Always Something There to Remind Me

"So, how are we going to tell him?" Sid asked as we walked into the house.

"I don't know," I replied. "But last night, he asked me if I was on a date since there was a boy in the house, so it's bound to come up in conversation. I guess I'll answer when he asks."

"Hey, I'm going out for a bit," Melinda said. "Do you need anything?"

"No thanks," I answered. "Where's Aiden?"

"In his room, he said he'd be down any minute."

Sid and I sat on the couch waiting for Aiden to come down.

“Mommy!” Aiden yelled. “Hurry! Come here!”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, running upstairs.

“I can’t find my necklace.”

“What necklace?”

“The one you gave me that matches dad’s necklace,” he said, his lip trembling.

“Do you remember the last time you saw it?”

“I had it on today, and then I took my nap, and I woke up, and I couldn’t find it!” he said, running around frantically trying to find it.

“Look, here it is,” I said, pulling it out of the blankets on his bed. “There you go,” I continued, putting it on him. “Now let’s go, we have company downstairs.”

“Who? Who?” he asked, jumping up and down.

“Well, go downstairs and see!” I told him. I chuckled as he ran out of his room and downstairs to see who our visitor was. When I made it downstairs, Aiden was standing there with his jaw on the floor. Sidney was on his phone with someone, so he hadn’t heard Aiden come in the room. I had to hold in my laughter as I walked up to Aiden and closed his mouth.

“Mom,” he whispered. “Is that really Sidney Crosby?”

“Yes,” I answered ad Sid hung up. “Why don’t you go say hi?”

Aiden ran over to Sidney and then gently poked him, making sure he was real. After confirming that it was indeed Sidney Crosby sitting on his couch, he turned around and looked at me, as if asking for permission to continue. I smiled and nodded, trying to hold in a laugh.

“Will you play hockey with me please?” he asked with a huge grin on his face.

“Sure,” Sid chuckled.

“Mom, get your coat, you’re gonna be the goalie,” Aiden said, running to get his stuff and pull the net out into the driveway.

“He does know I’m good for other stuff besides hockey right?” Sid asked, laughing.

“Really, is that right? Because, if I remember correctly, you’re cooking skills leave something to be desired, and all you did that summer was play hockey. Oh wait, let me guess, you were talking about playing your PSP? He doesn’t play SOCOM either,” I said, trying to give him my best serious face but failing miserably.

“Ha, ha,” Sid said, smiling as we walked outside to find Aiden waiting impatiently.

“About time you guys!” he said “Can you some me some of your moves?” he asked, handing Sid a stick.

“Sure, which ones do you want to know?”

“ALL of them!” he said, and we all cracked up.

“Okay, hmmm….oh, I know one. Did you watch any Penguins games last year?”

“All of them! Melinda got NHL Network!”

“Okay, remember one of our last games against the Flyers? The one where I deflected Gonchar’s shot between my legs?”

“You’re gonna show me how to do that?” Aiden asked as his smile got even bigger.

“Do you want me to?”

“Yeah!”

They went on like that for the next couple of hours. Sidney would show Aiden how he scored some of his most memorable goals and then they would practice until Aiden could do it. I quit trying to be the goalie around five to make some dinner, but of course they were two wrapped up to even notice. I watched them interact through the kitchen window while I made chop suey. They finally got tired out as I was finishing up. We ate dinner together in a comfortable silence. Aiden kept staring at Sidney like he still couldn’t believe that he was here. Whenever Aiden would look away Sidney would sneak a glance at me. Seeing Sidney and Aiden together made my heart melt. I almost wished I had told Sidney sooner, but I knew it was for the best that I didn’t.

“Mom,” Aiden said, interrupting my thoughts. “I’m done. Can I go play my video game now please?”

“Sure, but only for a little bit.”

“Come on Sid, come play with me!” Sid laughed and got up, starting to grab the plates.

“No, that’s okay, I got these,” I said. “Go play with him.” Fifteen minutes later, after I did the dishes and cleaned up my kitchen a little, I walked out into the living room to find Aiden on Sidney’s lap in the middle of the couch. Seeing me come in, Sidney went to pick up Aiden so that they could scoot over and make room for me. In the process, he managed to find one of Aiden’s ticklish spots, sending him into a fit of giggles. Sidney shot me a look and then attacked Aiden, who shrieked because he was so ticklish. Sidney stopped tickling Aiden for a second to lean over and grab his drink off the coffee table, his necklace falling out from his shirt in the process. Aiden’s eyes widened when he realized what it was. He sat up and grabbed it so he could get a better look at it. His gaze kept going from me to Sidney to Sidney’s necklace as realization washed over him.

“Mom, I found him!” Aiden said, a huge smile growing on his face as he compared Sidney’s necklace to the one around his neck. “I found him! I found dad!” he screamed as he jumped up and tried to bear-hug Sid, who had a big grin on his face.

“Wait! Does this mean you guys are dating?”

“No hunny, we’re not. He’s got a girlfriend.”

“Oh,” Aiden’s face fell a bit. “But I’ll still be able to hang out with you right?” he asked Sidney, looking like he was about to cry.

“Of course, I’d love nothing more,” Sidney said, which put a grin back on Aiden’s face. “In fact, if it’s okay with your mom, I might be able to come over here and visit you tomorrow.”

“Please mom? Pretty please?!”

“Okay,” I smiled, relieved at how happy Aiden was. “But right now it’s time for you to go to bed, so why don’t you run upstairs to get ready and we’ll be up in a minute.”

“That went…easier than I thought,” Sid said as Aiden disappeared upstairs.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Although I’m a bit surprised that you’re still in one piece. You’re his idol,” I said laughing as we walked upstairs to say goodnight.

“Daddy, can you read me my story tonight please?” Aiden asked, yawning.

“Sure,” Sid smiled, sitting on the bed next to Aiden. As he finished reading, Aiden let out another huge yawn. “Goodnight Aiden,” Sidney said, giving him a small kiss on the forehead.

“Goodnight daddy. Goodnight mommy.”

“Goodnight hunny,” I said, planting a kiss on his lips as he fell asleep.

“So, that was my parents on the phone earlier,” Sid said as we walked out of Aiden’s room. “They changed their plans. They’re coming into town tonight.”

“Okay,” I said, unsure of where he was going with this.

“Well, I was thinking that maybe we could all go to lunch tomorrow, and then you and Aiden could come to the game tomorrow night. I know it’s probably a little late for him, but it’s fan appreciation night.”

“Um, I’ll have to think about it.”

“If you’re worried that people might figure out who you are, I can have Colby pick you guys up.”

“The game isn’t really the part I was worried about.”

“My parents won’t hate you. They’ll be a little shocked at first, but they’ll get over it as soon as they see Aiden.”

“That’s what I’m worried about though. Me and Aiden showing up to lunch and ‘oh, by the way mom and dad, this is my son, and that’s the girl who kept it hidden from us for four years’. That’s the scene I want to avoid, especially if we’re in public, and especially after all the stories I’ve heard about your dad.”

“I’ll tell them tonight when I pick them up. And my dad’s not THAT bad. Besides, Taylor’s coming too, so they won’t blow up.”

“Wow, that helped so much. Gee, thanks for calming my nerves.”

“Trust me, you’ll be fine. Please come.”

“Fine, but if anything goes wrong, you will so owe me.”

“Thank you, it really means a lot to me,” he said hugging me. “I have to go get my family from the airport. I’ll call you tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, we’ll see you tomorrow, bye,” I said closing the door. I sighed as I went back upstairs to my room. Tomorrow was going to be the best day ever.