‹ Prequel: The Ice Queen
Pursuit of Happiness
Chapter Three
-Milan-
“How is she, Nate?” I asked as I sat in my office staring at the computer that was loading a traveling sight, I was debating of calling everything off and just going to get Alyssa back.
“She’s doing pretty good actually, I honestly think that her being around Dylan and Zach are helping, man,” he said and I sighed, “She’s been calling you, right?”
“Yeah, everyday, but-but it’s been a week,” I said and sighed, “She’s been away for a week, Nate- I just want her back.”
“It’ll be all right, give me a few more days and I’ll talk to her about Boston,” he said and I sighed and rubbed my face, “Just hold on, Milan- I’m doing my best here, you gotta have a little faith in me.”
“I do man, I do, I’m just scared- I’m scared that she’s gunna run,” I said and ran my fingers through my hair.
“She’s not going to run, Milan, I won’t let her- You won’t let her,” he said and I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples, “Look man, it’s late and I know you’ve probably got morning skate for your game tomorrow night.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, she’ll talk to you tomorrow, so get some sleep,” Nathan said and I sighed, we said our goodbyes and then hung up the phone.
I sighed and then stood up, looked down at Duke, Alyssa’s boxer and sighed; he missed her just as much as I did. I patted my leg for him to follow me as I walked out of my office into the living room, up the stairs and towards my bedroom. I took a shower and then got ready for bed, it was almost midnight, I grabbed my phone and sent a final text to Alyssa, telling her goodnight and that I loved her and then went to sleep, missing her terribly.
-Alyssa-
“You do that really well, Red,” Nathan said as I was feeding Zachary on the couch, “You’d be a great mother.”
“I had a plan,” I said and then looked up at my friend, “Get a few more years in, retire, get married, have kids, do- I don’t know what I would do-“
“So why can’t you do that now?” Nathan asked and I looked at him, “You can’t run from your problem forever, Alyssa. You should go back to Milan- Have a baby of your own-“
“A baby isn’t going to help my problem, Nate,” I said and sighed.
“No, but it’s a start,” he said and I looked at him, “Your problem is in your mind, not your body- At least not anymore.”
“What?”
“You’re getting depressed at the fact that you can’t play the sport that you love, that you’re not able to play at all-“
“Wouldn’t you be?!”
“I’ve got my children to help ease my mind that there’s more to life than just hockey,” Nathan said and I look at him, “You forget, that at the end of December- At the end of this month, I’ll be able to play again,” he said and I nodded my head, “I might be able to play, but I have to make a choice on whether I will or not.”
“Why?”
“Tammy’s not here, she doesn’t want anything to do with her children,” he said and I sighed and nodded my head, looking down at little Zachary in my arms, “I might have to give up my career and you know what- If that means that I get to spend my days with my children- Then fine, I’ll be happy to do it.”
“Do you really think that having a baby is going to help me?” I asked him and Nathan sighed.
“I’m not saying it will and I’m not saying it won’t,” he said and I looked down, “But Alyssa, staying here, hiding from your real problem, that’s what’s going to drive you insane.”
“My real problem?”
“You’re afraid of Boston,” he said and I looked at him and shook my head.
“I’m afraid of the ice, not the city.”
“Really?” he asked and I nodded my head, “Because you’re in Columbus right now and acting perfectly fine.”
“Nate-“
“We have a rink too, a team too, we have fans here too- You’re fine- It’s not the rink, it’s the city,” Nathan said and I looked at him.
“I could never ask Milan to trade just for me- He loves the Bruins too much, I couldn’t- I wouldn’t!” I snapped and Nathan sighed.
“If you could pick a city right now, knowing that Milan would be with you- Where would you go?” he asked and I looked at him, “What city- What team would you pick for Milan if you knew for a fact that he would follow without question?”
“Here,” I breathed and Nathan looked at me confused, “I’d come here, Nate.”
“Here? To Columbus? Why?” he asked and I looked down and then back up at him.
“Because you’re his best friend, you’re one of my best friends- Hell, I ran to you, Horty!” I said and Nathan nodded his head, “If I choose to move away from Boston- Which I won’t because-“
“If he moved with you- What if he was traded to Columbus-“
“Why are we even talking about this?! It’s not going to happen, Boston’s not going to give up Milan and he’s got a contract with them for a few more years,” I said and Nathan sighed and looked at me.
“Alyssa, there’s something you need to know if you’re not going to move away from Boston,” Nathan said and I looked at him, “There’s more to life than hockey- You had your time in the NHL, you proved the world that you’re the best- You’re the Queen of the Ice, but it’s time for you to move on- Start your plan early, because we all know that plans usually burst into flames anyways.”
