Mau Loa (Forever)
umikūmāhā (fourteen)
"Lani are you all packed?" Nathalie asked knocking on the door lightly, she opened it and saw Leilani sitting on the floor, Sidney's jersey in her hands
"He didn't make it back, he promised he would" she said, Nathalie sat down next to her.
"They are having problems with the plane sweetie, Uncle Mario called a little bit ago saying they where sending a new plane" she said moving the hair from her face.
"I know" she said softly "I just wanted to say goodbye" she added, a tear rolled down her cheek
"I know one thing, that boy is head over heels for you, he will find a way" Leilani looked at Nathalie
"He's stuck, it's not his fault" she said with a shoulder shrug. She zipped up her suitcase and stood up. Nathalie stood up and hugged her.
"It will be ok" she said, Leilani nodded her head "you'll see him soon"
"I know"
"Lani I'm going to miss you so much" Austin said walking in, he hugged her tightly
"These were the best 2 weeks" Alexa said
"Were going to miss you" Stephanie said
"Thank you for making Sidney so happy, we've never seen him this way before" Lauren said hugging her. Leilani wiped the tears away before looking around the room.
"Thank you guys for everything you've done for me the last 2 weeks"
"You'll be back" Alexa said, Leilani nodded her head
"But we will have to go to caps house to see you" Austin said with a smile, everyone chuckled as Nathalie's phone started to ring, she stepped out to answer it as the kids started to bring Leilani's things to the car.
The car ride to the airport was quiet. Leilani watched the building pass through the window. Her mind was on Sidney and how she wasn't going to be able to say goodbye. She checked in her bag, and turned to Nathalie, she hugged her tightly and bit her lip trying to prevent more tears.
"Tell Uncle Mario I said goodbye and I love him"
"I will sweetie. Tell your mom we love and miss her"
"I will" she said taking a deep breath, she looked at security before looking back at her aunt. "Thank you for everything Aunt Nathalie"
"Come back soon ok?"
"I will" she said with a smile, she turned and walked towards security. She wanted to turn around and run back to her aunt. To not leave Pittsburgh, to not leave Sidney and her family, but she closed her eyes and saw her house, her dog, her beach, her dad. She took in a deep breath and opened her eyes, the tears rolled down her cheeks and she proceeded through the line.
*****
"Sid" Mario said sitting down
"I'm not going to get to say goodbye" Sidney said looking out the window "she leaves in 30 minutes and we are 45 minutes away" he said, Mario looked over at him.
"Then get on a plane and go to Hawaii" he said, Sidney glanced over
"I can't, I have games"
"You can. I can say you have the flu and you'll be back for the LA game"
"I can't do that to the guys"
"You don't think they will understand?" Mario asked, Sidney shrugged
"I've never done that before so why would I start now?"
"Because love makes you do crazy things. I did it when I first got with Nathalie" Mario said with a shrug "these guys have girlfriends, and wives so trust me, they understand" he said
"I promised her I would be there to say goodbye"
"But mechanical problems are out of your control. Have you talked to her?"
"No her phone has been off since I told her I wasn't going to make it"
"This isn't easy for her. She came to Pittsburgh not wanting to, then she met you and you became inseparable and got into a relationship, she met your family, and for the first time in a long time her smile was 120% real. She's happy again, and that's because of you" He said, Sidney looked over at him and sighed "go to Hawaii" Mario added before getting up and checking on the other guys.
When they plane touched down, Sidney looked at his watch. She should have boarded the plane 5 minutes ago but he was still going to try. He stood up and as the door opened, he ran down the stairs and across the pavement to the airport doors. He ran inside and towards the gate he knew was hers. He weeved in and out of people not stopping for anyone or anything. When he got to the gate he saw it empty. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Sidney?" He heard, his heart dropped and he turned, standing at the window was the most beautiful sight. She was there, in front of him. Not on her plane home
"Lani, why aren't you on that plane?" She shrugged her shoulders
"I couldn't leave without saying goodbye" she said, Sidney quickly closed the space between them and kissed her
"God I love you" he said moving the hair from her face, she smiled and kissed him again
"I love you too" she said, not caring that it had only been 2 weeks since they first met. She felt it and she knew it was real. Sidney pulled away and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"We have to get you home and into that competition"
"You know about that?"
"I might have talked to Talan today" he said, she looked at him "I'm coming to Hawaii"
"What?"
