"Cole, your grandparents are here. Come say hi". Mrs. Anderson calls from down the hall. "Hi Meredith". Cole and I release each other and I blush. I think Mrs. Anderson just saw us kiss.
"Did she just...", I question, pointing out the door. Cole nods with a laugh. I bury my head in his chest with embarrassment.
"Come on. Let's go". Cole says with a smile. He puts his arm around my waist, leading me back down stairs. In the foyer stands 4 grandparents. The two grandmothers see me and Cole, and squeal.
"Oh my goodness, she is adorable", one of them says. "She's even cuter than Cole described". She takes me into her arms.
"That was Dad, Nana, I haven't spoken to you since September", Cole laughs nervously.
"Awww, Cole, you said I was cute", I say to him, mockingly pinching his cheek just like his Nana did.
"Meredith, don't let him fool you, it was him. I called him last week to see how he was doing and he couldn't stop talking about you". Cole's Meme said.
"Okay, that's enough. Let's go see my cousins". Cole whispers into my ear. I smile gratefully as Cole takes my hand and whisks me away to the back of the house and down a staircase.
As we walk down, kids voices get louder. The kids ages look like they range from 4 to 10. The basement seems to have been turned into a hockey rink, well except the ice. Nets are set up on either side of the floor. A rack on one wall has street hockey sticks hanging, and little foam helmets sit on the floor next to it. A couch and chair sit at the back wall. The kids each wear a foam helmet and holds a hockey stick. A black ball, used as a puck, swirls around the kids. They all go for it. The kids in the blue helmets are girls, and the red helmets are boys.
"Hey, can I join?" Cole yells down the rest of the stairs. The kids stop and look to us. Their faces light up when they look over to Cole.
"Coley Woley", a little girl who looks to be at 6 or 7 squeals, running up the 1 stair to Cole's legs. She squeezes his right leg tight, causing him to fall back slightly. I put my hand on his back so he doesn't fall any further.
"Lina Dina", Cole says, picking up the girl from his leg. "How has my sweet girl been?"
"I have a boyfriend. His name is Jonny, he is in first grade". She smiles a giant grin.
"Well, guess what! I have a girlfriend. Her name is Meredith". The girl finally realizes I am standing behind Cole.
"Is this her? She is pretty". The girl points at me with her small finger. I smile.
"Yes, she is my girlfriend. I met her a few months ago at school". Cole says in a higher pitched voice to match Lina's tone, just slightly.
"Well, I think you should keep her. She is very boo-tiful".
"Well thank you. I think I should keep her too", Cole says back as he walks down the stair and puts Lina back on the floor.
I follow him down to the 'rink'. Lina picks up her stick and continues to attempt to shoot the ball into the net as her cousins and siblings greet Cole with hugs and kisses. I walk around the small group and sit on the couch.
"Dinner", someone soon calls from the doorway leading into the basement. The kids immediately pull their helmets off and drop their sticks. They stomp up the stairs as fast as they could. Cole looks over to me from my spot on the couch. He motions his head for me to get up. I do and he grabs my hand. We head up the wooden stairs and walk into the dining room.
Cole pulls out a chair for me. I sit down, and he soon sits next to me. The table is huge. It sits all 22 of us perfectly, which means we have arm room. Aunt Brenda sits on my left. "Who would like to go first? I think we have to start on an adult this year", Aunt Brenda says with a smile.
"I can", Mr. Anderson says from the head of the table. He stands from his seat. "I am thankful for my amazing family and the food that we are about to eat, for the wife that has taken care of the drama in this family effortlessly. And I am thankful for Cole's new girlfriend. She has helped him through so much in the past few months. I am most thankful for that". I blush a little. "Okay, who's next?"
"I guess I can go next". Cole stands up next. "I am thankful for my entire life. I only realized that a week and a half ago. When those two defenders took me to the ice and I had my brain surgery, I never realized that something like that could end my life. I am thankful for Meredith. She is an amazing best friend and an even more amazing girlfriend. I couldn't ask for better. I love you" I blush even more.
"Okay, I'm gonna go". Lina jumps up from her chair on the other side of Cole. "I'm thankful for my boyfriend Jonny, and my favorite cousin Coley Woley. And finally the fact that I can eat as much mashed potatoes and as much cranberry sauce as I want".
The rest of the family takes their turn and soon they all turn to me. I stand, almost losing my balance in my heels. "I am thankful for my family. They helped me so much through the whole moving transition. And I am thankful for this entire family. You have taken me in on a holiday and it has been a blast already. But lastly I am thankful for Cole. I met him on my first day of school here, he hasn't left my side since. He and his father both have thanked me for getting Cole through the past couple of weeks, but I want to thank him. I know without how strong he was, I wouldn't have made it through his accident last week", I sit. Cole gives me a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay, let's eat".
Hey guys. Check out my new cover. Aimee21x made it. I absolutely love it! Check her and her stories out. Both my cover and the cover above are made by her.
Edited: 3/8/22
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Just Another Goal (Counting on Hockey #1)
Romance*Book one of the Counting on Hockey series* To Meredith, watching hockey was torture. But her sister was a hockey player. She wanted nothing to do with hockey, even thinking about it made her angry. But she had her reasons. Starting 10th grade at a...
