Full Life Circle

The next morning I realize I have actually slept through my alarm that was set at 9 am to make sure that Brooklyn was fed and ready to go to Abby’s while Emily and I went to look at places to live. But when I got out of bed, Brooklyn wasn’t in her crib. I quickly went to check the family room and found her safely in Emily’s arms on the couch. Emily was feeding her and watching TV it looked like. And she looked happy to be there, Emily that is. She was smiling and cooing at my daughter like it was her natural place. It was one of the best sites I had ever seen, besides the day I saw Ande walking down the aisle and the first moment I saw Brooklyn.

Knowing that my daughter is in good hands, I head back to my room to get dressed for the day. I choose a simple black shirt and pair it with my red North Face sweatshirt and jeans. I brush my teeth and run a comb through my short hair so it isn’t sticking up everywhere when we meet with the realtor. It is the same realtor that Ande and I used for our house, which could be hard, but I couldn’t justify firing her because she is tied into the life with my dead wife.

Once ready, I head back out to the main part of the apartment and see Emily burping my daughter. I head towards the couch and she notices me coming.

“Good morning, Jon. This little Missy was a bit fussy this morning and I heard her over the monitor so I took the liberty of getting her up. She needs to be changed, diaper and all before being declared ready for Auntie Abby’s.” She says as she brings Brooklyn down from her shoulder and back to cradle in her lean arms.

“Well, I can do that if you need to finish getting ready. We will have to swing by Abby and Patrick’s before meeting the realtor in the first place. We should leave in about a half hour.”

“Sure, I can be ready by then. But here you go Dad. Have fun with that diaper,” she hands over my daughter with a chuckle before sneaking past me in her really short sleep shorts and tank top. God, this is going to be harder than imagined.

Emily’s POV

We met up with Jon’s realtor after dropping Brooklyn off with my sister. Patrick and the team are out of town for a three-day road trip to Florida. The team will play both Florida and Tampa Bay before returning to the Windy City.

Jon’s realtor is a woman, a short redhead firebomb. She’s quick to joke and right down to the nitty gritty. We met her at the first place that she was showing Jon. It was a condo not too far from Abby, but not in the best part.

“Hello Mr. Toews, I feel this could be a great place for you and your daughter. It’s very up-and-coming. Who do we have joining us today?” she didn’t notice me at first and then when she does, her nose turns up.

“This is Brooklyn’s nanny, Emily. I thought that having her opinion could be helpful seeing as she will be spending the most time here with my daughter. I hope the inside has a better look than the outside though. It stinks over here.” Jon introduces us ladies and makes a quick cyomment of his immediate dislike of this location. I noticed the smell too and figure there must be some kind of plant not far. If I remember Abby saying something, it would be a rubber company.

“Of course, I wouldn’t show you something I wasn’t comfortable to live in myself. I have the key code so let’s head up, shall we?” we nod and follow behind. I decided to wear jeans with a Blackhawks sweatshirt under my Columbia. The sweatshirt was a Christmas gift from Abby and Patrick about month ago. I paired the outfit with my snow boots because there were flurries falling around us.

I followed behind Jon who was sandwiched between us women. He was wearing jeans that fit well across his ass, only because I was behind him on the stairs did I notice. He also wore a red North Face sweatshirt that fit well across his broad and well defined chest. How can’t I notice that?

The realtor, Sandra, opens the door to the second floor apartment and Jon follows her in. I do the same and again notice a distinct odor in the air. This time it smells like cat pee. Cat pee has a very distinct odor and it’s a mixed smell, like stale beer and something a lot worse than that. I am instantly off this place’s fan list.

Sandra shows us around, Jon and I not making many comments as we know the cat pee smell is too horrible to even try to live with.

“What do you think?” she asks after giving us a tour of the three bedrooms. It was all painted white and was just an average place. I think a professional hockey player could do a lot better.

“It doesn’t meet my standards; I think Emily agrees that this place stinks for one. Two, any average Joe could afford to live here. I’m not saying I’m the best in any way, but when I have company, I want it to look nice. What happened to the places we were shown for houses a few months back with my wife? Those were hockey player standards.” I of course had to chuckle when he mentioned the smell, but immediately stopped to listen to the rest he had to say. It let me know a lot more about his character to know that he wanted the place to look like he could afford it, not something that was comfortable. Or that’s how I picked up on it.

