Reunited

“Do we have to do this?” Simone asked as she slowly followed Jordan to the door of the restaurant.

It was the day before her early morning flight to Dallas, Texas. Jordan had appeared at her door minutes after they had arrived at their apartments. After much arguing, he had convinced her to come for supper with some of the guys from the team. He told her it was their way of saying goodbye before her extremely long business trip.

“Yes, we have to go,” Jordan sighed. “The guys are excited to see you again.”

“And you didn’t tell them about Zach?”

Jordan shook his head. “I told them all about how you are leaving for a long time for business and Max suggested we have a goodbye supper for you.”

“Je veux aller à la maison (I want to go home),” Simone mumbled as she walked into the restaurant with her friend. She looked around at how nicely the other guests were dressed before looking down at her plain black, knee length dress. “Toute le monde est habillé si bien (Everyone is dressed so well.).”

Jordan gave her a suspicious look and shook his head before leading her over to the table filled with hockey players. He pulled out a chair for the red-head and sat down next to her once she was settled.

Simone sent a smile to her friends around the table and noticed a couple of women she had never met before. One of the women was sitting next to Sidney. She had long, straight brown hair and she wore a dark blue, knee length dress. Her make-up was simple; mascara and lip gloss. The second woman was sitting beside an empty chair. She had dark brown shoulder length curls. The only make-up she wore was mascara. Her outfit was very businesslike, consisting of a white button down blouse with a small purple flower pattern and a grey pencil skirt.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” Simone said, turning to the female next to Sidney. “I’m Simone. I live across the hall from Jordan.”

The girl smiled. “I’m Theresa, Sidney’s girlfriend.”

“It’s nice to know that Sid’s finally found someone that he’s willing to introduce us all to,” Simone smirked, causing Theresa to giggle and Sidney to send her a nasty look.

“And who might you be?” Simone asked, turning to the curly haired woman.

“I’m Brett,” she replied with a soft smile.

“Should I ask which boy you’re with?” Simone raised an eyebrow.

The girl laughed. “I’m not with any of them. I actually work for the Pittsburgh Penguins.”

“Very cool,” Simone grinned. “What do you do?”

“I’m the assistant athletic trainer,” Brett admitted.

“How unfortunate,” Simone joked.

“You have no idea,” Brett agreed.

“Hold on, why is working with us a bad thing?” Max asked from the opposite side of the table.

“Because you guys stink after work,” Simone informed him. “How come I’ve never met you before, Brett?”

“I usually have some stuff I need to do at home whenever the boys want me to go out,” Brett told her. “And I have a son that I have to take care of when I’m not at the rink.”

“Wow, a son,” Simone repeated. “How old is he?”

“He turns two in January.”

“Where is he now?” Simone asked, receiving a kick in the leg from Jordan. “I’m sorry if I’m prying.”

“It’s alright,” Brett chuckled. “He’s with the Lemieux’s. Nathalie likes to babysit for some reason.”

“Maybe that’s because you son is adorable,” Theresa said. “I’d offer to look after him too if I didn’t work and have plans twenty four seven.”

“Whatever you say,” Brett shook her head.

“Is the extra seat for your husband then?” Simone asked, noticing a wedding band and engagement ring on her left hand. She immediately noticed the tension that had formed once the question had been asked. A saddened look had formed on Brett’s face.

“It’s okay, guys,” Brett said, putting on a sad smile. “She would have asked eventually.”

Simone gave Jordan a questioning look and turned back to Brett just as the last person sat down on the chair beside Brett.

The man noticed the mood at the table and looked to the curly haired woman beside him. “What happened?” He asked frantically. “What did I miss?”

“Everything is alright, Kris,” Brett told him. “I was just about to answer Simone’s question about my husband.”

“Oh,” Kris breathed. He comfortingly placed an arm around the back of Brett’s chair.

“My husband, Andy, was in the Canadian Forces,” Brett started. “Just over two years ago, he was sent to do a tour. He was supposed to be gone for one year, but a year and a half ago I got a letter from I think it was his Captain. The truck he was travelling in hit a land mine. The four young men, including him, were killed.”

“Brett, I’m so sorry,” Simone sympathised. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that and I’m sorry that you had to relive it to tell me.”

