Chapter Text
December, 2031
“June looks left, passes to center, Kaya is racing toward the goal! Oh no, she’s passing back to June! JUNE SHOOTS—SHE SCOOOOORES!” Ilya narrated, as he reached for the puck that four-year-old June slid past him into the net. “A goal for Junie, and Kayushka with the assist!” Ilya mocked falling over and panting.
“Davai!” Kaya cheered.
“Davai!” echoed June, “Unicorns win!” She held her purple hockey stick up to celebrate.
“You’re slowing down, Rozanov!” Shane chirped half-heartedly, but Ilya’s antics were making him laugh so hard he had to lean on his hockey stick just to stay upright.
“Nyet! How can you say that? These girls are the fastest players in the league! They are like lightning! And you are the one who made me goalie!”
They caught their breath as they watched their daughters squealing and celebrating. They were enjoying a long weekend at the cottage over the girls’ winter break. Yuna and David were cozied up inside with Anya and Shane and Ilya’s new cat, Captain, who they’d adopted to celebrate Shane’s retirement (and the Centaurs’ cup).
Shane and Ilya had shoveled out a small hockey rink on the frozen lake and outfitted it with goals. Bundled up in hats, coats, and mittens and decked out in matching pads and skates, Kaya and June teamed up to play against their dads in the waning sun. Unsurprisingly, the girls had taken to the sport quickly and could both skate on their own by the time they turned three.
“Let’s have another round, you have to let the Centaurs catch up!” Shane said, gently knocking the puck back to Kaya.
At that moment, a muffled ring sounded from inside Ilya’s jacket. He got up, removed his glove with his teeth and slid the button to answer.
“Hi, this is Ilya,” he answered. “Moira! Hi–yes, yes, Shane is here, too. We’re all here.”
Moira? Shane mouthed, skating over.
Ilya quickly switched to speaker phone.
“Hi Shane! Hi Ilya! I’m so glad I got a hold of you today.” Moira’s sing-song voice floated from the phone. “I potentially have some big news here…. You see, I’ve been working with a birth parent about an opportunity for an open adoption, and, I don’t think I’m getting ahead of myself by saying this, but this client is very interested in you two and your family, and she would really like to meet you to make sure it could be a good fit.”
Shane looked at Ilya, who was staring at the glowing phone screen in concentration. Could this be real? Shane's chest filled with hope. He grabbed Ilya’s arm to steady himself.
“But, there’s a big caveat here,” Moira continued, “because she’s having twins. I know your application is very open-ended in terms of what your preferences are, but I wanted to check if that’s still okay with you before setting up a meeting. Obviously, we want the twins to be placed together, so we–”
“Oh my God, yes!” Shane blurted out.
“Yes, of course!” Ilya said simultaneously.
“Oh! I’m so glad you’re open to it. I thought you would be. I’ll start working on getting that meeting set up ASAP.”
“Oh my God, Moira, thank you so much!” Shane could hardly control his escalating voice. He was trembling as he leaned closer to the phone. He already felt his heart growing three sizes and wondered how that could even be possible.
“Oh no, thank you! I am so excited for you. Please give Kaya and June a hug from me, I hope they’re doing well.” Moira said, kindly. “I don’t want to keep you too long, though. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. I’ll start working on this paperwork right away. I should have more information tomorrow regarding a time to meet. She’s due in about six weeks, so time is of the essence! But of course, you know how it goes…”
“Yes! Thank you so much, Moira, we’ll wait for your call. And we’ll reach out to our lawyer, too. Kaya and June will be so happy. And thank you so much again. Seriously, thank you! Thanks again.” Ilya couldn’t stop thanking her. He felt so Canadian.
Shane could barely feel his body anymore, but it wasn’t because of the cold. He could see their future, their dreams, their family finally becoming a reality—Kaya and June as big sisters while he and Ilya clutched swaddled babies. He had no doubt the Hollander Rozanovs would soon take over the world.
“Daddy, what’s going on? Are you okay?” asked June. She and Kaya had both noticed the interruption and glided over.
Shane realized he had tears in his eyes. He bent down to her level and put his hand on June’s helmet. “Everything’s okay. It’s just–uh, we might be getting more teammates,” he answered.
“Really? Are we adopting again?” said Kaya excitedly.
Shane nodded tearfully, wondering when his kids had become so perceptive. He pulled himself back up to see Ilya pocketing his phone and beaming with the warmth of a thousand suns. “Hayden will never let you live this down…,” Ilya said.
“Speak for yourself!” Shane tried to say, but Ilya had already captured his lips with his.