Long Live

“Dad?” Lauren asked as she walked downstairs to see her father aimlessly watching informercials on late night television. She wanted to get a drink of water in the early morning but never imagined her father to still be up.

“What are you doing up Lauren?” Sidney asked looking at his eldest daughter who was slowly walking down the stairs. He couldn’t believe what time it was, he had lost track of time thinking about Emma Hill. No matter how long it’s been he could always lose his thoughts about Emma.

“I just wanted a drink of water. Are you still thinking about that Emma girl?” Lauren asked. Lauren was beyond loyal to her mother and even knowing that her father was thinking about another girl disgusted her.

Sidney could tell just from the tone of her voice she was disgusted and irritated that he was thinking about Emma. The thing was she never loved someone, Lauren was dating some jock at school thinking she was in love. “Don’t be so appalled Lauren. If you met her you’d love her.” Sidney laughed at Lauren’s face.

“Fine, tell me a story that will make me tolerate her.” Lauren asked sitting next to her father.

“It was the day Emma decided to give up hockey.” Sidney said trying to remember the details of the story.

“I’m so sick of this Sid.” Emma shouted throwing another magazine across the room. Everyone was bashing on Emma for taking a deal from Tim Hortons to promote their coffee. They believed that she wasn’t old enough or good enough since the commercial had boasted ‘The best women’s hockey player endorses Tim Hortons’

“Come on Em, you said that they’re full of crap anyway.” Sid looking at an angry Emma, he had never seen her this mad before.

Apparently all the old time hockey players were sick of the young duo, they believed that their 15 minute of fame should be done with. How could a pair of teenagers be getting so many sponsors compared to these veteran athletes. Their hype was unbelievably huge compared to anyone before.

Sidney couldn’t even grow a mustache and he was already being compared to Wayne Gretzky. And here Emma Hill was rumored to be the first NHL woman player because of her pure talent. If someone was going to break the barrier it would be Emma Hill and no one else.

“They’re just being cynical.” Sidney muttered as Emma was throwing more magazines and newspapers. People that she admired and looked up to were trashing and brining her down.

And for the very first time in Sidney’s life, Emma started to cry. No matter how hard the hit was or how bad the teasing was Emma never cried. She was the strongest woman that Sidney had ever met. Emma walked over to Sidney and he just held her. After all the years of holding things it, it just spilled over.

“Throughout her whole life people just used her and brought her down. Especially her parents, they were the worse out of everyone. They had cashed in on her fame by selling everything and anything they could.” Sidney told Lauren shaking his head, now that he had kids he could never understand why a parent would want to hurt their kid that much.

“It’s going to be okay, Em. I’m here for you just like my parents, we support you.” Sidney whispered to the crying girl. For the first time this made Emma seem more vulnerable, like the first time he met her when they were 9.

A few weeks had gone by and today there was going to be a press conference for Sidney and Emma. It was a small press conference for some product they were endorsing and questions about after high school.

Looking into the mirror Emma took deep breaths, this was going to be her last press conference is just no one knew that it was. Everyone had planned her future for her and she was tired of it. She was tired of her heros bashing her and people using her only because she played hockey.

Walking onto the stage in the school’s gym camera’s started to go off and everyone was shouting at the pair. Sidney looked at Emma and suddenly knew that something was wrong, he had never seen his friend with this look on her face. He knew that something was going down, he just wasn’t sure what it was.

“Before anything happens, I would like to say that I will be quitting hockey. After this school year is done I’m going to hang up my skates. Thank you for your time and I’m sorry to have wasted it.” Emma solemnly stated before she got up and left the gym.

“How is this supposed to make me like her dad?” Lauren interrupted her dad not knowing what this story was even about.

“Isn’t that something you would do? Be impulsive and leave something to go do something else?” Sidney asked his eldest daughter giving her the all knowing look.

“Not like that, I wouldn’t leave if I was good at it!” Lauren exclaimed a little too loud for talking at 2 in the morning.
“If my memory serves me correct, you did leave hockey when you were 6 calling it stupid baby girl.” Sidney laughed at the memory of Lauren shouting at the top of her tiny little lungs the day she quit.

Deep down Lauren wouldn’t admit it to her father but she started to like this Emma a little more than her mom. Lauren could only imagine how cool it would be to have Emma as a mom. A free spirit, only doing things because they want to do it, being impulsive totally different from her boring mother.

“Thanks for the story, daddy.” Lauren whispered, kissed her dad on the cheek and bounded upstairs to her room.

Sidney couldn’t help but laugh at the memory of Emma quitting hockey, it was the biggest news ever to the hockey world. All of those cynical people had finally gotten to Emma and she left. She left the hockey world and Sidney’s world only to come back a few times.