Page 28

It was Thanksgiving break. Finally. The American timing of the holiday gave me a week and a half off of classes. The second my courses ended for the day on Friday, I was on a plane home to my family. I was excited for Toronto and to see my family. Tyler had one day off to explore the city before his game. I was dragging him to my parents for dinner, then the next day I'd be going to the game with them.

The plane ride was long, but my excitement to see my family made it pass quickly. Not a single member of my family knew I was dating Tyler Dewalt. None of them had Instagram to figure it out. The real question would be if anyone would recognize him.

Tyler was picking me up from the airport, since he'd arrived in the city early this morning. My lunchtime arrival wasn't too late for him to be busy. Practice had already happened. So had team breakfast. My knee bounced as the plane finally began to empty. From overhead, I grabbed my usual baggage.

Through the familiar Toronto airport, and then outside. My eyes found the sleek rental car waiting for me. I bounced forward, throwing my stuff in the back. I attacked Tyler with a hungry kiss in the front seat.

"Hello to you too." His grin was satisfied.

"I missed you." He held out his phone for me to put my parents' address in.

"I missed you too. It's been too long."

"Is Tay here?" Tyler rolled his eyes at my heightened excitement.

"Yes, she's coming to the game tomorrow. Don't you text her?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to make sure."

Tyler pulled away from the airport, taking the highway up and out of the populous part of the city. The drive was basically a straight shot north to where we lived. I felt the nostalgia of the familiar streets as they shot by. I pointed out various places from my childhood to Tyler. In between the landmarks, I prepped him on what to say.

"If my parents ask what you do for a living...don't tell them you play yet. Say...you work with sporting events. Recording points. For Chicago. It's not wrong, technically." Tyler shook his head. His large reached over to grab mine.

"I'm not good at not mentioning playing. Especially if I walk in and your house is diehard Leafs decorations. I'll cry inside."

"Oh it's not that bad. Turn left here. It's a shortcut into the neighborhood." Tyler followed my instructions, veering from the GPS. "Right on Glenview. Ok another right on Acorn. And then the house on the left with the grayish stone." Tyler gave me a heavy sideways glance when he'd parked.

"Nice house." I shrugged.

"Thank, I guess. It was always a little too cookie cutter for me. But it's not bad." Tyler nodded, not responding. I got out of the car slower than I'd gotten in. I was about to introduce Tyler to my family. Would Hannah like him? What about Johnny and Mason? My parents? I pressed my hands together in an attempt to calm my nerves. Tyler came around the car, holding my bag.

"I'll be good Halls. Don't worry." I nodded dryly. I let Tyler take one of my hands as we walked to the door. I didn't ring the doorbell. Instead, the doorknob twisted before I had a chance to touch it. A mess of brown hair immediately catapulted into my torso. I let out a grunt.

"Hey Han. Come on let's get in before the dogs get out." I hobbled inside with my sister still clinging to me. "Jeez kiddo, I'm not going anywhere. You can let go." Hannah let out a strangled noise before pulled away. With her noise, I heard the clicking of nails on hardwood.

"Look out Ty. Incoming." The two massive fluffy forms of our two Bernese Mountain dogs came flying at us. With Hannah off me, I now had to worry about these two. The goofs were too big to be greeting people like this.

"Toad, Rosie, relax!" Tyler let out a laugh.

"You have a dog named Toad?" The smaller of the tricolored dogs looked up at the sound of his name. Tyler reached down to pat the dog's head.

"I named him." Hannah was looking at Tyler with slight awe. Her voice was quieter and guarded.

"Hannah, this is my boyfriend Tyler. Tyler, this is my little sister Hannah." Hannah waved shyly.

"Do I hear voices?" I instantly relaxed at the sound of my mom's melodic voice. "I knew something must've been up when the pups took off from watching me cook." My mom paused when she saw Tyler. Her mouth formed a small 'o.'

"Halle! You didn't tell me we'd be meeting this young man today!" She walked forward to hug me.

