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“Me too,” Luc said.
“Oh, I have to go,” Jai said. “Allie’s just driven home from work, and she’ll be super excited to meet your Sarah one day, Dan. But hey, just putting this out there, I’d really like to see another group for those of us more in the northwest. Just in case anyone else is interested.”
“That’d work for me,” Chris said.
“And me,” Mike agreed.
“We could be the Northwest Ice division,” Ryan said.
“Would that include Winnipeg?” Luc asked.
“Do you know your geography?” Brent scoffed. “You know that Winnipeg is virtually in the center of North America, right?”
“It is?” Luc sighed. “Guess that’s a no.”
“I’m sure we can make allowances,” Josiah said. “That is, if you guys want me to be involved.”
“You know we do,” Jai said. “You and me started this thing, so we can continue it.”
“For sure,” Mike said. “Gotta go. I’ll be in touch about the missions trip, okay?”
Dan nodded and joined the chorus of farewells, his heart thumping with anticipation. His hockey season might be drawing to a close, but it looked like God might have plenty of exciting things still left in store for this summer.
Chapter 31
Only a few days to go. The past school term had flown by. Sarah changed the date on the board, tidied her desk, picked up the assessment tasks requiring marking, then locked the door.
She collected her bag from her desk in the staffroom. “Bye, Suzy. Have fun tonight.”
The languages teacher smiled. “Thanks for the birthday flowers.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Enjoy your afternoon.”
“I always do!”
A smile lit Sarah’s heart as she got in her car for the short drive home. School had been such a blessing these past three months. Smaller class sizes meant she could get to know her students better, which helped with classroom management. As the school’s only music teacher, she did have a higher demand placed on her for programming purposes, but that was good. It stopped her thinking about how much she missed Dan.
She parked in the driveway, gathered the papers, her bag, and jacket, and headed inside. The house was quiet. Her family must still be out. She switched on the kettle, stroking her pendant as she waited for the water to boil. After making a cup of tea, she headed upstairs, threw her bag on the bed, then sat at the computer.
Nope. No new emails. She fought the disappointment. Dan had said he’d be busy. In between training and games, he was planning a trip to the Philippines after the season to visit a missions organization his friend Mike Vaughan was involved with. He’d sounded so excited. His first mission trip.
Her smile drew into a sigh. The crazy clashing schedules of work and time differences meant Zoom calls and FaceTime were a rare treat now. She missed Dan’s smooth voice. She missed his arms around her. She missed his gorgeous eyes. She’d stare for hours at the photos she’d taken and the beautiful picture he’d given her and remember happier times.
Sometimes she’d get up super early to try and watch his games over the internet, even though the distorted images and sound fluctuations made it a challenge to see or hear anything about her Dizzy. She’d even visited the David Jones department store in the city, tracking down that aftershave he wore just so she could be reminded of him. Her mouth twitched. How desperate did that make her?
But shewasdesperate! Sure, she knew how to put on a nice suit and a big smile, but inside she was dying of Daniel deprivation. God was still on the throne, anchoring her soul, but day by day, this yearning to see Dan only intensified.
Sarah took a deep breath and exhaled. One day. Maybe in July, when she had mid-year school holidays, he could visit. That’d besogood. She quickly emailed him the idea, then sat back in the office chair, twirling her hair round her fingers. Dan would be busy for the next few weeks with his final games and other team commitments, his trip preparations, and of course his family stuff, like Easter, then being a fantastic uncle for his soon-to-be-born niece or nephew. It was probably a good thing Luke and Marguerite lived in Vancouver, otherwise Dan would always be over there babysitting, his emails made him sound that excited. She smiled. She hoped Marguerite and Luke liked the koala toy she’d mailed them as her gift for the baby.
A yawn escaped and she stretched her arms. At least the April school holidays were only three days away. She’d never been accused of not fully appreciating her holidays, and this time round, with Easter being so late, she was even more eager than usual. After having had so much time off over the past two years, it’d been really hard to maintain the concentration and physical demands teaching placed on her. That, combined with the extra work of composing songs to contribute to Heartsong, had meant her every waking moment was full of focus. Thank God she’d said no to touring with them when they’d asked. Writing songs was enough, especially when she was trying to be wise with her energy levels. Two weeks of sleeping in and lazing around sounded like gold.
The front door banged, followed by the stomp of little feet racing up the stairs.
“Aunty Sar! Aunty Sar!” A little golden-haired girl tumbled into the room, closely followed by an even smaller version. “We saw elephants today at the zoo!”
Sarah hoisted her nieces onto her lap, giving them a cuddle. “Hey, possums. Were they like the ones in the photos I showed you?”