"Mario talked me into taking some time off and I didn't know I would be standing with you here, you were supposed to be on that flight. So I was going to book a plane ticket and come to you" he said, she smiled and hugged him "guess we need to book 2 tickets" he said, she nodded her head.
"I told my mom I wasn't coming home today"
"Then we will fly out in the morning" he said, she nodded her head and took his hand. They walked out of the airport and towards Sidney's car. "I hate that you didn't go home but I am so happy you are here" he said pulling onto the freeway, she looked at him and smiled.
"I couldn't bring myself to getting on that plane" she said. He smiled and kissed the hand he was holding
"When we get home we will look for flights out" he said, she nodded and looked out the window.
*****
"Babe" Sidney yelled from his office
"Yes?"
"Come here" Leilani put her phone down and walked to the room
"How about this?" He asked, she sat down on his lap and looked at the screen.
"Sid those are so expensive"
"Don't look at the prices" he said, she sighed and leaned back on him "this one only has one stop in LA and it's just a hour layover and we will be in Hawaii by noon"
"Ok" Leilani said softly
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing"
"Lani?"
"I don't know. I want to go home but at the same time I don't"
"Anytime you want to come here I will fly you out, you just don't be afraid to tell me" he said "and if you want me there tell me" Leilani nodded and watched Sidney buy the tickets. "I gotta pack and we need to get some sleep"
*****
"Your mom getting us from the airport?"
"Yes, sid don't be mad but I didn't tell her you were coming"
"No?" She shook her head no "why?"
"I don't know I just didn't want her to preach to me, you'll understand when you meet her" she said "she wants me to concentrate on surfing and not get attached to anyone and all this crap" Sidney looked at her "like your parents"
"I doubt she is as bad as my parents" Leilani smiled and shrugged, she looked out the window and smiled seeing the crystal blue ware
"Home sweet home" she said, Sidney leaned over and looked
"I'm excited to see where your from" Leilani smiled
"I'm exited to show you" she said. Once the plane came to a complete stop they stood up and began to gather up their bags
"Excuse me" they heard, they looked down at the little boy "I'm a real big fan can I have your autograph?" He asked holding out a pen and paper, Sidney smiled and sat down so he could be eye level with the boy
"What's your name?"
"Ryan"
"Nice to meet you Ryan, are you from Pittsburgh?"
"Yes" the 6 year old said with a smile
"I'm sorry, he has been begging for this since Pittsburgh" the mom said
"It's no problem" Sidney said
"Mom can I have a picture?"
"You have to ask Sidney" she said, the little boy looked over with pleading eyes, Sidney chuckled.
"Of course"
"Thank you so much"
"No problem, have a good vacation" he said taking Leilani's hand. She smiled and they walked off the airplane
"Aloha" the girls said handing out the Hawaiian leis
"Thank you" Sidney said
"Mahola" Leilani said with a smile
"I guess I need to learn the island language" Sidney said, Leilani smiled and nodded
"There's my mom" she said pulling him along. They walked closer and Leilani could see how pissed off Lori was. "Hi mom"
"Lani" she said hugging her
"This is Sidney, Sid this is my mom Lori"
"Nice to meet you Mrs Carraday"
"You too, want to explain why you didn't make it home yesterday?"
"No" Leilani said getting in the car. Sidney frowned and got in the back seat. The car ride was quiet and uncomfortable but luckily it was short. Lori pulled up to the white house and Sidney smiled. It was small, but perfect, definitely Leilani's style. Leilani jumped out of the car as the front door opened and the black lab ran down the steps
"ROXY!!!!" Leilani cheered happily, the dog jumped up and down and whined happily. Sidney smiled and shut the car door. He looked up to see a boy standing at the door way staring at him, a few seconds later another guy walked up. He could tell right away it was Sage, they resembled each other so much. "Sage? Oh my god your here" she said running up the stairs. She jumped in her brothers arms and hugged him tightly
"Is this him?" Leilani turned and smiled at Sidney
"Yes. Sidney this is my big brother Sage and my best friend Talan, guys this is Sidney Crosby" she said, Sidney walked up the steps and shook their hands.
"Nice to meet you" Sidney said
"You too" Sage said hugging Leilani again, Talan stared at Sidney before turning to walk in the house.
"What's his problem?"
"No idea. Want to catch some waves? Introduced your boyfriend to the island life?"
