Retrouvailles

The morning started out as the rest of their mornings together: Sidney woke up first, his brain programmed to practice hours while Loren’s switched off at 5PM on Fridays. He toyed with the idea of making breakfast before remembering he wasn’t very good at anything that wasn’t eggs and toast and that the last time he attempted such a feat he got so riled up at seeing Loren in her underwear he dropped a half-dozen eggs all over the floor.

He knew better than to wake her, deciding to find other things to occupy his time instead. Starting a pot of coffee couldn’t be too hazardous, he figured, and got out of bed as inconspicuously as he could. It wasn’t easy. He was at least two of Loren and it was almost comical how much the bed inflated as soon as he climbed out, not used to bearing the weight of someone Sidney’s size.

Loren’s apartment had started to feel like home. Sarah had done some work in the living room since he last time he’d been there, changing the beige color of the wall behind the television to a warm red and brought in accents to match. He smiled at the sight of his Team Canada jersey hanging in a frame next to an overflowing bookcase. Just enough to start a conversation, not enough to arouse suspicion. Just the way he liked it.

He wondered how many of her friends knew about their relationship. What about her family? His was still mostly clueless except for his sister, Taylor, who knew the second her brother fell madly in love. He regretted never introducing her to his parents while she was still in Pittsburgh; it would’ve made the upcoming trip a lot easier. However, he knew the present circumstances were much more suitable. Loren would be the first girl he ever took home, the first girl to meet his parents. They were different people back in Pittsburgh…people they both weren’t proud of being.

As he waited for the coffee to brew he flicked on the television, switching it from the History Channel to ESPN by habit. Reruns of Sportscenter were on and Sidney took solace in knowing he wouldn’t be flashing across the screen.

“Not a lot of hockey coverage there, playboy.”

He nearly jumped out of his skin, eliciting obnoxious laughter from Sarah, who stood in the doorway. He hadn’t even heard her come in.

“Where the hell did you come from?”

“Next door,” she replied easily. “Where I live.”

“You have a key?”

“Nope, but you have a girlfriend who never locks her door. You’d think she’d know better, living in a city like this.”

Sidney didn’t say anything, thinking the same thing. God forbid some die-hard Flyers fan found out both where she lived and who she was dating and broke in. Or worse—tried to kill her. He made a mental note to talk to her about it once she woke up.

“What kind of coffee is this?” Sarah asked, pulling off her sunglasses to stare into the pot.

“Whatever kind was already here.”

“Ugh,” she groaned, “I was hoping you’d bring some better kind with you. Loren buys this cheap shit; I don’t know how she drinks it. It’s vile.”

Sid stayed quiet yet again, half-perplexed by his girlfriend’s neighbor. Most people weren’t so comfortable and fluid around him, regardless if they were fans. Sarah didn’t seem to give a shit who he was so long as she had someone to talk to. It was easy to see why the two women got along so well.

“So, uh…you a hockey fan or anything?”

“Nah. Only started paying attention once Loren moved in. I knew a little bit though, to my credit. Hard to live somewhere like Philadelphia and not know what’s going on.”

Sidney nodded. “I see.”

“I told her I really didn’t care who she was dating—sports aren’t my thing. Now, if she would’ve been with…”

She started rattling off the names of European designers and lesser-known artists, their names getting lost on Sidney as if she were speaking another language. Some of the Russian and Scandinavian names he could somewhat understand but trying to decipher the rest was useless.

“You have no idea who any of those people are, do you?” Sidney shook his head. “Oh well. How do you take your coffee?”

“Just black, please.”

“No sugar? Trying to keep your girlish figure?”

Sidney couldn’t help the way he blushed. He wasn’t used to someone treating him like this other than his teammates, all jokes and harmless insults. He’d grown used to people spewing word vomit at him, just thankful for the opportunity to be in his presence. Now it was him stumbling over his words.

He thanked Sarah as she set the mug on the coffee table in front of him. She kicked off her shoes and plopped onto the love seat, making herself at home. Sid still had no idea what exactly she was doing there, or if she was even supposed to be there at all, but he didn’t dare question it.

“So how’s this working out?”

“How’s what working out?”

“The whole you and Loren thing. Don’t think I didn’t see the way you looked at Claude last night; you two got a thing for each other?”

Sidney spewed coffee all over the place, jumping to his feet immediately to fetch some paper towels. Sarah just snorted, trying to stifle her laughter. She couldn’t help herself, though. She’d watched game six of the playoffs with Loren; she knew about the bad blood between Crosby and Giroux. When would she have another opportunity to make that joke? You couldn’t blame her for taking it.

“We don’t have a thing.”

“If you say so. Looked pretty serious to me.”

“Don’t go there,” Sidney warned her.

“Look, all I’m saying is I don’t think Loren would mind if you left her for Claude. God, could you imagine—”

“I’m not leaving her for that dickhead.”

“What about for Max?”

His jaw clenched. “Not him, either.”

“He’s cute,” Sarah argued. “What about Mila Kunis or Candice Swanepoel?”

“No.”

“Angelina Jolie? Eva Mendes?”

He continued to clean up his mess. “No and no.”

