Page 69 of Sleepless Nights and Hockey Fights

Mom looks up, a ready smile on her thin face. “Oh! Bobby!” She holds up her arms and we hug.

Then I turn to Molly. “I want you to meet my girlfriend, Molly. Molly, this is my Mom, Sue Rhodes.”

Molly comes to the bedside and holds out her hand. Mom lifts her arms again, to which Molly smiles and gives her a hug. It’s a surreal moment to see my mother and my girlfriend hugging. I never envisioned this day happening.

“It’s so good to meet you, dear. Bobby has told me all about you. Sorry about how I look.” Mom swipes a hand through her hair. “They’re all fussing over a little heart murmur.”

“I think you look amazing. All the boys care about is you feeling better. In fact, we brought you some contraband to help you get out of here sooner.” Molly holds up the pastry bag so Mom can see it.

Mom gasps. “Oh, you’re now my favorite, Molly. Did you get the cinnamon rolls?”

“Of course we did. Got two of them, actually.” I wink at Mom, just happy to see some color back in her face. “Did the doctors confirm it’s a heart murmur?”

Mom lifts her nose in the air, a sure sign she’s about to lie. “Well, it was a heart murmur for sure.”

“Mom.” I fold my arms across my chest. I can feel Molly looking between us.

Mom sighs. “Fine. It was a heart murmur right before the heart attack.”

I take the pastry bag from Molly. “Maybe we should throw these away. I’ll talk with the team nutritionist and see if she has some suggestions for you.”

“Robert Rhodes, you’ll hand me that cinnamon roll if you know what’s good for you!” Mom turns to Molly when I don’t instantly hand over the goods. “Did I ever tell you about the time I caught him jacking off to an American Dolls catalog?”

“Mom!” To say I’m horrified is an understatement. Molly sputters a laugh that has heat climbing up the back of my neck. “You said we’d never speak about that.”

Mom rounds on me, plenty of energy in her now. “That was before you stole my cinnamon rolls out from under me!”

I shake my head, finally seeing my resilient mother back in action. I’m filled with such relief I hand over the pastry bag. “You’re lucky I love you.”

Mom holds my hand instead of ripping into the bag like I expected. “Yes, I am. I’m the most blessed mother on the planet to have you, Bobby. Santa granted my wish early by sending you out here to see me.”

Tears sting my eyes. Mom and I share a moment. I could have been ten, sitting there in the warmth of my mother’s love and feeling a level of comfort I haven’t felt in a long time.

“You’re going to be okay,” I whisper.

“Of course I am. Never doubt that.” And then she lets me go, reaching into the bag, and jamming a huge bite of dripping cinnamon roll into her mouth.

When she searches the bag for a napkin, she comes up empty but, of course, Molly pulls an entire stack from her purse.

We leave the hospital a half hour later, mostly so I don’t run into Dad and my brothers. I’m convinced Mom is in good spirits and I even got to chat with her doctor when she came around to check on Mom. The team’s nutritionist has already texted me back with several resources for what Mom needs to do to rehab from the heart attack. I have plans to place a few calls later today and get Mom into regular physical therapy visits and to schedule healthy meals to be delivered. I promise to come back and visit as soon as I have a stretch of off days, but she knows that doesn’t happen often in season.

We load up the car with our luggage from the hotel and still have two hours to kill before we head back to the airport. I look at Molly over the hood of the rental car.

“Do you mind if we stop somewhere special?”

“Anywhere.”

I take one wrong turn because they tore down the Dairy Queen and put in a Cook Out that throws me off. We eventually make it to the local ice rink where I practiced for hours each day growing up. I sign shirts, skates, and random pieces of paper for the kids just finishing practice. Here, I’m not a screw up, just a local boy who made it big. Frank, the owner who’s been here since I was in middle school, has lost more hair and grown his belly a bit more.

“You two have time to skate?”

I look at Molly. “Want to take a spin?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m not very good on skates.”

Sliding my arm around her waist, I tuck her into me. “You’ve got a professional skater right here, baby.”

Molly doesn’t look so sure, but she gives me a nod. I help her with her skates and hold her hand as we step out onto the ice. She wobbles, but I stay by her side the whole time. This isn’t about me. This is about introducing Molly to my life, my past, my future. I want her to know every part of me, even the not-so-nice parts.

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