Knocked Up

Well shit was all Jake could think as he stepped into the kitchen he’d tried to act all cool like he knew what he was going to say but he didn’t have a fucking clue. He couldn’t even blame the language barrier because he didn’t even know what he would say in Czech. “You know when Kimmy sorted things with my mom she did it by yelling at her about how she’d be putting me in bad situation having to chose between my kid and my family if she kept acting the way she was. And then she completely freaked out about how rude she had been to her and started having a panic attack and walked off. But it was the verbal slap in the face my mom needed. I am not going to do that because I pretty sure it wouldn’t work I am sure you’ve already thought all of this through… see I am not really sure what you want me to say I know what I am supposed to say I am sorry I’ll look after them and all that but I’ve been doing my best to show you that these past few months so I need to know what you want me to say or do.”

“Kimmy was a mistake her Dad and I weren’t married it was more hate sex than anything I really couldn’t stand the guy but he was attractive and one night we drank too much seven months later I had this baby girl in my arms and a ring on my finger. We’d got married whilst I was pregnant it seemed like the right thing to do and he was there for me the whole time I was pregnant and then one day Kimmy was six weeks old I’d taken her to the doctors for her check-up I came home and he was gone her Dad was gone and so was majority of his things. Just like that he walked out on his six week old daughter and I left me to raise her by myself. He turned up a few times throughout the years and he really is trying now but all those years of fighting with him… I don’t want to see Kimmy go through that.”

That’s when it really hit him there was nothing he could do not right now, his promises would be empty as far as she was concerned and he couldn’t prove he was there to stay until he stayed. “I am not going to stand here and insult you by making promises I might intend to keep but words aren’t going to convince you I am here to stay. I want to say one thing though it’s something I haven’t even told Kimmy or anyone in my family. I am in love with your daughter, I think she is the most remarkable and amazing person I’ve ever met her strength and determination are credit to you as are her grace and kindness. I love her but I also know she isn’t ready to love me or to hear it and that’s okay I am willing to wait and hope that one day she is.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment why Jake wasn’t so sure he wondered if Caroline was pondering his words or if she waiting for him to say something else. So he decided to say something else, “Can we please just for these two weeks that you are here try and get on around Kimmy? You can hate me as much as you want when it’s just you and me in a room but around Kimmy can we please be friends and please don’t take out my mistake and what you think I may or may not do on my family?”

“Well seen as you are here two of those days that won’t be hard.” Jake could hear the condemnation in her voice as she spoke. And he realised that really wasn’t helping the fact he would be gone so often Caroline thought one day he would go with his team and never come back and Kimmy would be left alone her dreams in ruin as she struggled to raise Bean and he didn’t even want to think what would happen then. Kimmy had to work to stay in America maternity leave was a grey area one he had the team lawyers looking into since her visa was so strict on what jobs she couldn’t and couldn’t work, how much she could earn and if she wasn’t in work she had a month. Technically she would still be in work still employed by UPenn but it was whether the government would agree.

“Kimmy understands what I do and how it takes me away sometimes for weeks at a time but that isn’t going to stop be been there for bean.” He snapped he hadn’t meant to snap at her but she’d pushed him to far using his job against him was low and he didn’t appreciate it in the least. “Look I am going to go back into the front room and I am going to spend what time I have in this city with your daughter. If you can be civil and polite you can join us, if not I suggest you leave now because I won’t stand for Kimmy been hurt by you assumptions.” Whether or not he should have said it didn’t matter anymore it was out now and he couldn’t take it back so he didn’t even try he just turned round and walked out of the kitchen back to the front room.

Kimmy was sat on the floor colouring with the boys whilst talking to his dad and brother in law his mom and sister listening, crouching down behind her he ran his hands up her arms and looked at the picture she was helping the boys colour in it was from the Star Wars colouring book he’d got them. “Do you need me to get anything out your car for tonight?” He asked, deciding he’d move the rest in, in the morning right now he just wanted to spend time with her.

“Yeah I have a my usual bag right at the back with mine and my mums stuff in for the night and can you grab my guitars off the top I don’t want to leave it outside overnight.”

“Guitars?” He knew she had an acoustic it used to be out on a stand in the corner of her room in Buffalo she’d even played it for him a couple of times when he’d visited. It was a whole story in its self-covered in hundreds of stickers from all the gigs she’d been too.