“Kim Kardashian?”

“No.”

“Who, then?”

“No one,” he answered. “I’d never leave her for someone else.”

“I know, I was just fucking with you. You and Claude, though…think about it.”



Sidney counted down the minutes until Loren woke up. It was only 10AM and he hadn’t drank nearly enough coffee to be dealing with Sarah. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, she was just a bit much, kind of like Max and Jordan when they were together and used to drag him to parties. Some of the women they hung around with put Sarah to shame.

There had been a lull in the conversation, filling the room with awkward silence. Sarah talked so much Sidney didn’t have to worry about coming up with something to say. He wasn’t very good at making small talk to anyone that wasn’t in awe of him—hence why he never dated much—so he usually said the first thing that came to mind.

“I really fucking hate peanut butter.”

Sarah looked up from her phone, eyes immediately on the television to see where in the world peanut butter had come from, before raising an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry?”

“Sorry,” he apologized, immediately feeling stupid. She was still giving him that look. “I’m not good at this.”

Sarah shrugged. “I hate blue pens.”

Blue pens. She had a point, Sidney thought to himself. Black pens were far superior, in his opinion. Still, it wasn’t as weird as peanut butter. It wasn’t as weird as showing up to your girlfriend’s apartment unannounced for the second time and intruding on a party. It wasn’t as weird as spitting coffee all over her living room or dropping eggs all over the floor.

“Does she ever talk about me?”

“Loren?” Sarah asked; he nodded. “All the time.”

“Good things?”

“You drive her insane but I think it’s in a good way. I can’t imagine she’d be with you if it was bad, you know? Why do you ask?”

Sidney shrugged. “I worry sometimes.”

“About what?”

“Everything.”

“You mean losing her?” He nodded again. “Not gonna happen. You hooked, lined and sank her.” The look on his face didn’t change. It was the same look Loren had given her countless times—the one that was exasperated and didn’t know what to do. “You’re worried you’re not good enough.”

“No, it’s not—”

“It is that,” Sarah interjected. “You think one of the Flyers is gonna swoop in and steal her away, someone less high-profile, someone she could be with and not have ten-thousand reporters calling her nonstop.”

Sidney sighed, not wanting to admit Sarah had hit the nail right on the head with her assumptions.

“Let me tell you something, kid: that girl loves you. I don’t know why, because I sure as hell wouldn’t be able to put up with the extracurricular bullshit, but that’s why she’s dating you and I’m not. She was a scared little girl when she came here, scared to death of everything, but especially to fall in love. Somehow you changed her mind, and unless you do something to really fuck this up, I don’t think you’ll be able to get rid of her anytime soon. I don’t care which Flyer tries to snatch her away.”

“I’m not gonna fuck it up.”

Sarah nodded. “I believe you.”

“Do you think it’s a bad idea to take her to meet my family?”

“You think they’ll like her?”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know your family.”

“She’ll be the first one they’ve ever met.”

Sarah smirked. “No pressure, huh?”

“Trust me, my mom is gonna want to take her shopping for wedding dresses.”

“With the way you’re all googly-eyed, she might as well.”

Sidney couldn’t help but agree. There was no doubt in his mind he would one day marry Loren. With so many of his teammates getting married during the off-season, the marriage bug was definitely going around. But he knew better than to rush things, figuring Loren would let him know if and when she was ready to take such a huge step. The if scared him; what if she wasn’t thinking that far ahead? What if he wasn’t the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with?

He almost vomited at the thought.

“You all right there, killer?”

“Fine,” Sidney responded. “Just thinking.”

“I hope it’s not about how you missed your birth control and the condom broke. You’re looking a little green around the edges.”

“I’m not pregnant,” he said without thinking. Of course he wasn’t pregnant.

“Is Lo?”

“No.” He made sure of that. Sidney Crosby having a girlfriend was unbelievable enough without her also being pregnant with his child.

“Are your kids gonna play hockey?”

Sid shrugged. “If they want to, I guess.”

“Is that usually a genetic thing?”

“Sometimes.”

“You think they’d be as good as you?”

“I don’t know. Why are we talking about this?”

“You got something better to talk about?”

“How about you puking all over the floor last night?”

Sarah turned crimson. As good of a facade as she put up, acting calm and collected around some of the NHL’s best players, it still bothered her that Sidney Crosby saw her that sloppy.

“What are you talking about?”

Sidney laughed. “It was a pretty impressive pile.”

Sarah groaned. “Oh my god, stop.”

“I’m honestly surprised you’re even alive right now. I thought Max was gonna have to take you to the hospital for sure.”

“Who’s alive?”

The two turned to see Loren standing in the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee. She’d bothered to put on real pajamas, now sporting a pair of sleeping shorts and an oversized Flyers t-shirt just to piss off her boyfriend. It worked.

“Not you if you don’t take that shirt off.”

Loren smirked over the rim of the mug. “Good morning, sunshine.” She nodded at Sarah. “Glad to see you’re not in the coroner’s office.”

“Would you two stop? I wasn’t even that drunk.”

