No Soul

Sidney rubbed his eyes with one hand while the other kept Emma on his hip. For the past three nights she refused to sleep in her own bedroom and the truth was he just couldn’t say no to her. She had been curling up with him and falling fast asleep after throwing tiny tantrums about sleeping in her big girl bed.

It was nearing the middle of July and the summer was going by much faster than Sidney had anticipated. Who knew that having kids put your life on fast forward?

Today the little Crosby family was going to city hall so that they could become just that – the Crosby family. Then Sidney figured he could treat them to a lunch at his favorite sandwich place and maybe drive around till they found a playground. It was a beautiful day in Pittsburgh and he wanted the kids to enjoy it.

Getting them ready for the day was a whole different story.

“Noah, Noah, sit.” Sidney frowned at his son who was trying to climb out of the tub while Sidney was knuckle-deep in Emma’s curls, trying to control them with her ‘no-tears’ shampoo.

Unfortunately for Noah, the soap in the tub on his skin and the tile floor didn’t mesh well and before knew it, he had landed hard on his knee, causing instant tears.

“Hold still.” Sidney informed Emma who nodded with a big smile as Sidney plucked Noah up from the floor and placed him back in the tub. “What did I say about sitting down?” He asked, working shampoo into Noah’s hair as he put on a real ham show with his tears.

“Daddy mean!” Noah cried, making Sidney sigh and shake his head knowing that the toddler didn’t know any better, but it still hurt his feelings. By the time that he was finally washing the two, a pretty gnarly bruise was forming on Noah’s knee. Emma giggled wildly a Sidney rubbed a towel over her hair, trying to get as much moisture out of the curls as possible.

Emma held onto Sidney’s shoulders as she stepped one foot at a time into her undies before he could pull her pink checkered dress over her head, making her curls bounce again. Setting her on the small chair at her little play table, he gave her crayons and a coloring book before heading into Noah’s room to help the little monster get ready. Noah had already picked out his outfit for the day, little plaid shorts and his Crosby shersey. Even if Sidney thought the combination looked odd, it was what Noah wanted.

Once both twin were dressed and ready to leave the house, Sidney looked down to see that he was still in his clothes covered in bath water and suds. He quickly ran to his room and got changed before either twin could manage to get themselves dirty again. Skipping the luxury of a shower and opting to rub a wet washcloth over his face instead, Sidney hurried to change into a pair of khaki shorts and a Reebok tee.

Thankfully, Noah and joined Emma at her play table and both were coloring quietly when he found them back in her bedroom.

“Okay, who is ready to go?” Sidney asked, unable to fight his giant smile as Emma hopped right over to him, her hands up in the air before he could swoop down and place her back on his hip. There was something oddly comforting about carrying his daughter, and while he knew he was spoiling her, he would deal with those consequences later.

Sidney laughed as he listened to the twins attempt to sing along to the song playing on the radio.

“Daddy you sing!” Emma said, clapping her hands together.

“Daddy isn’t a good singer like you are, baby girl.” Sidney laughed, cheeks blushing in embarrassment.

“Daddy! Sing!” She giggled, making Sidney’s cheeks turn an even deeper shade of pink before he just threw caution to the wind and opened his mouth.

“I used to be hell on wheels back when I was a younger man. Now my body says you can’t do this boy, but my pride says oh yes you ca-an. I ain’t as good as I once was…” Sidney belted out, opening up the sunroof on the Range Rover as both of his twins busted into loud giggles and laughs. “That’s just the cold hard truth. I still throw a few back, talk a little smack when I’m feeling bulletproof. So don’t double dog dare me now - ‘cause I’d have to call your bluff. I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.” He finished with a big flourish as they pulled up to city hall. Emma and Noah cheered and clapped and demanded more. “Maybe after lunch, but right now, we have official Crosby business to attend to.” He insisted, helping Emma out of her seat first before walking around to Noah’s side and setting him on the ground as well. Taking one of their small hands in each of his, he carefully walked them up the steps to the government building.

“Look Daddy, candies.” Emma wiggled towards the small bowl of Hershey’s kisses on the clerk’s desk.

“Baby, no candy before lunch. We can get a treat after.” Sidney said, making her nod but pout nonetheless. “Crosby.” Sidney said politely to the clerk who didn’t exactly need him to tell her twice. Mario had the documents drawn up earlier; all Sidney needed to do now was sign them.

“Here you are.” The woman was probably in her mid-thirties. “They’re very cute.” She complimented. “How old?” She asked.

“Thanks, and just a little over three.” Sidney smiled, making the clerk blush. Signing off on the flagged areas, Sidney returned the papers back to the clerk. “Thank you.” He nodded.

“Your copies of will be mailed to you within the next two weeks.” She replied before he could gather Noah on his hip and take Emma’s hand again.

“Can you say thank you?” He asked, causing Emma to bury her face behind Sidney’s knee while Noah smiled widely.

“Thank you!” He shouted, attracting the attention of the other patrons of the building.

“You’re welcome.” She laughed. “Have a good day.”

After stepping outside, Sidney set Noah down and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Noah, hold your sister’s hand.” He insisted, a phone in one hand and Emma’s hand in the other. Noah did as he was told as Sidney lead them back out to the car. He could feel eyes on them and there was an unmistakable sound of a camera shutter.

“Hello?” Max answered his cell phone.

“Hey, what are you up to?” Sidney asked, squeezing his phone between his shoulder and ear.