"Yes, come on in sid" Leilani said walking in her front door. Finally she was home, the salty air and the ocean smell completed her.
"He didn't make it back, he promised he would" she said, Nathalie sat down next to her.
"They are having problems with the plane sweetie, Uncle Mario called a little bit ago saying they where sending a new plane" she said moving the hair from her face.
"I know" she said softly "I just wanted to say goodbye" she added, a tear rolled down her cheek
"I know one thing, that boy is head over heels for you, he will find a way" Leilani looked at Nathalie
"He's stuck, it's not his fault" she said with a shoulder shrug. She zipped up her suitcase and stood up. Nathalie stood up and hugged her.
"It will be ok" she said, Leilani nodded her head "you'll see him soon"
"I know"
"Lani I'm going to miss you so much" Austin said walking in, he hugged her tightly
"These were the best 2 weeks" Alexa said
"Were going to miss you" Stephanie said
"Thank you for making Sidney so happy, we've never seen him this way before" Lauren said hugging her. Leilani wiped the tears away before looking around the room.
"Thank you guys for everything you've done for me the last 2 weeks"
"You'll be back" Alexa said, Leilani nodded her head
"But we will have to go to caps house to see you" Austin said with a smile, everyone chuckled as Nathalie's phone started to ring, she stepped out to answer it as the kids started to bring Leilani's things to the car.
The car ride to the airport was quiet. Leilani watched the building pass through the window. Her mind was on Sidney and how she wasn't going to be able to say goodbye. She checked in her bag, and turned to Nathalie, she hugged her tightly and bit her lip trying to prevent more tears.
"Tell Uncle Mario I said goodbye and I love him"
"I will sweetie. Tell your mom we love and miss her"
"I will" she said taking a deep breath, she looked at security before looking back at her aunt. "Thank you for everything Aunt Nathalie"
"Come back soon ok?"
"I will" she said with a smile, she turned and walked towards security. She wanted to turn around and run back to her aunt. To not leave Pittsburgh, to not leave Sidney and her family, but she closed her eyes and saw her house, her dog, her beach, her dad. She took in a deep breath and opened her eyes, the tears rolled down her cheeks and she proceeded through the line.
*****
"Sid" Mario said sitting down
"I'm not going to get to say goodbye" Sidney said looking out the window "she leaves in 30 minutes and we are 45 minutes away" he said, Mario looked over at him.
"Then get on a plane and go to Hawaii" he said, Sidney glanced over
"I can't, I have games"
"You can. I can say you have the flu and you'll be back for the LA game"
"I can't do that to the guys"
"You don't think they will understand?" Mario asked, Sidney shrugged
"I've never done that before so why would I start now?"
"Because love makes you do crazy things. I did it when I first got with Nathalie" Mario said with a shrug "these guys have girlfriends, and wives so trust me, they understand" he said
"I promised her I would be there to say goodbye"
"But mechanical problems are out of your control. Have you talked to her?"
"No her phone has been off since I told her I wasn't going to make it"
"This isn't easy for her. She came to Pittsburgh not wanting to, then she met you and you became inseparable and got into a relationship, she met your family, and for the first time in a long time her smile was 120% real. She's happy again, and that's because of you" He said, Sidney looked over at him and sighed "go to Hawaii" Mario added before getting up and checking on the other guys.
When they plane touched down, Sidney looked at his watch. She should have boarded the plane 5 minutes ago but he was still going to try. He stood up and as the door opened, he ran down the stairs and across the pavement to the airport doors. He ran inside and towards the gate he knew was hers. He weeved in and out of people not stopping for anyone or anything. When he got to the gate he saw it empty. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Sidney?" He heard, his heart dropped and he turned, standing at the window was the most beautiful sight. She was there, in front of him. Not on her plane home
"Lani, why aren't you on that plane?" She shrugged her shoulders
"I couldn't leave without saying goodbye" she said, Sidney quickly closed the space between them and kissed her
"God I love you" he said moving the hair from her face, she smiled and kissed him again
"I love you too" she said, not caring that it had only been 2 weeks since they first met. She felt it and she knew it was real. Sidney pulled away and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"We have to get you home and into that competition"
"You know about that?"
"I might have talked to Talan today" he said, she looked at him "I'm coming to Hawaii"
"What?"
