smiled a little and shook my head.

Ben took the phone from Brent, who looked glad to be rid of it. Who the heck was on the other line?

“Hello?” Ben answered. Suddenly his eyes got wide and he visibly tensed.

Oh God.

Who was it?

Why was everyone so tense?

All these crazy thoughts kept running through my head, like the courts had changed their minds and they were coming to take my children away.

Every time Ben went to speak the other person cut him off, and he was left mumbling apologies and polite yes’s and no’s.

Eventually he hung up and shivered, tossing the phone onto a side table.

“Who was it?” I asked, panicky.

“My great Aunt Eleanor,” he shivered again.

“Oh, thank God,” I breathed out, relieved. “I thought it was something really serious.”

“She is really serious, Amalia, you have no idea,” Ben informed. “She’s so old school and proper it’s insane.”

Well duh, her name was Eleanor.

“Why’d she call?” Patrick Sharp asked.

“She wants to see me,” Ben muttered. “She’s coming over this Friday.”

“But that’s the surprise birthd-” Andrew Ladd clapped a hand over Marty Havlat’s face, preventing him from speaking. He glanced at Beau and Maddie, who were completely oblivious to all of us anyways.

“It won’t be a surprise if someone yells it out beforehand, will it?” He glared at Marty.

“But that’s the day of the p-a-r-t-y,” Marty amended, spelling it out. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

“Can’t you suggest a different day?” Dave Bolland asked.

“No, you don’t get it,” Ben denied. “You don’t suggest things to Aunt Eleanor. You listen to her and agree. Period. She says she's coming Friday, and you better be sitting outside at 11:59 Thursday night waiting for her.”

“Ben, don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?” I asked him.

“Of course it’s dramatic!” He exclaimed. “But did you not hear me before? She’s insane.”

Duncan and Brent chuckled, earning glares from their girlfriends, but the other guys were snickering as well.

“Laugh it up. But I guarantee you, before Friday is over she will have made you all cry,” Ben said, going into the kitchen. He came back out holding a newly opened beer, and chugged half. “When I was six I snuck a sugar cookie before dinner time and she caught me. She said since I wanted cookies so bad, I could have them. So she kept giving me more and more and more. That’s all she’d let me eat. After a while I started getting a stomach ache and she brought out another whole plate and made me keep going. I never felt so sick in my entire life.”

“Is that why you never eat sugar cookies?” Cam Barker observed. Ben nodded and took another swig of beer.

“I can only imagine what she’s going to say about us,” Ben stated, looking at me. “Benjamin! What are you doing with the help?” He mocked, making his voice go up.

Brent snickered again and Erin smacked his arm.

“We don’t have to tell her,” I offered. “I mean, we can hide it.” Ben looked up at me and smiled softly. He walked towards me and wrapped me up in his arms, pecking me on the lips.

“No way,” he shot down. “I’m not going to hide from her. I’m just afraid she’s totally going to kill you.”

“What?!”

“You have children. You’re not married. You’ve never been married. And you still have children,” he said.

“Thanks for pointing that out, I had no idea,” I remarked.

“I told you, she’s hardcore traditional and old-fashioned. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Hey, don’t forget the way she’s going to totally bitch out the two of you for having premarital and unprotected sex,” Duncan chuckled. Lyss turned and looked at him incredulously, and he immediately wiped the smirk off of his face. “I mean…uh. Who’s hungry?” He covered, walking toward the kitchen. Lyss rolled her eyes and grabbed him, and she and Erin led their men to the couch to sit by Beau and Maddie, making the rest of the team follow and give us a little space.

Ben and I stayed near the kitchen, where he still held me in his arms. He looked down at me, nervousness evident in his features.

“So…how was the doctor’s?” He asked softly, trying to inadvertently get on the topic. Everyone else was in the livingroom a few feet away, but I could tell the guys were all still trying to listen intently. They had the volume on the TV really low and their heads were all tilted slightly. It would be creepy if I didn’t know what they were doing.

“It was, um. Informative,” I answered. Ben nodded and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. He leaned his forehead to mine, keeping his eyes closed.

“And?” he asked, his breath ticking my lips. His grip around me tensed, waiting for my answer.

“I’m pregnant,” I whispered.

His eyes snapped open and he pulled his head away, looking down at me. I couldn’t read his expression, so I stayed silent.

“You’re pregnant?” He whispered back. I nodded, about to cry from all the confusion.

Oh god, hormones kicking in already? Ugh.

“You’re pregnant?” He repeated, louder. Everyone in the living room but the twins snapped their heads toward us. I nodded again, tears falling from my eyes. I looked up at Ben, who had the biggest smile on his face.

I did a double take, looking at his happy features. He was grinning ear to ear, and his blue eyes sparkled even more than usual.

He wiped the tears off my face with the pads of his thumbs and kissed me on the lips while still smiling. He kissed my forehead after that, and then my cheeks and back to my lips.

“You’re pregnant!” He exclaimed, picking me up and spinning in circles. I wrapped my legs around him, laughing through a few stray tears. The whole team came over and engulfed us in congratulatory hugs, but the only person I could focus on was Ben.

He smiled up at me and kissed me again, holding me close.

“Dude,” Matt Walker started. “Your Aunt is going to eat you two alive.”