Chapter 31

I'm such a weird insomniac sometimes and the product of that is this chapter. Bear with this chapter because it's necessary to the upcoming two chapters where something big is going to happen. I'm exciiiteeedddd :D



Max's POV:

"So we'll be flying in on Friday and leaving again on Wednesday, are you sure it's okay that we're staying with you?" My mom had already asked me this 4 times already and even though it was fine, I would much rather be up in bed with Eliza than having an early morning conversation with her about this. Since we had officially moved in with each other and had been living together for over a month, it had become my new custom to stay in bed with Lizzy for as long as we were able to in the morning. There was just something peaceful about waking up next to her regularly and seeing all of her things mixed with mine and not just what she brought over in a bag to stay one night.

"Lizzy mentioned that maybe we could have dinner with her Mom that weekend. So you guys can meet." I vaguely heard her yelling excitedly to my dad in the background with her hand half-covering the phone. I guess she liked the idea. After a few more minutes of planning, I hung up and headed back upstairs to make sure Lizzy was getting up on time for work and to pack my bag to leave for our game against the Rangers tonight in New York. I would be gone all week and returning in time on Friday to pick up my parents at the airport and hang out before home games again on Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday. Basically, we were going to be relying on Mrs. Rollins a lot this week to get the house in order for my parents to arrive. Lizzy was already super busy as it is with her job and the fact that she was already looking at prospective player contracts for next season.

Once I saw that Lizzy was already up and had made the bed before hopping in the shower, I started packing my bag waiting for her to come out again. I heard the water shut off and her singing in the bathroom while she did whatever she takes forever to do in there.

She walked out clean and still pink from the heat of her shower with her hair wrapped up turban style in a towel in her bra and underwear. Maybe it was the fact that I was so infatuated with her or something, but her boobs definitely looked bigger all of the sudden. Not that I was complaining- thank you Victoria's Secret!

"So I talked to my Mom, I'm picking them up from the airport on Friday and they'll be here through Wednesday. Are you free to take them to games?" By that, I actually meant 'do you mind entertaining them while I'm busy with the team?' I knew that it was asking lot but I hoped that she would be okay with that.

"Sure, I forgot that was coming up so quickly. These past few weeks have flown by so quickly that I almost forgot. Mrs. Rollins reminded me yesterday and I called my Mom to invite her over for dinner at some point this weekend."


That was bound to be interesting. I hadn't seen her Mom in weeks since the first time that I had met her and she had been less than approving of me.


"Are your brothers coming?" she asked bending over to brush her hair out. Did she realize how distracting she was?


"Uh, I don't think so. Just my Mom and Dad. Casey's actually starting to show more so Frank has cut her off from travel and won't leave her."


"That's sort of cute. It's funny that a big bad Talbot man is already a worried daddy."


"It's not that funny. I mean, it's probably not safe for her to fly anyway."


She looked at me strangely before bursting out laughing. "Max, she's 4 months pregnant, not 9 months." I still didn't see what the difference was but kept my mouth shut and finished packing. I had to be out of here soon and at the airport to report for check-in.


"Will you be gone all week?" she asked burying her head into my neck as I hugged her. With her heels on, she was the perfect height for kissing and it was moments like these that made the constant comings and goings of my job difficult.

"Yeah, but I'll be back late Thursday night and I only have practice and some charity stuff in the morning on Friday before I pick up my parents. I thought that the four of us could go out to dinner that night."


I kissed her one last time trying not to linger for too long before packing up my car and pulling out of the garage.



Eliza's POV:


"So do I need to do anything special? I mean, his parents are coming to our house now. I feel like this is monumental or something." I was busy discussing the Talbot's visit with Emma and Vero over lunch. Vero had more experience with this sort of thing considering she had been dating Marc for over three years now.


"No, just make sure it's clean and tidy and you'll be fine. You don't need to worry, it sounds like they love you already" she said supportively squeezing my hand.


"Are you going to cook for them? That seems like the sort of thing that parents in general would appreciate." Emma said speaking up. She looked distracted today but I knew it was because she was stressed out about the new charity program she had been cultivating for months now.


Her cooking idea did seem logical though. Maybe I could even ask Lucy to give me a recipe for something that Max liked.

"Being in a relationship is nerve-wracking" I stated already feeling exhausted even though I hadn't done anything yet. "Plus Max is gone all week and I feel bad calling him with tons of questions when they have all that pressure on them right before the playoffs."


The Pens organization in general was stressed right now getting ready for the possibility of a playoffs run. It was understandably, even worse for the players and coaching staff.


"I doubt you'll really throw off his game if you call with a few questions. He's so laidback and understanding of your high-strung tendencies." Gee, thanks Vero.


"I'll take that into consideration" I said dryly changing the subject to talk of Emma's new program.


By Wednesday I still hadn't caved and called Max to ask for advice about anything. We had talked but only to catch up and try to piece together the upcoming week. His shoulder was bothering him again from the strain of the season catching up with him. I didn't want to bother him with other things right now when it was important for him to stay as healthy as he could and focus on the games in New York.


I had on the other hand fixed up the spare bedrooms in the house so that they looked decidedly less plain than they had before. I made sure that the room the Talbots would be staying in was fixed up extra nice and Mrs. Rollins had gone shopping with me to pick out a new bedspread and some knick-knacks to liven the room up a bit.


