Finding Home

To keep myself from going crazy, I plopped myself down on the living room sofa and turned on the TV. I tried distracting myself with some mind-numbing television, but out of the thousand channels my parents had, there was nothing on that interested me enough to put my mind at ease. Jordan was set to arrive any minute now, and as the minutes ticked away with no sign of my friend and teammate, the more restless I grew. When I couldn’t take the waiting anymore, I jumped up from the couch and began pacing around the living room. I knew me pacing annoyed my mom, who was close enough in the adjacent room to hear me. She too was eager for Jordan to arrive. So eager in fact, she had spent yesterday cooking all of his favorite meals. Spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, sautéed vegetables. She had even made burger patties and wrapped them in parchment for us to grill for dinner one night. All this food had been packed away in a cooler to last while we were in Edmonton next week. I looked out the window for a black Tahoe. There was a grey Tahoe parked across the street, but no sign of my friend’s black rental.

Where are you Jordan, I asked myself. He knew we already didn’t have much time to waste if we wanted to stay on our tight schedule. Sure, technically we could arrive in Edmonton a day late if necessary, but I preferred to sleep in my bed and not in some hotel’s.

"Taylor," my mom called from the kitchen. "Stop pacing!"

I took one more look out the window for our guest; but not seeing him, I galloped into the kitchen. My mom was seated at the kitchen table on her laptop. I sat down across from her and rested my chin in my hands.

"You’re going to wear a hole in the floor," she informed me without looking up from her screen. "Or burn a hole in the rug. One of those." I wasn’t usually a pacer, even when anxious; but today was one of those weird, off days.

"Sorry Mom."

"It's okay honey." She reached across the table for my hand. I reached out and squeezed hers. "Excited?"

It was the kind of question she almost had to ask. I forced myself not to roll my eyes. "I'm.....," I searched for the right word, "hesitant. I am hoping this season goes better than last. These prospects seem more promising."

She nodded. "But remember Taylor: it's not your responsibility to carry the team. There's no 'I' in team."

"But there is 'me'," I reminded her.

She sighed and gave me a sad smile. "Oh darling! You're too much."

I smiled at her, hoping to relieve her. "It's alright Mom, I like taking on the 'task'; it's why I wear the 'A'."

She nodded but I could tell she wasn't totally convinced. She knew how disappointed I was with the Oilers' past few seasons. We had so much talent and potential, but nothing ever seemed to pan out in the end of the regular season. No matter how hard I played, it was as if I pushed myself for nothing. But I had hope for this season; it had to be better. It couldn't possibly get worse; god forbid!

"Don't forget: a lot of these guys are still kids. Try not to get frustrated with them; they need time to develop. You're only going out these to see them play and scout for talent. You're not going to find your next line mate this week -"

"Although that would be nice," I finished her sentence.

"Yes, it would be. But how would Jordan and Ryan feel about that, eh?" She squeezed my hand again. "You just do the best you can and let your teammates do the same. At the end of the day, that is all you have power over: yourself."

I wanted to tell her that it wasn't that simple, that if I spent the week with these prospects, maybe I could miraculously mold them into NHL players. It was highly unlikely, but it was a dream I was trying to grasp. Crazy? Maybe. Impossible? We would have to wait and see. I wanted to tell her this and more, but we heard a car pull up the driveway. Jordan! I jumped up from my seat and sprinted to the door. I heard my mom chuckle: I was like a teenager waiting for his prom date to arrive.

Jordan was standing on the porch about to knock when I flung the door open and embraced my friend. "Ebs!" I squealed.
"Hallsy!" He dropped his bag and hugged me back. "I didn't know it was possible for you to get any uglier!"

I smacked the back of his head. "Good to see you too!"

He grinned, picked up his bag, and followed me into my parents' house.

"Jordan!" My mom embraced him like a second son. "You're so tan! How has your summer been? How are your parents?" She held him at arm’s length to get a good look at him.

"They're great! Thanks! How have you and Mr. H been?"

"Oh honey, we're great, thanks for asking.”

My mom led Jordan into the kitchen, who was still carrying the bag he had brought in, to "sit and relax." I used this time to get my dad.

I found him in his office, going over some paperwork. Seeing me standing in the doorway, he shuffled whatever he was reading. "Hey there kid," he acknowledged my presence as he filed the papers away.

"Jordan's here," I informed him.

“I know, I heard him pull up. I was just about to come downstairs. He's with your mom?"

I smirked. "If it were up to her, she'd keep us here the entire summer."

"Well, that's your mom for you. I bet she's feeding him as we speak."

"Probably, she baked those double chocolate chunk cookies he likes. She knows he has a weakness for them."

My dad chuckled and met me at the door. "Shall we?"

We walked into the kitchen to find Jordan dunking his cookie in milk. Cookie, singular. As in he had one cookie left. It was obvious from the dark brown color of his milk that he had already dunked about four cookies prior.

"Dude! We have practice this week!" I exclaimed upon seeing that my line mate had all but ruined his diet.

"Eh, screw it!" he lifted his milk-soaked cookie in the air, as if to give a toast.

