Ellie and Brad

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the eleventh chapter of a multi-part story. Please read the first ten chapters before this one to understand the whole story. Please enjoy.

******

Three years after the events of Chapter 10...

Today was a big day in the Galenchuk household.

In the evening, Kellie had a meeting planned with teammates Jennifer, Heather and Amber. They were going to discuss the direction of their curling team over the next few years, and make a decision as to what their goals should be.

This morning, however, Kellie had something else to worry about.

"Mom?" E.J. asked. "Is Kaity ready yet?"

"Almost!" Kellie shouted down the stairs to her son. Then she turned to her daughter, who was dressed in one of her new school outfits and had her hair done up in pigtails, and smiled.

"Ready for your first day of school, Kaity?" she asked.

Kaitlyn shrugged. She looked skittish.

"What's wrong, honey?" Kellie asked her.

"Mommy... I'm scared," Kaitlyn replied. "I don't wanna go to school."

"Oh, Kaity, everything will be just fine. You'll see."

"But... I don't know where to go."

"Your big brother will help you out. He promised he would, remember?"

"Yeah... but..."

"What is it, Kaity? It's OK, you can tell me."

"Promise you won't be mad, Mommy?"

"I promise."

Kaitlyn looked down at the floor. "What if no one likes me?" she asked in a quiet, sad voice.

It broke Kellie's heart to see her daughter so downcast. She wanted to hold her close and not let go. She knew, though, she needed to help prepare Kaitlyn to take on the world, and this was the first step on her journey. Kellie saw so much potential in her children, and while E.J. seemed more than ready to fulfill that potential right from the start, Kaitlyn needed a little nudge to get started. Well, what are mothers for, she thought.

"Oh, Kaity," Kellie said. She gave her daughter a reassuring hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Everyone who has ever met you likes you a whole lot. You will make lots of friends. I promise."

Kaitlyn appeared thoughtful for a few moments until, to Kellie's relief, her facial features softened, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

"OK," the little girl said. She returned her mother's hug and the two went downstairs.

There was a knock on the front door. Brad opened it and greeted the young boy on the porch.

"Hi Bryan," he said. "Come on in!"

Bryan was the son of Kellie and Brad's next door neighbours. He was the same age and in the same grade as E.J. The two boys quickly became best friends soon after they first met, and were nearly inseparable since that day.

"Hi E.J.!" Bryan said brightly to his friend. "Ready for school?"

"Yeah, Bryan, I sure am!" E.J. said. "I just have to wait for Kaity. She's in kindergarten this year. Today is her very first day of school ever! I have to help walk her to school and show her around so she doesn't get lost. You know how it is."

Kaitlyn took hold of E.J.'s hand. He smiled at his younger sister and she smiled back. He then leaned in and spoke in a low, conspiratorial tone to his friend. "I have to watch out for Kaity while we're at school. It's important. Mom and Dad said so."

Bryan's eyes went wide. "Wow!" he exclaimed, sounding properly impressed.

Kellie and Brad looked at each other, smiled and squeezed each other's hand. They were moved by the sweet scene played out before them by the three precocious children. They gathered themselves and Kellie made the short walk with the kids to their grade school, Centennial Elementary, while Brad made his way to work.

Once Kellie dropped them off, E.J. led Kaitlyn to the kindergarten recess area. He wanted to show her where she needed to go and follow through on his promise to his parents, but he also wanted to do it quickly enough so he could trade summer vacation stories with Bryan and the rest of his friends before the bell rang. For her part, Kaity trusted her older brother but was still very nervous, and she held on to his hand tightly as he led her through the grassy field.

Eventually E.J. found the kindergarten teacher. She was standing near the playground with another young girl close by.

"Hi Miss Carey!" he said. "Remember me?!"

"I sure do, E.J.!" the teacher replied. She was amused that the boy would think it possible that she had forgotten him when he was one of the most memorable students she ever had, in the best sense of the word.

E.J. pointed in Kaitlyn's direction, saying "Miss Carey, this is my sister Kaity! She'll be in your class this year!"

Miss Carey smiled at the two young children. She saw the familial resemblance between the two while also noting how the little girl's quiet and shy appearance was almost the polar opposite of her older brother's friendly, outgoing brashness.

