Status: Active!

Effortless

Chapter 1: Photograph

The weather wasn’t good in Pitt, the day I met her. It was grey, and the wind was blowing a little, rain was slowly starting to come down. Honestly, when I first met her, I wasn’t planning on falling in love with her. Who am I kidding, I wasn’t even looking for a girlfriend or even just someone to have a good time with, but, bam, there she was, like the sun. Bright, beautiful, warm, shining on me, and I fell for her, hard. I’m getting a head of myself though. Let’s start at the beginning of the story.

Kris Letang’s Point of View

Walking out of Southpointe, I knew that it was a day to go back to my apartment and relax. I could feel the warm wind hit me, and the moisture that was in it, was imminent of an oncoming storm. I loved storms. Let me rephrase, I loved storms from the safety of my apartment. Dry, safe, and comforting…did I mention the dry? I walked over to my car hoping that one of the guys wouldn’t ask me to go out to eat with them; I was really bad at saying no.

“Tanger!” and I knew I should have knocked on wood. I turned to see Matt Cooke walking towards me. He seemed to be in a rush.

“What’s up, man?” I followed up, turning to face him. He stopped in front of me, phone in hand.

“I know you probably have plans right now, but my wife’s car blew a tire, and she needs me to come get her, but Reece is at ballet class. Would you mind going to pick her up for me? I know it’s kind of an inconvenience, but I’d really appreciate it.” He explained, looking very hopeful.

“Yeah, of course I will. I understand, shit happens, “I said. As much as I’d like to go home, my teammates, more or less my brothers, were more important to me, and I would help them out whenever I could. I know they’d do the same for me.

He gave me the address and I typed it into my GPS and went on my way. Of course I got lost. Make the next possible U-turn is the biggest bunch of bullshit I’ve ever heard. I continued for a while until, I finally spotted the sign, Dance Conservatory of Pittsburgh. I pulled in and went inside. There was a front desk and some seats and then there was a sign that said dance studios on the second floor. I went up the stairs two at a time. The studio was completely empty except for Reece and what I’m assuming was her teacher.

“KRIS!” Reese yelled and ran over to me. I picked her up, hugging her. “What are you doing here; I thought my daddy was going to get me today?” She questioned me, as I set her back down.

“Your mom had a bad tire, and your dad went to sort her out. So, you get me to take you home.” I smiled at her. She was a great kid.

“Well, that’s okay. I don’t mind you picking me up” she said to me.

“You better not,” I teased, “Go get your things”

She skipped away, towards her bag.

“Are you her uncle?” I heard a voice ask me. I looked up then, and saw her teacher. A bright smile on her face. I smiled too, it was almost as if her smiled was infectious.

“You could say that, close friend of the family.” I explained and then continued, “Sorry, I’m so late, my GPS is terrible.

“It’s alright, I don’t mind. I’m going to be here for another couple of hours anyway. It’s my rehearsal time.” She smiled. “I’m Dianna, by the way”

“Kris, it’s a pleasure” I responded.

“Likewise”

Before our conversation could go any further, Reece ran over to me, bag slung over her shoulder, shoes substituted for ballet slippers.

“I’ll see you on Thursday, Miss Di. Will we get to see your solo then?” Reese asked her
.
“You can see my solo when it’s finished, at the showcase” she said, placing one of her a hands on her hips. I couldn’t stop looking at her, the way she moved was so effortless and graceful. It must of have been a dancer thing, but I really liked it.

“Awe, come one!” Reese complained.

“In due time, sweetheart” and that seemed to end the conversation.

As Reese and I started for the stairs I turned back to see her sitting on the floor taking her ballet shoes off, and pulling up her tights. If it were a photograph it would be one you’d see in a fancy art museum. It was a very peaceful image.

I gave Reese a piggy-back ride to my car. The rain had started to fall a little harder now, and I jogged the rest of the way, which made Reese laugh. She and I stopped and got ice cream on the way home, because I wanted to be more fun than her parents. The coolness of the ice cream seemed to help with the humidity. I let Reese talk and I made sure to listen. I felt like listening was the most important thing for kids; to have someone to listen to them. She talked about this showcase, like the guys and I talked about the Stanley Cup. Apparently, it was a huge show that the Conservatory put on every year.

“Miss Di’s solos are always so amazing! I wish you could see it. I want to be just like her when I’m older. She’s such a good dancer; I wish I could dance like her.”

“You know, if you work really hard and don’t give up I’m sure you’ll be just as good if not better” I encourage as I pulled up to the Cooke house.

“Yeah, I hope so. Are you going to come to the show case to see me?” she asked as we walked up to the door.

“You got it kid; I would love to see you dance.”

“I think you might like to watch Miss Di dance more” she teased in a sing-songy voice.
I looked at her and laughed. I hope she wasn’t getting any idea about me and her teacher. I didn’t need a girlfriend right now. I wanted to focus on my hockey.

Matt and Michelle thanked me and offered dinner, but I declined. I was ready to go to sleep. As I drove to my apartment, I wondered what Reese saw that made her think I liked her teacher. We didn’t even talk for very long. Weird.

I didn’t think about it again until later that night when I was trying to fall asleep. I couldn’t get that peaceful, photographic image of her taking her shoes off out of my head. I kicked the blankets off my legs frustrated. The image still there though, bright and clear. That was the last time I thought about her though for a long time. Like, I said I didn’t need a girlfriend. All I needed was my hockey.
♠ ♠ ♠
Let me know what you think. I would appreciate :) :)

SJ