-Milan-
It was late when my phone went off; I woke up and grabbed my phone, groggily looking at the time to see that it was two in the morning. I had just gotten home about three hours ago, having a home game against the Flames and winning with the final score of two to zero, Rask happy about the shutout. We were seventeen days, well, eighteen days into the month of December, Alyssa had been gone for almost three weeks now and if it wasn’t for hockey to distract my mind, I damn near would have gone insane. Reporters were always asking me about her, always wanting updates, no one knowing that she had disappeared, ran away from the city.
I blinked my eyes and then squinted to see the name showing on the caller i.d., I saw Nathan’s name appear and sighed, wondering what was wrong now, “Hey man, what’s up?” I asked tiredly as I sat up, bending my knees, leaning my back against my headboard and resting my arms on my knees.
“Milan,” I stiffened at the sound of her voice, I missed it, she hadn’t called me in a day and I was missing her voice so much.
“Hey baby, how are you?” I asked, yawning and rubbing my eyes, trying to wake up.
“I’m sorry I woke you.”
“It’s no big deal, I’m happy to do it to talk to you,” I said and saw Duke perk his head up at the end of the bed when I flicked on the little wall lamp above the bed.
“I watched your game today,” she said and I gave a small smile, “You played well.”
“Thanks,” I said and knew that it was painful for her to even watch a game, “How are you doing?”
“I’m ok.”
“Just ok?” I asked and wished for ‘I’m doing great and getting ready to come home’.
“Yeah, I miss you,” she said and I smiled.
‘…Close enough, I’ll take it…’ I thought and then saw Duke stand up and crawl up the bed, as if he could hear Alyssa’s voice on the other line, “Well you know I miss you- I’m will to buy a ticket right now to fly out.”
“Milan-“
“I’m not saying to bring you back, just to see you,” I said and sighed, ‘…Was she ever going to come back to Boston?...’ I thought and heard Alyssa sigh, “Please baby, I miss you so much.”
“I- I don’t know, Milan, I’m not ready to go back,” she said and I frowned.
“Can I come out just to see you? I won’t push you to come back with me- I just want to see you,” I said and I heard her sigh.
“All right,” she said and I smiled brightly, “When would-“
“I’ll book my flight now, leave in the morning and be there by tomorrow afternoon-“
“What about practice and a game-“
“It’ll be fine, Alyssa- I’ll take care of everything- You’re more important anyways,” I said and then heard her gasp, “I love you, Alyssa.”
“I love you too, Milan.”
“How is she, Nate?” I asked as I sat in my office staring at the computer that was loading a traveling sight, I was debating of calling everything off and just going to get Alyssa back.
“She’s doing pretty good actually, I honestly think that her being around Dylan and Zach are helping, man,” he said and I sighed, “She’s been calling you, right?”
“Yeah, everyday, but-but it’s been a week,” I said and sighed, “She’s been away for a week, Nate- I just want her back.”
“It’ll be all right, give me a few more days and I’ll talk to her about Boston,” he said and I sighed and rubbed my face, “Just hold on, Milan- I’m doing my best here, you gotta have a little faith in me.”
“I do man, I do, I’m just scared- I’m scared that she’s gunna run,” I said and ran my fingers through my hair.
“She’s not going to run, Milan, I won’t let her- You won’t let her,” he said and I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples, “Look man, it’s late and I know you’ve probably got morning skate for your game tomorrow night.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, she’ll talk to you tomorrow, so get some sleep,” Nathan said and I sighed, we said our goodbyes and then hung up the phone.
I sighed and then stood up, looked down at Duke, Alyssa’s boxer and sighed; he missed her just as much as I did. I patted my leg for him to follow me as I walked out of my office into the living room, up the stairs and towards my bedroom. I took a shower and then got ready for bed, it was almost midnight, I grabbed my phone and sent a final text to Alyssa, telling her goodnight and that I loved her and then went to sleep, missing her terribly.
-Alyssa-
“You do that really well, Red,” Nathan said as I was feeding Zachary on the couch, “You’d be a great mother.”
“I had a plan,” I said and then looked up at my friend, “Get a few more years in, retire, get married, have kids, do- I don’t know what I would do-“
“So why can’t you do that now?” Nathan asked and I looked at him, “You can’t run from your problem forever, Alyssa. You should go back to Milan- Have a baby of your own-“
“A baby isn’t going to help my problem, Nate,” I said and sighed.
“No, but it’s a start,” he said and I looked at him, “Your problem is in your mind, not your body- At least not anymore.”
“What?”
“You’re getting depressed at the fact that you can’t play the sport that you love, that you’re not able to play at all-“
“Wouldn’t you be?!”
