Harbour Lights and Lonely Nights

All the air in the large Pittsburgh house was quiet. Every room filled only with emptiness. The mid morning sun fell on all the furniture as it had every other morning since Sidney moved in and as it undoubtedly would until he moved out. Yet there was still something that was different. In the guest room a body other than Sidney’s stirred, breathing new life into a room that had long ago lost its lustre.

Among the tangled sheets Emily felt consciousness settle over her, waking her to the new surroundings. There was the memory of Sidney offering her the room for her stay that floated to the surface of her awareness. That alone, as it processed for the first time, made her smile into the pillow that smelt faintly of detergent. A very pleasant start to what promised to be a good day.

In the next room Sidney dripped, freshly out of the shower. He pulled one of his wooden drawers out as far as it would give and scanned over the folded cloth. As his eyes fell over the t-shirts he could faintly hear a delicate yawn in the hallway. A smile crossed his face as it made him realize just how much he had missed waking up to an occupied house. By that point it didn’t matter what shirt he wore, he just wanted to follow the brunette. When he emerged from his room she wasn’t in the hall, or in the tangled sheets in the guest room. If the mess had been caused by anyone else, like his teammates in a hotel, it would have bothered him but here it was endearing. He could picture her haphazard curls against the haphazard bundles of sheets. The bathroom was also empty but the Listerine sat beside the sink.

It wasn’t until he reached the kitchen that he found her. Emily was wearing simple black boyshorts and a white Reebok t-shirt he had given her to sleep in. The skin of her tan legs looked silky in the morning light. The curve of her calves gave way to delicate knees, perfect thighs. When his eyes were finally able to relocate from her legs he noticed she was chugging water from the same glass he had used to take some Advil. She seemed to notice little as she leaned against the counter and finished the last drop, refilled, and started again.

“Thirsty?”
Emily nodded contently, dropping the cup to the counter and wiping her lips. He noticed they had gone bright from all the water. “How are you feeling?”
“I had a bit of a headache. Nothing Advil can’t solve. Did you need any?”
“Nah,” She pushed away from her support, “I’m fine. I just need a shower.”
The smell of the rink still clung to her hair.
“You know where the bathroom is… Are blueberry pancakes alright for breakfast?”
She nodded before disappearing up the stairs.

The narrow white closet door beside the bathroom seemed like a safe bet to find towels. From its shelves she pulled a fluffy blue towel and a smaller matching one. There was only one silver knob to control the temperature of the shower and the water ran, filling up the room with warm steam as Emily peeled off her articles of clothing.

It was hard for her to fathom that this is where she could be—stepping into Sidney’s shower after spending the night in his guest room. It was even hard for her to fathom that he had a guest room. One thing the last 5 years had taught her was that life is quite fond of surprises and she had grown to expect and accept these surprises. However, one belief that had without a doubt remained unshaken was that once Sidney became a famous NHL star, he would be out of Emily’s life for good and consequently would always remain to her, his 18-year-old self: the best friend she had once loved. Life had surprised her in that last way she had thought by putting her in the shower of the man she had given up on. A man far removed from the boy she used to know, but still very much the same person… deep down… somewhere. She had seen a glimpse of him last night and she hoped to see it again.

---

The last pancake spread outwards on the large cast iron pan his mom had bought him. Since then it had plenty of use cooking the few meals Sidney could manage. Eggs, pancakes, passable French toast. He was proud of the pancakes this morning. By far his best. Emily’s were ready and set on the table for her to eat when she came down. He had set a place with butter and maple syrup Max had brought from Quebec.

He hummed softly and waited for her as he watched the pan. He thought of her dark curls and the soft skin on her thighs, her shiny manicured toenails, soft rosy lips. By the time she entered the room the edges of the pancake in the pan began to bubble. The warning of her presence came from the sound of feet padding against hardwood behind him.

“Your pancakes are already on the table.” A glance at her showed damp deflated curls and the jeans she had been wearing last night. He was still getting used to the look of her now.

“Thanks.”

The girl lingered in her spot a moment. Her eyes wandered the back of Sidney as he flipped the last pancake. Basketball shorts tried to hide his characteristically large ass, his t-shirt his bulky hockey player shoulders. She could picture herself walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his strong new body but she shook the thought from her head to sit down.

