Status: On Hiatus

I'll Be Right Beside You

Eighty Two

“Here he comes!” Mom was all smiles as we waited for Marc to come into the house with the Stanley Cup. He’d been waiting anxiously all summer for his 24 hours with it, and I’m pretty sure he hadn’t taken his ring off since he got it two weeks ago. The parade in New York had been absolutely insane – bigger than the one Pittsburgh had in ’09 – and the party afterward had been even crazier.

I couldn’t complain – even though we’d each only had a glass or two of champagne Cam and I had gone back to the hotel and made out like a couple of high school kids before falling asleep on her bed. It wasn’t until lunch or so the next day that my brothers started texting me, and I woke up to my phone having a seizure from all the missed messages and calls wondering about my whereabouts. That of course had Cam all embarrassed, and my brothers and sisters-in-law on Cloud 9 at the same time.

“And here he is… Number 18 for your New York Rangers… Marc Staal!” Cam put on her best announcers voice as Dad opened the door for him and Marc walked into the house, Stanley cup above his head as we all played along with Cam and cheered, hooted and hollered, making the huge-ass grin on his face get somehow bigger.

We spent a half hour at the house – mom insisting on taking pictures of Marc and the cup, then all four of us, then Marc’s little family, etcetera, before we all piled into vehicles to head downtown. He was going to our old schools, the hospital, and then the rink to do like a meet and greet kind of thing so people could come see him and get their picture taken with him and the cup.

It was crazy and hectic and we hardly saw Marc for most of the afternoon while all of that went on. It wasn’t until Mike and Carter threw mini fits that he got a half-hour or so break, playing with both boys in one of the coach’s office with a few of us while people milled around the arena waiting for things to get started back up again. He definitely hadn’t expected his day with the cup to be like this, and Eric merely shrugged, not wanting to say “I told you so” on his big day.

Cam stuck close to my side, usually just out of sight of the big groups so people wouldn’t recognize her. With her hair down, a ball cap on and her hand in mine, however, most people seemed to overlook her. It was what she wanted, because with her not having re-signed yet people were prone to swarming her and pelting her with questions. Especially with her being in New York for most of the playoffs, rumors were flying.

“Wanna grab something to eat?” I asked, and she nodded mutely, following along behind me as I led her out of the rink. We walked downtown to Applebees, and made our way inside. The restaurant was fairly empty – it was still too early for a supper crowd, but too late for people going for coffee – so we basically had the restaurant to ourselves. It was nice, where we didn’t have to worry about being too loud or what we talked about, and I couldn’t help but enjoy myself. Spending time with Cam just felt right, like it always had, and I knew this was exactly what I wanted. What I’d wanted for a long time, and the little ring box now sat in the top of my closet in my room, just as it had in Pittsburgh.

“This is so much fun,” she giggled, taking a sip out of her Coke. “I’ve missed stuff like this. Where hockey isn’t what the whole world revolves around, as awful as it sounds.”

“No, I get what you mean,” I quickly cut in. “It’s nice to just be a person, you know? I think that’s what I like the most about being in Raleigh, at least most of the time anyway. There’s always some people that ask about whether or not I’ll be playing again and stuff like that, but mostly I’m just another person,”

She nodded, giving me a shy smile. “Yeah, that’s what I like so much about being here. I’m just Cam again, not Cameron Bates, NHL Player,” she agreed.

“Yeah, but sometimes it’s nice to be the NHL player eh?” I teased, and her smile and laugh were easy as she nodded.

“Oh yeah, especially being out on the ice,” I had to chuckle as well, because it was easy to see how much she loved it even by just mentioning it. Four years in the NHL was more than she’d ever expected, and she wasn’t ready to give it up yet. We’d got to talking about it one day, and with Cam only turning 24 this summer, she definitely wanted another couple of years playing professional hockey before really even considering settling down to a family. That’s the only place where she wished she was a guy – being able to start a family whenever she wanted without having to give up her career. It was a point that she was very passionate about, and I definitely understood where she was coming from. She wanted a family, and I was sure it was why she was so involved with my brother’s kids, but it would be a while before she would be willing to give up her childhood dream for this one.

“Haha, it’s easy to tell,” I told her, making her cheeks heat up.

“It’s just… when this is all I’ve dreamed since I was little, and especially after my dad died… I just… I know he’d want me to live this out to the fullest, you know?”

I nodded, but couldn’t help but speak up a little. “But more than that, you know he just wants you to be happy, right? If you wanted to start a family he’d be supportive of that too, you know? So make sure you follow your heart on this Cam – don’t just do what you think someone expects you to.”

She was silent for a few minutes, making me squirm and nervous that I’d overstepped a boundary on that one. I was about to say something again when she nodded, and set down her fork, done pushing around the last few morsels of food on her plate.

“You’re right Jord – you’re totally right,” she finally said, and I felt myself go almost limp in relief. I thought maybe she’d snap at me, tell me to mind my own business or that I was wrong – this was not what I’d expected at all.

“I mean, I have to be happy with it, and you’re absolutely right – dad would just want me to be happy. It wouldn’t matter to him what I was doing as long as I was happy,” I put an arm around her then, hearing the slight, telltale waver that meant she was trying very hard not to fall apart.

“Of course he would want you to be happy Cam, we all want you to be happy; we all love you,” I whispered, pulling her into me, her head tucking beneath the chin just as perfectly as it always had. I knew that being in the middle of Applebees and having this happen probably wasn’t helping her in the slightest.

“Let’s go home, ok?” I quietly suggested, and heard her sniffle loudly and try to compose herself.

“My place – less people to worry about,” I quickly got her out of the restaurant and back to where my family had parked their vehicles. A quick text to Tanya had her waiting by mom and dad’s truck, keys in hand.

“Thanks Tan,” the quick passing smile was enough, as her concerned gaze was focused solely on Cam, who was hardly holding herself together as she got into the passenger seat.
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I hope you guys are still enjoying the story! We are getting quite close to the end and the epilogue but I'm sad and happy and proud all at the same time because this story was the first one I'd written that went to this extent and that I was this happy about! So let me know what you think! :)