Page 62 of Cross Checking

Maybe Emily has a point, but I’m not going to be weird and invite myself. I’ll wait for Erik to bring it up, if he ever does.

14

ERIK

What do sailors say when they finally see the shore after months and months at sea? Land ahoy? I’d get stared down by everyone else on this boat if I yelled that out loud, but the temptation is there. At least the winter break in the SHL is two weeks long. That’s something new the union got for us this season, and I joined at the right time.

Every year, my family spends Christmas at my grandparents’ house on the island of Gotland, and this is the first time in years that I’m traveling from Stockholm. Before, when I visited over the AHL off-season, I’d get a quick connecting flight, which can’t justify now that I live in Stockholm. Even if the ferry takes three and a half hours.

The first few steps on dry land are shaky, either from the rocking boat, taking a slapshot to my thigh during last night’s game, or both. I make my slow, unsteady way to the front of the terminal where my dad is waiting to pick me up.

“Hey there, Erik,” he says. Dad grabs my bag from me and puts it in the trunk. “That was some game last night.”

I huff. “Yeah, I got mangled into a pulp. I can barely walk.”

“Well, you won’t have to walk anywhere for a while. Your grandparents have a fully stocked house and a new mobilityscooter that they never use.” He laughs, climbing into the driver’s seat while I ease myself into the other side of the car.

“Everything hurts,” I mutter.

Dad starts the car and claps me on the shoulder. “If you take anything for the pain, make sure it’s ibuprofen. You’re about to walk into a house full of alcohol.” He reverses and steers us onto the road. “Your grandparents both decided to prank each other by spiking the mulled wine. Separately.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, it’s half brandy, but from what I hear, it still tastes good. I can’t wait.”

The drive from the ferry terminal doesn’t take long, and I’m walking into my grandparents’ cozy, warm home and getting swarmed by relatives before I know it.

“Erik!”

“You finally made it!”

“Sit down! Rest your leg!”

“How are you walking after that game last night?”

“Have some wine!”

Less than two minutes after arriving, I’m seated on a plush sofa, a mug of lethally strong mulled wine in one hand and a plate of food in the other.

Man, I love visiting my family.

We’re having a casual dinner, with everyone scattered around the kitchen, the dining area, and the living room. Most of my dad’s side of the family is here, except for my sister.

“Where’s Eva?” I ask.

Mom shrugs. “She’s hanging out with Magnus and her other friends from around here,” she says. “We didn’t want to subject her to spending the whole day with us oldies.”

Ah, Magnus. There’s something obvious going on between him and Eva, but they haven’t confirmed it, and we leave them alone.

Because of Eva’s absence, I’m the youngest person here. I arrived quite late, and it doesn’t take long before everyone heads upstairs to sleep. An hour or so later, just past eleven, it’s only me and my grandparents left downstairs.

“A bunch of weaklings, the lot of them,” Grandma says.

I choke on my wine. “That’s a bit harsh, no?”

Grandpa shrugs. “We’re old and you got beat up yesterday, yet we’re the ones who held out.”

That’s an argument I can’t counter, so I nod.

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