Page 91 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
Shit. The line’s already long. No way will I be on the next flight. Knowing I don’t have much choice, I join the end of the line. It takes a while before it’s my turn. Most of the passengers before me don’t look too happy as they leave the counter.
“The next available flight we can get you on is this afternoon at three o’clock,” the woman at the counter says after checking the computer. “Do you want it?” A sinking feeling consumes me. That’s not for another seven hours. But since it’s over twelve hours via train, I don’t have a choice. “Yes.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Sofia
I sit next to an elderly woman on the wooden bench and wait for the bus. A cool morning wind brushes past, making me glad I’m wearing my jeans and hoodie. The oversized mosquitoes buzzing around my head also make me glad I’m dressed like this. If I hadn’t left my crutches in the youth hostel, I could have swung at the mosquitoes and hit a home run. They’re that big.
Trying to ignore the irritating buzz near my ear, I check my phone. Maija sent me a text to ensure I’m okay.
Sitting at bus stop to see Santa’s Village, I text back.
Make sure you remind him that I’ve been good this year.
I laugh and the woman, who could be in her late sixties, smiles at me in that way where you know she has no idea what I’m saying if I were to talk to her.
Or maybe it’s Toivo I should be reminding that you’ve been good. :)
You have a good point!
The phone rings and I answer it. “Hey mom. Is everything all right?” She knows I’m in Rovaniemi, she just doesn’t know why. I haven’t told her yet that I’m considering staying in Finland. I have two days to decide before my return ticket to Minneapolis expires. Two days to decide what’s the right thing to do. Two days before I’ll have to tell the Bears that I won’t be able to do the practicum. The practicum that Kyle helped me get. Not because he used to work in their marketing department—but because he used to be one of their players.
I thought being in Rovaniemi would help me figure things out. But it hasn’t.
“What’s this about you staying in Finland once the summer is over?” she asks.
“Where did you hear that?” I haven’t mentioned it to Muumu. Despite Joni helping me learn the language, that discussion is well beyond my abilities.
“My mother. And she had to find it out from Joni.” An odd strain marks her voice. She’s not happy I’m considering this option.
“Muumu needs me. She needs someone who can help her while she recovers.”
“Sofia, you don’t have to worry about that. Your father and I made arrangements so that she would be taken care of. It’s up to you, but I don’t want you to feel obligated that you have to stay there.”
Hearing this is like a weight I didn’t realize existed on my shoulders is suddenly knocked off. Now I really do have a choice. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll let you know tomorrow what my decision is. Okay?”
“All right. But if my vote counts for anything, I miss you and I want you to come home.”
I laugh. “Okay, I’ll take that under advisement.” I end the call and stare at my phone. I’ve read and listened several times to the texts and voice messages Kyle left me since I last saw him. And I still don’t know what to do. I love him and everything about him. I love his random physics facts and how he gets excited when I tell him he’s sexy whenever he talks about them. I love how he makes me feel, whether he’s kissing me or touching me. I love how he makes me laugh and how my confidence has grown from being with him.
And I miss him more than I thought possible.
“What would you do?” I ask the woman after pouring my heart out, knowing she doesn’t understand anything I’m saying. The entire time I was talking she nodded, pretending to be enthralled with everything I said.
“I think you already have the answer,” she replies and I shriek as if a dead body just spoke to me.
“Y-you understood everything I said?” I ask, eyes wide.
“What? You didn’t think I spoke English?”
My face heats a thousand degrees. “Well, yeah, no, I didn’t. My grandmother doesn’t speak English so I assumed you didn’t either.”
She pats my hand. “You’re changing the subject. We were discussing your boyfriend problems. Have you tried calling him?”
I shake my head. I’ve thought about it a million times, but I chicken out each time my finger hovers over the keypad. “What I have to tell him isn’t something that can be explained over the phone. It’s complex.”
“There’s nothing complex about love.” I open my mouth to argue the part about me being in love but she stops me short. “It’s on your face. That’s how I know. Have you even told him how you feel?”
