Page 35 of Slap Shot Surprise
“Babe, you’ve got four older brothers who are going to lose their minds on this guy for getting you pregnant. If he does wrong by you on top of that, I don’t care what kind of athlete he is, that guy’s dead.”
I laughed, even as tears slipped down my cheeks. “I don’t want him dead. I just wish things were different. I wish we’d met in some romantic place, and he’d asked if he could see me again, and then we got to know each other and fell head over heels, and then he realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, and then he got down on one knee and proposed, and then we had a beautiful wedding attended by everyone we love and I wouldn’t even care if it rained that day because I knew we were meant to be, and then we’d move into our dream house right around the corner from you guys, andthenwe’d have a baby.” I wiped my cheeks. “But that didn’t happen. It was a meaningless one-night stand—not even a full night, because he drove me home after a few hours, since he doesn’t like to share a bed.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. He said he takes up all the space. And he hates to cuddle.”
Ari shook her head. “You can’t be with someone who hates to cuddle.”
“I’m notwithhim. We are just two random strangers whose DNA is now percolating in my belly.” I let my head flop backonto her shoulder.
She squeezed me again. “Everything is gonna be okay, Mabel.”
“Tell me I’ll still find the one, even with a baby.”
“You absolutely will. Somewhere out there is a guy who’s going to adore youandthat little one. That’s how you’ll know he’s the one. But first, you need to tell Joe he’s gonna be a father.”
In the end, I sent him a message on Instagram. I saw no other way to get through to him without asking a family member for help. It took me another week to work up the nerve to do it, and I must have typed and deleted a hundred different sentences. What I finally sent him was this:
Hi, Joe. This is Mabel, from Cherry Tree Harbor. I have to come to Chicago next month, and I wondered if we could meet up? My timing is flexible. Let me know if you’re around!
I’d decided that the pregnancy wasn’t something I wanted to tell him about in a message, especially if he had an assistant handling his social media. If he turned down my idea about the in-person visit, I’d have to be a little more direct and ask him for his number, which Ireallydidn’t want to do.
Luckily, I didn’t have to. It took him two days to answer me, but his reply was a relief.
Hey Mabel. Good to hear from you. Sorry I didn’t see yourmessage sooner.
Training camp starts mid-September. Would Labor Day weekend be okay? I know it’s short notice, but I’m free that Saturday.
My heart started to race. That was this weekend. It was Monday—Saturday was just five days away. But I couldn’t put it off any longer.
Sure. How should I get in touch with you once I’m in town?
Just call me.
The next message included his phone number, and I added it to my contacts before shooting him a quick text.
Hi, it’s Mabel.
Cool, see you Saturday.
But he texted me the very next night.
So how have you been?
Good. You?
Good. Just getting ready for the season. Been skating more.
You must be excited.
Yeah. Should be a good year.
I’ll have to watch some games. What’s your number?
Haha it’s 19.
Thursday night he reached out again.
