Also, the story starts in November of 2007. Onward!
__________
The petite girl walked through the narrow hall and let out a giant sigh as she reached the empty and darkened ice. Everything was eerily quiet, and the only thing to be heard was skate blades on ice.
The sound calmed her. It always had. In her eighteen years of life, she had been skating since she was two. She took to the ice more than she had to walking, and her dad was to thank for that. Her father was a man she adored more than anything in the world.
He had played hockey all his life and was heavily scouted to go into the NHL after college, but an injury in his senior year prevented him from doing so. He moved to Chicago from Toledo, Ohio, opened a real estate firm, gotten married, and had a baby girl in December of 1988.
It wasn’t even two years after his daughter was born that his wife was killed by a drunk driver. He found himself raising a little girl by himself. He didn’t know what to do outside of keeping her healthy, so he taught her the game of hockey.
“Emily,” Someone yelled toward the ice.
The girl stopped skating and turned to her teammate, Amanda, two years her senior.
“We have to leave. The rink manager wants to lock up.”
Emily sighed, throwing her pink and purple-streaked brown hair into a ponytail and rolled her blue eyes.
“I wish I could live on the ice.”
“Me too, Em. So, are you ready for your first college game tomorrow?”
Emily’s grin widened, “I didn’t expect to be put on varsity. I’m only a freshman…”
“You’re so talented, Em. We couldn’t help it. You said your dad played, right? He must be so proud.”
Emily nodded, “He is. He wants me to win a national championship, and he wants me to go to the Olympics.”
“He has big dreams for you,” Amanda laughed.
“It’s only me and him, you know. It always has been, too.”
“Where’s your mom?” Amanda asked, not knowing.
“She died when I was a baby.”
“I’m sorry, but I guess that explains why you’re so into hockey.”
“It was my dad’s life,” Emily nodded, almost whispering. “And now it’s mine.”
Amanda wrapped an arm around the younger girl’s shoulders, “Let’s get back to our apartment. We’ll need a lot of rest for tomorrow.
Emily grinned.
The sound calmed her. It always had. In her eighteen years of life, she had been skating since she was two. She took to the ice more than she had to walking, and her dad was to thank for that. Her father was a man she adored more than anything in the world.
He had played hockey all his life and was heavily scouted to go into the NHL after college, but an injury in his senior year prevented him from doing so. He moved to Chicago from Toledo, Ohio, opened a real estate firm, gotten married, and had a baby girl in December of 1988.
It wasn’t even two years after his daughter was born that his wife was killed by a drunk driver. He found himself raising a little girl by himself. He didn’t know what to do outside of keeping her healthy, so he taught her the game of hockey.
“Emily,” Someone yelled toward the ice.
The girl stopped skating and turned to her teammate, Amanda, two years her senior.
“We have to leave. The rink manager wants to lock up.”
Emily sighed, throwing her pink and purple-streaked brown hair into a ponytail and rolled her blue eyes.
“I wish I could live on the ice.”
“Me too, Em. So, are you ready for your first college game tomorrow?”
Emily’s grin widened, “I didn’t expect to be put on varsity. I’m only a freshman…”
“You’re so talented, Em. We couldn’t help it. You said your dad played, right? He must be so proud.”
Emily nodded, “He is. He wants me to win a national championship, and he wants me to go to the Olympics.”
“He has big dreams for you,” Amanda laughed.
“It’s only me and him, you know. It always has been, too.”
“Where’s your mom?” Amanda asked, not knowing.
“She died when I was a baby.”
“I’m sorry, but I guess that explains why you’re so into hockey.”
“It was my dad’s life,” Emily nodded, almost whispering. “And now it’s mine.”
Amanda wrapped an arm around the younger girl’s shoulders, “Let’s get back to our apartment. We’ll need a lot of rest for tomorrow.
Emily grinned.
__________
Emily tried to wipe the sweat off her forehead while she flew down the ice, towards the opposing team’s net.
“Amanda!” She yelled.
Amanda slid the puck to Emily. With ten seconds left in the third period, it was a zero, zero game. Emily took a deep breath and shot the puck, watching as it flew into the net.
The crowd erupted along with the buzzer.
“Em!” Another teammate, Sara, yelled out as the bench cleared and skating towards the small eighteen year old.
“You just scored your first college goal, and you won us the game!” Anna, yet another teammate squealed as she hugged Emily.
“Penn State, one. Reading College, zero,” The announcement said over the loudspeaker.
Emily untangled herself from her team and looked into the stands. She knew her dad and flown out from Chicago for a few hours, just to see her first game. She finally saw him running from the stands toward the ice, where she was.
“Dad!” She yelled, smiling.
“Oh, Emily!” He grinned, hugging her. “I’m so proud of you. I wish I could celebrate with you!”
“When do you leave?”
“Amanda!” She yelled.
Amanda slid the puck to Emily. With ten seconds left in the third period, it was a zero, zero game. Emily took a deep breath and shot the puck, watching as it flew into the net.
The crowd erupted along with the buzzer.
“Em!” Another teammate, Sara, yelled out as the bench cleared and skating towards the small eighteen year old.
“You just scored your first college goal, and you won us the game!” Anna, yet another teammate squealed as she hugged Emily.
“Penn State, one. Reading College, zero,” The announcement said over the loudspeaker.
Emily untangled herself from her team and looked into the stands. She knew her dad and flown out from Chicago for a few hours, just to see her first game. She finally saw him running from the stands toward the ice, where she was.
“Dad!” She yelled, smiling.
“Oh, Emily!” He grinned, hugging her. “I’m so proud of you. I wish I could celebrate with you!”
“When do you leave?”
“My plane leaves in an hour.”
“I wish you could stay longer, dad.”
”Me, too, kid, but work calls!”
“Emily, a few of us are going out to celebrate your first goal! Let’s go get changed!”
Emily looked at her father and gave him one last hug, while he urged her to go. Steve Delrosa watched his daughter walk away with her teammates. He looked at her jersey, smiling at the number twenty seven, the day of her birth. He sure was proud.