"Thank you, E.J.!" she said in a friendly tone. "Hello Kaity!"

Kaitlyn smiled briefly and whispered hello.

The teacher motioned to the girl beside her and said, "Kaity, this is Chelsea, she'll be in our class together! Wouldn't it be great for you two to become friends?!"

"Hi Kaity," Chelsea said with a wave.

"Hi Chelsea," Kaity replied. She smiled again, and this time she was more relaxed. Kaity thought Chelsea looked pretty and might be nice to talk to. She also thought that maybe her mother was right. Maybe she would make friends at school, after all.

********

On the other side of the city, another young mother was having a little more difficulty getting her child ready for school.

"Johnny!" Anita shouted to her son's closed bedroom door. "Please hurry! You're going to be late for school!"

"I don't want to go, Mom," Johnathan said. "I'm not feeling well! I think I might be sick."

Anita thought Johnny sounded less than convincing. She checked her watch and groaned. Because Brad had kids of his own he was very sympathetic and understanding, and so allowed her to start work an hour later during the school year. But if she didn't get Johnny moving soon she would be late, and she hated being late.

"I'm coming in!" she warned her son. She opened his bedroom door and found him in bed, with the covers pulled up to his chin.

"You look fine," Anita said, and he did; his face was not flushed or otherwise abnormally coloured. She felt Johnny's forehead; he didn't feel feverish. "You don't feel super-hot," she said. "Are you sure you're not feeling well?"

Johnny nodded, but the look on his face led Anita to think he was hiding something.

Taking a chance, she tried to pull back the blankets from Johnny. After some token resistance, the boy relented. Anita groaned again, seeing her boy was actually dressed and ready for school.

"Johnny," she said, "I'm disappointed in you. Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't lie, Mom," he protested. "Not really, anyway."

"But you told me you thought you might be sick when you're really not. That is a lie. You know how I feel about lying."

Johnny bowed his head with shame, knowing his mother was right, and said nothing more.

Anita was disappointed in Johnny's choice to tell a lie, but she couldn't help but feel some sympathy for him.

"This is about Rory, isn't it?" she asked.

Johnny nodded his head, his face the picture of sadness. "I miss him, Mommy," he said quietly.

"I know, honey. I understand what it's like to lose friends. I know it was hard for you to see him move far away with his family when his dad got his new job. I know you miss him. That's normal. Losing a friend is never fun. But, things like this happen sometimes, even if we don't want them to. And you can't let these things stop you. As much as it hurts, you still need to do things all boys your age do, like go to school."

"But Rory was my best friend. I don't know the other kids in my class very well. What if they don't like me?"

"Johnny, I am sure that you will make other friends very soon. Trust your mother on this."

Johnny sighed, but nodded his head.

Anita smiled, trying her best to reassure her son and lift his spirits. "Let's have some breakfast now, OK?"

"OK. And... can you drive me to school today?"

Anita checked her watch and sighed. Johnny's school, Riverview Public, was a little out of the way from her usual route to work. She would likely be late if she agreed to his request. One look at his eyes, however, and she knew she couldn't say no.

"Yes, Johnny, I will. But just this once, understand? Tomorrow I need you to take the school bus like you usually do."

Johnny smiled. "Thanks, Mom," he said, and he embraced his mother in a loving hug.

********

Kellie was excited to see her children back home from school.

She was especially excited to see Kaitlyn run into her arms for a hug and breathlessly tell her that she met a girl in class named Chelsea and how they did so many things together during playtime and arts and crafts time. Kellie shared in the joy of her daughter, and felt a great sense of relief that Kaity was already well on her way to becoming good friends with her new classmate.

It seemed, at least for now, her home life was in great shape. Although it was very early in the year, both kids were shaping up to do very well in school. Her marriage with Brad was as strong as ever.

So now, after enjoying a nice family dinner, it was time to work out her professional life. Not for the first time, she reflected on the state of her curling career during the drive from home to the Blue Granite Curling Club.

If she were being completely honest, Kellie would have to admit that she in particular, and her team in general, had underachieved in the last three or four seasons. Granted, there were very good reasons why they had not hit the heights of six years ago, when they completed back-to-back victories at the Canadian national championships. Kellie had to pull back the team's competition schedule as she had children and needed to be there to raise her young family. Then, of course, Amber, Jennifer and Heather all married three years ago - Amber to her long-time steady Jamie, and Jennifer and Heather to each other - and the three needed time to consolidate the newest stages of their relationships.

