Reunited

“If we stop for coffee, you’re going to be late, Jordan.” Simone sat in the passenger seat admiring the snow that had fallen the night before. “Besides, yours will go cold before you get a chance to drink it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Jordan pouted.

“Of course I am,” Simone joked. “If you want, I can go pick some up when you guys are almost finished.”

“Where are you going to get coffee from?”

“Starbucks, duh.”

“Are you going to walk? The closest Starbucks is like three blocks away.” Jordan looked at his friend. “I wouldn’t feel right if you walked three blocks in the cold to get me coffee. Plus, once you got back it would be cold.”

“Someone will lend me their car,” Simone said. “Your team loves me.”

“That they do,” Jordan agreed. “If you want, you can take this thing. I know you would rather drive a car, but this baby has four-wheel drive.”

Simone laughed. “If you don’t mind, taking your SUV would be easiest.”

Jordan nodded and pulled into the parking lot of the CONSOL Energy Arena. They got out of the SUV and made their way into the building. Outside the locker room, Jordan stopped and handed his keys over to Simone. “Take care of her and be careful.”

Simone nodded before turning and making her way up into the stands. Once she had found her spot, she sat down and pulled out her phone. She sent an email to her parents, asking them about Christmas plans, and sent a text message to Vero, making plans for a shopping trip. She looked up from her phone when there was a sharp knock on the glass. Seeing who it was, she smiled and waved. The person waved her down. She grabbed her purse and walked down the stairs so that she was standing right in front of the man.

“Will you get all of us coffee?” He asked.

Simone sighed and gave him another smile. “Of course, can I just get a whole piled of black ones?”

“I don’t see why not,” he replied.

“Ok, I’ll knock on the door once I get back with them.”

“Thanks, Simone.” He smiled widely.

“No problem, Marc. Oh, how many do I need to get?”

“I’ll say thirty to be safe,” Marc told her, glancing behind him at his teammates as they spilled onto the ice. “Everyone will pay you back, I promise.”

Simone nodded. “I’ll talk to you later.” Turning, she made her way back up to her seat and set her alarm to go off in forty-five minutes. She turned her attention to the drills that the boys were doing, smiling when Jordan shot the puck past Marc-Andre and then pointed into the stands at her. Shaking her head, she felt her phone vibrate in her lap. She picked it up and looked at the caller id before smiling and pressing the green button. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Sitting around doing nothing,” a voice replied. “What about you?”

“I’m sitting in an arena watching some friends while they do their morning skate,” Simone replied.

“Oh, can you talk now?”

“Sure, I have about forty minutes before I have to get the team some coffee.” She glanced back onto the ice to find the team doing a different drill. “What do you want to talk about?”

“First off, can I know your name?”

Simone chuckled and shook her head. “Not a chance. Not yet at least.”

“Ok, well, do you watch a lot of hockey?”

“I sure do.”

“And you know who I am?”

“I’ve known you for a while.”

“Then you know that I had an unfortunate game on Friday, right?”

“Yes, are you ok? Was it something serious?”

“No, no. The doctor said I was just over stressed, so I need to relax for a couple days and get rid of my concussion.”

“That’s too bad.”

“It’s probably the worst thing that has ever happened to me,” the man on the other end said. “Now I get to sit on the bench and watch the rest of the team practice. I really wish I was out there right now.”

Simone smiled. “You work way too hard, Jor. Maybe this break is good for you. Get better and take some time to just relax.”

“You’re starting to sound like one of my teammates,” he chuckled. “Can I ask you something?”

“If you want to,” Simone said.

“Are you in Canada?”

“No, I can’t say that I am. I am, however, Canadian.”

“Really? Where are you from?”

“That isn’t important right now. Besides, it would give away too much about me and you would figure out who I am.”

He sighed. “Fine, can you tell me where you are now?”

“The United States of America, of course. Where else would a young, university graduate be?”

“I didn’t know you were a university graduate and graduates could very well be in Canada or Japan.”

“Japan? Do they have hockey teams there? ‘Cause if that’s the case, I’m definitely moving.”

“You would move to Japan if they had a hockey team?”

“I would move anywhere for my job if there was a hockey team.”

“So, now that I have established that you are Canadian and currently live in the States, can you tell me which state you are in?”

“Pennsylvania,” Simone admitted. “Does that bring you any closer to knowing who I am?”

“Not even a little bit,” he said. “But I will figure out who you are.”

“I bet you won’t.”

“You don’t think so?”

“Not before I tell you who I am you won’t,” Simone replied. “I know exactly what information to give and what not to give.”

“If you say so.” His voice held a sound of disbelief. “Give me until I am able to play again and if I guess, you have to tell me whether or not I guessed correctly.”

“Deal,” Simone agreed. “Is there more you want to talk about or can I go buy my boys some coffee?”

