The Fleury Life

True to his word, Maxime Talbot showed up a few hours later. I jumped into his arms as he kissed both of my cheeks. “Ah, how great it is to see my favorite lady,” he said with a wink, the awkwardness of our previous conversation gone.
“Well now, how can I resist such compliments,” I laughed as I hugged him tightly, then jumped out of the way so Marc and Max could hug each other. They’re best friends, have been since they were teenagers. They always roomed together, always hung out.
Max threatens he’s going to stay with us for weeks on end every summer.
And I have no doubt in my mind he will actually do that.
Marc smiled at his old friend. “It’s good to see you again. We miss having you around.”
“Awww, you are all too sweet,” he said with a smile.
Max quickly turned and looked at my face, his hand coming up along my cheek. I just stared at him. “Does it hurt?”
I shrugged. “Not much anymore.”
His lips twitched into a slightly smile. “Good.” He looked between us. “So, I talked to her.” Marc raised an eyebrow; I directed my eyes elsewhere. “First she wouldn’t see me. She threatened to call the police for harassment.” I had to hide my chuckle. “Then she opened the door and held a glass in her hand and, ironically, threatened to throw it at me. I think we need to take out all of the glasses in her apartment.” Again, I had to force my chuckle down. This was not a laughing moment. Max noticed however, and cracked a slight grin. “Then, after some talking to, she put the glass down and went in the totally opposite direction by balling her eyes out, saying how much she hates me for leaving.”
Max stopped then, and I forced myself to look at him. He was staring straight at me. “So I shut her up.” Marc looked confused. “By kissing her.”
I’m pretty sure my husband had a mild heart attack as his jaw dropped to the ground. I just gulped. “And?”
“And then we talked. I told her how it just wasn’t possible for me to stay here and how much I do miss being here. But it’s not like I’m that far away. She can always visit me. And then I told her how much I loved her.”
Ok, it was my turn to have a heart attack.
“And I believe she’s on the phone now with Ray to discuss a transfer.”
“Are you serious?” I asked him, completely bewildered.
He nodded. “I told her everything, Erra. Everything. How much she means to me, how much I miss her. Then I got stern with her and told her to stop running away from me when I know that she feels the same. I think everything thats happened to get lately has put things into perspective. She won’t say she loves me, but she did admit her feelings, while in tears.”
“I can’t believe you got her to open up,” Marc-Andre said, finally finding his voice. “When we’ve all known for so long.”
Max smiled. “I’m going to try to make it work. I told her we can make the long distance work until she figures out what she wants to do. And then five seconds later, she was on the phone with Ray.”
“Wow,” was all I could say to her.
Max wrapped one arm around me. “Now, enough about me! I haven’t seen you guys since the wedding. How are things? Any kids in the future?”
I elbowed my friend in the side, getting him to grunt. “Oh, stop it,” I growled while Marc laughed.
“Beer?” my husband asked.
Max flashed a grin. “Do you really need to ask, my friend?”
The two of them laughed and I shook my head. So strange...

Weeks passed and word has it that Emelie is keeping up with her anger management classes. According to Mario, she’s doing quite well and seems much happier. However, I had a feeling her happiness had nothing to do with the classes.
I was in full Athletic Trainer mode as our team just seemed to get hurt. A broken wrist, Tanger broke his nose. I was the one who tended to him when he came off the ice with his broken nose. I told him if he wanted to go back out, he should wear a full mask to protect it form further damage after I put his nose back into place. He refused. I scowled. He ignored me. Typical Tanger.
And then I kept him out from then on, worried about a concussion.
We celebrated Marc’s 27th birthday with a team party, and it was a ton of fun. He was extremely happy and just seemed thrilled. Of course, my Marc-Andre is usually a pretty happy person.
Sid was back with a vengeance, seeming to gain himself a point in almost every game. I was so proud of my twin brother.
Until a hit during a game against Boston.
The other trainers and I spoke for hours on end deciding what to do. We had Sid take the imPACT test again because he wasn’t feeling 100%, but everything was clear.
“We can’t risk it. Not after he ended up with second impact syndrome before,” I said as I pleaded my case.
“I agree,” the other two said.
And so did Sid.
So we all decided that he wouldn’t travel to Philly to play against the Flyers, and see Max, as he will miss that next two days for precaution. We can’t be too safe. Not with concussions.
“Sierra?” Marc said as he leaned against the wall to the entrance of the living room. I was sitting in front of the TV, staring at it, but not really watching it. “Erra, ma chérie, are you coming to bed?”
I looked up at my husband and yawned. “Yeah, I suppose.”
A sympathetic look passed his face. “Erra, he’s fine. He will be fine. You guys are doing the best thing by taking precautions, that way he will stay fine.”
I sighed. “I know. But I can’t help but worry.”
Marc strode over to me and sat down, wrapping his strong arms around my body. “I know, ma amour. And I understand.” He kissed my temple. “But I don’t want you losing sleep over this. Siddo wouldn’t want you to either.”
I smiled a bit. “Yeah, I know.”
“Good. Now come to bed.” He winked at me. “We don’t necessarily have to sleep if you don’t want to.”
Now that got me grinning. “Well then, if you’re offering.” I laughed as I launched myself at him, pushing him against the arm of the couch. Riley barked at the sudden movement, but we were too busy laughing to care.
Marc picked me up bridal style. “Then let’s go have some fun, Mrs. Fleury.”
“That sounds lovely, Mr. Fleury,” I giggled, holding onto him tightly.
He really is the greatest man anyone could ask for.