Now, however, Kellie felt the time had come for all of them to re-dedicate themselves to their sport. Naturally, Kellie's children would still come first, but having both of them in school made it easier for her and Brad to care for them. Combined with a flexible schedule her employers at the health club were generous enough to provide, it gave her the time to commit to competitive curling. As for her teammates, Kellie knew from the many talks they all shared that their home lives were happy and well-adjusted, and furthermore they weren't planning on making other changes that could potentially distract them from putting in the time and the work to once again reach the top of their game.

It was all a matter of how much did they want it. Kellie, for her part, wanted it more than she could properly express in words. She was sure the others would all feel the same way. This meeting would confirm whether she was right, and if she was, they would start working on the plan to help them meet their ambitious goals.

Kellie arrived at the Blue Granite five minutes earlier than the scheduled time. She briefly said hi to a few of the club regulars and went to the meeting room to wait. She didn't have to wait long. Jennifer and Heather got there a few moments later, holding hands as they went in the room. Shortly thereafter Amber came bounding in, and the team was all present and accounted for.

Addressing the group, Kellie said, "I have a question for all of you, and I'd like everyone's honest opinion. Don't hold back, and don't be afraid to speak up. Just say what you feel."

Jennifer, Heather and Amber all nodded and promised to answer truthfully.

"How do you feel about how we've performed as a team the last few years?" Kellie asked.

Her teammates nervously glanced at each other, and no one spoke for a few moments. Finally, and as she often did in these situations, Jennifer was the first to speak for the others.

"I think we have not played up to our capabilities," she said.

"Hold on, though," Heather piped up. "It's not like there weren't valid reasons behind it."

"Oh, I agree," said Kellie. "I never said otherwise."

"Yeah," Amber now spoke, "I don't think Kellie is looking to place judgement or blame. "

Kellie nodded in agreement, and Heather appeared to relax. "Oh, good," she said. "Because, with that said, I agree with Jen. We're capable of doing a lot better."

"For sure!" Amber piped up. "I mean, look at the rink that was Team Canada at the last Olympics. We've beaten them in the past and I KNOW we could beat them again!"

Kellie couldn't help but smile once Jennifer and Heather enthusiastically agreed with Amber's statement. It may have been unwitting, but they provided the perfect segue to the next point she wanted to make.

"And how about if we had made the Olympic team?" she challenged them. "How do you think we would have done?"

Heather puffed her cheeks and blew out some air, showing how tough she thought the question was. "Wow, skip," she said, "there were a lot of good teams there. It's hard to say for sure what would have happened. You know the cliché, on any given day anyone can win."

"Yeah," Amber added. "The Swedish team looked very strong, and that young team from Scotland looked amazing and they keep getting better."

Jennifer changed the tone when she said, "You know what, though? I'm confident that, if we're on our game, we're as good if not better than anyone else in the world. We would have been on the podium for sure, and I could easily see us winning gold!"

"I agree 100% with Jennifer," Kellie said.

Heather and Amber both thought about their skip's and vice's words. "Sorry if I made it sound like I was downplaying our chances," Heather said. "I believe in us!"

"So do I!" Amber added. "I apologize if it didn't sound that way."

"No need to apologize, girls" Kellie said reassuringly. "I know you two were giving the opponents a lot of respect, and you should because they are good and they deserve it. But I'm glad we all recognize we are just as good and we also deserve that kind of respect. We just need to play like we're not afraid of greatness. If we're all pulling in the same direction, I don't know who can beat us."

"All this Olympic talk is getting me excited!" Amber said in her typically enthusiastic manner.

"It should," Jennifer stated, "because I think we should make a run for the next Games."

"They are three and a half years away," Heather said, "but I'll bet that will go by in the blink of an eye if we're not careful."

"That's exactly right." Kellie replied. "We are one of the elite teams in this country. We need to train and prepare like one. If we want to represent our country, we have to start now."

Kellie felt the emotion, pride and competitive spirit all start to rise within her. She could see in the eyes of her teammates that they were experiencing similar feelings.

