Chapter 33

Author's Note:This chapter is unedited by any other human so I probably did not catch every mistake. Read at your own peril.

Monday morning dawned on a new month. I couldn't believe it was already December of 2008 and how much my life had changed. I looked down at my tiny Princess and gently moved her head off my chest onto her pillow and eased out of the bed. I grabbed a quick shower and got dressed quietly. After leaving her a note, I walked to the arena in the brisk cold of a Michigan December morning.

I remembered that today was the first day of forward training for me and quickened my pace to get there faster. I was looking forward to the challenge. The rink was empty except for Rolf when I got there. After getting changed quickly I got warmed up while he got the nets, and Patrick, set up.

"Morning Rolf, did you have a good Thanksgiving?" I asked.

"Not too bad Mike, yourself?" he replied.

"It was pretty good, except for having to go play hockey out of state," I told him.

"Hey, I have a couple of plastic benches you can use to shoot over if you like," Rolf said.

"Yeah, that would be good, I'm getting too many low shots blocked lately," I agreed.

We got them out and I put them between me and the net. I went to the blueline and practiced shooting at Patrick with the obstruction. I hit one of them once and it slid almost to the net.

"Thanks Rolf," I called to him as he shut the Zamboni door.

"No problem Mike, I don't mind doing things for those guys who put the effort in, who want to improve," he responded, before waving as he walked away.

I continued to shoot from the point and the centre of the blueline, using the two benches as screens. I had to aim for the top corners and the clang of pucks hitting Patrick or the posts soon filled the empty rink. I was shooting mostly while moving to one side or the other, simulating game time scenarios, so my accuracy was a little off versus standing still.

After about twenty minutes of outside shooting, I moved the benches in a bit and started skating in from the right side. If I was going to be a right winger, I would need to shoot from them that side or break in on net from that direction. The top right corner was still a good target if the goalie cheated a bit to cover a potential pass, as was the far left post, up off the ice about a foot.

After another ten minutes of shooting from the right half boards, I skated towards the net and shot from close in, going around the benches as if they were defencemen. By the time my teammates joined me on the ice, I was already a bit tired from all of the shooting.

"Hey John, long time no see," I said with a grin. "Looking forward to playing with Samuel?"

"Not really, he's likes to control the puck distribution when he's on the ice," John replied. "I'm going to have to be a bit selfish when I get the puck or I'll never see it."

"Sorry to hear that," I responded. "You're just as good as he is at moving and distributing the puck."

Fred gathered us around soon after and started his usual morning speech.

"Gentlemen, it was a so-so weekend for us, we beat a team that was ranked much higher than us, first in the country no less, and then lost three to nothing to an unranked team the night after," Fred stated. "As much as we benefited from our offensive minded defence pair of John and Mike on Friday, we couldn't score when they got shut down on Saturday."

"So, as we discussed, Mike will start learning the right winger position on the fourth line while Rob will join John as his new partner on the third pairing for now. Mike will still be on the point for the first power play unit. Mike will play defence Friday and Rob will play Saturday."

"This week's opponent is Michigan State, here on Friday and in Lansing on Saturday. They always play hard against us and this year they are relying on a more physical game versus a puck possession oriented scheme like last year. So, quick passes and fast skating to avoid the hits. We should have some fast break opportunities if they try to get physical and send in a couple of forecheckers."

"Ok, let's practice some fast breakout passes out of the zone up on this half while the fourth line and Mike work with Sam for a bit on the other half of the ice."

I moved over to the far end and joined the fourth line along with a few of the rookies.

"Ok, we're going back to basics to see how quickly we can get Mike up to speed," Sam said. "Ian and Don, you two can play defence but just take it real slow for a bit. Mike, Fred and I talked and we think we can use your speed and size to disrupt things in deep. We'll dump the puck into your corner and you go in and hit whoever goes to get it. If you get to it, look for Victor behind the net or Peter out in front first, and if they are both covered, try and pass it back to the point. Your third option is to go to the net with it."

