I'll Be Your Friend, I'll Help You Carry On

ten

There were five minutes left in game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. If Pittsburgh could keep this one goal lead, all thanks to Mr. Max Talbot, then they would win the Stanley Cup. 5 minutes and the Stanley Cup would be theirs.

Chantal was standing in front of her seat, like the rest of the Mellon Arena, with Pascal Dupuis’s wife on one side and Marc-Andre Fleury’s wife on the other. The had gripped each other hands when Jonathan Ericsson had scored with roughly 6 minutes left in the game, cutting Pittsburgh’s lead down to one.

Sidney’s rookie jersey hung over her torso and her black tight jeans, fitting around the sides of her bright blue skate shoes. As the three minute mark closed on them, the crowd started to get louder and louder; cheering the entire team on. Fleury’s name could be heard from all around the arena, trying to help him stay focused. It would be a bittersweet win, defeating the team who had defeated them the year before, and no one could wait for it.

The seconds seemed to go slower than they ever had until the clock read 1:00 left. Anyone that wasn’t on their feet was now, and the crowd was deafening. All of the wives and families were clutching each others hands, begging the clock to go faster so their boys could finally rest knowing that they were the number one NHL team.

“Allez, allez!” She could hear Vero Fleury whisper in anticipation.

Closing her eyes as the clock got to 30 seconds, Chantal prayed and hoped that Detroit wouldn’t find a way to get one past the French-Canadian goalie. Opening her eyes, the clock was only at 24 seconds, and she took in a deep breath. Vero squeezed her hand a little bit as they looked at each other, “Don’t worry.”

5 seconds.
4 seconds.
3 seconds.
2 seconds.
1 second.

“Your Pittsburgh Penguins have just won the Stanley Cup! What a game!” The announcer yelled over the screaming fans.

Everyone was jumping and hugging each other as the entire team skated out onto the ice, wrapping each other in bone crushing hugs. Chantal turned and hugged Vero, both of them letting tears leak from their makeup covered eyes. Next, she turned and hugged Carole-Lyne Dupuis, smiling as the older woman patted her back.

“C’mon, we’ve got to head down to the ice, they’re going to want pictures with the cup and everything. Especially Sid, Chantal,” Carole-Lyne told the two younger women.

They pushed through the crowds and into the suit, where the other wives and girlfriends were making their way out, and eventually made their way to the ice. The door was opened as the women made their way gingerly to the ice, their husbands and boyfriends swooping them up into hugs and kisses.

Chantal waited her turn to step onto the ice as she let everyone go ahead of her. As she gripped the side of the door, she was lifted off of her feet as Sidney grabbed her around the waist and spun her around as he laughed and yelled loudly.

“We did it Tal! We won!” Sidney yelled, placing her down on her face.

Sidney grabbed the sides of her face and placed a passionate kiss on her lips, cupping her cheeks as they both closed their eyes. She could see flashes around her as people took pictures, but she didn’t care. She wrapped her arms around Sid’s neck as he lifted her slightly.

“I love you so much,” Sidney whispered, his lips brushing against hers.

Chantal smiled and pressed a soft, quick kiss to his lips, “I love you too. Congratulations baby.”

Sidney smiled and lowered Chantal as some of the guys came over to take him away. Chantal turned around his she felt a hand on her shoulder. Taylor Crosby was standing behind her with a smile on her face and a Stanley Cup Playoff’s Winners t-shirt in her hand. Trina and Troy were behind her with their own t-shirts on, and Chantal grabbed the shirt, pulling it over her head and straightening it out.

“How do I look?” She asked Taylor.

Taylor nodded and gave her a thumbs up, “Great, as always. C’mon, he’s going to go accept the cup now.”

They walked over to the middle of the ice, where the table was set up with Lord Stanley’s cup placed on top. They stayed out of the way as the announcer talked, the entire crowd dead silent and waiting for Sidney’s reaction.

Finally, after Sid had taken a picture with the cup and a few different people, he skated over to it. He seemed to stare at it for a few seconds, the silly grin never leaving his face, before he reached down and picked the cup up, holding it above his head. He screamed and yelled as the crowd began to scream with him.

It was chaos.

---

Everyone was piled into the dressing room after the media had left, but the room wasn’t any quieter. Most of the guys had changed out of their hockey equipment, taking quick showers, and putting on a pair of jeans and their new t-shirts. They had decided that this would be the one and only time that they didn’t leave in a suit; they won that much.

Sidney walked over to her, the grin still plastered to his face, and wrapped her in a huge hug, “I have an idea.”

Chantal raised an eyebrow but nodded, “And what’s that Mr. Crosby.”

Sidney was quiet for a few seconds, chewing harshly on his lip and wringing his hands. He looked behind him at his parents and sister who were talking with a few of the other families.

“I know you’ve spent such a long time planning everything, and we’ve spent a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean anything to me. I don’t care for the big wedding, or the hundreds of people. All that matters is you and I,” he said softly, grasping both of her hands in his callused ones.

Chantal breathed in a shaky breath, “Are you… asking me to… marry you, again?”

Sidney let out a small laugh and shook his head in the negative, “No, I’m asking you to marry me right now. Let’s just… elope. We’ll just leave right now, get married and go home, and we won’t have to worry about inviting everyone.”

Chantal’s eyes widened and she breathed in deeply, going over to one of the chairs and sitting down. Sidney knelt down in front of her, still holding her hands, and placed his forehead against her thighs.

“I know it’s a lot to think about, and if you don’t want to I completely understand. I’ll help you with all of the planning, and we’ll do it anyway you want to. We can even have a huge reception later on if we do get married today. I’m just putting it out there baby,” Sidney said, looking up at his fiancé, his eyes large.

Chantal tried to speak as a million thoughts ran through her mind. Was this what she wanted to do? Throw away the entire wedding she had planned?

All of the cake she had eaten? The napkins she had ordered? The church she had called?

“I… okay. Let’s go, right now,” she said quickly.

Sidney stood up quickly, pulling her with him, and wrapped her in his muscular arms.

“Really? For real?” Sid asked.

Chantal nodded and placed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, “For real. Let’s go get married.”