I'll Be Right Beside You

I drove home humming along to the radio, in an incredibly good mood. I took the stairs up to my apartment two at a time, and even all of the unpacking I had yet to do didn’t take away from my happiness. I was singing along to my iPod as I danced around the kitchen putting things away, and the same with my bedroom. The singing continued on as I started making supper, and when things were starting to smell really good my phone went off.

“Hello,”

“Hey Cam! So you’re back? Want to come over for dinner?” Rosa’s excited voice was on the line, and I had to giggle at her.

“Want to come here? I’ve got spaghetti and meat sauce almost ready to eat,” I offered, and without any hesitation she agreed, and after a quick conversation she was on her way with a bottle of wine. It only took a few minutes for her to be knocking at the door, and she burst in once I opened it, hugging me with one arm and holding a huge bottle of wine in the other.

“Oh my God I’ve missed you!!”

“I’ve missed you too! It’s been way too long!” I agreed, and poured us each a glass before I put the wine in the fridge and we got our meals onto our plates. We sat in the living room, visiting over the news program that was on. Rosa lifted her wine glass to her lips and the reflection caught my eye.

“HOLY SHIT!” I burst, and lunged forward to grab her hand and hold it still.

“It’s not an engagement ring! Calm your shit!” she rolled her eyes, but the flush in her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes told me she was just as excited about it.

“Then what is it! Promise ring?” I asked, admiring it. It was absolutely beautiful, and with Rosa’s say-so pulled it off her finger, finding the Tiffany & Co logo on the inside. It was absolutely, drop dead gorgeous.

“Pretty much; he got it for my birthday,” she gushed, and I nodded as I handed it back.

“He wanted to get me a promise ring on our anniversary but I guess the guys gave him a bit of a hard time about it, so he waited and did this,” she explained, and I nodded.

“That’s absolutely incredible! What is it with all of you and getting rings now?” I asked, and she laughed before sticking her tongue out at me.

“Excuse me? Jord gave you that ring how long ago?” she asked, and after a moment I nodded. I hadn’t worn it in almost a year and a half; it stayed tucked away in my little jewelry box.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I allowed, and she laughed before stopping.

“Wait… what do you mean all of you and rings?”

“You can’t tell a single soul,” I told her, and she nodded, instantly becoming sober as she leaned in.

“Sid’s going to propose,” she let out a shriek before flailing slightly and then hugging me tight.

“That’s so awesome! Oh my God, that’s so exciting!” that dominated our conversation for the rest of the evening, speculating how he would do it, and what the wedding would look like, what kind of dress she’d want to get.

“This is so exciting! I can’t believe the two of you are getting all serious and everything… I see a couple more weddings in the future!” I teased, and she huffed before a bright grin spread across her face.

“Sid and Becka’s will be so nice… she’ll look incredible! Any money they have Penguins colors,” she chuckled, and I nodded.

“If Sid has any say in it? Most definitely,” I agreed, and we ended up watching Say Yes To The Dress when it came on, our excuse that Becka would need ideas, and who better to help her than us? The guys would give me endless grief if I admitted to watching such a show, but I really did love it. The bridesmaids one, however, was painful to watch. Too much drama involved there, but the actual wedding dress one was really cool.

At about eleven Rosa left and headed home, because she would have to work in the morning, but we arranged to get together for coffee next weekend and invite Becka and Vero. I cleaned up the dishes from supper and put away the left overs before changing into my pajamas and curling up on the couch to finish up the TLC wedding marathon that was on. Four Weddings and some other wedding show concluded the event, ending at two o’clock in the morning. I didn’t know why all of a sudden everything seemed to be wedding-revolved; with the news of Becka and Sid, and Rosa and James getting so serious. Vero and Marc were set to finally get married this summer, and Kris and his girlfriend had had their baby last year, and were also planning on getting married this summer. TK had finally found a girlfriend, and after his initial panic of things getting serious he was pretty sure she was going to be the one too.

