Leaping for Your Dreams

I closed the office on Tuesday. I needed it more than even Geno knew really. I’d been not getting a day off since I really started planning the wedding. Fortunately we were to the point where we had everything at least planned out if not actually in preparation. Ok so closing the entire office was two fold, to get my wonderful staff a break they needed before the final push began _and_ so that I could take Anna to her pediatrician for a check up.

We went with Geno to the gym, he wanted to begin his summer training, and on the way there we swung by the Dealership to see if my car was in yet. Getting out of his car we headed inside, Anna swinging between us. Salespeople surrounded us soon after Anna’s laughter rang through the building. I began looking around for the gentleman who assisted us the first time, but I didn’t see him.

Geno was separated from us by all the fans and sales people. I hated that. He was a human being and deserved better treatment. What was worse was that Anna was still coming to terms with Geno’s celebrity status. It was just one of the issues we had been talking about having her enter therapy for. I wanted to talk to her pediatrician before we made any final decisions.

“Mama, why do all those people think Papa is so important?” She asked as we crossed the building. She was still swinging our arms.

I sighed and knelt down to her level, and noticed she was taller than I thought. “Well sunshine, you know how Papa plays hockey right?” She nodded. “Here in Pittsburgh that makes him important to the town, just like Auntie Aleks. We’ll probably attract a lot of attention when we leave for Russia as well.”

The 6 year old brightened. “We’re going to Russia? When Mama?” We’d been telling her we were going to be leaving but not where until right now.

I smiled at her. “After Auntie Aleks’ wedding we get on the plane for Russia. We won’t be back to Pittsburgh until Mid- August, just a little while before school starts.” I noticed that “our” salesman had come up while Anna and I were discussing our summer plans.

“Mrs. Malkin so nice to see you again. Coming in to check on your car?” I stifled a giggle and nodded, Anna just giggled. “You’re in luck it _just_ came in today. I was about to call you actually when I noticed the crowd.”

Anna let go of my hand and began jumping up and down with a happy “Yay!” I laughed. “So where’s the paperwork so I can pick it up? I’m sure you want it off your hands.”

He smiled. “Right this way, I’ll make sure it’s next into the detailing bay and we’ll finish up the paperwork.” As he started going towards the detailing desk, I leaned over to Anna.

“Sunshine, go get Papa. Be careful of the crowd.” She nodded furiously and skipped, literally, off to go get Evgeni. I watched as she threaded through the mass of people much more easily than I could of, they weren’t looking for children.

I heard when she got to the center. “Papa, Mama and I need you!” I could imagine the tugging of his arm as well. When that didn’t work the first time she tried again. “Papa!” I saw Geno’s head twitch right. “Mama’s car is here. Let’s go see it!” The crowd kind of was getting antsy at this point.

Our Salesman came back and saw that they were starting to turn. So he did what he needed to do. “Okay people! Leave the Malkin family alone, the sale has already gone through!” There were a whole bunch of groans and the crowd dispersed with a few grumbles.

“Thank you. It can be difficult going anywhere with him sometimes.” It was true; there were times where if I wanted something quickly I had to go do it myself. I know it sounds like I hate living this life, but the truth couldn’t be farther from the truth. It just could be exasperating.

The salesman chuckled. “I can’t even imagine. Oh look there’s your car coming into the detailing bay.” He pointed out what was obvious.

By now Geno and Anna had gotten to us and Anna had run by and pressed her nose to the glass of the bay. We told her where we’d be and went to finish the paperwork while she enjoyed watching the show. Fortunately it did not take us long to finish it and get the Temporary License plate for it either.

By the time I was handed the keys Anna’s excitement was contagious. Geno had gone out and gotten her booster seat from his car. “Gonna be late for her appointment. Meet you there?” I nodded and kissed him generously.

