Sammy Boy

Sidney hit the button for the crosswalk. The walk had been pretty quiet up to this point; what exactly do you say to a stranger when a dog and a doughnut are the only things you have in common?

While waiting for the little “walk man” to appear, Mackenzie suddenly put her hand on Sidney’s chest and looked at him with an intense urgency in her eyes: “How much does a polar bear weigh?” she demanded, the pitch of her voice going up.

Sid was caught extremely off-guard by the question – not to mention her hand on his chest – and didn’t know what to say. His tongue twisted as he tried to string together a coherent response.

Mackenzie’s straight face and searching eyes softened as her mouth cracked into a huge grin. “I don’t know…but enough to break the ice.” She shoved him playfully and crossed the street, giggling all the way to the other side.

Enough to crack the ice, Sid thought dumbly as he followed along behind her. Enough to crack the fucking ice.

Sidney had to admit he enjoyed watching her run across the street in front of him. She had a womanly figure: slender, but curvy. He could tell she wasn’t afraid of food; hell, he’d just watched her finish off a glazed doughnut in under a minute. Her dark brown hair swished behind her as her hips swayed back and forth.

Once she was on the other side of the street, Mackenzie slowed from her canter and turned around, a smile still lingering on her face.

Mackenzie had to admit she enjoyed making Sidney a little flustered. She got the impression from him that not too many people in his life joked around or teased. She also had to admit she liked the view she saw as she turned around. She figured he was around six foot, maybe a little shorter, his broad shoulders seemed to be a mile wide, and even though he was wearing a sweatshirt, Mac could see his biceps flex with every move of the leash.

“I’m sorry,” Mackenzie said once Sidney had caught up. “I just wanted you to know how much a polar bear weighed.” She flashed a dazzling smile in his direction and his heart faltered.

He tried to put himself back together again.

“Well,” Sid countered with a straight face, “if you were words on a page, you’d be what they call fine print.” He’d read that on a Popsicle stick when he was a kid.

Mackenzie narrowed her eyes at him.

Shit, he thought. That was lame.

Shit, she thought. That was adorable.

After a momentary pause that felt like an eternity to Sid, Mackenzie threw her head back and busted out laughing.

“Ha, fine print. I’ll have to remember that one.” Mackenzie continued to walk as Sid’s heart rate returned to normal. Now that he’d made her laugh once, he wanted to do it again.

Sidney and Sam fell into step with the girl, this stranger that had a sense of familiarity to her. Even though they’d only met once before, she made Sidney feel more comfortable than he had in a long time.

He had officially made the assumption that she didn’t know who he was, or at least didn’t want to bring it up for whatever reason, and it was nice to not be asked how he was feeling or doing or if any progress about the concussion could be announced.

He hadn’t felt a sense of peace and wholeness since the hit and walking next to her felt easy. Plus, from the way she was acting, it appeared Mackenzie’s first impression of Sid was long forgotten.

I hope so, he thought as they made their way through a park that, once church got out, was sure to be buzzing and filled with families dressed in their Sunday best.

A couple of joggers ran past and a woman with a double stroller walked on the concrete path, but other than that, the threesome strolled undetected and unnoticed. Sidney wondered if they came off as a couple to random passerby, but quickly shook the thought from his mind.

We’re a couple, he thought. A couple of strangers.

He wasn’t normally this tongue tied around girls. Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Sidney never really had much to say because his dates usually did most of the talking. There seemed to be a never ending stream of words trying to impress him, compliment him, or get him in bed.

Walking in silence was refreshing to Sidney, but he wanted to know more about Mackenzie, so he asked her a question.

“So,” Sid started.

Mackenzie seemed to be lost in a thought of her own, but her attention snapped back into focus at the sound of his voice.

“Let’s talk about you. Are you from Pittsburgh?”

“Oh no,” she responded. “I’m from Chicago. I moved here over the summer for my job.”

That made sense, Sidney thought. He was usually only really recognized in Canada and Pittsburgh, but someone from Chicago probably wouldn’t be able to pick him out from a crowd.

“I assume you’re not from Pittsburgh either?” Mackenzie said, the corners of her mouth turning up.

“How do you figure?”

“The way you said ‘about’ was so Canadian, it was as if a moose appeared in front of me drinking maple syrup and apologizing.”

Sidney laughed in response. His accent was pretty heavy. “Guilty. I am a Canadian.”

“So what brings you south of the border?”

“Work.” That was the plain, simple, honest answer. Sidney didn’t have to ruin the fantasy just yet.

“It’s kind of fun being a working adult, don’t you think? I mean, it can be stressful at times but for the most part, don’t you feel kind of important, moving to a new city to accomplish something bigger than yourself?” Mackenzie asked.

While the question was meant to elicit a response from Sidney, he couldn’t help but think it revealed more about Mackenzie than it would about him. From the simple question he could see the passion she had for her job, her hope of leaving behind something important, but it also seemed reveal a piece of her that was still a little scared about growing up.

Sidney had tucked away that piece of himself a long time ago – being scared wasn’t really an option for an eighteen year old with a national league on your back, and Sid often had to put on a brave face for his family, team, fans and for himself.

But here, with Mackenzie, the glue holding that chunk dislodged a bit, and he said something he never even allowed himself to think: “Yeah. It’s kind of scary.”

As soon as she heard the words, Mackenzie looked over at the man walking next to her and, although she didn’t know what he did for a living, the way Sidney responded made her feel as if this guy had the weight of the world on his shoulders.