Chapter 617: Danny LXI--Overturned

Chapter 617: Danny LXI—Overturned

 

 

 

            Sure, Dan felt great about the win, but he couldn’t bring himself to drowning in ardor as the rest of the team did. Even Joe had a hard time keeping everyone in check there. It’s just one win after an All Star break boys, let’s string four more in a row and then we can be a little impressed. These were the same words he ended up using to the cameras. Good Old Joe, he always practiced his careworn words on the boys before exercising them in the lights.

            Dan kept thinking about his situation with Cecile. Throughout the game he looked up to Joe’s suite and he imagined that he did see Cecile sitting in the close corner of it, a child on her lap. At this point, Dan found that he did not care for those kids so much, nor did he appreciate Joe and Debbie’s insistence on maintaining her as their nanny. If they had any regard at all for their situation, wouldn’t they have at least nudged her out the door to his arms? Would it be too much to ask that they have some consideration for Cecile and see that her blind and innate sense of duty, and devotion to them and their children kept her chained to them?

            Dan had wondered if he could talk to Joe about this but his reaction to him “bothering his nanny” earlier put that idea to rest. Obviously, Joe would not take kindly to losing his precious nanny before he and Debbie decided her usefulness had run out. Did that actually imply there would be severe ramifications when he and Cecile finally got married? And make no mistake, Dan was determined to marry this woman, he would let no mistake on his part, or no trepidation on hers to stop this.

            And just to show Cecile his doggedness about getting the deed done, and the he had no ill will about her irrational irritation from earlier, he called her as soon as the game finished. Cecile answered pretty quickly, after the first ring, and that in itself puffed Dan’s pride some. “Hey there, sweetie!”

            “Danny!” Cecile exclaimed, and he heard glee in her voice. “Hi!”

            “We won!” Dan frowned and mouthed the words to himself after he’d said them. Still, all of the worry and irritation plaguing him over the last few hours, and really over the last few weeks evaporated when he heard her cheerful tone. He’d been set to expecting her to sound irritated at the sound of his voice or morose from the bitter words they’d exchanged earlier today. This struck Dan as a lovely change, and a lovely omen. It didn’t even bother him to know that Cecile had just upstaged him by being the “better person” in shedding any grudge she may have held from earlier.

            “Yes… I know,” Cecile’s voice lost no enthusiasm however, even if she did hesitate with them. “I…kind of saw.”

            Dan laughed. “Right! Of course you did! Hey, I saw you up there in the suite. Did I impress you, Babe?”

            “Oh Danny you know how those fights scare me!” Cecile sighed. “I had my eyes covered for that. But you scored a lovely goal. It’s exciting, Danny, really. I’m so proud of you!”

            Dan grinned, “Heh, come on, you know you like my fights. I bet you peeked through your fingers.”

            “Oh, no, never!” Cecile breathed, high and playful.

            This warmed Dan through his gut and he leaned against the wall, nodding his head. “Riiiight, you never peek?”

            “Mm-mm not ever!”

            Ah, now this felt good. Leaning forward and scuffing the floor with the toe of his shoe he invited Cecile out for a bite to eat. She had to be hungry after taking care of all those kids. Debbie must have been glad to get a break!

            Here a small wrench got throw into the plan. Apparently, Debbie had asked Cecile to baby sit the children for a couple of hours after the game. She’d made reservations months ago at this trendy new restaurant downtown and she couldn’t break them now. Would it be so much to ask for her services, just for tonight?

            Dan closed his eyes tightly, he pinched the lids so hard red flowers danced through his brain. Would this be a more agreeable future than the one they’d shared hiding from her mother? Who is the worse monster here? What Dan wanted to do was squeeze the life out of the phone in his hand and berate Cecile for being so soft, so lenient, so forgiving of the Sakic’s when they were so obviously taking advantage of her, no EXPLOITING her for their own energy-vampirizing purposes. He didn’t imagine that would settle him back on good terms with Cecile, however. Love was patience, she’d taught him that lesson so long ago. The least he could was show her he actually listened to her. “Oh, man, that’s a bummer.”