Anna took her booster and skipped over to the new car. She was insistent on going with me today, which was ok by me. I got in and adjusted it for the perfect fit for me. Once that was done I started her up and grinned like a fool as she purred, unlike my elder car. They opened the door and I waved as we were on our way.

10 minutes later we pulled into the Doctor’s parking lot. We’d found out that Anna hadn’t had any of the shots she needed to go to school. We were getting as many out of the way as we could so she could travel soon. Her pediatrician also didn’t really like that she was so small, but hopefully he’d be happier today.

We walked in and were greeted by the receptionist. “Dr. Hartell will be right with you.” We sat down and waited. Evgeni came in a little while later grinning like a fool. He sat down with us and kissed Anna on the head.

“Anna?” The nurse said as she opened the door. We all got up and moved as one to find out how much she had grown in the last few weeks. Height was first, when we first came in she was 40 inches high, about normal for a 4 yr old and WAY below where she should be for 6. Now, as she stood on the line with her back straight and her feet touching the wall, she was 42 ½ inches. She’d grown 2 ½ inches. WOO!

Weight was next and it was the one that made me the most nervous. She started out at about 35 pounds and now… I held my breath. “Way to go Anna, 42 ½ pounds! Your height and weight match!”

Anna just grinned. We went into the room and Nurse Penny took Anna’s vitals. Those had always been in the normal range, which was great. I couldn’t stop smiling; she’d gained 7 ½ pounds and 2 ½ inches. So she was at about 50% for weight and 5% for height. No wonder she’d been starting to complain that her clothes didn’t fit.

Once that was done, we waited for Dr. Hartell. “You’re doing great sunshine.” She just shook her head and kept on reading the book she brought with her. I think she rolled her eyes too but I didn’t catch if she did or not.

Geno squeezed my knee gently giving his support. Yeah I was nervous, I wanted her childhood to be normal and it wouldn’t be unless she was normal size. “She’s fine. We just love her and she grows. You worry too much about it.”

I sighed; he got me again. He was the calmer parent of the two of us. I was the worrier, the planner, well the mom. Anna hadn’t really had a mom before so I kept pushing myself to do as much as I could to take care of her.

I worried right up until Dr. Hartell came in. “Good Morning!” He said after he knocked and opened the door. Reading Anna’s chart while pulling out the stool I saw him start to smile. “Well Ms. Anna, it looks like you’re doing so catching up with your peers. You’re now in the right area for weight and only a little behind for height. I don’t know what your folks are doing but it’s doing what we needed it to do.”

Anna blushed. “Papa just plays with me. We run and jump and…” She shrugged her shoulders. Geno just smiled.

“Teaching her good eating habits. That exercise is good and can be fun too. Want to get her a watch with alarm so she can check in like when I was young.” He said plainly.

Dr. Hartell just nodded. “That sounds like a great idea. She’s also old enough to have chores to do as well. Don’t let her small size fool you.”

There was my opening; I jumped at it. “Well actually Doc, I was wondering if maybe going to a psychologist would be helpful for not only Anna but us as well. There have been _A_ _Lot_ of changes in such a short amount of time. I just want her to have a safe place to talk about things that bother her.”

Dr. Hartell smiled. “If you think that you need more help than just the three of you, by all means go and see someone. I think that a child’s first therapist should be their parents.” He held up a hand when I started to object. “I know that this isn’t a normal situation, but I still think that a lot of what she may be feeling is best solved by the _two_ of _you_ listening to her. Find an activity that you enjoy, that relaxes you and share it. It could be anything as long as both of you are comfortable then talking happens.”

Anna sighed. It was clear she was getting bored. The Doctor reached over and handed her his ophthalmoscope. She proceeded to use it to look at her fingerprints. “I think that the best thing for you is to just let her talk to you. IF she wants to talk to someone else, then she’ll let you know.”

Geno elbowed me gently. The accompanying look said it all, ‘I told you so’. “That being said, you probably can go get Anna some new clothes safely. She’s going to quickly outgrow what she has. Just keep in mind that kids don’t need designer clothes and you should be fine.”