I was so happy for all my friends, and couldn’t wait for their weddings, but at the same time I felt like I was a little left behind. I was only twenty-three, it wasn’t like I was an old cat lady or anything, but with all of my friends in serious relationships I now know how Jared had felt when Jordan and I had been together. Now I was in his position with my group of friends.

However, the excitement about Sid and Becka soon took over, and I texted Marc to see if he was still up. His response was for me to go on Skype, and soon my best friend was requesting a Skype chat. We’d talked the whole Jordan situation out a bit when I was in Thunder Bay, and then we’d talked about it further after I was home in Downsden.

“So, what’s up?” he asked, and I nearly squealed in excitement.

“You’ll never guess!” Marc laughed then, and Lindsay poked her head into view of the screen. She waved at me as best as she could while juggling a sleeping baby, which I returned before Marc took his laptop to his office to continue our conversation.

“Okay, tell me!” he urged, and I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Sid’s going to propose!” I blurted, and his eyes widened.

“Serious? Like, Sid - Crosby?” he asked, and when I nodded he let out a whoop too before laughing.

“Holy shit, I never thought… that’s crazy!”

“I know right! I’m so happy for them!” I sighed, flopping back and onto my bed. Marc was still chuckling at me.

“And this is why I can’t believe we all didn’t know you were a girl from the get-go,” he teased, making me stick my tongue out at him. “So, does he know when he’s going to ask?”

“Not yet, he asked me to help him plan it out. He wants to pull out all the stops,” I grinned, rolling onto my stomach. We debated back and forth how he’d do it, before Lindsay politely asked Marc if he could keep it down, and I realized they were probably trying to get to sleep before the boys woke them up early in the morning.

“I’ll let you go Marc; I just needed to share the news with somebody besides Rosa,”

“Not a problem Cam; I’ll talk to you soon, okay?” I nodded, and had nearly logged out when I heard him calling my name.

“Yeah?”

“Sorry, I just remembered to ask you, how did the contract thing go?” he seemed excited for me, and I bit my lip slightly.

“Well, all right,”

“What? Didn’t you re-sign?” he asked, and I shook my head.

“No, I didn’t,” the look on his face was priceless, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his slack jaw and wide eyes.

“What? Why not? I can’t imagine they’d try to screw you over,” he asked, and I quickly jumped in to correct him.

“No! They definitely didn’t Marc. It was an incredible deal, and I still think I’m stupid to turn it down… but I have to think a little more long-term right now,” I explained, and he rolled his eyes.

“Okay, explain this all to me… I’m not following,”

“They offered me an eight year, forty-mil deal,” I told him, and if possible his jaw dropped further and his eyes got wider. He floundered for a moment before shaking his head.

“You turned that down?”

“Marc… what if I wanted to start a family? That’s just going to cause friction that I don’t want. They’re going to re-work a different contract and see if they can come up with anything about maternity leaves in case it comes up,” I explained. He took a moment before nodding, causing me to laugh yet again.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” he allowed, starting to laugh even as he said it, causing me to laugh as well. “But serious, I guess I’ve never even thought of that; I’m glad you spoke up about it. And uh, I hate to ask this, but are you set on staying in Pittsburgh?”

I paused to think, not as sure on my answer as I would have been a year or two ago. “I’m not sure Marc. I mean, I love it; the team, the organization, the city, the fans, and they’ve given me more than I could have ever asked for… but at the same time… depending on the place? I might not object to it.”

“Just… um, I know we might be in the market for a major winger; and Eric and Jared’s team could use one too. If you’re even looking to go elsewhere,” he quickly added, and I knew it was because he didn’t want me to feel like he was pressuring me.

“I’ll keep it in mind Marc,” I assured him before we said goodbye.

Maybe a move really was what I needed; a change of pace, a change of scenery. As much as I loved Pittsburgh it was full of a lot of memories I struggled with. And if I went to New York I’d be close to my best friend, and to Carolina I’d be close to Jared, Eric, Tanya and the boys. As much as I didn’t want to think it would have a lot to do with it, if Jordan was there that might make a difference too. Especially with how things had gone during the summer.