Fantasy Reality

I was back at the Lemieux’s and settled in until we could find an apartment for me to move into. As soon as Sid heard about my losing my job, he was quick to suggest my moving to Pittsburgh. I had nothing holding me back and I had tried everything possible to get my job back, but the damage was done and I was out. With me still not being cleared by the doctor, I couldn’t go and apply for a new job.

Interestingly enough, it was my Mom that convinced me to take Sid up on his idea and move to Pittsburgh, get an apartment and then look for employment when I was given the okay. She was the one person who hated taking risks or chances, but she was completely fine with me giving up my apartment and moving to Pittsburgh. In fact, she almost pushed me into it. When I hesitated, she said “You’re young, you only live once, go for it”. Her words stuck with me long after she walked me to the security gate and we said goodbye at the airport.

Everyone was trying to be helpful and not let me spend too much time thinking about the past; it was all about the future. Sidney had convinced me to attend practice with him the next day and I was a little apprehensive about it, we would slowly start coming out as a couple and appearing in public places.

*~*

We pulled up to the arena and parked in the shadows, away from the prying eyes of fans. This was the first time I was riding shotgun with Sid into a parking lot full of expectant fans. I was ready to be seen with Sid, but wanted to take things a little slower. Thankful for the cover of Sid’s Range Rover, I managed to get to the side of the building without anyone noticing me. So Sid went in through the back door and I walked around the side of the building to enter the main entrance with everyone else.

No one was none the wiser as I climbed the stands and picked a spot near the back and took a seat. I watched as Sid flew over the ice surface at Southpointe. He was dominating the unofficial practice and he looked fantastic in every drill. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him, this was my dream come true, I had always wanted to see him skate in person and see that magic for myself. He was breathtaking; moving like it was no effort at all. Skating over to the bench, he picked up a water bottle and I could see that he was breathing quickly and sweating heavily, obviously it was a lot harder than it looked. His eyes glanced into the stands and when he caught mine, he gave a shy smile.

The three girls sitting in front of me squealed in delight, no doubt thinking Sid was smiling just for them. I stifled a laugh and continued to keep my eyes on him as he took another swig from the water bottle, towelled his face off and went back to the drill he was doing.

“He’s so hot, I can’t believe he’s still single”, one of them said as she raised her camera phone to take pictures of Sid.

“That’s cause he’s waiting for me”, another one said as she waved, trying to get the guys attention.

They continued talking about Sid and how good looking he was for a few more minutes before deciding to go down and stand by the glass. I watched with amusement as they pounded and knocked on the glass each time a player skated near them.

I got tired of watching them and turned my attention back to Sid. There were very few children in the stands, but as Sid skated by, he caught sight of one little boy and threw a puck to him which drew groans from the girls.

‘If they only knew’, I thought to myself as I watched the little boy proudly show off his puck while the girls looked like they would chew off their right arms to get their hands on it. Meanwhile, practice was dwindling down and Sid and Cooke were picking up the pucks that had accumulated in the net while Lovejoy was gathering the water bottles. A short while later; they all skated off the ice and into the cramped locker room they were forced to use during the lockout.

Fans quickly exited the building, no doubt trying to get to the front of the line in hopes that their favorite player would stop and sign something. Sid told me that he would be about 30 minutes, so I decided to stay where I was until he was finished and leave through the back door with him.

While I played with my phone to pass time, I noticed that the little boy that Sid threw the puck to was still standing next to the glass with his Mom. I couldn’t help but overhear him replaying every detail of Sid throwing the puck to him, smiling I watched as he proudly held up the puck while his Mom took a picture. “Do you think he’d sign it?” the boy asked excitedly. “I’m sure Sidney has a lot of things he needs to do today, but we can wait outside and see if he stops”.

My heart flopped. I knew that since I was with Sid we would be leaving from the other side of the building, avoiding the fans. The thing about Southpointe was that the players were the ones who decided if they drove past the fans or not. The little boy wouldn’t get his puck signed because of me, if I wasn’t there, Sid would drive past the fans like he normally did and I knew he would ensure the boy would get his treasured autograph.

Ignoring the voice inside my head that was telling me this was a horrible idea; I walked down to where the boy and his mother stood. “Hi, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. I don’t think Sid will be signing autographs today because he has plans, but if you want, I can see if I can get the puck signed for you”.

The little boy looked up at me with big blue eyes. “Do you know Sidney?” he asked excitedly.

“I’m a friend of Sid’s and I think if I ask him nice enough he would sign your puck. Would you like me to see if he would do that?”

I thought the little boy would pass out with excitement. He started jumping up and down, nodding his head and shouting “yes”.

“Billy, calm down”, his mother said and turned to me. “That is so kind of you, but we don’t want to be a bother”.

