“Dad has been taking me to lessons so I can play hockey. I hope to get as good as Jake one day. Maybe even play in the NHL. How cool would that be? If I'm good enough, people would be coming to watch me play.”
Rolling out of bed, I leave Emily and Drake to catch up. In the kitchen, Dad and Mike are sitting at the round wooden table drinking coffee. I take a seat and run my hands over my face. I feel as if I didn't get any sleep at all.
“You alright son?”
“Yeah, just tired. I feel as if Emily and I need to get away for the weekend again.”
“Again?” Mike looks over curiously.
Oops. “Yeah,” is all I say. The more I think about it, the better it sounds. Sadly, I have a feeling Emily wouldn't be up for it. A few days at home is probably exactly what she wants. I will have to find out.
The sound of my chair scraping the floor echos in the room as I leave them in the kitchen. Drake is still talking a mile a minute.
“Drake, get out for a sec. I need to talk to Emily.”
“Okay,” he sighs, scooting off of the bed.
Once he's out of ear shot, I sit on the edge of the bed and look at Emily. She's practically glowing and it's thanks to my little brother. I'll have to remember to thank him.
“Remember when we went away to the cabin for the weekend?”
Emily nods.
“How does that sound right about now?”
“You want to go away again?”
I n
od.
“I'd love to, but don't you think we should spend time with our families while we are here. I know that we haven't spent much time together lately, but once break is over...” Emily's voice trails off.
“Okay. I was just thinking how it would be nice to get away for a bit.”
Leaning forward, I place a kiss on her forehead.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I leave Emily's room with an urge to go out into the world with Drake and have fun. Drake is ecstatic with the idea, but asks if a girl can come along. Apparently, he has himself a girlfriend. I ask Emily if she would like to come as well.
Of course, she says yes. We gather into my car and leave to pick up Drake's girlfriend Becky. She seems like a nice little girl. I can't tell anything else about her though because Drake talks nonstop to her. Glancing over at Emily, she smiles at me.
“Drake,” she begins. “Why don't you give Becky the chance to reply?”
“Oh,” he says. “Sorry Becky.”
“It's okay. I like listening to you talk.”
From then on out, Drake takes little pauses in-between subjects to allow Becky to respond. Once Becky starts talking, she is as talkative as Drake. Sometimes, they are even speaking over one another. Emily reaches over and intertwines our fingers. We are going out for ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery.
Once we arrive, order, and take our seats, Emily gets a chance to talk with Becky. She seems happy to talk about herself. Drake listens intently. I don't believe I've ever seen him listen so well before.
My chocolate ice cream tastes delicious as I listen to the conversation. When we are all finished, Emily suggests that we go to the movies. So we do. Emily and I sit a few rows back from the kids to give them some time to themselves.
Emily hugs my arm to her chest and rests her head on my shoulder throughout the movie. I am so happy to have her back. My love for her is so strong.