"Think about the opportunity we have, girls," she told them. "Think about what it would be like to wear the Maple Leaf and be Team Canada!"

"Especially since the next Games are here in Canada, on OUR home ice!" exclaimed Jennifer.

Kellie let Jennifer's words sink in before looking each teammate in the eye and hammering home her final message.

"So, are we all in? Do we all want to represent Canada in the next Olympics, wear the Maple Leaf on our chests, win a gold medal in our home country and hear the crowd cheer and sing 'O Canada'? That's what I want. I'm sure you want it, too, but I want to hear you say it."

Jennifer, Heather and Amber all felt warmth in the pits of their stomachs, motivated by the super-confident words of Kellie, their skip and leader in all respects when it came to their sport. They looked at each other, nodded and spoke in turn.

Jennifer - "Skip, I definitely want to be an Olympian."

Amber - "I want that gold medal just as much as you do!"

Heather - "I swear I'll do whatever you ask of me if it will help us get there."

Kellie smiled. "Good," she said. "I know Brad and the kids will be supportive of me, and I don't have to worry about you two, Jennifer and Heather..."

Amber held up her hand before Kellie could go any farther. "It's OK, skip, I know where you're going with this, and it's fine. Jamie will back me up all the way. He'd love to see me at the Olympics! I can't wait to tell him!"

"Great! Glad that's settled," Kellie said, clapping her hands. "Let's start talking about how we plan to get there, because we have a lot to discuss."

********

Brad was more than a little curious.

He was well aware of Kellie's meeting with her team tonight. She didn't tell him exactly what it was about; she instead preferred to tell him all about it after it was over, confident as she was of having good news to share. He had a vague idea of what they were going to discuss, but no more than that.

Whatever it was, it was lasting much longer than he expected. He had long since put E.J. and Kaity to bed, and spent some time in bed reading until he noticed the time and saw how late it was. It wasn't late enough for him to be worried for Kellie's safety, but it was late enough for him to wonder what was taking her so long.

When Brad heard the front door open, he hopped out of bed and hurried out to the living room, just in time to see Kellie quietly close the door behind her.

"Hi, honey!" he said softly.

"Oh, hi Brad!" Kellie said. She gave him a kiss. "Sorry I'm so late. I thought maybe you would have fallen asleep," she declared.

"I wanted to wait for you," he admitted.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Kellie smiled and the two kissed tenderly. They went back to their bedroom and Brad let her get ready for bed before talking to her.

"Long meeting tonight, eh?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was," she answered. "We had a lot to talk about."

"So? What did you ladies decide?"

Kellie took Brad's hands in hers before she spoke. "You know that the next Winter Olympics are here in Canada, right?" she asked, and he nodded in response.

"Well, we're going for it, Brad!" she exclaimed. "We're going all out to qualify for the Olympics and represent Team Canada!"

Kellie was excited to share this news with her husband. Brad had always enthusiastically supported her athletic career and she was sure that would never change. Still, she was a little nervous, hoping she hadn't overstepped her bounds or failed to take something into account before making such grand plans.

She needn't have worried.

"Honey, that's fantastic!" Brad beamed. He enveloped Kellie in a giant hug that nearly took her breath away. "Wow, I can't wait to see you compete at the Olympics! That will be so awesome!"

"Whoa, calm down just a second. I know you're excited, but we're just starting the process. It's not like we've qualified yet, you know."

"I know, but I believe you will. I believe in you and the girls so much. When you and Jennifer and Heather and Amber are all at your best, you are unbeatable! I know you will all look incredible with the Maple Leaf on your chest. Especially you, baby!"

Kellie just smiled and kissed Brad's cheek. "Thanks... but before we get to that point, the two of us have a lot to talk about. We have to figure out how a lot of things are going to work over the next few years... our finances, how to run the household, and all that stuff. And of course, we need to have a good plan to ensure E.J. and Kaity are properly cared for, and for me to balance my sporting goals with being a mother, because no matter what, the kids come first."

"I understand, Kellie, and you're completely right. We'll start discussing all of that as soon as you're ready. But try not to worry. I'm confident that we can work together and find a way. You deserve this chance, and I promise I'll do whatever it takes to make it all work so that you can make your dreams come true. I know the kids will, too."