I had also called my Mom to make sure that she was free this weekend to come over for dinner at some point. I was surprised to hear that she actually sounded agreeable to the idea and wasn't giving me a lot of long pauses and sighs throughout the conversation. I was extremely anxious for this whole weekend to go well with them. Having both of our parents get along would be a key factor in my happiness and peace of mind.


"Maybe you could come to a game with us too." I offered wondering if she would agree. I knew she sort of avoided the subject of hockey because my Dad had loved watching it so much. "The Talbots are really fun to watch it with and I know that Max would really like it if you came." I was guilting her a little bit but I knew that it could be a good bonding experience for all of us. Hockey had become a major part of my life through this job and now through Max and his family- shouldn't it at least be a little part of hers?


"I think I'd like that" she said surprising me once again. "Anything you want to do this weekend, count me in. I do still feel bad about the way everything went last time." This was not my Mother speaking right now. This was a doppelganger Addy Smith talking right now.


"Okay. I'll get an extra ticket for you to Saturday's game." We talked some more and she gave me some advice about what to cook while his family was here at the house.


Between cooking, unnecessary worrying and work, I was exhausted by the time Thursday night rolled around that I didn't even wait up for Max to come home. I didn't even know what time he came home that night because I had fallen asleep by 10pm that night.


"Morning" he said pulling me tighter against his side under the covers. I opened my eyes to see that his were still tightly closed.

"Max, what happened to your eye?" He had a fresh cut above his eyebrow and a black eye. Obviously I had missed something important.

"I was mistaken for a net and then got into a fight over it" he said sounding as if he was already falling back asleep.

"Max! You can't look like this when your parents come!" One of his eyes opened the one that wasn't practically swollen shut to look at me slightly amused.

"Why? It's not like they haven't seen it before." While he did have a point, he looked awful and I doubted his parents or my Mom would be happy to see him looking like this. It was just sooo handsome.


"Are you going to stare at me or let me keep sleeping?" he asked. This was grumpy Max and I chalked it up to exhaustion giving him an out for being so crabby.

"Nope, go back to sleep, I'll talk to you later today" I said kissing him and leaving him in bed while I got ready for work. It was a Friday with not a lot going on in the office so I dressed casually in a pair of black jeans, a blouse and a vest with a new pair of heels I had picked out with Emma earlier in the week when we had both needed retail therapy during our lunch break. Max was snoring peacefully when I left and I reset the alarm for him so that he would remember to wake back up in an hour for practice and the charity event he had going on that afternoon.



We were becoming quite domesticated and I didn't even worry or care anymore. I liked it and was grateful to Max for constantly pushing me and our relationship in the right direction.



My good mood carried on throughout the rest of the day and by 5pm I was driving home so that Max and I could drive over to the airport together.

"Do you see them anywhere?" I asked trying to see over the busy airport crowds by the baggage claim. We couldn't meet them at their gate due to heightened security and were stuck downstairs with everyone trying to get their baggage.

"Not yet. I think their plane just landed, calm down" he laughed adjusting the hat on his head and pulling it farther down on his face. He had been recognized twice in the twenty minutes that we had been here but the majority of people around us were too busy with their travel plans to bother him too much.

"I am calm" I protested feeling more excited than anything else. "I'm also hungry" I said winding my arms around his neck to place a quick kiss on the underside of his chin.

"Hungry eh?" he grinned sliding his hands down my back to rest right above my butt.

"So this is how we find you two. And in public too." Looks like they found us.

"Hi Lucy, Serge." I smiled at each of them.

"Oh come here and give me a hug" Lucy said grabbing me and pulling me into a tight hug while Max and Serge also hugged and did that thing where men slap each other on the back as a greeting.

"Hi Serge" I said once Lucy released me. He grinned down at me like a big bear and squeezed me into a hug.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Max was already holding both of their bags. Was that good for his shoulder?

"Here give me that one" I pointed to the bag he was holding on his injured shoulder side.

"No, I got it." He said shrugging me off. He wasn't supposed to be straining it off of the ice.

"Seriously, give it to me. I don't want you carrying it with your shoulder." I gave him my best 'don't argue with me face' which he ignored before finally giving in to me.

"Honey, what happened to your face?" Lucy asked once we were seated in my car and pulling away from the parking lot. We had taken my Honda Civic because Max's BMW was too small to hold all of us.

"Rangers game" was all that he said skipping the part about the puck colliding with his face. His Dad nodded understandingly and Lucy wisely dropped the subject, sending a wink my way from the back seat. Guess she had learned over the years.

After we had grabbed a bite to eat, we returned back to the house. I was so busy talking to Lucy that I had completely forgotten to be nervous about them coming to our house for the first time since I had moved in.

"Oh Eliza, you've made the house so much better!" Lucy said complimenting a few of the changes I had made in the house. "There was entirely too much beige in this house before" she added ignoring Max's muttering of "Merci, Ma."

"See?" Max said pulling me aside in the kitchen to give me a kiss. "You have nothing to be worried about." He kissed me again distracting us both until I heard someone approaching.

"We really need the house to ourselves" he groaned resting his forehead against mine.

Agreed.