“Its fine, Simone,” Brett gave her a genuine smile. “What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I don’t do anything as awesome as you,” Simone insisted.

“Your job is still pretty cool,” Jordan argued.

“Thanks Jor, but really it’s not,” Simone shook her head.

“Why don’t we be the judge of that?” Theresa offered, causing Simone to sigh.

“I’m an international business person for a company that has offices in the States, Canada and Europe.”

“Impressive,” Brett said as Theresa nodded in agreement. “Do you travel all over then or just in the U.S.?”

“Mostly, it’s just the U.S. and a few times I’ve gone to Canada, but this trip is going to be my longest since I started and its taking me overseas for about a month,” Simone explained. She reached for her glass of water, and raised it to her lips to take a sip.

“Holy shit, Simone! What happened to your wrist?” Max asked, nearly jumping over the table to examine it.

Simone felt her face flush as she tried to hide her purple wrist. She was surprised that no-one had said anything about the obvious bruise on her face. She had tried to cover it with a rather large amount of make-up. “It’s nothing, Max. Nous allons parler plus tard (We will talk later).”

“Bon (Good),” Max said with a nod. “Si il a été Zach, je fais- (If it was Zach, I will-)”

“Arrêt (Stop)!” Kris said in a warning tone. “Elle ne veut pas parler (She doesn’t want to talk).”

“Désolé (Sorry),” Max muttered taking a sip from his own glass of water. “So, why does your boss hate us?”

Simone tilted her head in confusion. Not only did she find the topic change sudden, but the topic made zero sense to her. “What are you talking about?”

“He’s taking you away from us for over a month. Do you know how many games that is?”

“Je suis si heureux que je suis venue ce soir (I am so happy that I came tonight),” Brett mumbled.

Kris sent her a sweet smile and placed his arm around her shoulders, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by the table.

“You speak French, too?” Simone asked happily.

“Bien sûr (Of course). C’est la meilleure façon de comprendre cette éuipe (It is the best way to understand this team).”

“D’accord (Agreed),” Simone nodded. “Quel est avec tu et Kris (What is with you and Kris)?”
Brett looked over at Kris and chuckled when she noticed how red his face went. “Sincèrement (Sincerely)? Rien (Nothing). Nous sommes de bons amis (We are good friends).”

“I thought so,” Simone said. “I figured I should ask before Max does, seeing as he’s all full of questions today.”

“Questions that you still haven’t answered,” Max retorted.

“I doubt my boss even realizes that I know you guys,” Simone looked at the dark haired man. “Besides, I can watch the games off the TV and I’m pretty sure I can sign up for a month on the NHL Network, if I really feel like watching you guys kick some sorry Philadelphia ass.”

“When are you going to Ottawa?” Sidney asked as the waiter started taking orders.

“I think I arrive Tuesday and leave Wednesday, why?” Simone answered after placing her order.

“I was just thinking that we play the Sens next week,” Sidney explained. “I thought maybe it would be the same day that you would be there.”

“And is it the same day?” Theresa asked, pretending she didn’t know the answer.

Sidney shook his head sadly. “We play the next day.”

“Don’t you leave the day before though,” Theresa asked, looking at Brett for assurance.

“We do,” Brett nodded, understanding what her friend was thinking.

“What difference does it make when we leave?” Tyler entered the conversation for the first time since Simone had arrived.

“You could all go out the night you get there,” Theresa explained.

“What a great idea!” Max exclaimed loudly, causing other customers to give the table some unpleasant looks.

“Oh, no,” Simone shook her head. “I am not going out with Max again, especially when I have to catch a flight the next morning.”

“Why not?” Max whined.

“Because last time I went out with you, I ended up being your babysitter,” Simone reminded him as the rest of his teammates laughed. “I never got to leave the club until you were ready, and then I had to drive you home. Once we got there, you forced me to come inside, where I poured you glasses of water and read you Old Yeller until you fell asleep.”

“Hey, you swore you wouldn’t tell,” Max complained with a pout.

“You asked, I told,” Simone shrugged.

“What is Old Yeller?” Evgeni asked.

“A book and a movie about a dog that gets shot by his owner,” Tyler explained to his Russian friend. “Why do you have Old Yeller anyway?”

“It’s a good book,” Max defended. “It’s so good I even have the movie.”