"I said during my visit. Wasn't sure the exact day. Hope it isn't a bad time."

"Oh, of course not." My mom gestured for Tyler to come closer so she could embrace him as well. "I was just making things ahead of time for dinner. Your father and brothers are downstairs in the basement. I'll call them up." My mom retreated towards the kitchen. I pulled Tyler with me to follow her. Hannah and the dogs trailed behind us. Toad jumped excitedly at Tyler's side, wanting more attention. My mom called down the steps for my siblings and dad to come up. A gruff reply came before three sets of stomping feet on the steps. I was surprised they'd listened so quickly. Like my mom had, my dad froze when he saw Tyler. My brothers were less obvious.

"Dad, John, Mason, this is Tyler. Ty, this is my dad, and my brothers John and Mason." I tried to hide my smile at the fact my dad was sporting a very loud Leafs T-shirt. If only Ty could see the basement.

"Nice to meet you, sir." Tyler held out a hand to my dad, then my brothers. Mason was staring at Tyler with a vengeance, slight confusion fixed in his eyes. Uh oh. Did he recognize him already?

"Wow. The first boy Halle's ever brought home...how old are you, anyway?" John's teasing made me blush.

"Not as old as you. Do you even have a job yet?" John made a face at me.

"Touché." He returned just attention to Ty, hope lighting up his face. "Ya like hockey? We were just playing a mini pick-up of a table game."

"Ah, it's decent." Only I was able to read the strain in Tyler's voice. It was hard not to laugh. John grinned.

"Oh Halle, will you release him to us to go play table hockey?"

"I suppose. I'm coming too. I like hockey just as much." I crossed my arms. Mason gave me a strange look.

"Since when?" Oh, oops. I'd blundered.

"Uh...since. Ya know. Awhile." Mason scoffed.

"Yeah, right."

The same group, minus my mom, traipsed downstairs. I complained loudly when Rosie almost sent me tumbling down the stairs as she pushed by. The dog was too big to be squeezing by us like that. I hadn't always been their biggest fan, and apparently I still wasn't. Too much hair, and too much slobber. But they did sometimes made good companions.

We leveled out into the basement. The definition of a man cave, if I'd ever seen one. Leafs paraphernalia everywhere. Tyler nudged me sharply. One look at his disgusted face and I couldn't contain my laughter any longer. John narrowed his eyes at us.

"Oh, tell me you two aren't Leafs people?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Nope." Tyler popped the 'p' in his response. Mason rose an eyebrow.

"What team, then?"

"Blackhawks. Both of us. I actually might be more of a fan than Ty is." I tapped my chin. I knew Tyler couldn't say anything that would compromise him. He just scoffed.

"In your dreams, blondie." He left my side to study the table hockey game that was centered in the basement. I took a seat on the blue couch. Hannah joined me. She kicked her feet out slightly.

"I like him." I threw an arm around her shoulder.

"Good. He's sticking around."

We watched the four men take turns playing. To my surprise, my dad completely blew my brothers and Ty out of the water. Tyler's competitiveness had been stirred up by the contest. I could tell by the gleam in his eyes. When Mason and John took over, my dad and Ty kept up their conversation.

"So, Tyler. What do you do with your time? Do you go to Duke too? Halle hasn't exactly told us much." His criticism was pointed in my direction. I pretended not to hear.

"No, I live in Chicago. Actually, I work for the Hawks. Recording points for games." Mason immediately looked up, his eyes narrowing quickly. I saw him pull his phone out. I beat him to it. I sent him a threatening text.

Mason looked up at me, his eyes wide.

I met my brother's eyes again. He shrugged and turned away. I tuned back in to my dad and Tyler's conversation. They'd already moved away from work and were talking about cars. Tyler had his phone out. I presumed he was showing my dad the pictures of his shiny black Mercedes. Of course he was. Sometimes I think he loved the car more than me. It got to spend more time with him, anyway.

