V
"Go daddy, go!" Taylor heard the small voice of his little princess as she shouted from the crowd. He turned around and smiled at her and his mother who were both watching him from the front row. He turned back just in time for his teammate to pass him the puck.
He skated smoothly around the opposing team's defense and stopped close to the net.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
Taylor heard the crowd chanting as he lined up the puck to make his last shot. In that moment, all he could her was his heart beating quickly in his ears as he watched the puck gliding past the goalie and into the net. And as soon as he saw that he had scored, the loud sound of the goal horn filled the rink and the crowd supporting his team cheered. He looked over to find his father pick up his daughter and kiss her on the cheek as all three of them cheered along.
That was it, his team had qualified for the Stanley Cup.
He couldn't explain the euphoria which filled him as he watched his family supporting him, his mind filled with thoughts of how his team had just made it into the Stanley Cup.
It had been six years since his daughter was born and with everyday which passed by, as he watched her grow, he wished that just for one moment, time would stop so that he could catch up with her growth.
His teammates skated to him and patted him on the back, a few throwing their sticks onto the ice to give him a hug.
"We did it, man" Jace, a close friend and his teammate said to him as he hugged him. Taylor hugged him back shortly before they were pulled apart and he was surrounded by the whole team as everyone continued to cheer.
* * *
"The man himself, Taylor Hill, who is going to lead us all the way to the finals," the coach of his team said as everyone raised their glasses for a toast.
"I couldn't do any of this without the whole team so this toast is for all of us!" he said, causing everyone in the restaurant to cheer as they drank the contents of their glasses. Taylor sat down beside his family when the toast ended, hugging his mother and daughter at the same time.
"You did it, daddy!" his little girl said to him, causing his smile to widen.
"I couldn't have done it without you either," he told her as he placed a soft kiss on her cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek as well, smiling just as brightly as he was. He pulled his girl away from his mother and placed her onto his lap as they started to eat their food.
The gathering dispersed several hours later and Taylor walked to his car with his parents in tow as he held onto his daughter's hand. When they got to the car, Taylor strapped Emily into her car seat before taking the driver's seat beside his father who sat in the passenger's seat.
"You didn't have anything to drink?" his father asked him as he put on his seatbelt. Taylor shook his head.
"Didn't think it'd be a good idea," he said simply, looking at Emily through the rear-view mirror. But the truth was that there was more to it.
Ever since that night all those years ago, the night that shook his world upside down--or so he had thought--he hadn't taken so much as a sip of any alcoholic drink.
"Ready to go, princess?" he said as he continued to look at Emily in the rear view mirror.
"Ready!" Emily said, causing her grandparents to laugh.
"Then let's go!"
* * *
Taylor stood beside Emily as he brushed his teeth, looking at her in the mirror as she did the same. He spat into the sink once he was finished and watched as Emily did the same before reaching for her little cup and rinsing her mouth.
"All done, daddy!" she said as she placed her toothbrush back in the holder.
"Let's head to bed," Taylor said as he also finished. They walked to her bedroom, holding hands until they reached her room and she quickly climbed onto her bed.
"Do you want a bed time story?" Taylor asked as he pulled the chair from her mini desk to sit on it. Emily eagerly nodded her head as she reached under her pillow and took out a book. Taylor couldn't help but to chuckle at her being prepared.
"This one? Are you sure?" Taylor asked, teasing her.
"Yes daddy!"
"Okay."
He read the story to her until she was fast asleep. And as he closed the book and placed it on her desk, he couldn't stop himself from admiring his daughter and how peaceful she looked. In that moment, he thought about how he almost hadn't had the chance to raise her and watch her grow. He wondered what would have happened to her if his mother hadn't offered to help him raise her. Would he have abandoned her for his career?
He stood up and placed a soft kiss on her forehead as he whispered,
"Sweet dreams, my princess."
He gently closed the door behind him after leaving the room. He walked into his room to find his mother sitting on his bed as she looked through what appeared to be a photo album.
"Is she sleeping?" she asked as she looked at him. He nodded and his mother smiled slightly. She patted the spot beside her and Taylor took that as a sign to sit beside her. Once he was seated, his mother pointed to a picture of Emily when she was just under a year old.
"It feels like just yesterday she was that small," Taylor said as he looked at the other pictures.
"Kids grow up so fast and you were no exception," she said, her smile widening. Taylor smiled too until he noticed that his mother's smile had disappeared.
"Everything alright mom?" She didn't say anything for several moments and only looked at him until suddenly she said,
"She's getting older, Taylor. And as much as you don't want to hear it, very soon she's going to start wondering where her mom is."
As soon as Taylor heard that, he couldn't hide the anger that filled his chest at the thought of that woman.
"I'll be her mom and dad. I've been doing it so far," Taylor told his mother, trying to keep his anger at bay.
"But sweetheart," his mother placed the album on the bed and held his hand, "there's only so much you can do. You can teach her a lot of things but she will still need a mother figure in her life."
"But can't you do it? You're female."
His mother breathed a laugh.
"It wouldn't be the same--"
"Well I'm not bringing that woman back into our lives if that's what you're suggesting."
"Taylor--"
"No! We're done talking about this."609Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysi75zXEd5