“Yeah I have two the acoustic that was on display in my room and a limited edition Zacky Vengeance Schecter that G got me for my twenty first, which is basically my baby so please be careful with it.” Pressing a kiss to the top of her head he got up and turned to leave the room seeing Caroline walking.

“I am going to get Kimmy’s things for tonight out of the car is there anything you need?”

“No everything I need is in Kimmy’s overnight bag.” Well she was at least polite about it.

“Okay, I’ll just put your stuff in your room.” He told Kimmy before heading out to her car.

Man she’d packed this full he wondered how the hell she had so much stuff she’d barely been living in the states four months seven if you counted her time in Canada before she’d moved into Buffalo to start work. She was right though her overnight bag was easy enough to get to and her two guitars where in their cases placed lovingly on top of everything else. Pulling everything out she’d requested he locked the car everything else would be safe enough he lived in a great area with a low crime rate.

Taking everything through to what used to be the guest room and for now would be Kimmy’s room until he could get her to move upstairs with him and then eventually the aim was to move her into a house with him in which they could raise their family together. Leaving everything on the bed headed back to the front room to the sound of laughter?

“Oh Kuba there you are you have to look at this photograph of Kimmy when she first started to kayaking Caroline has. Wasn’t she just adorable?” With that Caroline offered him her phone on which there was a picture of a very young Kimmy standing in front of the camera in her kayaking kit it was all at least a size to big and she looked like the Michelin man all wrapped up with the biggest smile on her face.

“Look at you.”

“Don’t be mean I was seven years old and that was the middle of December.” Kimmy was on the defensive and that was just as the little girl beaming up at the camera with big blonde curly hair
“Who is the other girl?” He asked pointing to the brunette stood beside her.

“That’s Claire.” Oh wow he couldn’t quite believe it he’d seen pictures of Claire now with Kimmy and Kimmy often spoke of her team mate and friend but he’d hadn’t realised that they been friends for so long.

“The same Claire you went to the World Championships with?” He just wanted to clarify.

“The very same we grew up together, started kayaking a year a part and went all the way to Worlds together.”

They spent another ten minutes talking before his mom announced dinner was ready and they all headed in to the sparsely used dining room. Sitting down to eat the feast his mom and sister had prepared.

The topic of conversation at the table seemed to be which mom could come up with the more embarrassing tale even Petra was joining in but it was actually Caroline’s story of Kimmy’s reaction to G actually calling her in the UK for the first time. “She’d only been home a couple of days and we were sorting out her bags working out what was going to university with her and what was staying when her phone started to ring with a Canadian number. She freaked out ‘Oh my god mum what if it is him I don’t know do I answer it… do I play it cool… what if it isn’t even him’ This went on so long she missed his first call he left a voicemail though so we had five minutes of her freaking out about listening to the voicemail in which time he called her back and she actually managed to answer it.”

“It was big for me okay I loved G he was one of my favourite hockey players meeting him at camp was a dream having him invite me to hang out after camp blew my mind the idea that he actually wanted us to be friends was beyond crazy. Then for him to want to continue that friendship despite a few thousand miles and five time zones I couldn’t believe it. That only happens in stories.” Kimmy had tried to defend herself but it didn’t stop it from been funny. What made it funny was the fact that today she would just walk into Claude’s house take from his fridge steal his remote and put whatever the hell she wanted on his TV.

“You didn’t react like that to me.” He wasn’t sure if it was a question or he was pointing out that considering he was supposed to be her favourite hockey player she’d actually had a really calm reaction to meeting him. She’d just looked over from where she’d been playing volley ball in the pool with the three C’s and nodded a Hi to him before serving the ball. The first time they’d sat down and talked she’d been fine to she’d just been sat next to him with a beer and answered his questions.

“Oh I did you just didn’t see the freak out I had in G’s kitchen after you kissed me the first time I was nearly hyperventilating.” She hadn’t been the only one freaking out he’d freaked out. He’d really liked Kimmy but he’d barely been single a month and he didn’t want to lead her on but she was so attractive and they just clicked and something not just the alcohol had been pulling them together a chemistry between the two of them. It was still there at least it was still there for him pulling him in.

