Page 128 of Slap Shot Surprise
“The other?”
“You said Mabel wanted a love story. You said shewanted to meet the one and be swept off her feet. But then you said she didn’t meet the one—she met me.”
Ari tilted her head. “And?”
“And you’re wrong. Iamthe one. And I drove here at four in the morning to tell her that.”
Her eyes widened. “You did?”
“Yes! I love her, and I’m so mad at myself for waiting until now to tell her. She should not have been alone this morning. She shouldn’t belivingalone. She should be living with me.”
“She needs to hear all this, Joe.”
“She will. As soon as I can get to her.”
“Right. Okay, come on.” She disappeared into Mabel’s bedroom, and I followed.
Moving quickly, she gathered things from Mabel’s dresser and then from the bathroom, tossing them all into a cloth bag she took from a hook on the back of Mabel’s door. I stood by the foot of the bed with guilt pummeling my chest as I imagined her losing her footing and falling to the floor, her precious head hitting the dresser.
I should have been there.
When the bag was full, Ari handed it over to me. “Here,” she said. “Northern Medical Center. You’ll have to sign in when you get there, and they’ll give you the room number.”
I grabbed the bag and was halfway to the front door before I turned around again. Poking my head back into the bedroom, I looked at Ari and touched my chest. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Joe.” She smiled at me. “Go get her.”
After parking in the hospital structure, I ran as fast as I could for the stairwell, taking them down three at a time. I bolted into the lobby, skidded to the reception desk, scribbled my name on the sign-in, slapped a visitor tag on my chest, and raced for the elevator. It was about to close when I yelled, “Hold the door!” A hand shot out, and I slipped inside the car.
“Thanks,” I said breathlessly to the tall, dark-haired guy holding a cardboard cup of coffee. “Four, please.”
“No problem.” He studied me as the doors shut.
I kept my eyes straight ahead—I didn’t want to talk hockey with any fans right now. My leg bounced as the elevator rose. It seemed to take forever to go up four floors. When the doors began to open, I shot through them sideways and took off down the hall.
When I arrived at her room, I didn’t even stop to catch my breath. Throwing open the door, I rushed in, tossed the bag from Ari on a chair in the corner, and threw myself down on my knees next to Mabel’s hospital bed. My chest ached at the big purple welt near her temple.
“Joe?” She stared at me like I might be a ghost, her face registering shock. “What are you doing here?”
“Ari told me what happened,” I said, out of breath.
“When? Did you fly here?” She shook her head. “I don’t understand how you heard in time to get here so fast. I just called Ari an hour ago.”
“I left Chicago at four o’clock this morning,” I told her.
“I don’t understand,” she said again. “My head is so fuzzy.”
“It’s not your head. Your head is perfect.” I looked at her, worry and relief and affection radiating throughout my whole body. Her dark hair was a mess, her face was pale,and she wore a ratty blue hospital gown. But no one had ever looked so beautiful to me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just got dizzy and lost my balance. Low blood sugar or something.”
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”
“It’s okay, you weren’t supposed to be.” She half smiled at me, like she was afraid something was too good to be true. “Joe, what’s going on?”
“God, Mabel. I’ve been so miserable. And so stubborn. So afraid to make the wrong move that I made no move at all, and that’s not who I am.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t say anything.
