Start Me Up

“Big game.” Tessa smiled over at Tara as they took their seats amongst the rest of the Nashville wives and girlfriends. Tara, with a relatively new baby, didn’t want to sit in the crowd and Tessa didn’t want to sit by herself so that was how she had ended up in the wives room in the Bridgestone arena for the first time since she and Shea had gotten together. Also, to be noted, she stood out like a sore thumb in enemy colors, not that anyone held that against her.

Her response to Tara was, “Yeah, baby’s first time at daddy’s game, how exciting!”

With a smile Tara told her, “I was talking more Shea’s first game back in Nashville.”

“Less important.” Tessa joked with a grin on her face as she leaned over and tickled Evie’s stomach, baby talking to her without caring who was around, “Isn’t that right Evie? Uncle Shea is boring, hardly even worth the time they’ll give him.”

Harper let out a laugh as she approached them, taking the seat next to Tessa as Tara told her, “Go get your own baby.”

“Nah, I’ll just love this one for a while… like maybe for another year.” Tessa informed her as she reached over and pulled the blanket up further on Evie. When Tara and Harper both raised their eyebrows at her she shrugged and said, “Shea and I have talked about the whole baby thing... we’ve decided we might look at starting the process once we’re settled.”

“Aw our babies can be best friends.” Tara told her with a smile.

Tessa grinned wickedly as she said, “Or they could marry each other.”

“I think Pekka might not like that idea so much.” Tara told her and when Tessa’s eyebrow raised she went on to explain, “He is definitely going to be that overbearing dad that will probably have a stroke when she brings her first boyfriend home.”

“I can see it. Zen Peks will be zen no more.” Tessa stated, making the three of them laugh.

“So how is Montreal?” Harper asked Tessa, holding her popcorn bucket out for her to take a handful.

With her palm filled with popcorn Tessa shrugged and said, “It’s actually better than I expected. I mean, it’s beautiful there… and I guess I’m making friends with some of the ladies there, which is kind of weird because I never really got the chance to do that here. It’s… weird and new but good… did that make sense?”

They both laughed and Tara told her, “About as much sense as you always make.”

“So none then?” Tessa asked her, and again they laughed.

Harper tugged gently on the loose fabric of Tessa’s red jersey and stated, “That is certainly weird.”

Looking down at the jersey that held all the familiar markings of Shea’s jersey minus the coloring Tessa nodded her head and said, “Tell me about it. It’s taken a lot of getting used to, that’s for sure.”

“It’s been an adjustment here too. Sometimes when baby can’t sleep I drive past your old house and envision dropping her off for you guys to deal with.” Tara joked, and Tessa let out a laugh at that. She then added, “There’s finally people in there, a bunch of young college kids I think.”

“I miss that house.” Tessa mused.

Harper told her, “You still haven’t sent me pictures of your place in Montreal, you know.”

Tessa grabbed her phone out of her pocket and began scrolling through the pictures she had taken with good intentions of sending to her friends south of the border but simply never got around to doing so. After two weeks of arguing about houses Tessa had finally relented and let Shea pick the budget, much higher than she had ever wanted to spend on a house, especially one that needed work but Shea’s reasoning was so that she had something to occupy herself with while he was gone.

They had settled on a four bedroom home, more than they needed but they were building a future together, at least that was what Shea had pointed out when she voiced her concern over the size. It wasn’t him that was going to be doing all of the cleaning, but the small consolation prize was the large driveway he would kill himself shoveling once the snow appeared.

Truthfully there wasn’t much to be done within the house, cosmetic things really, aside from the master bedroom but Tessa had a plan for that. One she shared with her friends as they reached pictures of the upstairs, “We’re gonna put up a wall to connect the master bedroom to the bathroom across the hall and make the dead space a closet since the bedroom currently doesn’t have one.”

“You bought a house without a closet in your bedroom?” Tara asked, and when Tessa nodded she reached out with her free hand and placed the back of it against Tessa’s forehead. She stated, “You don’t feel warm...”

With a laugh Tessa told her, “We literally have three clothing racks in the bedroom and that still isn’t enough. The master suite area is next on my list. Had to start with the bathroom downstairs… oh yeah, and did I mention Shea convinced me to buy a house with a disaster of a kitchen?”

“Montreal has sure changed you.” Harper joked, and Tessa simply nodded her head in agreement which made her company laugh.