“It’s no bother, I offered”, I told her with a smile. “I’m just going to see if he’s ready. If you stay here, I’m going to see what I can do”.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you”, Billy shouted as his Mom gave me a smile. “Thank you so much”, she said as I walked towards the dressing room.

I was almost near the doors when Ben walked out, it didn’t even dawn on me that we hadn’t met and I didn’t even realize what I was doing until it was done. “Hey Ben! Is Sid still in there?”

Ben turned quickly and looked at me. “We usually sign stuff outside”, he said as he started to approach me. “Fans aren’t really allowed back here”, he added.

“Oh, sorry. I’m a friend of Sid’s, just waiting for him to give me a ride”, I explained as Ben looked at me. He wasn’t buying it. “Honestly, go back in and tell Sid that Carly is asking for him, he’ll know exactly who I am”. With an amused look on his face, Ben re-entered the locker room and exited again a moment later.

“Joke is on me, I guess. So, you’re Sid’s girlfriend”, he said as he held out a hand. Shaking his hand, I gave him a smile. “It’s nice to meet you Carly, look forward to seeing you around”, he said as he turned to leave. “Oh, Sid will be out in a moment”, he added as he walked towards the exit.

Sid’s head popped out from behind the locker room door and he looked at me. “Are you okay?” he asked as he motioned for me to follow him. “I’m great, its just that the little boy that you threw the puck to is over there with his Mom. I overheard him asking her if she thought you would sign the puck and I felt bad so I said I would ask you and see what I could do. I hope you don’t mind”.

Sid looked at me. “You offered to ask me to sign the boy’s puck? Did you tell them you were my girlfriend?”

“No, just said I was a friend of yours and I knew you had plans this afternoon and probably wouldn’t be stopping for autographs. Sid, he was so excited and I knew I was the reason why he wouldn’t get one. Please don’t be mad”. His face was so unreadable and I didn’t know if I had overstepped some kind of boundary. We would definitely have to discuss what was right and wrong in situations like these.

“I’m not mad, I’m just surprised. Most of the girlfriends or wives wouldn’t go out of their way like that; I think it’s sweet that you offered. Want to introduce me to him?” he asked as he gave me that heart melting grin and started to walk towards the stands.

“Hey Billy”, I called as we approached the boy. “I have someone here who would love to meet you”.

The look on Billy’s face was worth all the money in the world, he lit up as Sid crouched down so he was at Billy’s level. He signed the puck and posed for a picture with the boy before standing up again. Billy’s Mom couldn’t thank us enough and just as they turned to leave, Billy turned back to me. “Thanks” he said to me as he shot me grin complete with two missing front teeth.

As Sid and I walked towards the back exit, I couldn’t help the smile that was on my face. That was what Sid was all about, Billy had the ultimate Sid fan experience, and I helped him achieve that. Sid nudged me in the ribs with his elbow. “What’s up with the goofy look?” he asked as he pushed opened the door and we stepped outside. “Just remembering that look on Billy’s face when you said hi to him, it was so awesome to experience that”, I explained as we reached his Range Rover. “It is pretty awesome”, he agreed as he opened his door.

Climbing into the passenger seat, I buckled up and sat back, making sure I didn’t turn my head towards the fans. I knew if I saw them waiting for Sid, I would probably get out so he could sign for them. Almost as if he read my mind, Sid looked at me, “Carly, stop it. There is no way that I can sign for everyone every day. I try my hardest, but sometimes you just can’t. I stopped yesterday and I’ll stop again tomorrow. You have to get use to the fact that you can’t please everyone”.

His hair was still damp from his shower and I could see a few curls from under his black hat as I shifted in my seat to look at him. “I know. I’ll get use to it”. We were both quiet as we continued driving towards Sewickley. We had almost reached the ramp when Sid glanced over at me. “Want to go zip lining?”

“Umm… not really”, I said.

“Aww, come on Carly. Where’s your sense of adventure?” he asked. Where was my sense of adventure? Was he for real?

“My sense of adventure is all wrapped up in you and this; I have no desire whatsoever to die today”. I crossed my legs and looked out the window at the trees.

“Don’t be dramatic. I’m not going to let you die. Come on, this could be fun”. He pouted and I laughed. “Fun? The last time you said an activity was going to be fun it resulted in me lying on a golf course unable to move”, I reminded him and I grimaced at the memory of the pulled muscle back on the Island.

“Please?” Oh god, those eyes, he knows full well that I can’t resist that face of his. ‘Come on Carly, don’t give in to him’, I told myself over and over again. Oh Lord, I just looked at him again. ‘Be strong Carly! Don’t you say yes’. I was almost shouting at myself and I was going to stand my ground.

“Please?” he asked again and I made the mistake of looking at him again. That was it and I couldn’t hold out any longer. “Okay, okay. Fine, we’ll go zip lining…. but if I wrap myself around a tree, you’re off my Christmas list”, I told him as I went back to staring out the window.