"Now, if they don't dump it in, you have to wait at the blueline for someone to carry it in. If you're going too fast, you can turn into the centre of the ice while straddling their blueline until someone dumps it in or carries it in. Once we see how you do, we'll work on passing plays in the zone and the cycling down low. On defence, your responsibility is the defenceman on the right point, or their left defenceman. Don't let him go in on net by himself and try and disrupt or block his point shots. Do you have any questions?"

"I don't think so, but I'm sure I'll have some after we get started," I responded.

So we started at centre ice and Peter brought the puck up and dumped it into my corner. I raced in and got to the puck first and moved it along to Victor behind the net. I moved to the side of the net for a pass as Peter moved to the left side for a pass as well. Victor fed it to Peter and he shot on goal which Bob, our back-up goalie, saved.

"Good first attempt, let's run that at full speed and with some contact in the corner," Sam said.

We did it over and I bumped with Ian in the corner. We battled for the puck and I managed to get a pass to Peter out front, who tipped it in the net.

"Switch it up and put it in Victor's corner Peter, so Mike goes behind the net for a pass," Sam instructed.

So on it went, for a good half an hour. We worked on various offensive plays off the dump and then we practiced Peter passing off to either one of his wingers as we entered the zone. I excelled a bit on taking a pass at full speed and rushing in on net. I would either shoot of pass of to Victor on the other side or back to Peter crashing the net.

Finally, we worked on a simple cycling of the puck in the corner, with each of us curling back around to try and shake off a defender. We did it at half speed to start and got up to three quarter speed before Sam called it quits.

"Ok, enough for now guys," Sam told us. "I'll work with Mike during the rookie practices on Tuesday and Thursday and we'll keep at it until we make something of Mike here."

"Thanks guys for your patience, it's been a while since I played forward," I told them all.

The guys brushed it off and seemed to be ok with everything, even Adam. He had even given me a few pointers during the practice, which was surprising.

Fred called us together and we had a scrimmage, with me still as the right winger on the fourth line. It was different at full speed for sure. I got a few chances to go in deep and battle with our defencemen for the puck. The difference was the additional help they got as their forward or centre helped along the boards to dislodge the puck. I did better taking a pass at full speed and going in on net. I scored a goal and had an assist when I set up Victor for an easy one timer.

On defence and in the neutral zone I was a bit lost. Sam helped me after each shift, pointing out what I should have done and where I should be. By the end of the practice I was a bit overwhelmed; a fact that Sam spotted as we finished up.

"Mike, don't take it so hard, it's your first day," he told me. "You have the hockey skills to handle this; you just need to get comfortable in the positioning on the ice in various situations. All of that can be taught. I'm already impressed with your play down low and especially your offensive ability at full speed. You'll pick up the defensive side of things soon enough. Just wait until you can start hitting people in the neutral zone and you'll have some fun."

"If you say so Sam," I replied. "I'm not feeling too comfortable out there but I'll keep working at it."

"That's all we can do," Sam responded. "I'll see you this afternoon."

I got dressed quickly and saw that I had a message. Steph told me she would meet me in class as she wanted to pick a few things up at her dorm. I walked up to the main campus. I walked into the Logic classroom and sat down beside Steph.

"Hey Princess, how did you sleep?" I asked.

"Very good Mikey, thanks to you," she said with a smile. "How was practice?"

"Tiring and busy, I started learning how to be a right winger today," I replied. "It's a lot more complicated than I thought. It's going to take a lot of practicing to be ready on time for after Christmas."

"Well, we'll have to make sure you get the time," she said. "Maybe you fly to New York in the afternoon each Friday, rather than miss that practice time."

"That might be a good idea, as long as it doesn't ruin the twins' plans," I agreed.

"You would have to miss the Old Navy commercial shoot the first Friday morning, but we need you to be at the Calvin Klein shoot the next Friday afternoon," Steph told me. "I think we can get a flight out around eleven and still make that photo shoot."

"Ok, let's do it that way if the girls all agree," I instructed her.