Anna hopped down so she could look at the design on the cabinet better, I hadn’t noticed but her pants were getting too small. I look over at Geno worriedly; he just patted my knee. Ok, maybe _I_ was the one who needed therapy. The Doc left us shortly after, more patients he had to see. “I go workout. You take Anna shopping, da?”

Shopping, something I hadn’t done in a while without being in a rush or for someone else, maybe a little retail therapy _would_ help. “I think we could do that. What do you say Anna, should we go get you some new clothes?”

She turned and I swore her face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Can we Mama?” I took the scope from her and put it back on the wall.

“Only if you put your shoes back on.” She raced to put them on, and I noticed she needed shoes too. I sighed and Geno rubbed my back. I quietly spoke to him. “I haven’t shopped _for_ a little girl since I _was_ a little girl.”

He kissed my temple. “Everything be ok. Go, have fun. Maybe get things for new car too.” As a family we walked out of the office, after paying our co-pay. We got back to the parking lot to find that we’d ended up parked next to each other. “Maybe get her new booster for your car. We leave that one in mine then.”

He got in his car and drove away. Anna and I got into mine and I had an idea hit me. “Sunshine, what do you think of maybe having someone go with us to shop for you?”

Anna giggled. “Could we bring Miss Vero?” Barely around 2 months and already she knows who the most fashionable Wag was.

I picked up my phone and dialed. I knew she was also busy with the last details of her own wedding but a break for this would help both her and Marc a lot. “Hello?” It was Marc.

“Hey Flower can Anna and I come steal V for a _serious_ shopping trip? Seems _someone_ has outgrown her wardrobe and needs a new one.” I eyed Anna who giggled.

“You want to come steal V? Would you take Catherine too? She is over as well.” I smelt a plot between Marc and Kris brewing. I started my car and we were on our way.

“I suppose. It _would_ get you guys out of planning the wedding for a few hours.” I could practically hear the grin on his face go from ‘oh please’ to ‘oh my god you’re amazing’. “_But_ I need something in return.”

There was dead silence on the other end. Then I heard some rustling. I rolled my eyes and kept on driving. “So Sunshine, where do you want to go?”

I turned onto the Highway heading for Marc and Vero’s place. Time to see what this baby could _really_ do. Marc came back on the phone. “Mari, _what_ kind of t’ing do you want in return?”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know Flower, I hadn’t thought about it yet. I will say that you two _better_ not be going golfing while we’re out actually getting things that are _needed_.” Man, I was loving this car, so smooth. I was coming up on the exit for their place sooner than I would have been in my beater.

Anna giggled again. “Mama you know they’re just gonna go do it anyway. Make them wait to pay you back for this!” She also seemed to be enjoying my new car. “Besides if they leave they won’t see our surprised!” She giggled again as we turned the corner.

A few minutes later we pulled into their driveway. I had hung up after Anna had said that about the surprise, mostly to make them _want_ to stay and see it. I honked the horn and waited to see who would be coming out to see. True to what I expected Marc and Tanger were sliding into the driveway a few seconds after I stopped the horn.

Vero and Catherine looked annoyed as they rounded the corner, until they saw the car. I then opened the door and hopped out. “So, does he love me or what?”

They all broke into laughter, Vero came over and hugged me tightly. “It’s so pretty! W’en did you get it?” That seemed to let them all break up and come over to check it out closer.

I couldn’t stop grinning. “We ordered it like a week ago. Just picked it up today. Before Anna’s doctor’s appointment.” The all took a step back. “Oh come on, she’s not sick it was a check up and a couple shots. We also found out that she’s in need of a new wardrobe. So, would you ladies like to come with us and help?”

Vero and Cath looked at each other, the boys and finally me. They raced into the house without another word. The guys started laughing like maniacs at this. I couldn’t do anything but shake my head and laugh as the girls came back around the corner with their purses, ready to go.

