Heartbeat

I slipped a leather halter over Daphne’s nose and pulled her into her stall, wandering back over to the back entrance of the house. I picked up Tchapochka, my dog, and carried her inside with me.

“Lyosha?” I called, stepping into the house. That was my uncles name, but like my Russian name, it was hardly ever used. It was the Slavic nickname for Alexei but even then, everyone just seemed to call him Alex. I set down my puppy and she scrambled off while I searched for my uncle.

He appeared out of his office, blackberry and newspaper in hand. “Hey.” He said with a tired smile, setting the newspaper down on the kitchen counter. Alexei wasn’t old enough to be a good parent, but he did the best he could. He was 20 when I was 6 and my parents died. He had in the middle of the Yugoslav wars and came back from Bosnia to a scared toddler and a whole new set of responsibilities. It stifled his exciting career as…whatever he had been and he took on a job in DC as a diplomat or an intelligence worker. What he did was never really too clear.

“I’m going over to the Lemeiux’s in a few hours. They want me to babysit. I’ll be home at around nine or ten, so don’t make plans for dinner.”

”Ladno” he answered in Russian. Okay.

I smiled at this small reminder of home and turned up the stairs to go get ready. It was 3:30 in the afternoon so I had plenty of time, but I smelled like horse. I leapt in the shower and then out, going to the blow drier to speed dry my hair. The blonde waves spilling out in wet chunks as I put the heat to them.

I was ready in about an hour and after a prolonged snack, it was time to go next door. I yelled bye to my uncle and wandered out into the street, taking a moment to bask in the fading orange sun. The oldest, Lauren, was outside. She was 12 and was always excited for my visits. I waved to her and she got off of the grass, running over to me as Nathalie and Mario exited the house.

“Hey Lilly!” Nathalie smiled at me and went over to say bye to her daughter. “We shouldn’t be later than ten.” She said and I nodded.

“It’s fine, Mrs. Lemieux.” I replied cheerfully and went inside. I heard the ignition start and the car pull away as I flicked on the TV and sat on the couch. Lauren sat next to me, with Stephanie on the other chair.

“You know who they’re getting right?” Lauren finally asks with a huge smile on her face. I shook my head no. I had absolutely no clue who Mario Lemieux was bringing over to stay with him. There were always hockey players coming and going. I remember when last year, Marc-Andre Fleury had come over to stay with Mario. We had become friends even though he was three years older than I was. It didn’t matter, with his nature, he could have been best friends with an eight year old.

Lauren moved closer to me, clearly excited to share gossip. “His name is Sidney Crosby. He’s super cute and really good too. “ she said with wide eyes. Stephanie nodded in agreement.

“Not are cute as Leonardo DiCaprio, but still cute.” She replied and I laughed. Stephanie and Lauren had just been allowed to watch Titanic for the first time and they were obsessed. In fact, after I had put the Austin and Alexa to bed a little after nine, the two girls were willing to bargain off their souls to have me put the DVD in. I agreed, popping the movie in while they went to get snacks.

We sat cross-legged on the big leather couch in the dark, the blue glare of the flat screen illuminating our faces. Stephanie was already down, her head resting on the arm of the couch. We all sat underneath thick blackest, with two bowls of popcorn on our laps. Lauren and I intently watched the screen, not noticing the door pull open.

“We’re home!” yelled Mario, making a face when he noticed his daughter asleep on the couch. Lauren and I turned around, watching as Mario and Nathalie walked into the living room. But my attention wasn’t on them. It was on a tall boy walking through the hallway with bags in his hands, wearing a jersey and jeans. Lauren was right, he was cute, but I tried not to think about that. He caught my stare and smiled at me.

Mario turned around as Nathalie took the bowls of popcorn. “Lilly, Lauren. This is Sidney. Sidney Crosby. He’s moving in with us, so you’ll be seeing him around. He plays for the Penguins now.” Mario said and I gave a small wave.

“Hey, I’m Lilly.” I said and he nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lilly. “ He replied back, his voice softer than I had imagined.

I got up from the couch and yawned smally. I was getting tired but I was trying not to show it. I loved hanging around the Lemieux’s—they were probably my favorite people in the whole neighborhood. Nathalie came around and handed me some money, patting me on the shoulder. “Thanks so much, Liliya.” She said, using my real name. It made me smile, hearing it being said.

Lauren waved at me from the couch, pausing her movie. “Can I come visit you tomorrow, Lil?” she asked and I nodded.

“Yup. Anytime, kid.” I said before walking to the door. I looked over my shoulder and smiled back at the boy.

“Bye Sidney. I’ll see you around.”