New Kid in Town

Sasha fidgeted in his chair behind the podium set up at the press conference, hoping to get this over with. The ink from the contract had barely dried and he felt a mixture of both anticipation and nervousness about the upcoming press conference, not having felt this way since his rookie year.

"Just relax, Sasha. I remember doing this when I got drafted by the Canes and Jordan knows too. If you look all nervous out there, the guys in the press are going to be all over you", said Eric, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Da, spasibo", he replied.

"Okay, Sasha. This is the second time this season I had to fly down here to introduce someone to the team. Lucky I got frequent flier miles", said Eric dryly.

"Where did you fly from?", asked Sasha.

"Thunder Bay, Ontario. My whole family is from there and we got a house on the lake. Where are you staying?", he asked.

"I am staying at the Holiday Inn down the street, I am trying to find a condo", he replied.

"That sucks, Sasha. If you want, you can stay at our house in Carolina, it's empty right now. In the meantime, you can look for condos, there's a bunch of them around here. So you have a car?", he asked.

"Da, I drove it all the way from DC", replied Sasha.

"Since you're the newest Hurricane, we can't have you living out of a Holiday Inn", he chuckled.

The coach walked into the room and both men followed him out towards the podium set up on the stage in the conference room of the arena. Eric and Sasha sat next to each other with a microphone in front of them facing a sea of reporters from all the major media in the Raleigh area. Sasha felt his mouth go dry and his heart pound in anticipation as he prepared to speak with the press, hoping he didn't trip over his English and sound stupid. Eric managed to deflect much of the attention and helped him with the answers in English, the coach watching in understanding.

Sasha sighed and visibly relaxed once the conference was over, wanting nothing more than to crawl into a bed somewhere and pass out. "We'll get your stuff and you just follow me, we live in Creedmore north of the city and it reminds me of where we grew up. Are you planning on staying here for a while?", he asked.

"Da, I normally go back to Krasnoyarsk for the summer but it is a bit late for that. I talk to my family on Skype, they understand. I do want to see my sister and my niece, I like being an uncle", he chuckled.

"That's what Jordan and Jared say, they're great uncles to Parker and Levi. Mom's been after them to get married but they're still young, maybe they'll find nice Southern girl", he joked.

"Da, that what my mom say too", agreed Sasha.

Eric led him out towards the player's lot and had a chuckle when he saw Sasha walk towards a sleek black Mercedes with tinted windows. "Sweet, that looks like a gangster car", he joked.

"Da, it a rich Russian car. And you have a real country ride", he teased after seeing Eric's gray Chevy Silverado.

"Yeah, I got a good deal from those guys. And I drove a truck in Thunder Bay too, we're out in the sticks and having a truck is a good idea. And since you could be living out in the country, you ought to get a truck", said Eric.

Sasha nodded and got in the driver's eat, turning on the engine as the Mercedes purred to life. He followed Eric out of the lot and towards the nearby Holiday Inn, parking as he checked out and quickly got his bags from the room. Sasha then followed Eric's truck as it headed north on Route 1 out of the city. The city quickly gave way to sprawling suburbs and subdivisions on its edges but then the countryside opened up. Small tobacco farms were interspersed with corn and vegetables, cattle grazing in the adjacent pastures watching the cars with placid brown eyes.

Sasha followed Eric and saw the farms and the cattle passing by with dismay. I hope they don't live on a farm, I don't know anything about animals, he thought in alarm.

He turned on the radio and scanned the stations, a look of dismay on his face when every station played country or had religious stuff. Sasha was visible relieved to come across a classic rock station that was playing Styx, finding something that was not the country music he detested.

Sasha followed Eric's truck as he drove through Creedmore, sighing in relief when it appeared to a normal small town. The main street was Route 1 and it was flanked by various chain stores, restaurants and gas stations with a Wal-mart shopping center at one end with the houses behind the main street. Eric made a right and drove down a street of large houses each on its own lot, all of them with a garage attached and a lawn out front. Eric parked in the driveway of a large two-story brick house with the upper part made of white wood paneling, several plaster statues of garden gnomes and pink plastic flamingos on the lawn.

"This is my place, make yourself at home. There's a cleaning lady who comes in twice a week and she's coming tomorrow. If you need anything, there's the Wal-Mart and that shopping place as an Applebee's. I have to catch my flight tonight, so just make yourself at home", he said, handing him the keys.