Father Figure

Sidney's Point of View

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The boys excitedly bounced around me as we walked down the sidewalk. Ever since I picked them up at school they'd been thrilled. They couldn't wait to get tuxes and go to the event on Saturday. They were all but counting the hours now. 

"This way guys," I called out when they started to walk past the door. They doubled back and sprinted through the door. 

"Hello? And who might you three be?" Charles Sanders asked when he spotted the boys. He smirked. "Certainly not the famous kids of Sidney Crosby..."

Beau grinned widely. "He's our dad! Do you know him?"

"We know him!" Kris blurted out in his over excitement. 

I messed with his hair. "Of course you do, bud," I chuckled. 

I shook Charles's hand. "So, here to pick out tuxes for these three?" he asked me. I nodded my head. "Alright, let's get started!"

He ushered the triplets further into the store. "Now, I'm going to measure you, okay?" he said. 

"Oh, Charles! Go back to the front and leave me to my job. I can do it," his wife chided as she scurried over. She shooed him away before studying the boys. "I'm Mrs. Sanders. Who might you three be?"

"I'm Beau!"

"I'm Kris!"

"I'm Gab!"

She laughed as she took in their bubbling excitement. Her eyes drifted to me. "You three look just like your father." I smiled with pride at that. They were my boys. Those were my sons. It still sounded so crazy sometimes when I thought about it, but I would never change that. I couldn't imagine my life without them now. Everything would be so boring and bleak. 

I laughed as the boys stretched their arms out wide, just as Mrs. Sanders had instructed Beau. They didn't care that she was only measuring one at a time, they all felt the need to play along with the silly Simon Says game. 

"Now, Simon says... Put your arms down!" Mrs. Sanders exclaimed brightly. 

The boys jumped to attention, their smiles glowing. "Mrs. Sanders, your hair is so pretty!" Gab announced. 

"Yeah! It reminds me of silver jewelry!" Beau added in. 

"Does your husband love it?" Kris asked as they surveyed her grey hair. 

She laughed. "You all are so sweet. I bet all the girls at school love you," she teased. 

They all giggled madly. "But I like Miss Vero! And she doesn't go to school," Kris pointed out.

Mrs. Sanders raised her eyebrows as she began to question him about his love interest. I simply rolled my eyes, knowing he could babble on for days if anyone got him started, especially when it came to Vero. We always teased Marc-André in the locker that he was going to lose his woman to a miniature version of his captain. He responded by telling us he'd be sure to throw pucks back at us now. 

"Okay. I'll go find some tuxes now that are close to your sizes. Stay here with your father," she instructed before leaving the area. 

The boys wondered over to me. "What are you going to wear?" Beau asked curiously as he leaned against my thigh. 

"I'm going to wear a tux, just like you guys," I answered. I lifted my foot up, causing him to lift of the ground slightly. 

He instantly fell into a fit of giggles. "What's mama going to wear, a tux, too?" Gab questioned. 

"No, ladies don't wear tuxes. She's going to wear a dress," I told them. 

"Why don't ladies wear tuxes?" Kris questioned curiously. 

I shrugged my shoulders. "Those are for men. Just like men don't wear skirts or dresses," I explained. 

"Oh..." he responded simply. 

"Do you think Mama is going to wear a pretty necklace and jewelry?" Gab asked as he wrinkled his nose up. 

"No, mom doesn't have any really pretty jewelry," Beau argued. 

"Yes she does!" Kris cut in. "Her ring is really pretty!"

Beau rolled his eyes in a sassy manor. "You just like it because it has a green diamond on it," he chided. 

Kris frowned. "Nuh uh! I think it's pretty because it's sparkly and Nana gave it to her!"

"Do you think Mom's ring is pretty?" Gab asked me in return. 

I shrugged my shoulders, never remembering seeing a ring with a green stone on it. "I don't think I've seen it before," I told them. 

"Oh. She only wears it for special occasions. She says it's really special and expensive so she doesn't wear it all the time," Beau informed me. 

I nodded my head, the wheels in my mind turning. They continued to debate the matter of their mother's jewelry collection for a few more minutes until Mrs. Sanders returned with three tuxes in her hands. "Alright! Time to try them on!" she announced. 

-----

My eyes scanned over the spaced out pieces of metal and rocks. Because honestly, that's exactly what they were. 

"What about this one?" Beau asked as he stuck his nose against the glass of a case and pointed at a necklace. 

I shook my head. "No, I don't like it. It's too much," I mumbled. 

The sales associate watched the boys carefully as they filed down the cases with me. I knew he didn't like having kids inside the store, but he would never say anything seeing as I was looking to spend money. 

"Wait!" Gab exclaimed suddenly. All of us turned to look at him. "What about this one?" he asked as he stuck his finger to the glass. 

Our eyes all followed it to the simplest necklace in the case. It had a silver band that fell down to a point where a single diamond dangled. It wasn't extraordinarily fancy or out there. It was simple, but elegant and beautiful. It was perfect. 

"How much is this?" I asked the man behind the counter. 

He adjusted his bow tie. "It's very high quality. Top of the line," he stated first. His eyes drifted over my Reebok t-shirt and jeans then up to the ball cap on my head. 

"Well?" I asked. 

He cleared his throat before muttering out a price just over one thousand. His corked an eyebrow at me, as if questioning me now. 

The boys all looked up at me. "You three didn't hear that number, did you?" I asked them as I pulled out my wallet. 

The grinned widely. "The one thousand number?" Beau asked cheekily. 

I raised my eyebrows and I pulled out my card. They all giggled. "What number?" Gab asked innocently. 

"That's my boy," I replied with a smile. I handed the man my card. 

He let out a breath before taking it to the counter along with the necklace. He began to package the necklace up. The boys huddled behind me, whispering to themselves about the necklace. "Mom's going to love it!" Gab told me. 

I glanced over my shoulder. "Let's hope so," I said. 

"She's going to look so beautiful!" Kris exclaimed as his arm went around my leg. 

"I bet everyone is going to be so jealous!" Gab commented. 

"Maybe she'll get a boyfriend," Beau whispered in his best sneaky voice. 

I frowned at that. "No, she won't," I mumbled. 

"Why not?" Beau asked sadly. 

The man took my card and swiped it. He took my ID to verify it before handing both back. I tucked my wallet away and waited to sign the receipt. "Because... She's isn't," I mumbled back. 

I didn't want to think of someone else showing up and sweeping her off her feet. That wasn't fair. That wasn't okay. 

But it would be okay and it would be fair. She wasn't mine. We weren't dating. I had no claims to her. The only people that did were the three five year olds that were standing behind me. 

I took the necklace that was handed to me and lead the boys out of the store. "But why not?" Beau pressed as he held onto my hand. 

"She just... She..." I didn't know what to say. I didn't want her to. Was this just a sign I needed to grow a pair and ask her to be my girlfriend? Or were we both comfortable with how things were?

They were all quiet as we walked down the sidewalk. I glanced down at them. They were exchanging silent looks. I hated it when they did that. It was like they could communicate without saying a word to each other. Nat told me they used to babble sounds like they were having actual conversations and understand each other perfectly. We'd spent hours watching videos of them as well as other kids do it on YouTube. It blew my mind, but apparently it was normal. 

"Do you like Mama?" Gab asked as I unlocked the car. 

I helped them in one by one. "I, uh..." Their eyes stuck to me. I let out a sigh, running my hand through my hair. "Yeah, boys.  I do."