Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
I can’t believe I slept this late. I’m normally an early riser but when my eyes snapped open and I saw the glare of nine thirty a.m. staring at me from the bedside alarm clock, I made haste with getting up and out into the kitchen. I only had three beers last night and we didn’t even stay out all that late, but man… I must have needed the sleep. I’m guessing I’ve developed some comfort and trust in knowing that Mazzy will be taking care of my daughter but I still feel guilty for sleeping in.
I step into the kitchen. Bowie Jane sits at the island, a colored pencil in her right hand as she draws in a sketchbook, a piece of bacon in her left. She sees me, eyes lighting up with joy, and jumps from the stool to rush me.
“Daddy!” she exclaims as she throws one arm around my shoulders. The pencil was discarded but the other hand holds steadfastly to the bacon. “It’s about time you got up. You promised we’d hang out today.”
Chuckling, I kiss her cheek and she squeals because of my stubble, pushing my face away. “We will hang out,” I promise as I lower her back to the floor. I give a pat to her butt to indicate she needs to get back up at the counter. “As soon as Daddy has some coffee and a shower, and you need to finish your breakfast.”
I glance over at Mazzy wiping down the counter. “Good morning,” I say.
“Good morning,” she says brightly. “Can I make you an omelet?”
I wave her off as I move to the coffee pot. “No, you don’t have to.”
Before I turn fully away, I see the eye roll I’d been expecting, which I get at least five times a day when she tries to offer me something and I refuse. I have in my mind that Mazzy is only here for Bowie Jane, and Mazzy believes she’s here to help the family unit. We’ve had a few mini-arguments the past ten days.
“The correct answer is,” she drawls, dipping her chin and lasering her eyes onto me, “yes please, I’d like an omelet.’”
I hold up my hands in surrender. “Yes please, I’ll take an omelet.”
Her triumphant smile should irk me, but I find it adorable. She opens the fridge, disappears from my view and says, “One sardine-and-pig’s-feet omelet, coming right up.”
I ignore the ridiculous proposed concoction, knowing that she’ll load it with fresh veggies because it’s not the first time she’s made one for me.
“Have fun last night?” Mazzy steps back from the fridge, arms loaded with eggs and Ziploc baggies of cut vegetables.
I glance over at Bowie Jane after putting my cup under the coffee spout. She’s still munching on bacon with one hand and coloring with her other. “Yeah… it was nice getting to know the new guys a little better.”
“I imagine it’s important to connect off the ice if you can,” she muses as she whips eggs in a bowl.
Very astute but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Mazzy. I’ve come to learn that her brain is always firing on all cylinders. “It definitely makes for a better bond on the ice. I imagine we’ll tighten things up next week at practice.”
We have one week until the regular season starts. The cuts will have been made from training camp with final lines announced in the press probably on Monday before our first skate. Over the next two days, Coach will personally reach out to each of us to confirm our line positions and with any feedback from observations made during camp.
Then Monday… we go to work. We’ll have practices, team meetings, video reviews, sessions with the personal trainers and nutritionists, as well as formal photographs in our uniforms. It’s odd to think that we’re only a week away from our first regular season game, which will be on Saturday. I went ahead and got a pair of season tickets for Mazzy and Bowie Jane to attend as many games as we can muster, but I’ll have to balance that with school and keeping late nights to a reasonable minimum.
As Mazzy works on my omelet, I sip my coffee with a hip resting against the back counter. “I printed the full team schedule and I’d like to go over it with you at some point. I want to get your days off scheduled.” Mazzy and I talked about this already. When I’m in town and have home games, I’ll be able to take over more of Bowie Jane’s care, and that’s something I’m looking forward to, but I’ll still need Mazzy’s help to cover my games and practices. “I don’t have the practice schedule yet, but I figure we can go ahead and set your days off and if necessary, I can supplement with babysitters.”