Gifts had been the next thing they’d sat in the living room and handed out gifts despite been Jewish large parts of Kimmy’s family had married into Christian families so they where used to celebrating both Hanukah and Christmas. Just as the Voracek’s had bought the Krantzberg’s gifts, the Krantzbergs had bought the Voraceks gifts. Kimmy cried at the jersey he’d got her she kept running her fingers over the signed numbers she’d squealed in delight when she’d spotted 68 Jagr on there. Her mum had seemed quite happy with the spa day to but it was the gift from his parents that meant the most to them the clothes for Bean and two bears one of the Flyers bears and a team GB bear. Kimmy had just got up and walked over to his parents hugging both of them in tears. Petra and Piotr had gotten Bean some more baby grows but it was Carolines gift that had surprised them the most. Despite everything she’d said the anger and hatred it was Caroline that had bought Bean a flyers Jersey 93 on the back but instead of Kratzcek or Krantzberg or even Voracek on the back it said Daddy. Both he and Kimmy had been in tears at that one he couldn’t believe it running his thumb over the top letters made his heart warm. He’d genuinely meant it as he’d thanked Caroline, he really hoped that one day they would get past this and be friends.

Once everyone was gone and Caroline was set up in the guest room Jake crawled onto his bed behind Kimmy. He was meant to be staying in Wayne’s room tonight but deep down he had no plans on. Beside he and Kimmy had a tweet to post first.

‘Merry Christmas everyone with Love Jake Kimmy and Bean x’ Kuba turned his phone around and handed it to Kimmy to let her approve the tweet. He liked it he loved the picture they’d tried to do a more staged one but this one his sister had taken of Kimmy sat on his knee wearing the Jersey he’d got her for a Christmas present his hand running over her bump whilst she was opening a present for Bean from his parents was perfect.

“I love it.” She smiled hitting post herself before placing his phone on the bedside table and turning back to face him, “Just like I love my jersey.”

“Maybe now you’ll stop wearing G’s.” He joked he knew she’d had the jersey longer than she’d known Claude but still deep down it pissed him off she was pregnant with his baby not Claude’s and yet she still wore G’s jersey to games.

“Are you jealous?”

“Last I checked bean is my baby not his.”

“You are too cute.” She gave him a peck on the nose and a smile, “Thank you for the spa day with my mum and I am sorry she’s such a pain. She’s just trying to look out for me she’s worried you’ll be like my Dad but I already know you’re not. I trust you and that’s what matters.”

“What happens though if I get trade I am not like G they might get sick of me one day and trade me?” Brining it up tonight hadn’t been the plan but he couldn’t deny it had been sat heavy on him anyway and Caroline bringing it up had only hurt more.

“They might get sick of G one day and trade him.” He loved that she was trying to lighten the mood but it wasn’t working.

“I doubt that, he’s going to be a Flyer his whole career. But I am serious Kimmy what if I get traded.”

“Then we will figure it out when you get traded. Hey you might get traded to Buffalo or Detroit or LA I’ve always wanted to work in LA I look great with a tan so much better than pale ass Kimmy. Jake right now we are in Philly… okay so we are actually in New Jersey but we both work in Philly and that’s good enough.” Nodding he knew she was right and they couldn’t dwell on it a trade wasn’t imminent but his contract was nearly up they would start talks soon for a new one he needed that to go well.

There was something else he needed “Move in with me… permanently I mean.”

“Jake.” He’d been expecting a fight so he’d been planning his argument for quite a while.

“No listen to me first. I am going to have to move out anyway cause even if we didn’t live together some nights I am still going to want to have bean stay and I can’t expect Wayne to deal with that so I am moving out anyway Sean is moving in here. And with me on the road so often it would still be like you live on your own most of the time but it means when I am home I can really help out and I get to spend more time with Bean than if we lived separately. We can move closer to Philly so you are closer to the university I am okay with that but I really want us to live together so I can spend as much time with bean as possible.”

“Jake.”

“Just think about it for me, don’t say no now think about it.” Jake sighed praying she really would think about it, “What are we watching tonight?” He asked nodding towards Kimmy’s laptop. It had become a tradition they would curl up together and watch a couple of episodes of whatever TV series Kimmy was on that week.

“Grimm.” She told him as she logged into her laptop and pulled up Netflix’s whilst he made himself comfortable ready for her to curl up on top of him.