Wings of Love (17 page)

“Yeah!!”  Amy jumped to her feet
giving Brenda a high five.  “Go New York!”

Adam passed the puck to his left winger who
dumped the puck to Brett.  Brett skated backward as he
shot the puck to Adam who picked it up.  Adam lost
possession but skated forward and regained it.  He passed
the puck to his left winger who scored the winning goal of the
game.  The final score NY 3 Bull Dogs 2.

“I’ll see you babe.”  Adam said as
he hugged her close.  “I had a great time.”

“Me too.”  Amy gave him a long kiss
good bye.  “I love you.”

“I love you too.”  He noticed the
bus was getting ready to leave.  “Drive
safe.  I’ll call you tonight.”

Amy waved as she watched him climb up the
steps of the bus and head to his seat.  He sat down by
the window blowing her a kiss as the bus pulled
away.  She smiled as the bus left then walked over to her
car. She drove home singing to
Love Will Keep Us
Together
by Captain and Tennille on the
radio.  Her love for Adam was stronger now more than
ever.

Chapter 14

“Hurry up Amy,” hollered Joey from the living
room.  “It’s coming on.”

“I’m so excited!”  Amy rushed into
the living room with a bowl of popcorn.  She sat down on
the floor in front of the coffee table.

“You rock,” Bob said as he scooped a handful
of buttery popcorn from the bowl. 

“There she is,” said Angie as the beginning
of the show’s intro started.  “Janet Oakes as Kendall
Wallenfurt.”

“How cool is that?”  Amy beamed at
the TV as she watched her friend lay in a hospital bed. 

Amy watched in awe as Janet performed all her
lines with the talent of a true professional.

“I think she’s going to hook up with the
doctor,” Bob whispered to Amy as he reached for more popcorn.

“Sssh,” said Angie her eyes glued to the
TV.  The doctor just told Kendall she has a rare blood
disease.

A commercial came on as Joey ran into the
kitchen.  “Anyone want another pop?”

“Yeah,” they all yelled in
unison.  “Hurry up its back on.”

Amy watched as Kendall reacted tearfully to
her diagnosis by Dr. Clifford Braxton.  He wrote her a
prescription with his home phone number on it and requested that
she call him anytime.  The show ended as a nurse came in
introducing herself as Joanne Braxton.

“You were right,” Amy said to Bob as she
handed him the rest of the popcorn.  “I bet he’s married
too!”

“I can’t believe that I actually watched a
soap opera.”  Joey laughed at himself.  “If the
guys on the team hear about this they’ll tie me up to the
zamboni.”

“I’ll never breathe a word about
it.”  Bob promised.  “It’s the least we can do
after all the hockey games she sat through for us.”

“Totally,” said Joey as he patted Angie on
the leg.  “Wanna grab something to eat sweetie?”

“Sure, I don’t have to go into work
tonight.”  Angie was pulled up onto her feet by Joey.

“You two want to go?”  Joey asked
as he stood behind Angie and wrapped his arms around her.

“You two lovebirds go enjoy
yourselves.”  Amy figured they might want to spend some
time alone since Joey was leaving in the morning. 

They both shared a smile as Joey helped her
on with her coat. 

“Don’t wait up,” Joey winked at Amy as they
walked out the door.

“Are you going to finish
that?”  Amy teased Bob as she cleaned up all the debris
on the coffee table then took it into the kitchen.

Bob followed her while picking out the last
kernels drenched in butter.  “I have a favor to ask of
you.”

“What?”  Amy glanced at Bob as he
handed her the empty bowl.

“I have to help out at a program for at risk
kids.”  Joey shifted his weight from one foot to the
other leaning against the door frame of the
kitchen.  “I’m kind of nervous because some of the kids
were, you know…abused.”

Amy washed the bowl in the soapy water,
rinsed it and placed it on the dish rack.  “If you like
me to go along for moral support I’d be glad to go.” 

“That would be great.”  Bob grabbed
a towel and helped her dry the dishes as a look of relief washed
over his face.

Amy sat at the round table next to Bob
listening to the counselor introduce them to the children of the
afterschool program. 

“Bob and Amy have volunteered to help you
children with your homework,” said the counselor.

“Awwww,” said a little boy about eight years
old as he pouted.  “I thought you said he played
hockey.”