She showed them the kitchen before and afters, and then she tucked her phone back into her pocket and held her arms out as she told Tara, “Okay, I need baby snuggles now.”

“Gladly.”

With Evie carefully tucked into her arms Tessa rested back against her seat and looked out to the ice again. When Shea had first stepped out onto the ice the crowd’s loud cheer had been enough to nearly cause Tessa to cry, and now, during a commercial break, came the part that she was both least excited to see and had been waiting for all week.

The tribute video.

The jumbotraun showed Shea on the ice halfway through the video and Tessa simply smiled as she watched him battle his emotions. He waved to the crowd as they cheered loudly, teammates both current and former banged their sticks on the boards and Tessa simply bit down on her bottom lip as she watched the rest of the tribute video.

It featured videos from moments over his long career in Nashville and with the Predators, clips about his charity work within the city, interviews with former teammates, coaches and the Preds GM, as well as fans and people who had a special impact on his life in the same way that he had on theirs.

Tessa knew Shea would want to watch it when they got back to Montreal, because she knew he wasn’t truly watching it now. The look on his face told her so. She wasn’t going to pretend that she knew how hard being back here was, but she did have an idea and she didn’t blame him for not wanting to really watch it now; in the middle of a must win game for him.

The rest of the game was rather uneventful, if Tessa was allowed to say that. She made small talk with the girls, had a text message conversation with Jess, Carey Price’s wife, over the tribute video and their lunch plans next week, and never once did she give Evie back to Tara. Not that Tara minded in the least.

Every time she got fussy Tara went to grab her only to find Tessa already getting to the root of the cause of her fussiness as if she were a pro at this whole baby thing. For someone who had never really grown up with kids of any age around her, had no friends, up until now, who had children of their own and had only seen her own niece through pictures she sure did have it down.

When the Habs tied the game up late, thanks to a goal by Shea no less, Tessa grinned to herself. Tara told her, “Peks said he was allowed one goal but jeez did it have to be the same tying goal?”

With a laugh Tessa told her, “Peks is just trying to inflate his ego. He knows he has no chance against Shea.”

“Truth.”

Once the game was over, with an overtime win for Tessa’s new team, Harper sighed, “Damn, so close.”

“I mean… I’m not mad.” Tessa stated with a grin, making them laugh as they waited for the crowds to start to dissipate before they headed out to wait for their men.

As predicted Pekka was the first out of the locker room, immediately embracing Tessa into a warm hug. Unlike Shea the two hadn’t seen each other the night before, Tessa had only arrived in Nashville that afternoon so they were going for dinner that night and Thursday she would be heading back to Montreal.

“It’s good to finally see you in person.” Pekka told her, adding in with a grin, “Three months is much too long.”

She had made a quick trip back to Nashville in October when Evie was born, but hadn’t seen anyone other than Tara and Pekka then.

“Yeah, tell me about it. But hey, it will be summer soon enough.” Tessa reminded him of their plans for another get together that summer.

“True.” He stated.

It was Roman who asked Tessa, after hugging her, “What’s the plan for tonight?”

“We’re just waiting on slow poke- I mean Shea.” Tessa joked, smiling before she added, “He’s meeting us here to say goodbye, they’re leaving tonight for Dallas and then we’re going to find something to eat because I am starving.”

“Me too.” Harper stated, and Tara nodded her head in agreement.

Pekka joked, “It would help if you guys ate before the game, you know.”

“But then I wouldn’t be in the mood for popcorn and seriously I’ve been deprived of good arena popcorn for months.” Tessa stated, making everyone laugh.

When Shea approached them Tessa let everyone greet him first, waiting back until it was clear. She laughed when Pekka told Shea, “That’s the last goal you’re ever gonna score on me, just so you know.”

“We’ll see about that.” Was Shea’s only response.

Tessa wasn’t surprised when he completely ignored her and went straight to plucking Evie right out of Tara’s grasp. He hadn’t had the chance to see her in person yet, and pictures and videos only did so much. Tessa watched him with a soft smile on her face as he rocked very gently side to side and kept his eyes on the tiny not quite three month old in his arms.

Tessa noted that she was asleep, and Tara muttered, “Figures, now you sleep you rotten little munchkin.”

Everyone laughed, Shea included, and Pekka told her, “How was she supposed to sleep all day? It was an exciting day for her.”