“I apologize, Mr. Toews. I had never been in this location myself before; my colleagues have and recommended it. I strongly apologize. I can assure you that the rest of the locations I have personally been in and believe you will enjoy. Here is the address; it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes to arrive. There is a main driveway that takes you to all the different individual garages. Just pull in front of the garage at this address.” She says as she leads us out of the place down the stairs and back to the vehicles.

Jon and I get into his vehicle which is Chevrolet Traverse in black that has the specialized Blackhawks interior that is usually only seen in the Blackhawks Camaro. He must have had it specially ordered, or maybe it was a gift seeing as he does ads for Chevy. I’m not sure.

“Was it just me or did that place smell like cat piss?” I had to chuckle at the way it sounded coming out of his mouth. He has that subtle French-Canadian accent and that was the tip of the iceberg of hilarious.

“It definitely smelled and I apologize for my laughter. But with your accent, that came out a lot funnier than I thought it would.” I told him honestly as he gave me a slight glare but I could tell from his eyes it was just in fun.

“That place was a dump. I could afford to live in a place better than that as a rookie. Hell, my brother David who doesn’t play in the NHL could afford that place.”

“It could have been a decent place when you first moved to the city, but now it shouldn’t have even been an option. Let’s hope these next ones are more appropriate.” I comment because I’m afraid to say anything else that he might not agree with. Right now we are on friendly terms, not worried about the line between boss and employee, but there might come a time where that line gets more defined and I want to stay on the correct side of the line for a while before trying to cross it. It’s respectful of a new job, right?

“What kind of place do you think I should be looking for? I want a serious opinion. You’ve known me as an acquaintance, seen my apartment now, and knew my wife. What kind of place should I be looking for?” he slightly tips his head in my direction before settling those darling eyes back on the road. He has stumped me.

“Hmm. Give me a second to think about this.” He nods while I begin to circulate thoughts all around my mind. Soon enough, I figure out a perfect place. “I think that if you were to be looking for a house, I could tell you what you and you alone would want for you and your daughter.” He turns to me a little intrigued.

“Go on, I’m open to hearing this.” He says it with a sly smile because it’s rare that Jonathan smiles wide.

“Well, I think you want something grand, but homely. You want it to scream how much money you have made to afford your home, but also something that could be seen as lived in, not a show house. So, in terms of grand, I think you want at least a five bedroom place that has exterior in brick, preferably brown and yellow brick. You also would want a special brick driveway. It’s a person’s first impression of your home, so you would want it to scream money. Inside your home, you would want a large family room probably connected to your kitchen and back door to the yard to have parties for the team and whoever. The rest of the house could be simple as long as that section of the house, where you would entertain, is superb. Also, you would want a large backyard with a pool would be my guess. How did I do?” I look quizzically at him and he is smiling big and wide. It is the first full on smile that I have ever seen him crack in person. I saw it during the Stanley Cup presentation on TV but never in person and it’s marvelous.

“I think you hit the nail on the head, that’s the right expression, isn’t it?” I giggle. I can’t help it, but that accent and him thinking he knows an expression and then asking about it is just great. “Why are you laughing at me?” he says with a chuckle. I feel relief that he is laughing too, because I can’t stop.

“You and your being Canadian are amazing. I’ve lived here my entire life and never heard it said that well with that accent.” It’s true. Abby and I hail from Connecticut but I went to school at the University of Iowa two years after Jon started at the University of North Dakota. Then when I graduated last May, I was forced back to Connecticut before I could apply to a Graduate School. I hadn’t prepared during college to go on to grad school, so I had to go home before being allowed to enter a grad school in the Midwest. I have been applying since May, and it looks like I’m in at UIC for the fall semester. That’s quite a ways away, but that’s okay.

“I appreciate the laughs at my accent. It’s great, really. But you really do know what I want out of a place. Do you think I should really look for a house instead of a condo or townhouse?” he was serious now and I felt good knowing that he was asking for my real opinion.

“I think that if you wait, you will find yourself in this same position a year or so from now. Even if you have enough bedrooms in a condo or townhouse, you won’t have the space you want to raise your daughter in or to entertain your friends. I think if you want to do long-term, you look at houses.”

“Alright. I think you have made your point and I like it. We will look at this one last place and then tell Sandra what to look for. And I think you should tell her seeing as you have me pegged.” He explains as he pulls into the drive way that Sandra had explained about this place.