“Yes, I did.  Amy is a tutor and
Bob is a NHL hockey player,” the counselor
explained.  “If you get your homework done I am sure they
would play some floor hockey afterwards.”

“Dy-no-mite,” said the same little boy as he
smiled showing he had a missing tooth.  “My name is Bob
too.”

“How about I help you get your homework
done,” said Bob as he rustled the kid’s hair.  “Then I
can teach you what a hat trick is.”

Amy paired off with the girls helping them
with their homework.  They paid close attention to her as
they looked up with big bright eyes.

“You’re pretty,” said the little girl whose
hair was in a dozen braids with colorful flower barrettes in each
one.  “I’m Tonya.”

“I like your nail polish,” said another
little girl with pigtails.  “My name is Kimberly.”

“Why thank you, girls.”  Amy smiled
at them for their kind words.  “I love the way you both
fixed your hair. 

“My mommy is in jail.  She does
drugs,” said Tonya as she looked up at Amy with her big brown
eyes.  “So my granny fixes my hair.”

Amy’s heart melted for this little girl when
she told her story.  “Well, you are very lucky to have a
grandma who can fix your hair so beautiful.” 

Amy gathered up the papers and
pencils.  She was quick to learn that these children
would share whatever popped into their heads.  “Guess
what time it is now?”

“Time to play,” all the kids chimed in at
once.

Bob rose from the table just as eager as the
kids to head over to the activity room.  Amy followed
them and let him take the lead of explaining the game of
hockey.

“Okay, all of you grab yourself a stick,” Bob
clapped his hands together.  “The idea is to use this
stick to hit this puck into that net.”  Bob demonstrated
as he raised the stick near his waist and struck the puck with a
sharp slapping motion.  “Today we will just take turns
learning that and next time I’ll teach you some more moves.”

Amy assisted him by keeping the kids patient
as they waited in line for their turn.  They looked up to
him like Bob was their new found hero.  The children
listened to all his advice as they tried to score a goal. They
tried so hard, it was comical to watch, their tongues sticking out
as they shot the puck.

“Bye,” the children shouted as Amy and Bob
opened the door to leave the center.

“Catch you on the flip side.”  Bob
waved as the door closed behind them.  “That went better
than I thought.  I really enjoyed working with them.”

“Yeah, it was an afternoon well
spent.”  Amy was touched by how the children had welcomed
them.  “Let me know the next time you go.  I’d
like to go again.”

They sped down the highway
singing 
Sweet Home Alabama
 by Lynyrd
Skynyrd.  She realized that they both gotten as much out
of the afternoon as the kids did, maybe more.

***

Adam held Amy’s hand as they rushed up the
stairs to her mother’s house.  It was Thanksgiving Day,
the airport and traffic had been crazy, luckily they were only an
hour late.  He noticed both Joey’s and Bob’s cars were
parked in the driveway.

Amy had been smiling non-stop since she met
Adam at the airport.  “I have four glorious days with my
man.”

“I plan on spending every single minute of
them with you.”  Adam looked into her sparkling hazel
eyes.  “I have it all planned out.”

“I just love it when you take
control.”  Amy flirted with him as she opened the
door.  She felt a hand grope her
backside.  “Adam Matthew LaPointe!”

Adam smiled at Amy not fooled at all by this
innocent act of hers.  He couldn’t wait until he had her
all to himself behind closed doors.

“Something smells awfully good in here,” Adam
said as they entered the dining room where everybody was gathered
around the table enjoying a Thanksgiving feast.  “Sorry
we’re late.”

“Better late than never,” Joey stood up and
gave his buddy a bear hug.  “Good to see you.”

“It’s great to be home.”  Adam gave
Angie a kiss on the cheek.  “Hello.”

“Hi Adam,” she looked up at
him.  “We all missed you.”

“Come on in and have a sit,” Mrs. Makowski
offered.

“Yeah,” said Bob giving Adam a
handshake.  “How’s college been treating you?”

“Things have been going pretty good,” said
Adam as he pulled a chair out for Amy to sit down.  He
sat down next to her and started helping himself to some
turkey. 

“Don’t be so modest Adam,” said Amy
proudly.  “He has already broken the school records on
goals and assists and last week some scouts were out checking
around.” 

“Really?” said Bob.  “That’s cool,
soon one of the NHL teams are bound to pick you up.”

