Meant For You

fifty-one.

Miles Dempsey

"First-class tickets?!" Nola whisper-shouted as we were being led to our seats on the plane. She turns to look at me and I shrug. "It's all the they had left," I tell her the truth. This was the only flight left to Miami today but the only seats left were first-class. It's the only reason I bought them.

Okay, that's a lie.

I only fly first class when I'm not traveling with the team. It's a personal choice. The only time I didn't fly first class was to Stockholm because they were all taken but I didn't mind.

On my way to Miami, I hope being in first class will save me the stress of bumping into a fan or having a crying child give me even more anxiety. "I call window seat," I say as the flight attendant shows us to our seats. Before sitting down, I place mine and Nola's bags in the compartment above.

We both packed lightly because we wouldn't be here long. I can't be here long. Practices start soon and Coach will slaughter me if I'm not present. Plus, as focused as I am on talking to my birth mother, I'm still thinking about hockey 24/7. I plan on watching film on the plane ride. It's a good distraction and I need to see what we're up against.

Winnipeg is alright. They're good but not good enough to beat us. Still, they have their standout players who are going to be out for blood. Everyone wants to win. The better team will come out on top and that's going to be us.

It took us about an hour to take off and I watched film the whole time. Nola starts on this new book she told me she had been wanting to read but never found the time to. Once the plane is finally in the air, I feel a lot better. I take a long sip from the water bottle the flight attendant gave us. "You okay?" Nola asks.

Nodding, I slip my headphones back on and watch our game against Winnipeg earlier this season. We beat them but it wasn't our best game. I'm picking up on the mess-ups and key players they have. When I notice something, I'm sending a text to the team group chat. They probably think I'm insane but I don't care.

After about two hours, I decided to take a small nap. Nola ended up "resting her eyes" and falling asleep. It takes me a while to fall asleep but I fall into a slumber eventually. As if my body knows we're about to land soon, I wake myself up. Everyone's getting their things together to be the first one out once the plane lands.

It's almost three in the morning here in Miami once we land. I tend to forget they're three hours ahead here in Florida. My eyes still feel heavy but I'll be able to get more sleep once we get to the hotel. Nola and I are first off the plane and I already ordered an Uber before we landed. When we hop into the car, Nola yawns.

The fact that I'm in Miami to meet my birth mother hasn't even hit yet. For some reason, I feel completely normal. I know once I'm in the Uber to go see her tomorrow it'll be a whole different story. Bringing Nola with me was the best option. She was there for me the other day when I had a mini panic attack. It had been a while since I had one of those. She helped calm me down.

Without her, I wouldn't be able to do any of this. Just knowing that she'll be with me tomorrow makes me feel more secure. She was the perfect option to accompany me on this trip. I don't regret it one bit.

Nola lays her head down on my shoulder. Our destination is about thirty minutes away. I got us a hotel closer to where my birth mother lives. We'd only stay the rest of tonight and then be back on a plane tomorrow night so it's not the most glamorous hotel. It's not an old sack either, I wouldn't do that to the girl next to me.

I lay my head back on hers for comfort and close my eyes. "You're going to be okay," Nola whispers. The car is quiet besides the light music that plays on the driver's radio. Her words sit with me for a little bit. She's been telling me the same thing since yesterday and I'm starting to believe her more and more. Still, I have a fear of everything going terribly wrong tomorrow.