Keep Your Girl Out of My Shoe Cabinet, Your Wife

It was October 31, 2011 in Sewickley, PA. Viviane Crosby waddled through the halls of their giant house gathering the traces her husband had left behind the night before. The team’s annual Halloween party had taken place said night and he had come home late. Today Viviane had just hit the 26th week of her pregnancy and was showing well. It was the day of Halloween and Viviane kept herself busy cleaning up and decorating the house and front yard to perfection. Pumpkins she, Vero and Heather –Jordan’s long-term girlfriend back home from Thunder Bay- had made the other day led the way from the gate to the front door, candles yet to be lit waited in the windows and a large bowl filled with candy rested on the table in the entry hall. Sidney on the other hand once again was at the rink working out and skating. He was yet to be cleared for playing and it changed his mood a lot.

Four days earlier-October 27th
A deafening silence hung over the house. Viviane had cooked an early dinner and served it for Sidney. He sat in the dining room with the back to the kitchen, sunken in over his plate. She stood in the kitchen watching him and drying the dishes. His silent treatment made her sick and her appetite was gone as soon as he came home with a mood like someone had kicked his favorite puppy. The only sound in the house was the noise of the cutlery touching the porcelain every now and then.
All the fun that had been in the house weeks ago had vanished. For Viviane it felt as if Sidney was punishing her for his brain damage. Small fights and arguments happened on a daily base and she was sick of it.

If this was a real marriage, I would have gone home long ago. Viviane thought.
Placing the pan back into the cabinet, she finished the cleaning in the kitchen and went to the coffee machine.

“You don’t dare drinking a coffee. You’re pregnant.” Sidney hissed, putting his plate and cutlery into the dishwasher.

“I just wanted to preheat it for you so you can take one to the rink but hey.” Annoyed she threw the towel onto the counter instead of hanging it up and left the kitchen.

“You’re going or what?”

“Wait you just asked me to come to the rink?” Viviane stopped half way up and looked at him mockingly. “I don’t think so. I don’t want to embarrass you since I –excuse me to direct quote you- look like a beached whale and should stop eating so much”

She moved further up the stairs.

“Viv…. FUCK” Sid sighed but followed her upstairs to get his jacket and suits. When he entered the master bedroom and walked towards the walk in closet he saw her sitting on the tub.

“Hey…” he started.

“Go… just leave. Mind your own business like you do all day.” she shot back and turned the water on.

Sidney left the bathroom grabbed his stuff and left. A minute later Viviane heard the front door fall close loudly and the engine of the Jaguar start. She got up again, took the phone from Sid’s office and started taking off her cloths.

When the tub was filled, she ignited the fireplace next to it, stepped into the warm water and leaned back. The warmth of the liquid slowly relaxed her acing muscles and eased the pain in the lower back from the growing uterus. The scent of the bathing oil filled the room and the soft noises of the fire soothed her nerves. After a couple of minutes she took the phone and dialed a familiar number.

It rang a couple of times until the call was answered.

“Which favorite person of mine is this?” she was greeted by a breathless Taylor.

“That would be your favorite sister in law. Am I disturbing you with something… or should I rather say anyone?” Viviane laughed.

“Viv… hi how are you? No you’re not… what are you thinking again? I’m not my brother. I was just stretching a little. Practice was a total kill today. Coach made us do suicides for like an hour and it was a 150 minute on ice practice… I’m gonna die tomorrow… my muscles hate me already… I’m a goalie, not a forwards. I don’t have to do sprints.” She whined.

“Oooooh poor Taytay” Viv mocked.

“Hey don’t make fun of me. This offseason I’ll take you to the rink and you’ll have to die with me…or kill Sidders”

The girls shared a laughter.

“Speaking of the devil… I guess you called me for a reason… anything new? Am I getting a baby girl or a baby boy to look after?”

“Honestly I don’t know. Your brother is still acting like a 2 year old child with MAJOR PMS and until he doesn’t change that I refuse to find out. I mean I can’t put him on sex withdrawl so…”

“LALALALALALALALALALALALALA I did not hear you what?” Taylor interrupted her from the other side of the phone.

“Young lady that’s not funny. It’s a real issue in this house.”

“Viv there are just things I don’t want to know about my brother or think about. Just leave me in my dream world in which he just glanced at you with one of his weird glances and you just went ‘BOOM PREGNANT’. Really… you did not sleep with my brother. I don’t want to think about THAT.” Viviane laughed at Taylor’s childishness and shook her head.

“Okay sweetie I’m like Mary.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So you really won’t find out what it is until he’s back to normal, what will be when he’s cleared to play and has scored like 15 goals and an overall of like 40 points? You know that that aswell might be AFTER the kid is born?”

“I know… but right now it also does not seem like he really cares right now. I mean yeah he shows concern every now and that, what means that he totally freaked out this morning when I switched on the coffee maker and yelled at me that I shouldn’t drink coffee while being pregnant. All I wanted to do was preheat it so he could take his coffee to the rink. Weirdo.”