"There’s more where they came from," my mother called from the stove. She was just about finished the final dish: sautéed spinach with garlic. "Taylor, would you mind setting the table?"

"Sure Mom." I pulled four forks and plates and began setting the table. "Move your glass," I commanded.

Jordan lifted his polluted glass and grinned at me.

"Ew!" His teeth were stained with chocolate and chunks of cookie. "You’re disgusting."

"Can’t wait to room with your either!"

My parents carried some dishes over and set them on the table.

"Wow! Everything looks delicious Kim!" Jordan exclaimed.

"Thank you honey!" my mother beamed. "Made all your favorites!"She took his glass and plate and put them in the sink, then returned and sat down at the table with the three of us.

We all began filling our plates, taking a serving of everything. The room was quiet; the only noise was us chewing.

"So what are you boys' plans" my father asked, break the silence.

I swallowed my bite of chicken. "We're going to take my car to Edmonton; Jordan just has to drop off his rental and then we'll be on the road."

"Which way are you driving up?" my mom inquired.

"We’re going to go the states route. Toronto - Michigan - North Dakota - Saskatchewan. Thirty six hundred kilometers of nothing but plains," I remarked sarcastically.

"It was your choice," my dad reminded us.

"Yeah yeah," I waved away his remark. "It’ll be a fun couple of days."

"You're giving yourselves a few days to collect yourselves, right?"

"Yes Mom."

"Well someone has to worry about you if you won't."

She was right, of course. After mapping out our route, Jordan and I concluded that it would take us three days to get to Edmonton. We were going to take turns driving so the other could sleep and then switch. In the past we had driven to Edmonton going through Chicago and spent a few days there before continuing. But this year we had decided to attend the prospects week although it wasn't mandatory for the players; we hadn't even been invited. Our line mate Ryan was going to meet us midway through the week too. We hadn’t seen each other all summer. The drive was going to be monotonous, but Jordan's girlfriend had burned CDs for us to listen to when we got sick of the radio. Plus, I wanted to get my car to our place in Edmonton. I schlepped my hockey gear around in my truck, so when the season was over, I'd gotten my truck scrubbed from the inside out, then left it parked in my spot at the condo and drove my Range Rover back to Kingston. Jordan only had one car, a slate grey Tahoe, which he had driven home in. He had spent the last two weeks in Toronto with his girlfriend Lauren, so he left his car at his parents' place and rented a car in Toronto. At the end of the summer, he would drive his car up to have during the season.

Gradually everyone finished their lunch over light conversation. Although she refused, Jordan and I washed the dishes and cleaned the table.

"You boys are too good to me," my mom sighed. "What did I ever do to deserve such loving sons?"

While we were finishing drying the last few dishes, she finished packing the bulging containers of food she had prepared for us to live off of the following week into a cooler, and my dad loaded it into my car.

I left them for a few minutes and looked around the house and especially my room to double check that I hadn't forgotten anything. Confident that everything I needed was already in my car, I met up with my parents and Jordan at the front door.

I gave my mom a huge bear hug. "I'll miss you," I muttered into her hair. "I love you so much." I kissed her cheek. It was evident she was holding back tears.

"Take care," she pulled me back in for another hug.

"I will," I promised her, giving her a final, tight embrace. "You too."

I turned my attention to my dad, who gave me a loving hug too. "Enjoy yourself,” he instructed. “Don’t come back with any kids, eh?" Only my father could make a joke in this kind of situation.

"Steve!" My mom smacked his arm playfully, lightening the mood.

"The boy has to be reminded, Kim!"
Everyone got a laugh out of that. One last thing had to be done before we could leave. Jordan handed her the bag he'd brought in with him earlier. "I picked some stuff up for you and Mr. H while I was in Toronto. Well, it was mostly Lauren's pickings, but I helped pick out a few things."

"Oh Jordan, you shouldn’t have!"

He shifted his weight, uncomfortable with my mom opening the gifts in front of him. She picked up on his discomfort and put the bag to the side.

"I'll open it later." she pulled him in for a hug. "Take care of my baby, okay? Keep him out of trouble."

"Mom!"

She released Jordan from their hug but didn't let go of his wrists. "Have fun and be safe. If you need anything at all, do not hesitate to call!"

"Don't worry Mrs. H, I'll keep an eye on little Taylor. I’ve got you on speed dial."
I rolled my eyes. Little? As if!
My dad and Jordan shook hands like two business men making a deal, but at the last moment he pulled my friend in for a hug. "Take care!"

A few minutes later Jordan and I were in our respective cars. I would follow him to the car return place and wait for him to drop it off; then we’d be on the road for good. I backed out of the driveway after Jordan. My parents were standing on the front porch waiving to us, watching us drive away. I honked my horn and waived back. I always missed them. I wished I could have more time off to spend at home with them, but work called. I’d see them again in a couple of weeks for one final vacation before we were required to return to Edmonton for good. I planned on savoring every minute with them in Los Angeles. We just had to get through these next two weeks.

“And here… we… go!” I whispered to myself, turning onto the main road. One kilometer down, thirty-seven twenty to go.