The Next Year

The morning of Flower and Vero’s wedding dawned bright and beautiful. I could tell just by looking outside that it was going to be a hot one. It made me even gladder I had chosen a light color to wear for today. It was early yet and instead of forgoing our workouts, Sid and I got into our gear and headed for the hotel gym.

Turns out we weren’t alone in this idea; the gym had several guys we knew in it already. I hit the treadmill while Sid got into the rotation. Soon enough everyone was laughing and making jokes together; it felt wonderful. I finished my run and joined the rotation while Sid took the treadmill. Cookie laughed. “You’re kidding me right? You just swapped positions like it was no big deal.”

I was working on my shoulders and just scoffed. “Come on Cookie, we’ve found a workout groove that works for us. It’s easy not to be in each other’s way this way.”

“Yeah but you can’t push each other either. You _know_ you both thrive on pushing each other.” I rolled my eyes and kept on working.

An hour later we were back in our room and facing off for who got the first shower. Rock, Paper, Scissors works every time. This time I won. I grabbed a towel and hit the shower. We had tried showering together once; we ended up being late for what we needed to do.

I came out to the smell of breakfast. Sid was on the bed munching on his as I came over and ‘worshipped’ the coffee carafe. I leaned over and kissed Sid for being smart enough to get breakfast for us. He chuckled and finished his so he could grab a shower.

I ate while he was in the shower then I began making sure I had everything we needed for our attire. I laid out both outfits on the bed with everything we’d need. I needed to see if I could get Sid into some other colors besides grey, navy and black for his suits. I wasn’t thinking of wild colors just stretching his color range a little bit. It was something I’d work on slowly.

He came out and wrapped himself around me. “Thanks babe. Did you notice?”

I chuckled warmly. “That you were using both the tie case and the valet? Yeah I noticed. I have to go get my face on and my fix hair.” I went and did that and soon enough we were both ready and walking out the door.

We joined the others on the bus to the Cathedral, we were all happy and having some fun before things go solemn and our favorite couple become husband and wife. As we filed in we were equally distributed in the church. Kind of a bummer but at the same time it was nice to sit next to Max in his devilish suit.

For the next hour I went between dabbing my eyes and leaning against Sid’s shoulder. He held my hand through the whole thing rubbing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. I had to share my tissues with Max too but I didn’t say anything about it to him. We were all so happy for them.

Coming back out of the church we milled around for a little bit, chatting with everyone while we wait for some pictures to be taken and for the two of them to get into the car. I talked with a few of the other ladies who were there; it was like a big family reunion.

“Aleks?” I heard someone behind me, turning I found Catherine. “It _is_ you. You look so nice in t’at color.” I hugged her, noticing only then the baby bump. I grinned at her and she flushed. “Yeah, I was furt’er along than we thoug’t.”

I hugged her again. “You’ll have all sorts of help once everyone hears. Maybe even more than you want, but if we overstep ourselves tell us.” She giggled.

“Are you kidding? I’m gonna _need_ that help. Besides I think Auntie Aleks and Uncle Sid have a nice ring to t’em.” She rubbed her growing belly. “This little one won’t have a shortage of Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. Kris and I ‘ould ‘ave it no ot’er way. You are our family and…” She broke off and dabbed at her eyes. “I am sorry, ‘ormones going crazy.”

Kris was next to her shortly. He saw that she was a little upset but still smiling. “So you know?” I chuckled and nodded my head.

“I’ve suspected for a while but this is confirmation. Congrats Daddy.” I said slyly, making sure it did not carry too far. He ducked his head and smiled through the hair that fell onto his face. “Let us know if you need any kind of help. At least _I_ know how to read directions while putting things together.”

Sid found my arm and gently pulled me away towards the bus again, on the way we were joined by Max and Nealer. “Did I see that correctly? She’s…”

I chuckled. “Yes, she’s pregnant. I made sure they know that they can count on us for help when the time comes. Cath already is calling us Auntie and Uncle.” I giggled and Sid just groaned. “Come on, babies are easier than the kids are, no running.”

We got to the reception and found our seats. Sid and I separated and made our rounds apart. I found Heather and Maureen on mine and hugged them both tightly. Maureen smiled. “So, how have the last 2 weeks been for you?”

I laughed. “They’ve been good. We’re settling in and finding our off-season rhythm. We’ve already found out that Simmons makes _the_ most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on. We’ll be getting one for the house in Pitt too, it’s _that_ comfortable.”

They both laughed. Heather just shook her head. “We’ll be coming down early before moving to Raleigh to pack up the house for good. We didn’t miss anything did we?” She asked me.

Maureen and I looked at each other and giggled. “He floored me by having video from the Kath concert we went to as part of our first dance. I got told to grab the brass ring and win the Norris and the Calder, um… by Mario and Nick.” I felt myself blush; I still was kind of floored by them telling me that. “Oh yeah then he shoved the cake up my nose. I haven’t forgotten and am waiting to get him back for that.”

