Golden

July 2017- Halifax, Nova Scotia

Nate’s POV

The timer on my phone buzzed in the middle of playing video games with Sid and some other guys. Sid knew exactly what the timer meant, but the other guys all gave me a strange look as I grabbed my phone and walked away from our table. Myers was in Chile finishing up training before she came out to visit me in Nova Scotia and meet my family. For the past three months, we have been surviving with face time. I had a timer on my phone that reminded me when we had scheduled our calls.

I accepted her facetime request and her face appeared on my iPhone screen. She looked dead tired. Gorgeous like always, but dark circles were evident beneath her blue eyes. I knew her training had been intense both on and off the slopes. She was leaned against the headboard in her hotel room in one of my avalanche hockey shirts with her hair thrown up in a messy bun and her glasses on.

“Hi, gorgeous. You look good in my shirt. Is that where all of them were when I went to pack them? At your house?” I teased.

“I may have taken a few of them” Myers blushed.

“So are you ready to come see Halifax? I’m excited for you to get here and meet everyone.”

"I’m a little nervous to spend time with your parents. Spending time around families puts me on edge. I’ve never really been in a functional family and the closest thing I’ve come to spending with a family was with my coach and ski team growing up.”

It was something I hadn’t thought about, that Myers might be uncomfortable around families since she didn’t have one herself. I realized then that I should tell my mom more about how she grew up so that she would know how to handle Myers and would know which topics to tread lightly on. My train of thought was broken as I saw Myers’ eyes shift over my shoulder and say hello to whatever she was making eye contact with. I turned around and saw the guys behind us. They came over and crowded to look at my mac book screen.

“I’m sorry, I tried to keep them out” Sid apologized.

“This is what you snuck off for Nate? To facetime with a girl?” Sid’s buddy Mike proclaimed.

I rolled my eyes before introducing Myers to all of the guys. Sid was eventually able to herd them out of the room and give me some privacy again.

“So you leave tonight and will be here tomorrow afternoon right? I’ll pick you up at the airport. And your trainer sent Andy all of the info he needs for your training sessions?”

Myers laughed at my nervous rambling before calming me down. “Yeah, babe. I’ll text you my flight numbers so you can track if I’m on time. And I sent Andy everything he needs. I’ve got to finish packing, so I’ll see you tomorrow night okay?”

After ending our video chat, I headed back out and played video games with the guys before we went to dinner. At dinner, the guys couldn’t stop teasing me about spacing out. But I couldn’t help it. The countdown was on. Myers would be here in 24 hours. I hadn’t seen her in person in more than 2 months and I couldn’t wait to show her around my hometown.

******
Myers’ POV

I weaved my way through the crowds of the Halifax airport with my Nike backpack slung over my shoulder and hoodie hood over my head. I had already deplaned and made my way through border control. I knew I had found Nate as soon as I saw a large crowd of people surrounding a guy in a CCM hat. Nate may not be as big of a star as Sidney, but he was still recognized often in Canada. I let him be for a bit and headed to the luggage carousel to grab my bags.

Just after I grabbed my last bag, the hood over my head was pulled down. Spinning around, I was met with Nate’s chest. He leaned down and kissed me deeply for a few seconds. I could practically hear all of the artificial camera shutters on everyone’s phone in the terminal. We finally separated and Nate picked up my luggage before either of us had said a word to each other. As Nate began to lead me out of the airport towards his car I finally spoke up.

“I thought I was going to have to rescue you from the mob requesting pictures and autographs.”

With a roll of the eyes, Nate gave it right back. “Unlike some people, I wasn’t rolling incognito with a hood over my head in the middle of summer.”

“Fair enough. How long of a ride is it to your house? “

The nervous glance Nate gave me said it all. We weren’t going to his house.

“My parents invited us over for dinner. I know you are nervous about meeting them, so I figured we should get it over with.”

Thirty minutes later we pulled up in front of a modest house. As soon as we walked through the front door, a golden retriever and German Shepard jumped on Nate giving kisses before noticing there was someone other than their favorite human in the house. The golden retriever approached me and sniffed my feet. I sat down on the ground and was rewarded with lots of dog kisses.

The commotion in the entryway drew the attention of Nate’s family. Nate’s sister Sarah jumped on him as soon as he stood up. Then, Kathy and Graham approached and both hugged Nate. I stood up and stopped petting the dogs as Nate introduced me. I reached out to shake her hand but instead was pulled into a bear hug.

“We hug in this family sweetheart. I’m so happy to finally meet you, Nathan has told us so much about you.” My eyes were wide in surprise as I glanced at Nate who was standing next to Graham and grinning.

“It’s nice to meet you too. Thank you for having me over for dinner”

Once Kathy released me, Graham followed with a quick hug and hello. Nate and I wandered around the house, I couldn’t help but stop and look at all of the pictures of him and his sister scattered lovingly throughout. Even his childhood bedroom looked so lived in. It was so different. Opposite, even, from the foster homes and trailers that I had grown up in.

Nate stopped me before we left his room for dinner. “I know you were worried about meeting them, but my mom and dad already love you.”

I couldn’t help but smile at him and grab his hand as we headed downstairs to the dining room. The meal that Kathy made was absolutely amazing, and none of it would have been approved by my nutritionist. Conversation about skiing, my past few weeks in Chile training, Nate’s offseason training, and Colorado flowed throughout dinner.

Once dinner was over, Sarah headed out and I volunteered to help Kathy clean up the dishes while the boys watched the blue jays game on tv. For a while, we were able to talk about my properties in Vail and Denver as well as what the upcoming Olympics would look like for me should I make the team. It wasn’t long before Kathy gently laid a hand on my shoulder and asked: “If you make the team, who is going to the Olympics with you for support?”

I looked away for a second to compose myself. “Just my usual team. I’ve got a ski technician, coach, and trainer.”

Kathy pulled me into a hug “Oh honey, Nate told us about how you grew up, and I just wanted you to know that you have us now."