My hand absently found Toad's head, scratching lightly behind the ears. It was only two. Tyler had to be back at the hotel by seven for team dinner. If he ate here and then went, I knew he'd still have room for whatever food would be waiting. Already, my mom's cooking was generating a mouth-watering smell that easily reached the basement. It made my stomach growl. Dinner couldn't come fast enough.

&&&

"Where's Tyler?" It wasn't too hard to explain where Tyler had spent the night. But now my mom wanted to know why he wasn't coming to the game with us.

"Uh, his job. He's working right now, so he won't be in the stands with us.

"Oh right. I keep forgetting." I nodded. My coat was uncomfortably bulky over Tyler's jersey. Only a few more minutes before I could pull the constricting material off. I was waiting for Taylor to get here, then I would run up to the boxes to talk to my friends.

"I'm meeting a friend here soon, Mom. So when she texts me I'm gonna go see her for a bit."

"Oh, you should bring her back here! I'd love to meet her. Is she a friend from high school?"

"No. She's kind of a friend through Ty. She's my best friend, actually." My mom's face darkened.

"What about Emily?" I hesitated, not wanting to spoil my mom's night.

"I actually don't talk to Emily anymore. We haven't talked in awhile."

"Oh. I see." My mom looked confused, but I didn't tell her why. Finally, my phone buzzed. I grinned at the text.

"Ok, I'll be back." I pulled my coat off, ignoring the glares of my solely Leafs oriented family.

I rushed off, hurrying to find Tayler. When I spotted the familiar red jersey, I squealed. She heard me, turning towards the noise. Her grin was massive.

"Halle! Oh my gosh we are so outnumbered right now." She hugged me tight.

"I know. My whole family is here and every single one is wearing something blue. It's terrible." I pointed back to the way I'd come from. "Would you like to meet them? But, they don't know about Tyler yet. So don't say anything, ok? They met him yesterday, but we didn't say anything about him playing."

"Lips are sealed." Tayler walked back with me, her arm entwined in mine. I felt immensely more relaxed with one of my closest friends with me. Now we just needed Alex and Lyndsey and the Core Four would be complete again. We confidently ignored the shriveling glares of Toronto fans as we walked. It was all part of the game, after all.

"Hey Mom. I'm back." I collapsed into my seat, with Tayler following. "Mom, this is Tayler. Tayler, this is my mom." John was curiously peering over at my newly introduced friend. I knew what he was thinking. "And that weirdo over there is John. Ignore him, he's crusty." Tayler laughed, leaning into me.

"Will do, Halls." My mom didn't ask any pressing questions as the warmup began to end. My dad got one quip in before the singing of the anthems, however.

"Halle, who's jersey is that?" Tayler giggled in my ear, nudging me sharply.

"You'll just have to see, Dad. Someone important." Mason, too, sniggered from behind us. I slapped at his knee, shooting him a warning glare. He responded by holding up his hands innocently.

With the anthems concluded, Tayler and I both leaned forward to focus on the game. I sucked in a breath as Tyler was almost immediately checked into the boards. I was on the edge for this game. After all, almost one year ago, Jake Muzzin had sent Tyler straight through the glass in this exact arena. And I'd been sitting in this exact spot. Oh, how so much had changed.

This game was quick. The Toronto team consisted of a forward line that Tyler knew well. Even with his previous knowledge, it was a tough fight. He went through the first shift without scoring. That in itself wasn't unusual. He'd had possession a good amount of time, and had found the right passes. The team was on top of things, they just couldn't score. Dylan's line came the closest, almost sending the puck over the line before it twirled out again. Tayler let out the loudest groan at the missed opportunity.

"Come on Dyl! You gotta get that." I'm not sure if my parents or the rest of my family noticed her words, but Mason definitely did. He poked my back with the edge of his fry basket. I ignored him.

Finally, with three minutes left in the first, it was Tyler's line again. And I had no reason to worry. Tyler came up to Jake Muzzin, effectively deked around him, then was on a breakaway. I couldn't control my actions. I half rose, squeezing Tayler's arm tightly. From this vantage point, I could see the pure power he was putting into his strides. He zig zagged down the ice, hiding his lateral movement from the Leafs goalie. His eyes went one way. The puck went the other. It went into the net, right over the blocker pad. I jumped to my feet, yelling along with Taylor.