"Alright, I'll handle that at lunch," she agreed. "We'll also discuss the condo and car topic with Amy then."

"Right, I forgot about that," I remarked. "It's going to be a busy week."

The professor came in and started the final two chapters that he wanted to cover before the review on Wednesday. We took notes furiously and had to scramble to get packed up and off to next class on time.

"Ok Mikey, I'll see you at the cafeteria," she said as we split up outside the building.

"See you there Princess," I responded as I watched her head off.

She was wearing a winter coat that hid her fabulous butt from me but I made sure to keep looking until she turned. I grinned and waved as she imperiously pointed me to my next class. She rolled her eyes and then grinned back and we went our separate ways.

Creative writing was boring, especially now that I was done the novella. The professor asked me to stay behind.

"Mr. Stewart, I've read your novella and I'm very impressed," she said. "It's very good work for a non-major."

"Thank you Professor, I certainly put in enough time on it and Cynthia definitely helped a lot," I responded.

"Yes, I can see her influence in the work," the professor agreed. "Well, here it is and you really don't need to come for the last class, it will be used to help out the students still not done with their last assignment. It's been a pleasure having you in the class Mr. Stewart, good luck in your future endeavours."

"Thank you professor, I've enjoyed the class very much," I responded.

I took the novella and left the room to go meet Steph. I found her waiting inside the doors and we joined the line-up for the food.

"I got my novella back and I don't have to go next class," I told her.

"How did you do?" she asked.

I opened the front cover and read the brief note and the grade below it.

"She says she really liked it and gave it a ninety three," I said happily.

"Congratulations Mikey, all that hard work paid off," she said with a big smile.

"Sure did," I replied.

We got some food and quickly ate it before calling up Amy. I had my laptop powered up and had the search look up condos in Ann Arbour near the University. I found a likely site and pulled it up as Steph talked to Amy. The condo was in a nine storey high rise with an underground secure parking lot. They had one three bedroom condo on the eighth floor with two parking reserved parking slots. The condo was luxurious and the asking price was three hundred and seventy five thousand dollars, plus a four hundred monthly maintenance fee. It was certainly out of my price range but probably what the twins wanted. I turned the laptop to Steph and she looked at it while Amy was talking. She put the phone down and put it on speaker.

"Amy, you're on speaker now; Mike has a nice looking one close by in downtown Ann Arbor," Steph said. "Mike, can you send her a link?"

"Sure, just give me a sec," I replied as I turned the laptop back to me.

I hit the send via link button and typed in Amy's email address and hit send.

"Ok, you should have it in a few seconds Amy," I told her. "So how was the rest of the weekend?"

"Good Michael, the photo shoot went well," she replied. "Ok, I got the email and I'm clicking on the link now."

After a minute or so she continued, "It is a nice one guys, not the penthouse but nice enough and big enough. It has a secure front door as well as a secure garage. Three bedrooms and two bathes should suit everyone just fine. The view of the city and the university is great too. The price is a little high but it's worth it and the value should only grow when we're done with it. I'll show it to the girls but I think Steph should set up an appointment for you two to see it as soon as possible."

"Ok, I'll handle that today and we'll set it up for one of the next couple of evenings," Sam replied. "On to the car, it should be able to carry all five of us plus luggage, so I thought we would look for a small SUV or a mini-van."

"Ok with me, but the girls have to drive in a limo as per contract so a four seater car would be enough as long as Mike can sit in it comfortably," Amy reminded us.

"Ok, a mid-size car would do fine then, with a big trunk or a hatchback" Steph said. "I'll look at some online while Mikey is in practice and we can look at some tonight and tomorrow night."

"Alright, you have your credit cards right Steph?" Amy asked.

"Yep, we can use the one for the car, but you'll have to wire money for the condo deposit or send a certified check via overnight express," Steph replied.

"No problem, just call me we what they need and I'll get it done that evening if you guys like it," Amy responded. "Ok, I have to go get the twins ready for their photo shoot so I have to go now. I'll show the condo to them and I'll let Steph know if they like it. We'll all talk tonight ok?"