“Go get them some coffee, I’ll probably call you again.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” With that, she hung up the phone, grabbed her purse and Jordan’s keys before declining down the stairs. She quickly made her way to the large, black SUV and got in the driver’s seat. “Son of a mad cow,” Simone muttered. “Why is that boy so tall?” She adjusted the seat so that her five foot four body was able to not only reach the pedals, but also see the top of the hood. Once she was comfortable, she started the vehicle and pulled out of the lot. She drove three blocks before parking in the Starbucks parking lot. She hopped out of the vehicle, making sure to lock the doors, and casually walked into the building.

“Hello.” The overly cheerful barista smiled at Simone. “What can I get for you?”

“I have a fairly large order,” Simone told the girl.

“Let’s hear it.” The barista’s long, blonde ponytail bounced with her excitement. “We haven’t been busy today, so whatever you need, we will make it.”

“I need thirty grande black coffees,” Simone told her. “I can grab all the sugars and stuff off the stand.”

The girl nodded eagerly and punched in the order.

Handing her the money, Simone walked over to the stand and started filling her purse with cream, sugar and stir sticks. “Can I get them in carrying trays too?”

“Absolutely!” The barista nearly squealed with enthusiasm. “Do you want help carrying them to your car too?”

“That would be really great if you could,” Simone said, sending the girl a smile.

Within fifteen minutes, all of the coffee was made and loaded into the SUV. Simone was making her way back to the arena when her phone started going off again. She ignored it until she arrived at the arena and was parked. Quickly typing in her password, she opened her text messages to find that Jordan had been wondering where she was with his vehicle. She rolled her eyes and grabbed a couple trays of coffee. Knocking on the door with her foot, she smiled at the security guard who let her in.

“Treating the boys, are you?”

“Definitely not,” she said with a laugh. “They better pay me back for this one.”

The guard chuckled and nodded. “Good luck with that one.”

Simone smiled again and made her way to the locker room. She kicked the door again, letting the team know she had arrived.

The door opened quickly, revealing Marc-Andre with a smile spread across his face. He held the door for her as she walked into the loud room. She quickly put the trays on the nearest bench and turned back toward Marc-Andre. “Do you think you could help carry some?”

“Sure,” Marc-Andre nodded. “I’ll get Jordan to help too.”

“Thanks.” Simone walked back to the vehicle and waited for the two boys. Just as she saw the boys walk out of the building, a horrible screeching filled the air. Simone’s head whipped to the left just in time for her to see a white van skidding in her direction. She felt her muscles tense and her eyes close tightly, waiting for the impact of the metal pinning her to the SUV behind her. It wasn’t until she heard the earth shattering crash that she opened her eyes. When she looked to her right, she breathed a sigh of relief. Lucky for her, the van had missed her by inches. Unlucky for Jordan, the van had nailed the back end of his SUV.

The driver scrambled from the van. His face was in complete shock. “I’m so sorry, miss,” he started to apologize. “I tried to stop, really I did, but the van hit some black ice and, well, you know the rest.” His voice was shaky and frantic.

“You know what?” Simone glanced over the man’s shoulder to see Marc-Andre and a very angry Jordan running toward them. “I’m fine, but you shouldn’t be apologizing to me. It’s not my vehicle you hit.”

“Oh,” the man looked back at the van to see his passenger emerging. “Whose is it?”

“His,” Simone said, pointing at Jordan, who was extremely close now. She couldn’t help letting a small smirk land on her lips.

“Shit,” the driver muttered.

“What’s going on?” The van’s passenger asked as he stood beside his driver.

“Dude, we hit Jordan Staal’s vehicle,” the driver informed him.

“You’re dead, bud,” the passenger said, patting his partner on the shoulder. “You’re even deader if any equipment is broken.”

The driver groaned and ran a hand down his face as Jordan finally arrived.

He began to inspect his SUV. The bumper was misshaped and the edge was hanging off the vehicle. The rear lights on the same side were completely smashed and a crack had formed in the side window.

“Are you ok?” Marc-Andre asked Simone as Jordan continued his inspection.

“I’m alright,” Simone told him. “A little shaken up, but I’ll live.”

“That’s good. From where we were standing I couldn’t tell if you had been hit or not,” Marc-Andre glanced over at Jordan and then back at Simone. “Jordan said that you were ok, but that they hit his baby.”

Simone let out a laugh and shook her head. “At least I know what he cares about more.”

“Who?” Jordan asked as he stepped beside her. He seemed to have calmed down.

“You,” Simone told him. “Marc told me that you were certain I was ok and that you were more concerned about you SUV.”

“What can I say?” Jordan shrugged his shoulders. “I knew you were ok, so why would I worry about you?”

“I still know who you love more.” Simone walked over to the other side of the vehicle and opened the door. She grabbed two more trays and walked back to the others. “You deal with this; I’m bringing in the rest of the coffee.”

“I’ll help,” Marc-Andre offered, going to grab some trays before following his red-haired friend.