“I swear to the heavens above, Max, if you ever make me watch it with you while you’re wasted I will prevent you from having children.”

Max cringed at the threat. “You will never have to watch the movie as long as you are willing to read the book.”

Simone sighed and shook her head as the waiter placed their meals in front of them. “I’d say anything for you, Max, but I know that you would take me literally and start making requests that I do not want to fulfill.” She watched as a smirk spread across the man’s face. “Wipe that look off your face.”

“You put it there,” Max replied with one eyebrow raised, the smirk still intact.

Ignoring the comment, Simone turned to start eating her meal.

“You really not go out with us?” Evgeni asked, putting on a puppy dog face.

“Seriously, Simone, how can you say no to that?” Max said, pointing at Evgeni.

“Now I know why you only go to places that Geno wants to go to,” Simone commented. “Of course, I’ll go out with you guys, but I can’t go out for long. My flight leaves early the next morning and I want at least a couple hours sleep before I leave.”

“Does that mean you’ll come out with us tonight, too?” Tyler asked hopefully.

“Don’t push it,” Simone warned, before placing a bite of her pasta in her mouth.

“Do you still need a ride to the airport?” Vero asked between bites of her sandwich.

“If you don’t mind,” Simone replied with a grin.

“I could give you a ride,” Jordan offered.

“You’d like to give her a ride, wouldn’t you?” Max muttered just loud enough for Jordan to hear.

Jordan sent him a look before turning back to the red head beside him. “It’ll save Vero some gas and I really don’t mind.”

“I just thought, since you’re going out with the guys tonight, you wouldn’t be up for getting out of bed early to drive me,” Simone explained quickly. “Plus, you have a game tomorrow night and I wouldn’t want to be the cause of you losing because I wrecked your game day routine.” She watched as a sad expression fell across his face and turned to Vero with a questioning look.

“There is no way we can lose tomorrow,” Marc-Andre said.

Simone gave him a skeptical look. “Pouquoi dites-tu que (Why do you say that)?”

“Parce que je suis dans le net (Because I am in the net),” Marc-Andre replied with a proud smile.

Brett chuckled and shook her head. “Conceited much?”

“I’m not conceited,” Marc-Andre argued. “I’m confident.”

“Well, you sounded a bit big-headed,” Brett joked, causing Marc-Andre to stick his tongue out at her.

“If you want, Simone, we can always keep an eye out for Staalsy and send him home at midnight,” Sidney offered. “That way he can get some sleep and still take you to the airport.”

“You mean you’re going to take him with you when you leave?” Tyler mocked.

“Just because Sidney doesn’t know how to have a good time, doesn’t mean he’s a total dip,” Theresa defended.

“Thanks T,” Sidney said to his girlfriend. “Hold on, who said I don’t know how to have a good time? And what’s a dip?”

“I don’t think you don’t know how to have a good time,” Theresa said, patting his knee. “Your team does. And as for a dip, Brett taught me the word, I just can’t remember what it means.”

Sidney looked at the team’s athletic trainer. “Well?”

“Well, I never expected Theresa to use that word to describe you,” Brett explained. “Truthfully, you are the farthest thing from a dip.”

“But what is it?” Tyler asked.

“A naive, foolish, or obnoxious person,” Brett told them.

“Oops,” Theresa said, sheepishly. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Please stop teaching her words, Brett,” Sidney complained. “She never remembers what they mean, but still likes to use them.”

“What words has she used?” Marc-Andre asked curiously.

“Cessation, equivocate, Circe, and extemporaneously,” Sidney listed. “There were more, but I definitely had to look most of them up.”

“I never told her to use them,” Brett argued. “I just find out what the word of the day is and tell her.”

“Thank God you don’t use those big words around the rink,” Max chimed in.

“What is ex-temper-ane-us- ly?” Evgeni asked, saying the word slowly.

“It’s like speaking with little to no planning,” Simone told him. “Kind of like improvising.” She watched the Russian nod slowly. “Do you understand?”

He shook his head as his face turned a light shade of pink.

“It’s like when Jordan gets up in the locker room and does a pre-game speech,” Simone explained. This time she could see the light bulb go on in his head.

“What makes you think my speeches aren’t planned out?” Jordan questioned.

She gave him an unconvinced look. “It was a better example than saying Sidney.”