"Alright Amy, have a good one and say hi to the twins for us," Steph said.

"Ok, I will, bye for now," Amy replied.

"Bye," I said as she hung up.

"And we need to go to our math classes Mikey," Steph reminded me. "I'll see you back here and we can study before we go to the arena."

"You should spend a bit of time with your roommate and get some more stuff ready," I suggested. "You can pick me up after practice."

"Alright I guess; you're not trying to get rid of me already are you?" she asked, looking at me.

"No Princess, you're going to miss her once we move out permanently," I told her. "I'll see you here after class and I'll walk you to the dorms."

We split up and I headed to Algebra. The professor was also determined to get in two last chapters in before the final exam. I took some good notes and made a note to myself to do all the problems in the back of those chapters to help in studying for the final exam.

I met Steph at the cafeteria busily looking at her laptop while talking on the phone.

"I assure you that we are serious about the condominium Ma'am," she said in exasperation. "I realize that you have the right of refusal but I would think in these tough economic times that you would at least be willing to let a prospective buyer tour the condo before you reject us because I sound young. My employers have ample funds to buy the condo outright so there is no worry on that front."

She listened for a moment and then replied, "I thought that might change your mind. We'll see you at seven o'clock tonight in the front lobby. My name is Stephanie Merks."

She hung up and looked up at me before saying, "It's going to be a pain working with adults when I look and sound so young."

"Welcome to my nightmare," I answered. "I had a hard time dealing with my parent's estate after just turning eighteen. We'll just have to show that we have the money by some means. I suggest you call Amy and get something to show the people tonight or we won't get out of the lobby. We can show the Platinum card for the car I guess, but the realtor or the building management will want something a bit more substantial."

"Ok, I'll call her once I'm in my room," she replied. "Now, what kind of car do you like?"

"I'm easy, I think with lots of legroom would be nice, a smaller SUV would be best I think," I told her. "You never know when you have to carry a few bags and a few people. Some of them have good gas mileage. We should stick to Ford as Mr. Waters works for them. Maybe you should call him and get his recommendation."

"Great idea, why don't you do that now, since he's practically your father-in-law," she said with a smirk.

"Fine, I think Vicky programmed his number somewhere in this phone," I replied.

I accessed the directory and found it under the heading Daddy. She was so going to get it the next time I saw her, I thought as I hit the button to dial.

"Hello," Mr. Waters said in a slightly puzzled tone.

"Hey Mr. Waters, it's Mike Stewart. I hope I'm not bothering you during a meeting or something," I said.

"Nope, just at my desk Mike; is everything all right?" he asked, sounding a bit worried now.

"Everything is ok Mr. Stewart, we just need some advice on a new vehicle and thought I would call an expert," I told him. "We're thinking a small SUV to fit five plus luggage or hockey gear."

"Well, I'm glad you called me then," he responded a bit brighter. "I would suggest the Ford Escape; it's great on gas, can sit five plus has room in the back for lots of luggage. It has no safety issues to speak of and I maybe I can help with the price."

"That sounds great Mr. Waters, we're going to check one out in the next couple of days," I told him. "I'm not sure whose name it will go in but Steph or Amy will probably be in touch to get that information from you if we like it."

"Ok, Mike, glad to be of help," he replied. "Anything else you need, you just call."

"We will Mr. Waters," I assured him. "Tonight we look at a nice condo in a high rise nearby. It's got three bedrooms, two bathes, underground secure parking and a great view of the city and of the college. Steph can send you the link if you would like to look at it."

"Yeah, send it to my email at Ford and I'll look it over," he responded. "If I see anything I'll give you a call."

"Thanks Mr. Waters, we appreciate your help," I said. "Talk to you later."

"Ok Mike, bye for now," he replied before hanging up.

I looked over at Steph and she said, "Already sending it to him Mikey. I've found the nearest Ford dealership and they have a few Escapes on the lot. We can check them out later tonight or tomorrow evening."

