Sticks, Jocks & Love?

Chapter Thirteen:

Sharing Chocolate Is A Nice Gesture. Stupid, But Nice

Summer was fast coming; the hockey season nearing its end – the Cavaliers had a fair chance at play-offs this year, and Nate was working hard on making it there with the best odds possible – and the school year was almost over. Hannah couldn’t believe that she had been, officially, living with Nate for five months now. It had been hard to adjust at first but, in the end, she liked it.

She liked to have someone to carry her bags and fetch her stuff from the top shelves, and to move the furniture around and to keep her warm during the cold months and cuddle and pamper her when she was sick. It was all very nice.

And Nate seemed happy, too. He loved having someone to go home to every night and to have dinner with and to sleep with and just talk, go to the movies do all normal things couples do. Hannah didn’t care he was a hockey player; she just liked to be with him because of him.

All was good, which was why Nate thought it was finally time to take the next step. It had been partially because of something Nathalie had told him when he had had to drive her to her oby-gn one time that Mark hadn’t been able to get away from work.

After the appointment was over – Nat and the baby (sex unknown as Mark and Nat wanted it to be a surprise, no matter how much it drove Grandma-to-Be Lauren completely nuts) were both in perfect health – Nat had dragged Nate to the nearest Ben & Jerry’s and demanded to be bought a double cone Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and New York Super Fudge Chunk; Nate felt full just watching her eat.

Anyway, Nat was busy shoveling ice cream into her mouth.

“Oh my God! This was just what I needed!” Nat said. “I’m so hot all the time is ridiculous! And we are so busy at the restaurant… and I can’t even complain ‘cause then Mark feels bad and sends me home and he ends up working extra hours, he’s so tired…”

“It doesn’t look like it was the perfect timing to get knocked up,” Nate commented,

“Oh, I guess, I mean we just opened the restaurant and all that. But… we had talked about it and we both wanted it, when the time was right.” Nat paused on her quest of getting chocolate ice cream down her throat and rubbed her stomach thoughtfully. “We didn’t plan on getting pregnant, but when it happened we both felt so happy. I mean, sure we are busy but… if we kept waiting for the right time, we were never going to have a baby, something was always going to come up.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Oh, yes.” Nat said. “I always am, little brother of mine. There is no such thing as the perfect time for something. You have to make a choice and run with it… and talking about choices, I’ll need pint of Chunky Monkey for the ride home.”

Nate sighed, went to get the Chunky Monkey and drove Nat home where Mark was already waiting for them.

On the ride over to Hannah’s – or THEIR place, he should say is he now officially got mail there – he kept thinking on what Nat had said, there was no perfect time, waiting for it was in vain… there was something he had wanted to do since he had met Hannah, practically… and it was time to do it.

…--…--…--…--…--…

That Monday morning, Hannah was distracted; Nate had been acting weird lately… he was secretive and twice the day before she had walked on him talking on the phone and Nate had hung up abruptly with a “I’ll call you later,”

Hannah was a little worried, she had to admit, part of her knew that Nate would never ever cheat on her, because she would slit open his throat (and other parts of him) if he did; but something was up and Hannah was worried. She had been trying to make sense inside of her head at what possibly could be going on and the only thing she could come up with, other than he was cheating, was that maybe he was transferring to another team… which would suck because she didn’t want to be apart from him and she didn’t want to quit her job either but, if she wanted to be with him, she was going to have to… unless he didn’t ask her to go with him, which would just break her heart.

“Hannah… I am your… father.” Aka said in her bad James Earl Jones’ voice, with a giggle in her tone.

“What?” Hannah asked distractedly.

“Hannah, honey what’s going on?”

“Oh… nothing, nothing at all. Well, Nate has been acting a little funny lately… but I’m sure it’s nothing, I’m sure…”

Aka smiled then, wide and mischievously but then she caught herself and simply asked Hannah for one of her students.

“What do you want one of my kids for?”

“Oh, well, the principal thinks that they should be able to help with the morning announcements by now, so she wants you to send one of the kids over to read them this morning.”

“Aren’t they a little young?” Hannah said, looking at her kids.

“She said that the sooner we start giving them responsibilities the better for them.” Aka said, in a way that told Hannah that Aka had rehearsed it at least a dozen times.

“Right,” Hannah said unconvinced, but still went and asked one of her kids to go with Aka and read the announcement. The chosen one was Karen, the little girl who had asked Nate –when he had first gone with the rest of the team to visit the school – if Hockey was just for boys.

Aka left and with Karen and Hannah began to get ready for the lesson: writing the date in the blackboard and greeting the rest of the kids as they showed up.

But, through it all, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up.

…--…--…--…--…

Nate was nervous as he walked up the stairs of the elementary school that Hannah worked at. There weren’t many things that made him nervous but this one did. And it had been extremely difficult to plan everything; twice Hannah had walked on him while he was in the phone making arrangements.

He carefully made his way to the principal’s office, where Aka was waiting with a cute little girl he had seen a few times before when he had come to pick up Hannah. Aka and the principal where explaining the little girl, Karen, what she was supposed to do.

Nate waited patiently to the very end of the morning announcements – there was going to be a bake sale next week and an inter-school soccer tournament as well as a geography rally – then, it was time…

…--…--…--…--…

Hannah was listening to Karen’s sweet little voice as she went through the announcements.

“There is one last announcement this morning,” Karen said and giggled.

Then a man’s voice – one she recognized immediately – came on the speaker. “I,” It said. “Nate Sadler wish to ask Miss Hannah Taylor if she would marry me.”

Hannah jumped in her chair and hit her knee with her desk. Did she hear correctly? Had Nate just asked her if she wanted to marry him… over the school’s announcement system?

After what seemed hours but really were just three minutes, the door opened and Karen walked in and she was holding hands with Nate. Nate let go and Karen went back to her desk while he went to Hannah’s desk.

“What” was all Hannah got out before Nate went down on his knees and asked again: “Would you marry me?”

Hannah gasped, then jumped at him and shouted, “Yes,” at the top of her lungs.

Nate caught her and lifted her up in his arms as he stood up. Then he kissed her and she kissed him back.

Perhaps they were putting too much of a show in front of a class full of first graders, but it didn’t matter. Few things matter when one is happy as Nate and Hannah were in that moment.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

End of Chapter Thirteen

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End of Sticks, Jocks & Love?

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End of The Zephyr’s Stories.