We hopped back in the car and as I drove, we decided to first try Kohl’s. It was rather empty for a Tuesday. We wandered the aisles looking for cute things for Anna. Eventually we found the girls’ section. The first thing we had to figure out was what size we needed.

We tried on the size 4s, they were too small and what she was in now. Then we tried on a few 5s, they fit but would only be a temporary thing if she got another good growth spurt. Then came the 6s and 6Xs, those were a bit big, plenty of grow room there.

Looking at that was around, and doing some chatting about it too, we decided that skirts, shorts and leggings would be best for most bottoms. They’d give her room to grow and unlike jeans would be very easy to pack on our various trips this coming summer.

Trips this summer… Oh crap. She didn’t have _nearly_ enough room in the one small suitcase Nik had brought. Even after mom and dad had taken the trip to his place to clean it out, there wasn’t much for Anna. “Vero, Cath we’re gonna need at least one suitcase, preferably a set for her too.”

Vero looked back at me and grinned. “In a little while. Let us work our magic wit’ ‘er for now.” They proceeded to take Anna through the section showing her how to _always_ look her best with what she had on hand. God help me, they were going to turn my child into a fashion expert.

Just to be safe we also went through the little kids’ section, to glean it for buried treasures. We didn’t find much in the way of clothing but we did find an awesome purple booster seat for my car for her. It went into the cart.

As we walked around the little kids’ section, I noticed that Catherine was spending more time looking at smaller outfits than Anna’s size. Something was up. She was looking over toys for in the car right now, which gave me an idea. “Catherine, do you see any seat mats over there? I want to get one to help keep the seat clean under Anna’s booster.” She looked around and found one that would be perfect under the seat.

As she tucked it into the cart she quietly asked me a question. “Pouvez-vous garder un secret? (Can you keep a secret?)” She glanced at the baby things again.

“Bien sûr. (Of course.)” Then it dawned on me. “Est-ce que Kris savoir? (Does Kris know?)” Cath turned very quickly and looked very surprised. I smiled. “You’re eyeing the baby stuff pretty hard.”

Catherine flushed. “Sorry, I do not even know who is joining us yet. We’re being careful who we tell so that just in case…” She didn’t finish that sentence. I didn’t blame her.

I zipped my lips. “I won’t tell a soul. Congratulations though.” She smiled at me. I didn’t know her really well but I did like her, unlike some of the girls. Nothing is more frustrating than being told you’re a phase by someone who truly _is_ one.

Anna came running up. “Mama! Look what Auntie Vero found!” She held up a watch. It was a Disney Fairies Time Teacher watch. I took it from her and took a good look at it. It looked like a good watch for a beginning one. I put it in the cart. Anna just grinned.

After finding out that there was little else we could get in the section we were in, I headed for shoes. We fitted her on the shoe sizer and found out that she’d grown there too. Her 11s were _way_ too small, she needed 12 ½ or 13s now. We went looking and found several pairs of sandals and flats that she thought were ok, then Anna found this great pair of Vans. They were sequined with black and purple accents. Even the grommets were colored. There were one pair of 13s left; we grabbed them. After those she felt much more appeal of some of the others. We left the shoe section with 6 pairs.

Something caught Anna’s eye and she went racing off into the boys section. We followed with a bit more decorum. “Mama look!” She proudly held up a kids size Pens jersey. The three of us laughed.

“Sunshine if you want a jersey, we’ll go elsewhere to find you an authentic one.” She looked a bit disappointed at first, and then I fixed it. “Besides you won’t _need_ Pens gear this summer, it’ll be too hot. We can get you some when we come back in August.” That seemed to help as she then went tearing through the boys section looking for things she liked.

Vero whispered in my ear. “Are you sure?” I nodded. I wasn’t going to let labels like boys and girls dictate what my daughter, or son wanted to wear.