"You're good at this PA stuff Princess," I told her.

"Thanks, I'm really trying to earn my salary helping you, and the girls, out," she said with a smile. "I don't want to get money just because we're sleeping together."

"Nope, the sleeping together is just a perk," I told her with a grin.

"Yeah, but for who?" she retorted with a smirk.

"Well, I hope we both benefit from it actually," I replied.

"Good answer Mikey," she said dryly. "Ok, back to business. We'll inspect the condo tonight and maybe do a quick look at an Escape as well."

"Sounds good," I agreed. "How about I walk you your dorm and I get to the arena early for some extra ice time before practice. That way I won't stay late after practice and screw up your schedule."

"Alright," she said, packing her stuff up. "I'll meet you at the arena at six with the car."

I walked her to the dorm and left her in the lobby before walking to the arena. I got dressed and found the women's figure skating team still on the ice. Each skater was taking a turn performing what looked like a short program.

I found a seat and sat down to watch as each girl skated to their music and then got some pointers from the coaches. It looked like a full dress rehearsal as the ladies had on their good costumes. There were some beautiful ladies and all were in fantastic shape. Most of them were fairly petite but I admired a taller one as she skated gracefully around the ice. She seemed to hit all her jumps and spins with ease. She was one of the more beautiful women and her long shapely legs led up to a very shapely derriere. Her long brown hair was tied up in a ponytail and her smile lit up the rink.

"She's a beautiful skater isn't she?" Fred asked, startling me as I sat mesmerized.

"Oh, hi coach," I said, looking over at him standing beside me. "Yes, she is very graceful and beautiful."

"So, you're here early," he stated.

I just wanted to practice more being a right winger, without tying up the practice so much," I said. I can at least practice shooting and skating from the right wing until practice starts."

"I admire your enthusiasm Mike, but don't burn yourself out," he told me.

"No problem coach," I answered. "I'm enjoying learning the new position."

We watched the last skater go through her routine and then they all walked by Fred and I, with some of them smiling at us as they went by. The Zamboni came on while I went into the bench area to do some stretches. Fred followed me in and sat down.

I finally got on the ice and stretched a bit more before skating a while. I got out some pucks and shot on Patrick from the right side. I took shots from the blueline all the way down to the red line, first standing still, and then skating in from centre ice. I then did a few rushes from the half boards and out from the corner before practicing some wrap around shots from behind the net.

Fred joined me on the ice after putting on his skates and grabbing a stick. He played defence against me and showed me how to pass the puck to myself by banking it off the boards to elude the check. He also showed me how to fight off a defenceman using my left hand and my body to shield the puck. Then he explained how a quick stop could shake a checker off for a split second to allow a quick pass or shot.

We took a break as the rest of the team started filtering out onto the ice.

"Thanks for the extra help coach, it sure helps a lot," I said to him.

"No problem Mike, I wish I had more time to do more of it," he responded. "It's what I like to do best but with so many players and so little time I only get a few hours in a week."

"It's really too bad, because it's really useful for the younger players," I told him.

"Alright, I have a couple of things to do before practice, I'll see you later," he said before walking down to his office.

I got back on the ice and shot a few times on the goalies from the right side with the rest of the guys. The coaches came out ten minutes later and practice got started.

This afternoon the fourth line stayed with the rest of the team and we practiced the quick break passes from the defence. I switched off with Adam as the right winger and with Rob Samuel as the defence to get some practice at both positions.

We also practiced our defence set from their end back, using a two-one—two set, two forwards on the forecheck in their zone as the defence came out, one forward in the middle to go after the puck once it was passed, and two defencemen back at our blueline to stop a stretch pass. I practiced at both positions again.

Finally we had a scrimmage where I played on the right wing exclusively, with Sam giving me pointers, along with Peter and Victor, my linemates. I started getting the hang of things in the neutral zone in terms of positioning, and even contributed a bit on defence, covering the point. On offence, I screwed up a couple of times at the blueline, getting called offside as I went in before the puck did, but felt good about my down low play. I put Samuels on his ass once behind the net and earned an assist on the play by passing the loose puck out to Peter for an easy one-timer.