            “I know!” Cecile exclaimed, and that threw Dan off completely.

            He stood up straight, his eyes widened and he smiled. “Well, at least I know that they can do some wrong in your eyes.”

            “Ha!” Cecile scoffed. “I am not a machine, Danny. You know that.”

            There! Sharp, flinty, husky scorn from her, something he’d never really heard before. Could it be a sign of her shedding some of her convent girl cheer? Perhaps a week of vacation had done her some good. Perhaps having a little “time to think” would actually come to benefit. “I never thought you were a machine, Babe. I just…”
            Cecile did not fill in the awkward pause, but he imagined her standing with the phone, her green eyes wide with compassion, listening, hanging on his somber words.

            “I just…I’m just afraid that after everything we’ve been through, and knowing what you’ve been through, that you might be susceptible to people who might be taking advantage of your time. That’s all.” There, he had to stop referring to his feelings so much. One of the guys told him that today. Focus on her and how she’s affected by everything. It’s the key in understand women, they’re not placated until they’re certain their man of choice has taken into consideration every single way they could be suffering under every single detail of life…

            Seriously, that reasoning could also apply to goalies.

            “Taking advantage of…” she murmured. And then spoke quickly, “Danny Hinote what a horrible thing to accuse Mrs. Sakic of!”

            Dan refused to be baited, “Eh, just look at it this way, honey. If I’m jealous of Mrs. Sakic, that’s got to say a whole lot about how I feel about you.”

            Quiet, and then Cecile laughed, a breathy sort of gasp. “You’re amazing, Danny you know that?”

            Dan laughed. “Hey, that’s why you love me.”

            “That’s right,” she said softly. “I do love you. I do.”

            Those words rifled through his emotions and shook his knees. They could do it tomorrow, go to City Hall, file some papers and get married. Perhaps everything would be made right if they did. Dan almost whispered the words to her, almost. Even if it were the right thing to do, Dan remembered that he also had the team to consider, and he wondered if it would be right by them. So he didn’t say the words, instead he replaced them with a viable, if less monumental option. “Well, are you up for a late night snack? After they’re done with their dinner, do you want me to swing by, pick you up, we can get a bite then?”

            “Ah, no,” Cecile said without hesitation. “It’ll be terribly late, Danny. I just can’t imagine keeping you up that late after such a big game. Get some sleep tonight, and I’m sure we can catch breakfast together? How about that?”

            Well… Dan scratched his chin and sat down, dejected but he fought to keep it out of his voice. “Sure, sure, that’s great. I’ll see you for breakfast, honey. What time should I pick you up?”

            “Oh, no, we can meet. It’s fine.”

            “Oh…sure, that’s great.” Dan said softly. Wow, she still didn’t want him appearing around her new place. What the hell? Why couldn’t she trust him? “Well, I’ll see you later then, honey. Take care.”

            “I love you.”

            “Love you too. Bye.”

            And she hung up.

            Dan crossed his arms and pursed his lips.

            “Mend some bridges with the Little Lady?” Mike Keane asked. “Looked like a good conversation there, Pup.”

            “Yeeeah,” Dan said slowly and then he looked at his knuckles and flexed his fingers. No marks or bruises, no soreness plagued the digits. “Hey, Keaner.”

            “Yup?” Keane raised his ginger eyebrows.

            “Did I get into a fight today?”

            “Uh, no, Parker did.”

            Well…he could understand that, Dan guessed. Cecile never liked fights anyway, so she could easily mistake one bout with another. It’s not like she actually watched them. But still… “Hey, Mike…”

            “Yup?”

            Dan squinted. “Did I… Did I score a goal?”

            Keane’s eyes widened before he busted into laughter. “In your dreams kiddo!”

            Dan jut his bottom jaw out and then slowly shook his head. “Did I take a blow to the bean or something?”

            “You just may have,” Mike laughed and he patted Dan warmly on the shoulder before getting up.

            Dan slouched forward. “Holy shit,” he muttered.