“I’ve got my children to help ease my mind that there’s more to life than just hockey,” Nathan said and I look at him, “You forget, that at the end of December- At the end of this month, I’ll be able to play again,” he said and I nodded my head, “I might be able to play, but I have to make a choice on whether I will or not.”
“Why?”
“Tammy’s not here, she doesn’t want anything to do with her children,” he said and I sighed and nodded my head, looking down at little Zachary in my arms, “I might have to give up my career and you know what- If that means that I get to spend my days with my children- Then fine, I’ll be happy to do it.”
“Do you really think that having a baby is going to help me?” I asked him and Nathan sighed.
“I’m not saying it will and I’m not saying it won’t,” he said and I looked down, “But Alyssa, staying here, hiding from your real problem, that’s what’s going to drive you insane.”
“My real problem?”
“You’re afraid of Boston,” he said and I looked at him and shook my head.
“I’m afraid of the ice, not the city.”
“Really?” he asked and I nodded my head, “Because you’re in Columbus right now and acting perfectly fine.”
“Nate-“
“We have a rink too, a team too, we have fans here too- You’re fine- It’s not the rink, it’s the city,” Nathan said and I looked at him.
“I could never ask Milan to trade just for me- He loves the Bruins too much, I couldn’t- I wouldn’t!” I snapped and Nathan sighed.
“If you could pick a city right now, knowing that Milan would be with you- Where would you go?” he asked and I looked at him, “What city- What team would you pick for Milan if you knew for a fact that he would follow without question?”
“Here,” I breathed and Nathan looked at me confused, “I’d come here, Nate.”
“Here? To Columbus? Why?” he asked and I looked down and then back up at him.
“Because you’re his best friend, you’re one of my best friends- Hell, I ran to you, Horty!” I said and Nathan nodded his head, “If I choose to move away from Boston- Which I won’t because-“
“If he moved with you- What if he was traded to Columbus-“
“Why are we even talking about this?! It’s not going to happen, Boston’s not going to give up Milan and he’s got a contract with them for a few more years,” I said and Nathan sighed and looked at me.
“Alyssa, there’s something you need to know if you’re not going to move away from Boston,” Nathan said and I looked at him, “There’s more to life than hockey- You had your time in the NHL, you proved the world that you’re the best- You’re the Queen of the Ice, but it’s time for you to move on- Start your plan early, because we all know that plans usually burst into flames anyways.”
-Milan-
It was late when my phone went off; I woke up and grabbed my phone, groggily looking at the time to see that it was two in the morning. I had just gotten home about three hours ago, having a home game against the Flames and winning with the final score of two to zero, Rask happy about the shutout. We were seventeen days, well, eighteen days into the month of December, Alyssa had been gone for almost three weeks now and if it wasn’t for hockey to distract my mind, I damn near would have gone insane. Reporters were always asking me about her, always wanting updates, no one knowing that she had disappeared, ran away from the city.
I blinked my eyes and then squinted to see the name showing on the caller i.d., I saw Nathan’s name appear and sighed, wondering what was wrong now, “Hey man, what’s up?” I asked tiredly as I sat up, bending my knees, leaning my back against my headboard and resting my arms on my knees.
“Milan,” I stiffened at the sound of her voice, I missed it, she hadn’t called me in a day and I was missing her voice so much.
“Hey baby, how are you?” I asked, yawning and rubbing my eyes, trying to wake up.
“I’m sorry I woke you.”
“It’s no big deal, I’m happy to do it to talk to you,” I said and saw Duke perk his head up at the end of the bed when I flicked on the little wall lamp above the bed.
“I watched your game today,” she said and I gave a small smile, “You played well.”
“Thanks,” I said and knew that it was painful for her to even watch a game, “How are you doing?”
“I’m ok.”
“Just ok?” I asked and wished for ‘I’m doing great and getting ready to come home’.
“Yeah, I miss you,” she said and I smiled.
‘…Close enough, I’ll take it…’ I thought and then saw Duke stand up and crawl up the bed, as if he could hear Alyssa’s voice on the other line, “Well you know I miss you- I’m will to buy a ticket right now to fly out.”
“Milan-“
“I’m not saying to bring you back, just to see you,” I said and sighed, ‘…Was she ever going to come back to Boston?...’ I thought and heard Alyssa sigh, “Please baby, I miss you so much.”
“I- I don’t know, Milan, I’m not ready to go back,” she said and I frowned.
“Can I come out just to see you? I won’t push you to come back with me- I just want to see you,” I said and I heard her sigh.
“All right,” she said and I smiled brightly, “When would-“
“I’ll book my flight now, leave in the morning and be there by tomorrow afternoon-“
“What about practice and a game-“
“It’ll be fine, Alyssa- I’ll take care of everything- You’re more important anyways,” I said and then heard her gasp, “I love you, Alyssa.”
“I love you too, Milan.”