“Hey, I don’t plan my speeches,” Sidney pouted while his teammates chuckled. “I don’t.”

“You may not plan them, but I’m sure you think about what you should say the night before a game,” Tyler said.

Sidney looked to his girlfriend for help, but she just shrugged her shoulders. He sighed, signalling his surrender from the subject.

“Some days, Sid, I wonder how you stick with us,” Jordan acknowledged. “We are bigger pains in your neck than Ovechkin most days.”

“What kind of captain would I be if I didn’t?”

“We’d probably just beat the shit out of you, if you didn’t,” Marc-Andre told him with his signature smile.

“Marc!” Vero scolded, hitting him hard in the arm.

“Ow! Vero, hun, I was just kidding. Sid knows that.” He gave his girlfriend a sour face, which quickly returned to a smile.

“I don’t care if you were joking, that was a horrible thing to say,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Yea, Flower, that was a horrible thing to say,” Max mocked, earning a deadly look from Vero. He quickly looked down at his plate. “Sorry, Vero.”

“You better watch yourself, Talbo,” Vero stated.

A smirk spread across Max’s face as he thought about his reply.

“Keep it to yourself, Talbot,” Simone warned, recognizing the look on his face. “No-one wants to hear what you are thinking.”

The table gave Simone a questioning look as she continued to eat her linguine. “What?” She asked, looking up. She had quickly noticed the silence and sensed a slight confusion among the table.

“How did you know what Max was going to say?” Tyler asked, scratching his head.

“I don’t have any idea what Max was going to say,” Simone said, furrowing her brows.

“Then why did you tell him no-one wants to hear what he was going to say?” Sidney asked.

“He had his look going on,” Simone shrugged.

“What look?” Jordan inquired.

“You know his ‘I’m thinking nasty thoughts ’look.”

“My what?” Max asked with a laugh.

Simone sighed. “Whenever you are having ‘nasty thoughts’, you get this look on your face. It’s always the same look, too.”

Everyone looked at Simone as Max chuckled, nodding his head in agreement. “You know what, I think you’re right,” Max said.

“I can’t believe none of you have noticed before,” Simone commented. “I’m almost certain I’ve known him for the shortest length of time, with the exception of Theresa and Brett. You guys have never noticed?”

The team shook their heads. Evgeni and Tyler had looks of confusion written across their faces, while Marc-Andre, Kris, Sidney, Theresa and Jordan had thoughtful looks.

Suddenly, Brett burst out laughing.

“Es-tu bien (You good)?” Kris whispered to her.

Brett nodded. “Je suis bien (I am good). Je comprends ce que Simone a dit (I understand what Simone said).”

“A propos de Max (About Max)?” Marc-Andre asked.

“Oui, a propos de Max (Yes, about Max),” Brett replied. “Je vois toujours le regard, mais je n’ai jamais su ce qu’il était (I always see the look, but I never knew what it was).”

“Can you guys speak English?” Tyler asked, frustrated. “How are we supposed to understand what is happening if you don’t speak English?”

“Learn French,” Max retorted with a smirk. “Over half of the table understands it.”

“I doubt that,” Tyler mumbled.

“Actually, he’s right,” Sidney said, doing a quick count. “There are eleven of us here and six of us understand the language.”

“You would be the one to count,” Tyler said, rolling his eyes.

“There would be more, but Dupuis didn’t want to come for some reason,” Marc-Andre added.

“Good choice,” Simone joked.

“Hey, now, you’re having fun, right?” Jordan questioned.

“How can I not have fun with you guys?” Simone countered.

“You sure argued about coming before,” Jordan reminded her.

Simone felt her cheeks heat up. “I have an early flight tomorrow. It’s not that I didn’t want to hang out with you all, you just tend to keep me out late and I can’t miss this plane.”

“Well, in that case, no partying for you tonight and I’ll see you in the morning,” Jordan said before standing up with his and Simone’s bills. He gave her a wave and headed to the waiter to pay.

“I think that’s our cue,” Tyler said, standing from his own chair. “Have fun on your trip, Simone.”

“But not too much fun,” Max added. “Jordan may get jealous.” He gave her a wink and followed the rest of the group to go pay, leaving Simone to sit with Vero.

She looked at the brunette with a confused expression, but didn’t ask the obvious question that was burning inside her.