Rolling her eyes Tara shot back with, “Yeah, well, contrary to popular belief I actually do need sleep to function like half of a normal person.”

Shea glanced down at his watch and sighed, taking a few more seconds with Evie before he had to regretfully hand her back to her mom and announce to Tessa, “I gotta go.”

“Alright, peace out.” She stated, waving for good measure.

He laughed and she simply followed him slightly down the hall and toward the exit for even a few minutes of privacy. She instantly leaned up on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his waist, hands spread out over his back as he crossed one arm over her the backs of her shoulders and the other across her back.

Leaning into him she rubbed his back gently and told him, “I wish you didn’t have to leave so soon.”

“Me too.” He told her softly.

“I just… I know tonight couldn’t have been easy and I wish I could spend a little more time with you before you left.” She told him, her voice muffled slightly against his suit jacket.

He nodded his head slowly and said, “Thanks for being here tonight.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” She told him, pulling away from him just enough to smile over at him and lean up even more to kiss his lips quickly.

She knew that their time was running out and any second now someone would come around the corner to tell Shea they had to leave so she kissed him twice more before she dropped back onto the heels of her feet. He told her, “You’ll keep me updated Thursday while you travel?”

Nodding she asked him, “You’ll text me when you get into Dallas?”

“Do I not text you every time we land?” He teased.

“Yeah, it drives me fucking bonkers.” She told him, and Shea let out a laugh. He glanced at his watch again and Tessa took that as a sign that he really, really had to go this time. So she straightened the lapels on his suit jacket, leaned up to kiss him once more and then she told him, “I’ll see you at home, I love you.”

“Love you.”

She waited until he was gone completely from her sight before she turned around and asked her waiting company, “Alright, who’s taking me for food?”

- - -

Tessa had been back in Montreal, without Shea, for days. They were finishing up their road trip and would be coming home late that night, if not well into the early morning, but that still seemed like a lifetime away after being apart for so long. She hated road trips more now that they were living together than she ever had before.

Living together, navigating a new city and a new chapter in their lives was a lot harder than Tessa had anticipated. Every time she thought she had a handle on the rollercoaster of road trips she realized she was wrong. She would just get used to Shea being home, making a mess, being loud, being in her personal space all of the time and then just like that he was gone again and after so long of having to learn to be alone she realized that while she didn’t mind it so much she was lonely a lot.

There were plenty of times where she had to remind herself that as frustrating as something was for her when it came to adjusting to Montreal it was the same for Shea and she couldn’t exactly take it out on him when he wasn’t doing that to her. So every time she was frustrated over yet another day of boredom, of still not being able to drive in the city and needing a chaperone just to grocery shop she had to remind herself that chances were Shea felt the exact same.

The truth was, their transition here had been anything but smooth.

Things had gotten smoother when Tessa realized that there was a solution for everything. The app on her phone that translated even pictures of words in French to English was a Godsend, she had started ordering anything that she could online, groceries included, while Shea was on the road and when she really needed to get out of the house without feeling like her head was spinning trying to get around she called one of the girls who were more than happy to help her out.

It was all about balance, and making an effort. Both of which were difficult for her, but she was managing somehow.

Tonight was one of those nights where there was really nothing in the fridge and rather than venture to a store and probably get lost she opted to order in. She ordered enough that Shea could make himself a meal when he got home if he was hungry, and she ate her Thai food in the bath tub while she tried her best to relax as she waited for Shea.

She wasn’t planning on waiting up for him, he wouldn’t get in until after midnight based on what time he had text her to let her know that they were boarding the plane. She just knew the chances of her being able to actually fall asleep all alone in this big house were a lot higher if she was more relaxed. So when she got out of the tub she made herself some tea and crawled into bed, watching a Friends re-run on TV.

She was woken up when the bed shifted with weight and she glanced at the clock next to her which told her it was just after two in the morning. Shea dropped onto his side of the bed with a sigh and when she rolled over to face him he told her, “Sorry if I woke you.”

Shaking her head she tucked herself against his side, slipping her leg between his and laying her hand on his stomach as he slipped his arm underneath her pillow. She told him, “It’s okay, I would rather know it was you getting into bed with me and not some stranger with a knife.”

Shea let out a laugh, it was loud and echoed in the quiet around them, and he leaned over to kiss the top of her head as he told her, “Never a dull moment.”