‹ Prequel: Shooting Stars
Status: In Progress
Rookie of the Year
Five
October
"That was rough. Are they all like that?" I ask my roommate and best friend, Corey Crawford as we walk into the house after our last preseason game against the Anaheim Ducks. While we have played many games this preseason already, this one was particularly rough. Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are tough opponents. They had me paired against Perry and that was a very physical game. We went on to win by one, on enemy ice, and had flown back to Chicago directly after the early game on the West Coast. It's now only midnight here and I'm beat after the hits I took on the ice.
"I wouldn't know, I was pretty bored at the end of the ice for a while tonight. You saw all the action, like usual." He always gives me crap for being the only one targeted on the ice. It used to be that the teams we faced off against would focus on Toews or Kane, but now that I'm the only woman, I'm a target.
"Oh shut it, Crawford. You had a shitty goal that you let up while you were bored on that end of the ice. I, on the other hand, scored a goal of my own while having a target on my back as well as Perry. I think I had the harder job." He chuckled and didn't disagree.
"I'll give you tonight, Mosier. But two days from now, in the opener, that will be my game. I already have a feeling." This was harder to believe. We won all but two of our preseason games which is better than we have done as a team in a while. But it could have been better, this was really rough especially for me. The rest of the guys had it a little easier for a couple of reasons, the biggest being that they've done this before whether it be in the AHL or the NHL and the other big one is that they didn't have a target on them and only them.
The only solace to this fact is that we play Pittsburgh in two weeks and I've been talking to Sidney for the entire summer and a little this preseason. That night that he kissed me in Vegas, I was afraid of what could come from a relationship with another player. Not that it would be a big problem while I was in Chicago, because we only play twice the entire season, but what it would mean to have a enemy for a love interest. Also, I didn't know how to tell him about Ava. I decided on just introducing them the next morning at brunch when he and I went off the hotel grounds instead of eating with other players in the ballroom.
FLASHBACK
"Soph, are you sure you don't want Jon and I to take Ava to breakfast with us? Corey and Abby will be down there, so you won't have to worry. We can totally handle her for a couple of hours while you get brunch with Sidney." My cousin Jackie, who is in a relationship with my Captain offered.
"No, Jacks. I have to get him to see who I am and that includes who I am as a mother. I'm not a free woman playing hockey, I have a lot of responsibilities. He needs to know that I'm not looking for a good lay when we happen to be in the same city. That's not what I'm looking for."
"Alright, but good luck. He's a hockey player and he might just need a good lay every once in a while. I hope he's different, but they can't all be like Corey and Jon. The majority are more like Kaner." We both laugh and I hear a knock on the hotel room door. I believe it's Sidney, so I gather the diaper bag, my daughter in her stroller, and my small purse to head out the door. I find that I'm right when Jackie opens the door.
"Hey Sid, I'm going to leave you guys. I'll see you when we head to the airport, Soph." Jackie heads out passed Sidney and that leaves him and I staring at each other with a baby buggy between us.
"And who is this cute little girl?" he bends down after a minute to greet Ava and it makes my woman parts sing - these being my ovaries like a kick in the stomach.
"Well, Sidney this is my daughter Ava." I leave it at that and watch as his eyes come up to look into mine. He must be calculating hold old I must have been to have this little girl. And she's a little smaller than is average for her age, so I'm sure he thinks it is one of my teammate's kid. "She is the result of my rape when I was kidnapped in 2010. She's the reason I'm still with the Hawks. My parents died in a car accident the day I learned I was having Ava. I moved in with Patrick and Abby Sharp not that long after and when they were getting ready to welcome their first child, I moved in with Corey. He's my best friend and has helped me in the parenting department."
"Well, I'm sorry of how she came to be, but she's absolutely adorable. Will she be joining us for brunch?"
END FLASHBACK
That was all it took for Sidney to accept my daughter. I appreciate it everyday. I can't wait for him to come to Chicago. We play on a Friday and they don't play again until Tuesday, so he has a free day on Saturday and will fly back to Pittsburgh on Sunday. I'm going to show him my favorite parts of the city on Saturday while Corey's parents are in town. They decided to come down for the beginning of the season and haven't told us when they are leaving. They get here tomorrow and I'm thankful they volunteered to do it. I need someone I can trust and not feel bad about leaving Ava with for on a consistent basis this early in the season. I don't want to run out of options when we travel later and so I'm trying to not hit up the wives too much too soon. I doubt anyone would complain, but you never know.
"I'm headed to bed, Cor. I'll get up to get your parents and we will pick up Ava from the Sharps' on the way home from O'Hare." He nods and we go our separate ways in the house. He is on the main floor and I'm on the upper level. It's weird to not have Ava in the house tonight, but I'm grateful that Abby offered to take her for the couple of nights we were on the West Coast. But I'm excited to see my baby tomorrow. That's my last thought as my head hits the pillow and I'm out.
