The Crosby Life

The Sunday after our Playoff run ended, a group of us sat around my living room, eating whatever we could get our hands on so nothing goes to waste while we are away for the summer.
“I’m leaving for Florida in a couple days,” Nealer said to my left. He looked at me. “It’s ok if I leave my stuff here until I get an apartment? I move into the new apartment after I return from Florida.”
“Of course,” I replied, sipping a glass of milk as I nibbled a cookie. “Just return the key to us after the wedding, or when we come back in September.”
“Cool,” he said smiling.
Tanger startled when the orange he was peeling squirted in his face. We all laughed. “We leave tomorrow, oui?” he asked, looking at me.
“Mmhmm,” I replied, flipping through a magazine. “Eight in the morning is our flight. Our connection is in Toronto and then to Quebec.”
“I hate the Toronto airport,” Max mumbled under his breath. “It’s a pain in the ass.”
I grinned and looked up at him. “Well, the connecting flight is an our after we arrive, so we don’t have to rush.”
“Oh, thank God!” He breathed a sigh of relief.
“What time do we get there?” Emelie asked, sipping alcohol. Figures.
“We arrive in Quebec just after eleven.”
Marylene, my soon to be sister-in-law, smiled at me. “And I should arrive a day or two after you guys with Riley.
I nodded.
I was in charge of the plane tickets. All of us going to Quebec were traveling together. So Marc-Andre, Max, Tanger, Emelie, and myself are traveling together, while Marylene graciously offered to drive up in her truck with the dog since he can’t fly.
“And while you guys are enjoying your summer, I’ll be stuck here for who knows how long,” Sidney said. Despite his tone, he was smiling.
Jenna smiled gently next to my brother as she wrapped her arm around his, leaning on his shoulder. “But you won’t be alone.”
Sidney winked. “True.” He gave Jenna a gentle kiss.
“How long are you staying here in Pittsburgh?” My fiance said to my right.
Sidney shrugged. “Until my concussion decides it wants to go away and let me do my job.” He looked at Jenna. “But we are going to take a vacation in a couple weeks just to get away. That way we won’t be stuck here all summer. And obviously we’ll be heading home for a certain wedding.” My twin brother looked at me with that cheeky grin of his that makes me laugh.
I winked at my brother, causing us both to laugh.
“Ari and Nik are coming up to Quebec for a couple weeks before heading to Sweden,” Kris chimed in.
“What are your plans?” Tanger asked, looking between Marc and myself.
Marc looked at me, and I chuckled. “Must I be the planner of everything?”
“Oui,” he whispered in my ear before applying a chaste kiss on my earlobe. I giggled like a school girl while everyone stared at me, not seeing the kiss.
I looked at the group around my living room. “Well, obviously we are heading to Quebec tomorrow,” I stared, sipping my milk. “We are spending a few weeks there, looking for a home and such like that. Then we are heading down south for a couple weeks as vacation. I have to stop back here in Pittsburgh in order to sign papers for being the athletic trainer for next season. “We’ll probably stay here for a week. That’ll take us to about the middle of June.”
I looked at my fiance, and he smiled at me. “Then back to Quebec I believe until the middle of July, where we will be in Nova Scotia from there on out. We will be doing the last details for the wedding, which, speaking of, you’re taking my dress up, right Jen?”
“Of course! When I go up for a couple days after our vacation, I’ll take it to your mom.”
I smiled. “Thank you.” I tilted my head a bit as I thought. “Then it’s the wedding with the honeymoon afterwards. Then probably back here because I’ll need to start preparing for my first season as a trainer. There’s a lot more I have to do from when I was a player.”
“Busy summer,” Max said with that legendary smile.
“Yes, and hopefully you’ll be back to torment me.
Max laughed. “We’ll see. And if I end up going to a different team, which, I promise, I really don’t want to, I’ll still torment you by calling and texting you all the time!”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, joy.”
Everyone started laughing.
“Well, my friends, we should be heading home,” Sidney said as he started to stand up. “I won’t be able to see you all off tomorrow, so I will see you all at my sister’s wedding.”
Everyone chuckled and got up to say goodbye for the summer. I clearly noticed how Em avoided being near Max in any way, and I scowled while no one was looking.
Tanger looked at Max. “We should go too. I have to finish packing.”
“As do I.”
Emelie nodded in agreement.
We said our goodbyes and set up the time to meet at the airport in the morning, and then Marc and I were alone, well, except for Nealer.

An earlier morning to catch and early flight, and I was met with complains. “I want to sleep in,” Tanger whined.
“You can sleep on the plane,” I growled as we waited in line to board the plane.
“It’s hard to sleep on the plane,” Emelie said. I tried to ignore her bloodshot eyes and slightly slurred words. As the mother of the team, though, I couldn’t.
We made it on the plane, all five of us flying first class, and we weren’t even away from the gate when Emelie, who was across the aisle from me, was, essentially, knocked out. Once we were in the air, I turned to look at Max directly behind me. “I swear to God, Maxime. You need to fix things with her before she kills herself,” I hissed in French.
I guess I should just say we spoke nothing but French from here on out.
Max sighed solemnly. “I can’t.”
“You will!” I growled, causing him to flinch. “If things aren’t better by my wedding, I swear to the heavens above that I will beat the snot out of you. And that’s the LAST thing I want to do on the happiest day of my life.”
He sighed again and nodded. “Ok.”
I gave him a smile before turning around in my sleep and settling comfortably next to my fiance. He chuckled and took my hand in his. “You amuse me.”
“Good.” I grinned.
He plopped something in my lap. I looked down at the wad of paper in my lap with a raised eyebrow. I smiled, however, when I realized what they were. “How late were you up last night?” I asked while scanning through the different houses that Marc-Andre picked out.
“About one in the morning,” he said with a sheepish smile.
I laughed and shook my head. “I’m liking these.”
“Good.” Marc smiled and planted a kiss on my lips.
I eagerly kissed back before settling comfortably in my seat. “I’m going to sleep the plane ride away,” I mumbled as Marc draped his arm around my shoulders. “Wake me when we land.”
I drifted to Marc’s soft chuckles as he took the wad of paper from my lap.