A moment later, the announcer came on the loudspeaker, declaring who made the goal and the assists.

"Number one, Tyler Dewalt. Assisted by number seventeen Dylan Strome and number twelve Alex DeBrincat. Time of the goal...seventeen thirty in the first." I hugged Taylor out of instinct.

"See, they can play nice together!" Tayler was laughing happily. John was staring at me.

"Tyler Dewalt? Either that's a freak coincidence, or you're actually dating the best player in the league right now." I didn't say anything. The words sunk in with my parents. They both looked at me in shock.

"So you mean to tell me that you're dating a professional hockey player and didn't tell us?"

"Oh you little punk!" John was practically bouncing up and down. He looked strained.

"I had Tyler Dewalt standing in my living room and didn't know?" Tayler let out a laugh at my parents' incredulous thoughts.

"Listen to that Halls. They talk about him like he's Jesus. Which he's not, by the way. He's quite obnoxious. Especially when him and Dylan gang up on us at family skate." My mom had a storm cloud over her face.

"And that's why you go to Chicago all the time, isn't it? So you can watch him play." It was obvious she wanted to say more, but trailed off. I had a feeling she'd yell later. For now, she settled into enjoying the game. When Tyler assisted a goal in both the second and third periods, she even cheered. With his team on top in an easy shutout, Taylor and I were thrilled. We couldn't see them after the game, since they were leaving right away for Ottawa. Otherwise, I would've dragged my family down and let them fuss over him. That part I was bummed about.

In the car ride home, without Tayler, my mom was the first to interrogate me.

"So, all those times you went to Chicago. It was to see him?"

"Yes, Mom."

"And he was at the beach with you. Has he ever been to your apartment?"

"Yeah once earlier this month for my birthday. I go to Chicago more." My dad broke in.

"Why didn't you tell us? I would've loved to know yesterday just how good the kid is." I shrugged.

"Because then you wouldn't have looked at him like a normal guy. You would've talked about playing and the league nonstop. He gets bored of that sometimes." My mom was still half turned in her seat to look at me. She seemed worried.

"You miss a lot of school."

"Not really. I've only missed two Mondays since September."

"So you're not going to drop out on us then?"

"Of course not. I'd love to be in Chicago all the time, but I need my schooling." If it were months before, I would've gone on about how Duke was my dream school. Except it wasn't anymore. I wanted to move to Chicago.

"And what about Emily?" I let out a sigh.

"She tried to get between us. She was cruel and a bad friend. I didn't know that until I met the girls I have now. I'm happier not talking to her."

"Who helps pay your rent then? You can't afford it by yourself."

"Ty does. I told him he didn't have to but he wanted to.'

"Have you met any other NHL players?" My dad was still engrossed in Tyler's fame. I laughed.

"No, only his teammates so far. We're going on vacation over Christmas break with a few guys, though." My mom's face darkened again.

"Oh are you?"

"Really? Who!" My dad and John were more enthusiastic.

"Uh, Merzly, the Tkachuk and Hughes brothers, Mitch Marner, and Brinksy. Dyl might go but Tay doesn't know yet."

"Mitch Marner!" My dad almost swooned.

"Yeah, Dad. Said he might bring Auston Matthews too." I smirked. There was so much I could impress my dad and brothers with. I was tempted to.

"But you're not using him for trips and money and cars, right Halls?" My mom's voice was concerned. I scoffed.

"Of course not. I don't love him for his money Mom. It's more the tenacious good looks and his rugged personality. Remember, we met and starting dating before he signed this crazy contract and scored more points in his debut than Gretzky." She didn't looked convinced. "I'm not a gold digger mom!"

"I know, I know. This is all just happening very quick. I don't know what to think." Her face softened. "I'm just glad you're happy sweetie." John rolled his eyes.

"Save the sappy stuff for home, eh?"