"That was rough. Are they all like that?" I ask my roommate and best friend, Corey Crawford as we walk into the house after our last preseason game against the Anaheim Ducks. While we have played many games this preseason already, this one was particularly rough. Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are tough opponents. They had me paired against Perry and that was a very physical game. We went on to win by one, on enemy ice, and had flown back to Chicago directly after the early game on the West Coast. It's now only midnight here and I'm beat after the hits I took on the ice.
"I wouldn't know, I was pretty bored at the end of the ice for a while tonight. You saw all the action, like usual." He always gives me crap for being the only one targeted on the ice. It used to be that the teams we faced off against would focus on Toews or Kane, but now that I'm the only woman, I'm a target.
"Oh shut it, Crawford. You had a shitty goal that you let up while you were bored on that end of the ice. I, on the other hand, scored a goal of my own while having a target on my back as well as Perry. I think I had the harder job." He chuckled and didn't disagree.
"I'll give you tonight, Mosier. But two days from now, in the opener, that will be my game. I already have a feeling." This was harder to believe. We won all but two of our preseason games which is better than we have done as a team in a while. But it could have been better, this was really rough especially for me. The rest of the guys had it a little easier for a couple of reasons, the biggest being that they've done this before whether it be in the AHL or the NHL and the other big one is that they didn't have a target on them and only them.
The only solace to this fact is that we play Pittsburgh in two weeks and I've been talking to Sidney for the entire summer and a little this preseason. That night that he kissed me in Vegas, I was afraid of what could come from a relationship with another player. Not that it would be a big problem while I was in Chicago, because we only play twice the entire season, but what it would mean to have a enemy for a love interest. Also, I didn't know how to tell him about Ava. I decided on just introducing them the next morning at brunch when he and I went off the hotel grounds instead of eating with other players in the ballroom.
FLASHBACK
"Soph, are you sure you don't want Jon and I to take Ava to breakfast with us? Corey and Abby will be down there, so you won't have to worry. We can totally handle her for a couple of hours while you get brunch with Sidney." My cousin Jackie, who is in a relationship with my Captain offered.
"No, Jacks. I have to get him to see who I am and that includes who I am as a mother. I'm not a free woman playing hockey, I have a lot of responsibilities. He needs to know that I'm not looking for a good lay when we happen to be in the same city. That's not what I'm looking for."
"Alright, but good luck. He's a hockey player and he might just need a good lay every once in a while. I hope he's different, but they can't all be like Corey and Jon. The majority are more like Kaner." We both laugh and I hear a knock on the hotel room door. I believe it's Sidney, so I gather the diaper bag, my daughter in her stroller, and my small purse to head out the door. I find that I'm right when Jackie opens the door.
"Hey Sid, I'm going to leave you guys. I'll see you when we head to the airport, Soph." Jackie heads out passed Sidney and that leaves him and I staring at each other with a baby buggy between us.
"And who is this cute little girl?" he bends down after a minute to greet Ava and it makes my woman parts sing - these being my ovaries like a kick in the stomach.
"Well, Sidney this is my daughter Ava." I leave it at that and watch as his eyes come up to look into mine. He must be calculating hold old I must have been to have this little girl. And she's a little smaller than is average for her age, so I'm sure he thinks it is one of my teammate's kid. "She is the result of my rape when I was kidnapped in 2010. She's the reason I'm still with the Hawks. My parents died in a car accident the day I learned I was having Ava. I moved in with Patrick and Abby Sharp not that long after and when they were getting ready to welcome their first child, I moved in with Corey. He's my best friend and has helped me in the parenting department."
"Well, I'm sorry of how she came to be, but she's absolutely adorable. Will she be joining us for brunch?"
END FLASHBACK
That was all it took for Sidney to accept my daughter. I appreciate it everyday. I can't wait for him to come to Chicago. We play on a Friday and they don't play again until Tuesday, so he has a free day on Saturday and will fly back to Pittsburgh on Sunday. I'm going to show him my favorite parts of the city on Saturday while Corey's parents are in town. They decided to come down for the beginning of the season and haven't told us when they are leaving. They get here tomorrow and I'm thankful they volunteered to do it. I need someone I can trust and not feel bad about leaving Ava with for on a consistent basis this early in the season. I don't want to run out of options when we travel later and so I'm trying to not hit up the wives too much too soon. I doubt anyone would complain, but you never know.
"I'm headed to bed, Cor. I'll get up to get your parents and we will pick up Ava from the Sharps' on the way home from O'Hare." He nods and we go our separate ways in the house. He is on the main floor and I'm on the upper level. It's weird to not have Ava in the house tonight, but I'm grateful that Abby offered to take her for the couple of nights we were on the West Coast. But I'm excited to see my baby tomorrow. That's my last thought as my head hits the pillow and I'm out.
♠ ♠ ♠
Sorry it's a filler. Just building a story line.