All and all, I felt good about my progress, even though it was only my first day. A lot of my dad's training on our rink was coming back to me as I played. Little things like how to get out of a defenceman's pin along the boards, or how to chip the puck by the forward and avoid the hit helped out.

I got dressed and headed out to the parking lot to see if Steph was here. She beeped her horn and I walked to the car, getting in the passenger door.

"Hey Princess, how was your afternoon?" I asked, giving her a smile.

"Pretty good, how was practice?" she replied.

"Very good, Fred worked with me before practice and gave me some one-on-one tips that helped a lot," I told her. "So, shall we get some take-out to eat on the way?"

"Yeah, I guess so, we don't have a whole lot of time before we have to be there," she agreed.

We drove to a Wendy's and grabbed a combo to go for each of us and ate it while driving to the building. We parked in front of the nine storey building and finished the food before getting out of the car. A tall thin, well dressed woman was waiting in the lobby when we knocked on the locked door.

"Miss Perkins, I'm Stephanie Merks, we spoke on the phone this morning," Stephanie said as she let us in the lobby.

"Miss Merks, I hope this is not some kind of silly joke, my time is very valuable," Miss Perkins responded.

"I assure you, we are most serious about this condo," Steph replied. "This is Michael Stewart, one of my employers who will be living in the condo."

"How do you do Miss Perkins?" I asked as I shook her hand.

"Fine Mr. Stewart," she replied shortly.

"Ok, shall we go up and see the condo?" Steph asked.

"First, before we can proceed, I will need to see some financial information showing you can afford the mortgage and the monthly fees," she insisted.

"I see," Steph said. "We would need you to sign a non-disclosure statement before we can allow you to see the financials. Are you willing to do that at this time?"

"It is most irregular but I suppose so," Miss Perkins replied.

Steph pulled out a form from the folder she was carrying and handed it over to her. Miss Perkins read it over and then signed it with her own pen, before handing it back to Steph.

"Alright, here is the current financial statement of the Gemini Holding Company that my employers will use to purchase the condo," Steph explained as she handed it over. "As you will see, it is from our accounting firm in New York and it shows assets of three quarters of a million dollars. That should be more than sufficient to convince you that we have the funds to purchase the condo outright and pay the monthly maintenance fees."

Miss Perkins perused the document and then handed it back to Steph, who placed it back in her folder.

"Shall we proceed?" Steph asked.

"Alright, let's go show you the condo," Miss Perkins agreed.

Miss Perkins led us to the elevator and hit the up button. The doors opened and she punched the eighth floor and away we went. The doors opened to a view of the city through a large window with two hallways leading away from them in a V. She led the way to the left past three sets of doors to the left and right and stopped at the last door on the right. She took out a key and unlocked the double doors and opened them both up to show off the condo.

Hardwood flooring lined the small foyer that opened up into large carpeted living room. The foyer had a chandelier and a large coat closet. We slowly stepped down one step into the living room and looked at the luxuriously appointed room. There was a gas fireplace, elegant wall lighting and mahogany trim throughout. At the far end of the living room across from the foyer, was an open room up a step. It had hardwood flooring and a large bank of windows with a sliding door leading outside.

"All of the drapes come with the condo for the price quoted, as well as the various light fixtures," Miss Perkins spoke up as she led the way through the living room to the hardwood floored room. "This is the dining room and the sliding door leads out to the balcony that faces the south."

We stepped out to see the view and found a five foot wide balcony that ran at least sixteen feet to either side of the dining room, all along the south side. It was blocked off from the next condo by a brick wall but had another sliding door at that end. She led the way back in and stepped into the kitchen through a door off to the side of the dining room.

"Ok, the appliances also come with the condo," she informed us. "The cabinets are all handmade out of mahogany and the appliances are all top of the line stainless steel. There is a pantry through there and the other door leads to the right hallway."