“A comfortable kid is a happy kid. Boys clothing is often made tougher than girls stuff. I wore some boys stuff growing up, never bothered me.” Anna came back with a few plain t-shirts looking quite happy.

We hit a few other places, Macy’s, Target and Walmart. Yeah I know not high class places, but who cared really. Anna needed to be happy, not us. We found a few things for her in each of them and some stuff for my car as well.

Our shopping done, we headed back to the house to take care of it all. Geno wasn’t home when we got there, in fact there was a note from him saying he was over at Flower’s place. I mentally rolled my eyes and kept lugging the bags in from the car. As we took inventory and began sorting out where things went, I started a conversation about luggage.

“I have _no_ idea what kind of luggage I want. I mean I know what would work for me for a short trip, but we’re talking a month or more in another country. How do you pack for that and in what?” I sighed heavily. I knew what _I_ liked in a suitcase, but I didn’t know if Evgeni needed a new set and what he might want in one.

Vero laughed. “First off stick wit’ w’at you know. What brand do you know is good?” Anna was now attempting to fold her new clothes. “No no Anna, we mus’ wash t’em first. T’is way w’en we _do_ put t’em away t’ey _are_ truly clean. T’ey put somet’ing on clothes to keep t’em sanitary before you buy t’em.”

I thought about it. “I’ve always had great luck with Samsonite luggage. In fact I gave away a set I’d had for years before I moved down here.” I moved all the items that were going to go into my car to the side and began to de-tag clothing.

“Why did you give it away?” Catherine asked a bit confused. She was sorting the clothes into piles to wash.

I laughed loudly. “I foolishly thought that I wouldn’t need it. I know, silly me dating a hockey player and thinking it meant no more travel.” We all laughed at that.

I heard the garage door open. “Sounds like at least Geno is home.” There was a near-pounding on the front door as well. “_And_ he brought friends.” Anna scampered for the door and peeked outside.

“It’s Flower and Kris!” She said triumphantly as she unlocked and opened the door. “Come see as the _stuff_ we got!” She said excitedly to them. She didn’t quite lead them by the hand but it was a close thing.

She came back in with both of them close on her heels. “Whoa! T’at’s a lot of loot!” Flower said as he came into the room. There was a pile in the center and Vero and I were de-tagging while Cath sorted to wash it all.

Geno came in and just shook his head. “Well, she need it.” He sat down behind me. “You get stuff for car too I see.” I leaned back and kissed him. “Mmm love those.”

Vero giggled. “So, w’ere were we? Oh yes, so you like that brand t’e best, so we go look online w’ile t’is washes. We can find all sorts of kinds on t’ere I am sure.”

“What we looking for?” Geno asked. The three of them look confused.

I laughed and shook my head. “Both Anna and I need luggage for the trips we’re taking. Silly me gave my old set away.” He got up and went to get his laptop. When he got back, he moved me into the chair and took over de-tagging the clothing.

I went to Samsonite, Amazon and eBags to check the prices. I found a great set that was hardside on spinners. The Black Label Cosmolite Collection. Amazon was the cheapest right now so I leaned over and showed Geno. “Those are nice. Give.” He took his computer back and dug out his wallet. “What color?”

I chuckled. “You do know we could go look and see if we can find them in town right?” He shrugged, called Anna over and began ordering the purple set. He then ordered the silver set and the red set. I shook my head and took the first load to begin washing.

Geno then put his computer away. “There, luggage ordered. If need more things, you know what we all like.” He kissed me again as he got up. “I go get dinner.”

So in the end we had a impromptu dinner/laundry party. Cath told Kris that I knew so he decided to tell Flower and Geno, we were hard pressed to have them _not_ to call the rest of the guys. It was important that Kris be the one to tell everyone. So he sent out a mass text to the guys, along with a keep it quiet or else I’ll kill you threat.

It was a good day. Anna had a full wardrobe, we all had some great news to celebrate and after Anna went to bed, a bit _more_ celebrating was done. Yep, a good day.