Here I Am

I woke slowly, unlike most mornings. My eyes fluttered open and for a few minutes my eyes were fixated on the slow moving ceiling fan.

I closed my eyes, letting the past few days wash over me and I opened them again, remembering where I was and who was next to me.

My hand felt around next to me, but I only came up with a handful of blankets and air. I looked over at the clock and saw it close to ten a.m. Of course he wasn’t here.

I more or less rolled out of bed and checked Riley’s room. His bed was made and empty.

“Corey Crawford, where did you take my boy?” I muttered out loud as I padded into the kitchen.

There I was met with a note with a simple instruction. I rolled my eyes, but nonetheless picked up the house phone that was conveniently right next to the piece of paper.

Three rings and I was ready to hang up, when the goaltender man finally answered. “You punched me when I tried to wake you up,” was my good morning greeting from Corey.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Sorry darling. I can’t be responsible for my actions when I’m asleep. Did I at least leave a bruise?”

He laughed and my insides melted for a split second. I LOVED it when he laughed. It was one of the best things I’ve ever heard. “No, I ducked just in time and you got my shoulder.”

“Well that’s good. Wouldn’t want to bruise that pretty little face of your’s,” I hopped onto the counter and started to swing my legs. I wish I could see his face right then. Ever since that first day I met Corey Crawford, seeing his face when I shamelessly flirted with him was another thing I loved about him.

A short pause and I just imagined his slightly pink cheeks, his mouth slightly ajar, eyebrows knit together as he thought about the words I said.

“But you didn’t,” his voice brought me back to our current conversation. “Oh by the way, if you haven’t noticed already I took Riley. He was already up and dressed by the time I was stumbling to the shower.”

I smiled. “He’s an early bird. Which will be good for public school, which I’ll be enrolling him in today.”

“Great!” he sounded enthusiastic. “Which one?”

He got me there. “I haven’t actually conducted my research yet,” I admitted.

“Well that is okay Ms. Delia Staal, because I enlisted the help of Jonathan Toews, captain of the Chicago Blackhawks to help me. You know he loves his research and well he found that Hillside elementary is a fantastic school in a great neighborhood.”

“Where?” I asked, grabbing a pen and scribbling a test mark on the back of Corey’s note.

“Three blocks from where you are sitting. Probably on my counter, am I right?” he asked slyly.

I pulled the phone away and looked at it. “Do you have a camera in here that I am unaware of?” I joked.

“Nah, it just seems like something you’d do.”

I tapped the pen against my bottom lip. “Three blocks from here, you say?”

“So. . .” he trailed off.

“So we’d need to find a house in close proximity to you I guess,” I shrugged, smirking into the phone. “Darn.”

“Well,” he started off. “Riley and I knew you were going to say that so we have a counter plan.”

“What, that we move away from you?” I laughed.

“Move in with me,” he said and my legs stopped swinging. It had to process in my mind what he just proposed.

“Excuse me?” was all I could ask.

He was getting nervous, I could hear it in his voice. “Um, yeah. I mean I have the room and well yeah. I want you guys to.”

I regained my composure. “Really now Corey? How scandalous of you. We’re not even together,” I broke the last word into three separate syllables.

“Delia Staal.”

“Yes?” I asked,

“Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked.

“I thought you would never ask me,” I admitted and I heard him sigh a breath of relief.

“Good,” he sounded so happy. “Great! Ha! Wow! Okay!” he laughed.

I chuckled. “Okay. I’m going to go register him and then go start packing up his stuff to move in.”

“Tazer is on his way to help you,” he said.

“Why?” I asked, getting dressed.

“Because we think he has a minor concussion from the last game and he doesn’t bode well just sitting around being useless.”

“Great,” I mumbled. “Uncle Johnny is going to help me.”

Thirty minutes later we had him registered, more or less thanks to Johnny. He was just so damn efficient and business like.

“Damn Johnny Two Toes!” I exclaimed once back into his car, heading towards Riley’s old house. “That was so freaking cool! How’d you do that so quick?”

He smirked. “I was the one who did the research you know.”

“I know. Corey told me. Thank you by the way. You really saved me there,” I said, leaning back into the seat.

“You two are good for each other,” he said suddenly. “I mean it,” he said when I gave him a questioning look. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so happy. He lights up around you and Riley.”

I smiled and looked out the window. “He is something special, isn’t he? I got lucky with Riley running into him that day. I thank God for that every day,” I whispered and that was the end of that conversation.