Status: Uh....story kinda died. You can blame it on Bettman :P
While You Were Away
X
We all sat around the living room while we ate dessert. A Christmas Story was playing on the tv, though the volume was too low for anyone to hear unless they were concentrating.
“So Jack has played in the Olympics. Have you done something like that Val?” Aunt Nancy asked, looking over to us.
“I uh,” He cleared his throat before continuing. “I played in the Olympics also.”
“Really?” My aunt asked, intrigued. “Did you two play against each other?”
“No, we didn’t. I played for Finland, we didn’t play against the US.”
“Out of the six games they played, Val scored three goals,” I said proudly, seeing as he sometimes had a reputation for not taking shots.
“That’s very good!” My aunt said, smiling at him. “So what team did you play against for the final game?”
“Slovakia.”
“Weren’t you the one that scored on the empty net?” Jack asked and I rolled my eyes.
“That doesn’t make it any less of a goal,” I pointed out sharply, giving him a look that caused him to shrink back noticeably.
“How did the game end?”
“We beat Slovakia 5-3. We got the bronze medal.”
“Wow, congratulations. Have you done anything else before you played for the Wings?”
“Just a few things here and there,” He said, not wanting to delve into anything so he wouldn’t seem very cocky. I rolled my eyes at his shyness and my aunt took notice.
“Why the rolling of the eyes Amy?” She asked, taking a bite of her pie and I laughed.
“Val’s shy. He doesn’t admit some of the stuff he’s accomplished.”
“Like what?” I looked over at Val to see if he minded me telling her and he smiled to assure me that he didn’t really mind. He knew I was proud of him, so he let me brag when I wanted to.
“Well for starters, he was the captain of Team Finland at the World U18 Championships in…when was it?”
“2002, in Slovakia.”
“Yeah. And then in 2004 he was the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships tournament all-star.”
“Oh wow, that’s a lot to be proud of Val! Why didn’t you want to admit that?” My aunt asked, seemingly in awe, causing me to laugh slightly.
“I don’t know. I don’t like to brag really,” He said as I leaned into him a bit. I glanced over at Emily because I felt eyes on me and saw her glaring, then roll her eyes when I looked over, causing me to stifle a laugh.
“So do you guys play each other very often?” My mom asked, looking from Val to Jack.
“I think we have four games against each other this season. We’ve already played two though.”
“Amy was actually at the game in LA. Val thought I was her and was trying to tell me which locker room to go to,” Emily said and I rolled my eyes.
“Not like we’re twins or anything,” I muttered and heard Val stifle a laugh and clear his throat to cover it up.
“That must have been interesting,” Our mom mused with a small smile on her face.
“So you guys are going back to LA soon?” My aunt asked for the sake of keeping the conversation going in a nice direction.
“Yeah, we actually have to leave here by eleven. Our flights at one I think.” Emily looked over at Jack for a confirmation and he nodded his head.
“Well that’s not very fun, you guys haven’t been here for long.”
“We were at Jack’s parents house for a few days actually..”
“Apparently the girls like their boys parents better than their own,” My mom joked.
“You know that’s not true Mom,” Emily and I said in unison, causing me to cringe and my mom to burst out laughing, along with Aunt Nancy.
“You both just said that at the same time and cringed at the same time after!” Our mom roared, setting her glass of wine on the table so she wouldn’t spill it.
“Glad we can still keep you entertained Mom.”
“So Jack has played in the Olympics. Have you done something like that Val?” Aunt Nancy asked, looking over to us.
“I uh,” He cleared his throat before continuing. “I played in the Olympics also.”
“Really?” My aunt asked, intrigued. “Did you two play against each other?”
“No, we didn’t. I played for Finland, we didn’t play against the US.”
“Out of the six games they played, Val scored three goals,” I said proudly, seeing as he sometimes had a reputation for not taking shots.
“That’s very good!” My aunt said, smiling at him. “So what team did you play against for the final game?”
“Slovakia.”
“Weren’t you the one that scored on the empty net?” Jack asked and I rolled my eyes.
“That doesn’t make it any less of a goal,” I pointed out sharply, giving him a look that caused him to shrink back noticeably.
“How did the game end?”
“We beat Slovakia 5-3. We got the bronze medal.”
“Wow, congratulations. Have you done anything else before you played for the Wings?”
“Just a few things here and there,” He said, not wanting to delve into anything so he wouldn’t seem very cocky. I rolled my eyes at his shyness and my aunt took notice.
“Why the rolling of the eyes Amy?” She asked, taking a bite of her pie and I laughed.
“Val’s shy. He doesn’t admit some of the stuff he’s accomplished.”
“Like what?” I looked over at Val to see if he minded me telling her and he smiled to assure me that he didn’t really mind. He knew I was proud of him, so he let me brag when I wanted to.
“Well for starters, he was the captain of Team Finland at the World U18 Championships in…when was it?”
“2002, in Slovakia.”
“Yeah. And then in 2004 he was the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships tournament all-star.”
“Oh wow, that’s a lot to be proud of Val! Why didn’t you want to admit that?” My aunt asked, seemingly in awe, causing me to laugh slightly.
“I don’t know. I don’t like to brag really,” He said as I leaned into him a bit. I glanced over at Emily because I felt eyes on me and saw her glaring, then roll her eyes when I looked over, causing me to stifle a laugh.
“So do you guys play each other very often?” My mom asked, looking from Val to Jack.
“I think we have four games against each other this season. We’ve already played two though.”
“Amy was actually at the game in LA. Val thought I was her and was trying to tell me which locker room to go to,” Emily said and I rolled my eyes.
“Not like we’re twins or anything,” I muttered and heard Val stifle a laugh and clear his throat to cover it up.
“That must have been interesting,” Our mom mused with a small smile on her face.
“So you guys are going back to LA soon?” My aunt asked for the sake of keeping the conversation going in a nice direction.
“Yeah, we actually have to leave here by eleven. Our flights at one I think.” Emily looked over at Jack for a confirmation and he nodded his head.
“Well that’s not very fun, you guys haven’t been here for long.”
“We were at Jack’s parents house for a few days actually..”
“Apparently the girls like their boys parents better than their own,” My mom joked.
“You know that’s not true Mom,” Emily and I said in unison, causing me to cringe and my mom to burst out laughing, along with Aunt Nancy.
“You both just said that at the same time and cringed at the same time after!” Our mom roared, setting her glass of wine on the table so she wouldn’t spill it.
“Glad we can still keep you entertained Mom.”