"Mario talked me into taking some time off and I didn't know I would be standing with you here, you were supposed to be on that flight. So I was going to book a plane ticket and come to you" he said, she smiled and hugged him "guess we need to book 2 tickets" he said, she nodded her head.
"I told my mom I wasn't coming home today"
"Then we will fly out in the morning" he said, she nodded her head and took his hand. They walked out of the airport and towards Sidney's car. "I hate that you didn't go home but I am so happy you are here" he said pulling onto the freeway, she looked at him and smiled.
"I couldn't bring myself to getting on that plane" she said. He smiled and kissed the hand he was holding
"When we get home we will look for flights out" he said, she nodded and looked out the window.
*****
"Babe" Sidney yelled from his office
"Yes?"
"Come here" Leilani put her phone down and walked to the room
"How about this?" He asked, she sat down on his lap and looked at the screen.
"Sid those are so expensive"
"Don't look at the prices" he said, she sighed and leaned back on him "this one only has one stop in LA and it's just a hour layover and we will be in Hawaii by noon"
"Ok" Leilani said softly
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing"
"Lani?"
"I don't know. I want to go home but at the same time I don't"
"Anytime you want to come here I will fly you out, you just don't be afraid to tell me" he said "and if you want me there tell me" Leilani nodded and watched Sidney buy the tickets. "I gotta pack and we need to get some sleep"
*****
"Your mom getting us from the airport?"
"Yes, sid don't be mad but I didn't tell her you were coming"
"No?" She shook her head no "why?"
"I don't know I just didn't want her to preach to me, you'll understand when you meet her" she said "she wants me to concentrate on surfing and not get attached to anyone and all this crap" Sidney looked at her "like your parents"
"I doubt she is as bad as my parents" Leilani smiled and shrugged, she looked out the window and smiled seeing the crystal blue ware
"Home sweet home" she said, Sidney leaned over and looked
"I'm excited to see where your from" Leilani smiled
"I'm exited to show you" she said. Once the plane came to a complete stop they stood up and began to gather up their bags
"Excuse me" they heard, they looked down at the little boy "I'm a real big fan can I have your autograph?" He asked holding out a pen and paper, Sidney smiled and sat down so he could be eye level with the boy
"What's your name?"
"Ryan"
"Nice to meet you Ryan, are you from Pittsburgh?"
"Yes" the 6 year old said with a smile
"I'm sorry, he has been begging for this since Pittsburgh" the mom said
"It's no problem" Sidney said
"Mom can I have a picture?"
"You have to ask Sidney" she said, the little boy looked over with pleading eyes, Sidney chuckled.
"Of course"
"Thank you so much"
"No problem, have a good vacation" he said taking Leilani's hand. She smiled and they walked off the airplane
"Aloha" the girls said handing out the Hawaiian leis
"Thank you" Sidney said
"Mahola" Leilani said with a smile
"I guess I need to learn the island language" Sidney said, Leilani smiled and nodded
"There's my mom" she said pulling him along. They walked closer and Leilani could see how pissed off Lori was. "Hi mom"
"Lani" she said hugging her
"This is Sidney, Sid this is my mom Lori"
"Nice to meet you Mrs Carraday"
"You too, want to explain why you didn't make it home yesterday?"
"No" Leilani said getting in the car. Sidney frowned and got in the back seat. The car ride was quiet and uncomfortable but luckily it was short. Lori pulled up to the white house and Sidney smiled. It was small, but perfect, definitely Leilani's style. Leilani jumped out of the car as the front door opened and the black lab ran down the steps
"ROXY!!!!" Leilani cheered happily, the dog jumped up and down and whined happily. Sidney smiled and shut the car door. He looked up to see a boy standing at the door way staring at him, a few seconds later another guy walked up. He could tell right away it was Sage, they resembled each other so much. "Sage? Oh my god your here" she said running up the stairs. She jumped in her brothers arms and hugged him tightly
"Is this him?" Leilani turned and smiled at Sidney
"Yes. Sidney this is my big brother Sage and my best friend Talan, guys this is Sidney Crosby" she said, Sidney walked up the steps and shook their hands.
"Nice to meet you" Sidney said
"You too" Sage said hugging Leilani again, Talan stared at Sidney before turning to walk in the house.
"What's his problem?"
"No idea. Want to catch some waves? Introduced your boyfriend to the island life?"
"Yes, come on in sid" Leilani said walking in her front door. Finally she was home, the salty air and the ocean smell completed her.