“I really don’t know why he is so strange when he’s with you. I just don’t get it. The way you describe him just doesn’t fit to how I know him.”

“Same here. But hey if I wasn’t married to him because of the kid or out parents I probably had left weeks ago. ”

“This is so sad.”

“The thing I hate the most about the situation is that he doesn’t seem to care at all. He went to maybe one ultrasound check and everything else I pretty much do on my own… furniture, looking at hospitals, everything… this is just not nice. I mean we haven’t even thought about names. I just hope he’ll get back to somewhat normal soon. This tension here makes me sick. Some days I just wish I could pack my bags and sleep somewhere else. I don’t need this coming home late anymore. It feels like all he does is practice and party. But let’s change topics. How’s Shattuck? Anything new? Is school okay? In hockey you seem to have an awesome run right now.”

“Yeah school is going okay grade-wise and the teachers aren’t a too big pain. Hockey aside from that killer practice is just fun. The other day we had a road game and at the rink I took a wrong turn and walked by the schools locker room and their coach said ‘girls we have a problem. They are starting Crosby’. I totally love being this dominant sometimes.”

“Look at you little sister. Wrapping up the high school hockey leagues huh?”

“Not really but I play for fun so whatever. By the way would you mind if I came to visit you guys on the weekend November 10th-12th? I don’t have games or practice that weekend and I’d love to see you”

“No. Of course not. Just tell me when school’s off and I’ll book you a flight. I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

“Really??? Thank you so so much. Can we go to the game too?”

“Ahhh that’s why you are coming here? It’s not your favorite sister in law or your brother, it’s a hockey game… because you don’t get enough of that at Shattuck.” Viviane laughed and could almost hear Taylor blushing.

“No it’s not like that. It’s more like buy one get one free.”

“Okay… I’ll call you as soon as I got a flight for you kay?”

“Sure… I can’t wait. Now relax and don’t let him stress you too much,… that weirdo.”

“See you than Tay”

“Later Viv”

November 31st, 2011

The candles in the pumpkins were burnt to the ground and Viviane had blown out the other candles hours ago. The last kids that came for treat or treating most-likely already were in a place far away dreaming of pink unicorns or little dinosaurs. The small numbers on the DVD-player were the only light source in the living room and told Viviane that it was 3:28am. She groaned and shifted on the couch. Her back was hurting again and the normally so comfortable couch felt like a it was solely made of wood. She couldn’t sleep. After hours of tossing and turning she had gotten up again, drunken a mug of warm milk and curled up under a blanket, waiting for Sidney to finally come home. He hadn’t returned to the house after practice and as she predicted neither left a message about what he would be doing tonight. Just like many nights before.

It again was one of those night. One of the nights she would be tossing and turning waiting for him to get out of his car, stumble up the stairs and pass out on his bed with the cloths shattered all the way from the door to the bed. She would leave bed some minutes later to cover him with a blanket, take off his tie in case he still wore it, or the shoes and gather some of the cloths trying not to notice the stench of cigarettes, alcohol, cheap perfume or occasional traces of lipstick or mascara. Over the course of the last month she had grown used to it. He would never drink himself. That would hurt his condition too much, but the people he surrounded himself with nowadays did.

Viviane’s gaze fell back onto the tiny numbers now showing 3:31 as she heard the sound engine of the Land Rover coming closer, then stopping abruptly, a slamming of a door shortly after it and the lock of the front door clicking.
Steps echoed through the halls, shoes were shaken off and keys dropped. Unlike other nights she didn’t hear him head upstairs but walk into the kitchen. Hesitant she got up and followed him. Sidney stood with his back towards her, filling a glass with some drink.

“Hey!”, she greeted him softly. He jumped a little and flew around taking in what he saw. Sidney was tired. It had been a long stressful day and he felt bad. The last person he wanted to face right now was Viviane. He had spent the last 40 minutes with circling the area. Yet she stood there in the door barefoot and pregnant with messy hair and puffy tired eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept for days.

“Don’t shock me like this”, escaped his mouth a little too harshly “sorry”

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have sneaked in like this. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“Why are you still up anyways?”

“Someone has to take care of you and lock the front door once you pass out. Parental instincts I guess. At least one of us should have them, but since you seem to be pretty awake and not intoxicated so clean your mess up yourself and I’ll try to get some sleep until my bladder is used as a punching ball again.”

“Good night then and I’m sorry”

“Good night to you too. What are you sorry for? We’ve been though this before. Don’t ever apologize again and deal with the fact that you’re a father.”

“It’s not that, sorry”

“Stop apologizing SIDNEY”

Sid put his glass back on the counter a little too hard as it almost cracked on the impact. “DON’T fucking yell at me.” He hissed.

“Then look me in the eyes when you talk to me and tell me whatever you feel sorry for.”
She watched her husband lowering his head turning away and putting the glass in the dishwasher.

“Whatever. See you some when tomorrow. I have an appointment at 10am. Don’t let it bother you!”