“Why do these look weird?” she poked the pancake on her plate with your fork.
“They are whole wheat.”
“Oh.” Emily drizzled the maple syrup on her plate. “By the way, thanks for bringing me back last night, I was pretty out of it.”
His signature chuckle rang out from the stove. “Yes you were.”
“I had a lot of fun last night though.” The first piece of pancake nearly melted on her tongue.
“Yeah…” One more flip of his pancake and he slid it onto his plate. “I had fun too.” He didn’t turn around to say this. His grin would betray him.

“Were you serious about offering me to guest room?”
“Well it makes sense, especially if you’ll be staying a while. I was hoping since you’re truck is here you could give me a ride to the arena to pick up my car. Then you could bring your stuff over while I go to practice.”
The amber eyed boy watched her enjoy the pancakes, happy she liked them. He was also glad he hadn’t parked at the Consol Energy Center so he wouldn’t have to explain Emily to the guys just yet.
“Sure.”
“I have a spare key I can grab for you.”
Emily very much liked the whole idea.

---

It was strange again for Emily to be in Sidney’s house without him in it after dropping him off and grabbing her stuff. She couldn’t resist the urge to look around in a way she would not of had he been there. She noticed he had an office at the end of the hall on the second floor. At least, it was a room with a desk and various things framed on the walls. It didn’t look like it was used very much. The laundry room was on the main floor and the basement had a tiny bar and pool table at the one end, while at the other end boxes were neatly piled. Among them she saw a guitar case.

There was no resisting her curiosity to open it. The black hard shell of the case opened to a light wood Yamaha acoustic guitar with a black sharpie autograph she could not read. The instrument wasn’t tuned and she doubted it had ever been played. Part of her knew she should leave it there but she carried it upstairs anyway and proceeded to tune it. Time passed without her noticing as she played songs David—her English fling—had taught her. Then she moved on to chords she had later taught herself because tabs were too hard.

The sounds of the music floated into every room as she sang and strummed.

Let’s go out we’ll take no prisoners… Lonely love let us leave it behind.
We look like a million dollars. Every time they look at us we’ll blow their minds

Every note and every word made Halifax materialize around her as her eyes shut out her real surroundings. She could smell the water and the beer and the bodies.

Let’s get wrecked on Rolling Rock and stroll down to the sea.
I’ll come to my senses then you’ll come to me

Adrenaline and excitement still touched every inch of the young girl’s being. Her and Sidney had actually made it. Her parents had believed she was staying at Heather’s and his had believed he was at Sam’s.

The cap of night was slowly descending on the summer sky that evening. They had snuck to Halifax in Emily’s truck to watch a concert showcasing home-grown Nova Scotia talent.

Let’s forget about all the ringing telephones Joel Plaskett carried on, his voice crashing over the crowded field. The excitement bubbled up as the blue-eyed girl bit her lip and looked onto the large stage. Let’s forget about all the brick suburban homes.

It was the first time she heard Joel Plaskett and she would never forget it. The song made her feel like conquering the world with Sidney by her side. She wanted to grab his hand and pull him to the stage. She wanted to dance and sing at the top of her lungs and shake every last problem or worry off of her.

“Let’s go out, we’ll take no prisoners. Lonely love gotta leave it behind…” Sidney caught on to the words as he stood behind her. She liked it when he sang because she knew he didn’t like to do it in front of anyone else. His chin rested on her shoulder, his arms around her in the midst of the crowd. He shielded her from any unwanted pushing among the horde of moving bodies, a protective barrier from the cheery chaos.

Let’s go make some history, before we fall apart… True love may escape us girl but at least we’ve got some heart.

That was when it came to her. They were the dream team and they always would be. Em and Sid. Sid and Em. Out to conquer the world and never to be separated.


Let’s go out when the sun goes down, let’s wrestle this city to the ground

Amber eyes watched her from the entrance. Sidney couldn’t remember her ever playing an instrument and was entranced by the softness of her singing voice.

“We look like one million dollars! Every time they look at us we’ll blow their mind” Emily strummed the last notes and finally opened her eyes.

“Where did you learn that?” her friend’s voice caused her to turn and see him watching her.
“David taught me.”
“David?”
She placed the guitar down and nodded, “The English guy I mentioned.”
“Don’t put it down.” Taking a few steps into the room he was happy to see the gift he had received finally being used. He had one day planned to display the guitar his friend Colby had gotten autographed by Dave Grohl when they attended the same event but this was better. “Play me something else.”
“Like what?”
“Whatever you know.”
Yes Sidney thought, he could definitely get used to returning home to the ever surprising girl in front of him.

Strumming started softly, It’s never ending, as far as I know but there’s still a doubt ya feel… between us both…