Sid and Loren shared a look, both remembering the look on Max’s face when she almost yakked all over his shoes. They both knew it wouldn’t have been the first time that happened to Max, but it was never going to not be funny.

“What are you doing here?” Loren asked her neighbor as she took a seat on the couch next to Sidney. She stretched her legs over his lap.

“I came to see if you had any Aspirin.”

“Hours ago, I assume.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Well it wasn’t exactly like I remembered seeing this guy at my party last night. I thought he was going to have a heart attack when I came in.”

“You really need to start locking your door, babe,” Sidney added.

Loren shrugged; she’d worry about it later. “You get your Aspirin?”

“No.”

“Then why are you still here?”

Sarah scoffed, feigning offense. “If you want me to leave—”

“I do.”

She gave Loren the finger as she left, making a point to stomp as loudly as she could all the way back to her apartment. Loren just shook her head.



The couple shared a quiet afternoon together, ordering takeout and watching the encore of the Phillies game from the night before. Sidney wasn’t huge on baseball and Loren’s loyalties lied with the Pirates, but they didn’t care. They were together.

“When’s the wedding?”

“Whose?” Sidney asked, not sure which of his teammates she was referring to.

“Flower. Why, who else is getting married?”

“Jordan,” Sidney answered. “You didn’t know?”

Loren’s jaw dropped. “Jordan’s getting married?”

“How did you not know that?”

“I haven’t really kept in touch,” she confessed. “To who?”

“Heather.”

“Wow,” she breathed.

She’d met Heather once, at a team function early in her career, and had no real opinion of her. She couldn’t help but have little respect for anyone who let their significant other treat them the way Jordan treated Heather. Spending so much time around professional athletes caused them to lose their appeal—famous hockey player or not, there was no way Loren would go through a fraction of the bullshit the other WAGs did.

Still, it was nice to see Jordan begin to shift his sails. He’d spent so long trying to figure out what he wanted in Pittsburgh and went about it in all the wrong ways—parties, women, getting arrested. Settling down with Heather was a good start. Loren was sure there were more kinks he’d need to work out, but she was happy for him.

Marc-André, on the other hand, had always had his shit together. He was a model citizen, often being the subject of lectures from the Player Personnel department on how a high-profile athlete should conduct oneself. Aside from always being on his best behavior, he was impossible not to like. There was always a cheshire grin on his face and a joke to be told at his expense. He rolled with the punches and was never down on his luck for too long. Loren was beyond thrilled for both of Sidney’s teammates.

It was kind of terrifying, though, that everyone around her was growing up. They were off getting married and having children and she’d just began her first serious relationship. There had always been pressure from her family—almost all of her cousins married young and were already two or three kids deep—but her father kept her grounded, putting an emphasis on her career rather than her personal life. It was what her mother would’ve wanted, regardless of how eager he was to walk her down the aisle.

“Were you able to get time off?” Sidney asked, bringing her out of her reverie.

“Last week and a half of June.”

Sidney recalled dates in his head. “Jordan’s wedding is the 22nd.”

“Am I invited?”

He rolled his eyes. “Of course you’re invited.”

“I don’t mean you’re invited and I’m your plus-one, Sid.”

“Jordan loves you,” he assured her. “You’re invited.”

She nodded, figuring he was probably right. She made a mental note to at least call Jordan to congratulate him and give him the opportunity to invite her. Even though she was finally beginning to accept that she and Sidney would start coming as a pair, it still felt weird to show up unannounced. Jordan probably already assumed she’d be coming but she wanted to make sure, given her knowledge of things he wouldn’t want his fiancée knowing.

“So what do you want to do, fly into Ontario the day before?”

“I was actually hoping we could go somewhere else first.”

“Like?”

Sidney got up to fetch the tickets he’d purchased. He’d booked the trip on a whim, hoping she’d gotten time off the week of the draft. She’d mentioned to him in passing that she’d never been and that it looked like fun; he told her he’d take her. It was a conversation Loren probably didn’t even remember, but he thanked his lucky stars the dates overlapped.

“Halifax?” Loren asked, staring at the ticket in her hand. “As in Nova Scotia?” Sidney nodded. “As in your birthplace?” He nodded again.

“I want you to meet my family,” he told her, more serious and terrified than he’d ever been in his life, and he lived through game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals with a one-goal lead.

Loren was quiet for a moment, trying to digest what Sidney just told her. Meeting his family wouldn’t be so bad, she told herself. He’d have to meet hers eventually, and they were undoubtedly much worse. Still, she wasn’t a world-famous athlete. No one could accuse him of only being with her for fame or money.

“You’re sure about this?”

“Completely.”

She told herself everything was going to be fine. After all, the Crosbys had met Max and he was much worse than her. They even let him stay in their house and shoot pucks into their infamous dryer. But besides his infidelities, Max was a likable guy. He was funny and charismatic, able to charm any woman within a 50-mile radius. Loren was strictly business with a side of awkward-in-important-situations.

“Okay,” she finally relented, handing the ticket back to Sidney for safekeeping.

“Okay?”

“Has to happen sometime, right?”

Sidney didn’t say a word, just offered up his million-dollar smile in thanks.