Days of Black and Gold

“My, my, don’t you look cozy.”

“I don’t know about cozy,” I chuckled, shifting my legs off the couch and onto the floor. “I’m definitely feeling more useless and fat than cozy.”

“You are not fat, Margot, you are pregnant, and only for a few more weeks.”

“Doctor Addison says seven more, but I guess we’ll see. Thanks for coming over, by the way. I haven’t been much for driving lately.”

“Can you even fit behind the steering wheel?” She joked, sitting next to me.

“Thank you, Cath,” I grinned. “How is Kris and Alex?”

“Nothing new with them,” she told me. “But you know that’s not why I came over. It’s been a month, Margot, what are you doing living downtown?”

“I’ve called, I’ve texted, but he never answers. What more can I do?”

“You thought renting a place in the city was a good idea?”

“I couldn’t stay at Geno’s forever, and Sidney obviously doesn’t think I’m worth his time.”

“You could have stayed with us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Cath. I would be such a burden.”

“You wouldn’t,” she argued.

“Thanks, but I’m alright with this. Pappy is helping pay for rent, and there is a second bedroom for the twins. I think this is good. Separate myself from anything that might cause too much stress.”

“You still come to some games. Isn’t that stressful?”

“I don’t know about stressful. It’s a bit weird, you know, watching Sidney play and then not being able to talk to him.”

“Maybe you should have just told him.”

“Thank you, Catherine,” I glared. “I really do not want to talk about how stupid I’ve been.”

“In that case, tell me you are coming to tonight’s game.”

“Of course! I assumed that was the reason you came over,” I joked.

“I like to think you enjoy my company,” Catherine smirked. “Anyway, the boys were hoping I would bring you down to see them.”

“Do you really think that is a good idea? The last thing the team needs is to see Sidney and me in some kind of awkward, silent fight.”

“Geno made the suggestion.” Catherine held her hands up in surrender.

“Are you serious?” I asked with a laugh. “That man comes to see me every single day the boys are in town. I can’t imagine why he would want to see me more often than that. I really appreciate it, but even I’m getting annoyed by his unannounced drop-ins.”

“You have a friend in Geno forever, Margot.”

“Don’t I know it,” I chuckled. “But I don’t think I can go down to the locker room tonight.”

“Who cares if you piss of Sidney? It can’t get much worse than it is now.”

“If I’m honest, I would like for him to at least make an appearance at the kid’s birth. At this point, it would just be nice for him to want to see his children, even if he wants nothing to do with me.”

“I will drag his ass off the ice, or out of wherever, to make sure that he is at the birth of his first children.”

“I know exactly who I am calling when I go into labour,” I laughed.

“Does that mean you’ll see the team tonight?”

“I don’t know, Cath. I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Let’s see how the game goes, and then decide for sure.”

“I can do that,” I nodded, pushing myself off of the couch. “I’m so glad we’ve been sitting in box seats lately. I really don’t think I would fit in those plastic things any longer.”

“Just wait until you’re pushing a double stroller around. You’ll be lucky if you fit through some doors.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping you would say,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. Pulling a loose plaid button up over my grey tee-shirt, I turned back to Catherine. “Shall we go?”

“You’re a bit slow these days, so it might be for the best.”

“Why are you being so harsh?” I asked, feigning hurt as I pulled on a black puffer vest and pushed my feet into a pair of sneakers. “All I’ve ever done was love you.”

“I think this pregnancy is making you insane,” Catherine laughed, slipping on her jacket and shoes.

“I don’t think the pregnancy has anything to do with my mental state,” I joked, leading her out the door and locking it behind us.

Once we made it to the arena, we quickly found our box and sat down with the other wives and girlfriends who had arrived.

“Sweetie, you look amazing!”

“Thanks, Anna,” I smiled, sitting next to the beautiful Russian. “When did you and Nikita get back?”

“Last week.”

“Geno must be happy about that.”

“Yes, he keep visiting you, though.”

“I haven’t found a way to make him stop,” I groaned. “For some reason he thinks I can’t survive on my own.”

“I talk to him.”

“That would be nice, but don’t tell him I never want him to visit. It would be nice if it wasn’t as often.”

“He will love that,” Catherine chuckled, sitting next to me and handing over a bottle of water. “Here come the boys.”

My eyes landed on the ice as Marc led the team out of the locker room. “Oh, shit.”

“What’s wrong?” Veronique asked from behind us.

“I forgot who they were playing,” I stated, watching the teams skate around. “I don’t think I can go down to the locker room after the game.”

“I thought you used to work for them.”

“I did, but Alex and I had a fallout. I really don’t want to see him again.”

“We’ll be there,” Catherine said, rubbing my arm. “If you don’t want to see him, you won’t.”

“If only it was that easy,” I murmured, as we stood for the anthem.

“Coach isn’t starting Sidney,” Veronique observed once the anthem was over. “That’s unusual.”

“Maybe he wanted to try something new,” Catherine shrugged, as Evgeni’s line positioned themselves at center.

As the puck hit the ice, Evgeni’s attention quickly moved from winning the draw to the patch of ice where Alex was stationed.

“That’s not good,” I gulped, watching as both players’ gloves came off.

“What is he doing?” Anna screeched, covering her mouth as Evgeni took a swing at Alex.

“Why on earth would he fight?”

“I had to tell him what Alex tried to do,” I explained, quietly. “He was not impressed.”

“Is this something new?” Veronique asked.

“No,” Catherine answered. “She just didn’t share it with anyone.”

“Except you?” She raised her brow.

“Kris told me.”

“He will be so pleased you called him a nobody,” I joked. “I tried to keep it quiet, so I told Kris because he was at Sidney’s when I arrived, and then I told Sidney because we were together at the time.”

“He didn’t do anything illegal, did he?”

“No, nothing like that,” I shook my head, before quickly explaining to the women what had happened all those months ago. “I’m over it. He stopped calling and texting, so there is nothing to worry about. I think Sidney had something to do with that, but either way, I’m just happy it’s over.”

“No wonder he fight,” Anna spoke. “He love his Pittsburgh family too much to let that go.”

“I should have never told him.”

“Why did you?”

I shrugged and cracked open my water. “It slipped out, and he asked about it. If I’m honest, I was surprised Sidney hadn’t told him already.”

“I don’t think the boys gossip like we do,” Catherine chortled, patting my leg.

“I’m pretty certain they don’t gossip at all, Cath. At least not amongst themselves. To their wives, sure, but I don’t know that that can be considered gossip.”

“Why must you destroy any hope I have that Kris will start sharing things that the guys tell him?”

“Are you sure you know your husband?” I laughed. “He is not an easy man to get words out of.”

“That’s true,” she sighed, a huge smile on her face. “I married such a great man.”