“I can only hope,” said Adam as he took a
bite of stuffing.  “This is delicious Mrs. Makowski.”

“Why thank you Adam,” said Mrs.
Makowski.  “You all eat as much as you
want.  Lord knows I made more than enough.”

“I heard you are graduating from nursing
school next month,” Adam turned his attention towards
Angie.  “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”  Angie rolled her
eyes, “Now all I have to do is pass my state exams.”

Adam relaxed as he listened to all his
friends as they shared the latest events in their lives, relishing
all the laughter around the holiday table.  It was good
to be home again and he sure had a lot to be thankful for this
year.

“Are you ready for some
football?”  Joey tossed the pigskin up in the air.

Angie surprised Joey grabbing it in
mid-air.  “Hope you keep possession of the puck better
than that.”  She laughed with delight as she ran out the
front door.

“Oh it’s on now sweetie,” Joey chased her out
into the front yard.

“Come on you two,” Amy motioned to Adam and
Bob.  “It’s a Thanksgiving day tradition in our
neighborhood.”

The teams were divided up fairly of all
different ages and sizes.  The losing team had to rake
the winning neighbors leaves this weekend. 

Angie caught the football that Bob had passed
her, she ran as fast as she could toward the touchdown
line.  Joey tackled her, overacting the play as he
tumbled to the ground with her in his arms into a pile of
leaves.  They rolled around wrestling, scattering the
leaves all over the yard and themselves.

“Hey, why don’t you two get a room?” Bob
called out at them laughing as he put his hands over the neighbor
kid’s eyes.  He then picked the young boy up and flew him
through the air like a plane as he ran across the yard. 

The ball was hiked to Bob and he threw a
forward pass to Adam.  He ran down the field zipping and
zagging as the kids tried tackling him.  One of the boys
attached himself to Adam’s left leg but he continued to run
dragging him along.

 Amy tore the football out of Adam’s
hands as he fell to the ground.  She laughed as she ran
back the other way and taunted him.  “Good thing you
don’t play football for a living.” 

“Those are fighting words my lady,” said Adam
as he lifted himself off the ground catching up to her
quickly.  He hugged her around the waist, lifting her up
onto his shoulder and carried her with the football to score a
touchdown for his team. 

“Cheater,” Amy teased as she felt cold
raindrops upon her face.  “We still won!”

They all ran inside to have pumpkin pie and
watch some football on TV.  Adam focused on the game
while Amy sat beside him her face still rosy from being
outside.  He glanced over at her as she snuggled next to
him and squeezed her hand.  He couldn’t wait to surprise
her with his weekend plans.

“Adam, where are we going?”  Amy
insisted having waited patiently for over an hour already.

“We’re almost there, babe.”  Adam
drove carefully down the dimly lit road.  He drove past a
lit up sign with a Santa in a chimney which read, “Welcome to
Frankenmuth.”

“Are you serious?’  Amy snuggled up
to her man who was always full of surprises.  “I have
never been here before.”

“Neither have I.”  Adam pointed at
all the displays of Christmas decorations.  “We can go
check out Bronners tomorrow.”

“Did I tell you how much I love
you?”  Amy asked.

“Only at least a dozen times,” he glanced
toward her and smiled.  “But I’ll never get tired of
hearing it.”

Adam pulled into the parking lot of the
Bavarian Inn which was accumulating with snow.  The
Alpine-style building was well lit showing off the beauty of the
architecture.  He parked the truck in a close spot then
stepped out to stretch from his long day of
traveling.  He pulled Amy close to him as she slid out
beside him the snowflakes glistened in his dark hair, as he gave
her a kiss.  Snow continued to fall heavily upon them as
they ran hand and hand into the Inn.

“I know it’s not the St. Regis,” said Adam as
he swung the door open to their room.  “But I figured
it’ll give us some time alone.”

“As long as we’re together,” Amy said as she
fell back onto the king size bed looking at him
enticingly.  “I’m sure we’ll have a good time.”

Adam lifted the suitcase onto the luggage
rack, unzipping it then took out a paper bag.  Amy lay
upon the bed watching him curiously as he walked over to the
whirlpool, turning on the faucet.  As he waited for the
water to fill up above the jets, he set tea light candles around
the ledge of the tub and lit them.  Adam poured some rose
scented bubble bath under the running water and turned the jets
on.