“Nothing, just got out of the shower.” Max replied.

“Well the two little devils and I are going to Primanti’s for lunch, care to join, Uncle Max?” Sidney asked, making Emma squeal loudly.

“Uncle Max! Gimme!” She wiggled her fingers out for the phone.

“The head of your fan club would like to speak with you.” Sidney laughed. “If you want to come, we’ll be at the Oakland one in about 10 minutes.” He added before handing his phone to Emma very carefully.

“Hi Uncle Max!” She giggled into the phone. Sidney had no idea what he was saying to his daughter, but it was making her giggle and blush all over the place. A few moments later she was saying goodbye. “Bye, I love you.” She smiled, making Sidney grin at how happy Max must be. “Daddy, phone!” She said, waving the expensive smart phone at Sidney who took it from her hand to see that Max had hung up.

Sidney parked and knew that it would be a lot of exposure to the public to bring his kids to such a popular Pittsburgh hang out but it was bound to happen and he knew they would like the food there. Plus, the city of Pittsburgh had always been good to him, he could only hope they would do the same for his twins.

“Hey there, Captain, what can we get you?” Bill, the owner of the Oakland location smiled upon recognizing the face of the city.

“Hi Bill. I’d love the Black Angus steak and cheese and a bowl of chili. I think these two will split some chicken fingers and a jumbo with cheese.” Sidney smiled. “How’s the wife?” He asked the owner who didn’t seem to mind that Noah was having the time of his life playing with the straws tucked into Bill’s apron.

“She’s good, just finished buying dorm supplies for the youngest who will be going off to CMU this fall.” He added.

“Hey, that’s great. College is always exciting, and now you have an empty nest.” Sidney was truly happy for his old friend who would sometimes send some of his employees on delivery runs for the team.

“Looks like it’ll be a long time till you get to that point.” Bill winked as Emma wiggled around in her chair, playing with her silverware.

“Yeah, looks like it.” Sidney sucked the saliva from his teeth.

“Careful though, those years go quick.” Bill added, giving Sidney a knowing look. “I can still remember when my thirty year-old son was born. Those years, they go by like this.” Bill emphasized with a snap. “Enjoy ‘em.” He added. “I’ll go make your order right now.” He gave Noah a ruffle of his hair before disappearing back into the kitchen.

A waitress came by with big, doe eyes along with an iced tea for Sidney and two kid’s cups of milk for the twins. They squealed happily when she set down crayons for the children’s menus. Sidney obliged when she had a hard time asking for an autograph. He signed Noah’s menu and she quickly replaced it with a new one.

He could feel eyes on them from every angle, whispers and cell phones snapping photos. But these were his kids, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t keep them in hiding forever. Not a few minutes later, Emma jumped down from her seat and ran to her favorite person who had just walked into the restaurant.

“Uncle Max!” She screamed excitedly. Thankfully he was more than ready when she all but threw herself onto his legs.

“Bonjour ma princesse!” He greeted, covering her face in kisses.

“Uncles are always the best.” An older gentleman who sat with his wife smiled at the scene in front of them.

“Uncle and Godfather.” Max winked, folding his sunglasses over the collar of his shirt. “Look princesse, let’s go see if we can find Uncle Max something to eat.” He insisted, walking right back into the kitchen like he owned the place, the whole wait-staff greeting him happily as he gave his niece a tour.

“Where Emma?” Noah asked, crawling from his chair into his father’s lap. It was clear that they both needed a little sugar around midday because the younger Crosby was fading fast.

“Emma’s off with your silly Uncle Max.” Sidney said, combing his hand through Noah’s curls that were a little less robust since his hair cut had taken away some of the volume of his hair.

“I miss Mama.” Noah said quietly, taking Sidney by surprise, but he had to be strong for his son.

“I know you do, baby boy.” He sighed, dropping a kiss down on his son’s head. “How about we do something special for her?” Sidney suggested. “Maybe in the backyard? We can get a nice flower garden or maybe even plant a tree.” Sidney started speaking mostly to himself as Noah took the sippy-cup full of milk and began to nurse it hungrily as his eyes began to droop. “I think that’s what we’ll do.” Sidney nodded, kissing his son again before Uncle Max and his darling niece could appear at the table once again.

“Someone’s tired.” He noted, sitting down with Emma in his lap as she immediately began to color again. “Color me a picture for my locker, ma petite.” Max insisted as she went to town on the white paper with her array of crayons.

Soon Bill had returned with Sidney’s sandwich, chili, and food for the twins as well as Max’s meal, making Noah perk up as he devoured his share of the chicken strips. Sidney had loaded up his pockets with wet-naps from home that morning anticipating something like this as Emma got sauce from her sandwich all over her face.

“Hey, by the way, Duper wanted me to pass this along to you.” He said, taking a card out of his shorts pocket and sliding it across the table to Sidney who was mid-bite through his giant sandwich.

MacLean’s Services
555-0657
Office Hours: MWF 8-8, TTh, 10-8

“That’s where they got their nanny that they love so much. They’re all pre-screened and they’re legit, they have to pay a monthly fee just to be part of the services. I think Dupes said that they all have to be Bluecross/Blueshield certified, too.” Max nodded. “Could be a good place to start.” He shrugged.

Sidney sighed as he stared down at the little card in his hand, the thick card-stock pressing into the skin of his fingers.

“Yeah, could be.”