They both laughed. “You gotta send pictures when you get him for that. Any ideas as to when or what you’re going to do?” Heather asked as she wiped her eyes.

I shook my head. “None yet. I might wait until he forgets about it and _then_ get him.” That caused us all to laugh and gain the attentions of a few passing single males who paused. It turned out they were all past Juniors teammates of Flower’s. The girls excused themselves trapping me kind of, not that I minded too much. We chatted a little bit before I saw Marc coming over with that smile of his. “There’s the man of the hour.”

Marc hugged me. “I ‘ad to rescue you from t’ese losers. They’ll talk your ear off if you let t’em.” He gave me a huge hug to go along with the smile that nothing could wipe off his face.

They all jostled him with grins on their faces. “We aren’t the losers, you are Mr. Big Shot. I mean come on, we haven’t seen you until 2 weeks ago even though you were technically free months ago. What gives?”

I looked at Marc-Andre kind of guiltily. “That’s probably my fault.” Flower just waved a hand like it didn’t matter but the boys latched onto it, looking at me oddly. “Well, you see, V was in my wedding 2 weeks ago and she didn’t want me to freak out too much. We kind of kept each other sane up until I had to leave. Then she was on her own cause I was well, busy until now.”

Marc-Andre scoffed. “Busy… I just bet you were _busy_.” He said with his voice full of lustfulness. “Are you sure you will able to play nex’ season?” It took a second for what he said to sink in, and then I smacked him.

“Just because _you_ can’t control yourself doesn’t mean _we_ don’t know what’s on the line. Not to mention one of those weeks was spent at Dev. Camp and moving to the new house. Although, neither of those were as bad as I thought they would be.” His friends were kind of gawking at me now. “What?”

“Women don’t go to Dev. Camp. T’ere are none in de League.” I heard Marc-Andre chuckle as I turned away to keep my composure. I also saw Sid winding his way over to us with two drinks in his hands.

Flower then took the reins of the conversation as I watched Sid come towards us. “You only t’ink t’ere’s no women. Aleks ‘ere is de only one and she will be in front of me t’is season.” The three of them gasped as they collectively figured out who I was. By this time Sid was close enough to hear what was said and just shook his head and grinned.

He handed me one of the glasses and playfully shoved Flower. “Are you seriously trying to get her hurt faster? Can’t you give us a chance to _play_ before you go spilling not so secret secrets?” That made me laugh. It was also Sid to a T, more worried about the games we hadn’t played yet than almost anything else.

I took a sip of the champagne and chuckled. “They didn’t know babe, that’s all.” I was then gathered into his side. Obviously he didn’t want many people near me without him now.

Eventually we all headed back to our tables and dinner was served. During it, Sid got a note from Flower. Apparently he wanted to know if he could announce our wedding. He showed me the note and we both agreed that this was _their_ day not ours and we would not steal it from them.

In the end V was _much_ happier that we decided he couldn’t say anything. Neither of us could hurt her like that on her wedding day and telling those here would have hurt her. In fact both of us made sure to tell her that when we got the chance. The relief in her eyes was crystal clear. “V, why would we do that to you after going to all the trouble of keeping it quiet? October is soon enough for everyone to know.” I hurriedly whispered to her in the ladies room.

She kissed my cheek and wiped a tear away. “I jus’ don’ wan’ you to t’ink we don’ care.” I was helping her fix a potential wardrobe malfunction before it happened.

I looked her in the eyes and sighed. “Veronique, this is _your_ wedding day, a celebration of Marc-Andre’s and your love. We _know_ you love us but let _us_ keep our secret for now. And now that you aren’t going to fall out of this beautiful dress, I think it’s time for dancing.”

I was right as Flower claimed her after we came out. I got back to our table before Sid leaned over and placed a kiss on my shoulder. I turned and smiled at him. “Do you want to dance at all?” he asked as we sat there very close.

I shook my head. “Not really. I’m happy to just sit here and cuddle in public.” It must have been exactly what he was thinking as he scooted closer with his chair and turned me so I could lean into him. We watched as our friends danced, as we were content to be where we were. Sid held me gently as the music played.

We also used that time to talk about how we _really_ wanted the party to go when we got home. Of course Jack and Marchy would be there and Sid’s childhood friends, but was there anyone else who might enjoy a chance to see Nova Scotia too? Max jumped at the chance, as did Nealer. Between them and Taylor the house was now full. We made sure they all knew that Tay would be with us, it was something Sid every year to give her a break from having to be the perfect goalie clone. In fact she had her own room downstairs much like at the house in Pittsburgh, except she used this one more.

Making firmer plans actually made me excited for the party we were planning. It was going to be filled with friends, and I’m sure some animosity, and I couldn’t wait for it.