A Night to Last a Lifetime

Our flight seemed to take forever. Gabe begged me to try and rest but I couldn’t. My sister was only five months pregnant – she couldn’t be having her baby yet, it wasn’t time. Our plane landed and because we didn’t bring any bags with us we didn’t need to wait for them. We practically ran outside, hopped in the nearest cab and told them to drive.

“This cab is waiting for someone! I’m going to need to ask you to get out,” the cab driver insisted.

“I’m Gabriel fucking Landeskog. Her twin sister and my best friend are having a baby right now. Here’s 200 dollars, now PLEASE drive!” Gabe was obviously very upset, but I’d never seen him like this.

We got to the hospital and I quickly explained our situation. A very nice lady volunteered to take us up to Tori’s room.

While we were in the elevator Gabe grabbed my hand. “Soph, I know we are both expecting the best but I hope you are prepared for the worst.”

A tear began to fall down my cheek as we arrived on the right floor. The lady walked us down the hall, where I saw mom and dad sitting in the waiting room. I ran up to them and noticed that they had both been crying. That is when I started bawling – even Gabe had a tear in his eye. They pointed in the direction of Tori’s room.

We slowly opened the door; Tori and Jeff were cuddled up in bed together sleeping. I went over and shook her gently. She looked up at me and started to cry.

“Sophie, I… I... I lost…” she was having trouble talking because she was crying so hard. Jeff was now awake but curled up into Tori, probably “defending his masculinity” and trying not to show his best friend that he was crying too.

“Shhhh…” I said, trying to calm her down. “I know hun, I know.”

We sat there in silence and Jeff eventually showed his face. As soon as he would look at either Gabe or I he would begin to tear up but it was him who eventually broke the silence.

“I was shocked at first, you know? I was scared, obviously, but once I thought about it I really... I really was looking forward to being a dad. I mean, how cool would it be for MY little girl to say, ‘my daddy plays in the NHL’.” By this time he was full out crying and I couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy. Gabriel got up, went over to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

“You both would have made fantastic parents,” I managed to say, unsure if it was too soon to be saying that.
We all sat there teary eyed for a long time. Gabe motioned for me to follow him as he headed towards the door.

“We will be right back, do you guys want anything?” I asked the sorrowed pair.

“Can you possibly grab me an Iced Capp?” Tori said, asking for her all time favorite drink. I knew she had been avoiding caffeine since getting pregnant and this would definitely help make her feel better, if only for a moment.

“Yeah, sure. Jeff?” I questioned.

“No, I’m fine. Well, maybe a couple of cookies if you see any please.”

“Sure,” I said. I gave them a quick smile and headed for the door.

We stopped to talk to Mom and Dad before leaving the hospital. I told them to go home and get some rest and that Gabe and I would be right here with them if they needed anything at all.

“Yes, that sounds like a fantastic idea,” Mom said while she breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s been a long couple of days. Soph, can I talk to you for a second?“ She asked as she pulled me away from my two favorite boys on the planet.

“When did you plan on telling me about that?” she questioned as she pointed to my finger.

“Shit! I forgot to take it off. I wanted to tell everyone, but its Tori’s time. I will tell everyone when the moment is right,” I said as tears filled my eyes.

“Well, when did it happen? You could have at least called me,” Mom said sounding a little disappointed.

“Mom, it literally happened five minutes before you called to tell me about Tori. Why do you think I was ignoring those calls?”

“Oh, my God sweetie. I’m so sorry your special moment got ruined.” This time she sounded very apologetic.

“It’s alright, let’s just keep this on the down low. Don’t even tell Dad yet.”

“Okay,” she agreed, confirming it with a hug.

As we walked away Gabe asked me what that was all about.

“She knows… about us. Don’t worry, she won’t say anything yet.”
We walked silently, hand in hand, to the nearest Tim Horton’s. It didn’t take very long to find one and we easily realized we were back in Canada. We stood in line for a very long time, and nobody even recognized us. After we got our order we decided to go sit in the corner. We sat in silence while we ate for a while and Gabe eventually said, “I feel so bad for them you know? They both look so miserable. They’re going to have to live with this for the rest of their lives.”

“It is definitely going to be rough. They’re both strong people, though. I think they will be fine.”

We continued on for a while before I decided to ask him when and how we should tell them that we were going to get married.

“How about I tell Jeff and you tell Tori? I’m assuming she will be your maid of honor? Because I know Jeff will absolutely be my best man.”

“Of course!, I couldn’t imagine it any other way. We should probably wait a few days or at least until Tori is home.”

“Sounds perfect.”

We made our way back to the hospital; I took of my engagement ring and zipped it in my purse pocket to make sure I wouldn’t lose it. We walked into their hospital room and there was a lady in there that I didn’t recognize who was obviously not a hospital worker.

“Mrs. Skinner!” Gabriel said, seeming very happy to be reunited with her.

“Oh Gabe, how are you doing?” she had obviously been crying.

“I’m okay, I guess, under the circumstances. I would like you to meet my, my umm girlfriend Sophie.”

I extended my arms to shake her hand; I really wanted to punch Gabe for saying that so awkwardly. I was hoping nobody else picked up on it.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said trying to be nice.

“You are Tori’s twin right? Well that shouldn’t be a question, you two look so much alike. So beautiful, these boys are lucky to have such great girls.”

“Well thank you! We’ll let you guys have some time together. We will probably just run home and get cleaned up. If you need me Tor, you call!”

“Okay, thanks Soph,” she said. “Do you mind grabbing my laptop when you are home?”

“Sure,” I said as I was leaving the room.

We took a cab to the house I grew up in. I hadn’t been home since Christmas so it was a little bit exciting. We headed up to my room and I realized I had no clothes whatsoever. I went into Tori’s room and thankfully she had some. I wasn’t quite sure what Gabe was going to wear.

We both took a shower and then climbed into bed – we hadn’t gotten any rest in what felt like weeks. We both instantly feel asleep. Many hours later I woke up to my mom walking in my room, which was kind of awkward because I was sleeping in my bra and underwear, while Gabe was next to me naked.

“I knew you guys didn’t bring any clothes with you so I came in here earlier to see if you guys wanted me to wash your clothes. Since you both were passed out I just went ahead and did them,” Mom said seeming overly happy; I think she just needed something to distract her mind.

“Thanks, mom,” I said. I didn’t know what I would have ever done without this woman, she is truly amazing.

“Thanks, Mrs. Jones,” Gabe said, making sure the blankets were pulled up around his neck, even though she must have known he was naked.

After she left, we got up and got dressed. We went down and made a couple of sandwiches. I went in Tori’s room to grab her laptop and I noticed a few little baby items lying around her room – a half a dozen outfits, a couple of toys, soothers, diapers and more.

“Mom, Gabe, come here!” They both came running like something was wrong. “I think maybe we should put this somewhere so she doesn’t have to look at it.”

“Oh yes! I completely forgot about all of this,” Mom said sadly. “Let’s put it in the spare bedroom closet.”

It took us each a couple of trips up, but we eventually got everything. We all double checked all over the room to make sure that we didn’t leave a single thing behind. Gabe and I decided that we should head back over to the hospital and Mom said she was just about to go over there and that Dad was meeting us there after work.

“Mom, Jeff’s mother is there,” I said hoping she didn’t get upset again.

“I know, honey. I was going to have to meet her sometime. I was hoping it would have been a happier occasion though.”

We all piled into Mom’s car and headed towards the hospital, which was beginning to feel like a second home.