Collide

"What is all of this?" James said loud enough for only Sid, Brandon Sutter, and Paul to hear. They had just walked into the gallery where CiCi was working and immediately were met with art displays that seemed far too abstract.

"I'm going to go find CiCi. Don't touch anything. There is a cash bar in the back and don't get embarrassingly loud or something. She doesn't know we are here." Sid walked away, keyed up on the thought of being at CiCi's event. Publicly displaying their relationship. He didn't even hear Paul joke about how he didn't like being treated like a little kid and that he was the oldest one among the group. Of course he wasn't being serious.

Sidney wandered through the crowd, stealing glances at any woman with long brown hair hoping it was his girlfriend. He was relieved that not many people recognized him, and those who did only seemed to nod in his direction. The event wasn't about him and being around people who appreciated art more than the local sports teams was a breath of fresh air. He still didn't see her, so he decided to walk back towards her office. Maybe she was hiding back there, like she did on occasion.

As he turned towards a huge sculpture that resembled some sort of gargoyle, but could very well be interpreted as anything but, he heard her laugh. It was loud, and full of life and energy and everything that he loved about her. And standing just beyond the grotesque statue was CiCi surrounded by a few hipster looking people he had never seen before. She looked completely relaxed and in her element and he felt somewhat jealous of the short, glasses wearing man standing next to her that was getting an earful of a gem of a story. He could watch her tell a story for hours. She never failed in flailing her hands about in a fashion he discovered she got from her father. It was as if the hands were telling the story for her. And now, she stood the center of attention around a group of people Sid was certain he would never fit in with flailing about and holding their attention.

He must have zoned out because he didn't notice her stop the story or burst through the circle to him in a very uncharacteristic manner.

"What are you doing here?" She squealed in his ear when he had snapped out of it and realized she was folding herself around him in a hug.

"I know how much you've put into this night and I had it off so I wanted to show you some support," he explained with a smile. CiCi looked gorgeous in the same slim knee length black dress she wore the night they had met. It was simple, yet it shimmered in the light. And it did things to Sid that he couldn't even put into words. The string of pearls around her neck made her look incredibly sophisticated and professional. Her smile radiated across her face then slowly slid away, being replaced with a slight frown.

"What? What did I say?" Sid asked holding CiCi at arm's length.

"I'm the worst girlfriend ever! I haven't been to see you play, but you're here for me! Not fair Crosby." She pouted slightly and crossed her arms. He smiled his megawatt smile and dragged her close to him again.

"You could come to tomorrow's game. Your parents are going to be in town to help you move. What do you think?"

"But you leave right after the game for Columbus," she said.

"And I will be back Saturday night, after the game."

"I won't have a clue what is going on. You won't be there to explain things to me."

"And you think I understand anything hanging or on display here?" Sid spun around and gestured around the entire gallery. CiCi giggled at him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Get us tickets?" Sid pressed a kiss to CiCi's forehead.

"Damn straight I'll get you tickets. And maybe passes for after the game so I can see you before we leave."

She pulled away from his embrace and looked at him expectantly,"You really don't get anything in this place?"

"I guess if I spent some time looking at everything I would. But from just a glance, no. Not so much. But you are being glared at by some little man behind you. Almost like you shouldn't be talking to me."

"I don't even need to turn around to tell you that is the artist we are spotlighting here. He is kind of creepy. Oh my god you didn't come alone," CiCi shrieked when she saw the other players walking through the gallery, chatting quietly in a corner.

"No, we compromised. I brought them here then I have to go out afterwards. But they want you to come along too."

"Where to?"

"Hell if I know," Sid said and glanced over at his teammates all huddled together and not talking to anyone but themselves. "They are hungry, can you tell?"

CiCi laughed and shook her head in exasperation. She loved that they all came even if the art was above their heads. She couldn't blame them, it took her weeks to understand the meaning behind some of the pieces without directly asking Thomas, the spotlight artist for the evening. She didn't want to offend him, but he was an up an coming sculptor in the city and it was only fair to give him his night at the gallery. But she was pretty certain the one Sidney was standing in front of was slightly offensive to women.

But her heart ached. Her best friends, two of which she grew up with, never ventured over to see CiCi in action. To catch a glimpse into the art world. Or show her support as she was proving herself as a sufficient art critic. But here stood a man she met on a whim one Friday five months ago, someone who already has been recognized in the gallery yet he doesn't know it, and he was beaming at her. He was saying something to her and flashing his crooked smile and she loved him. She didn't care that she had zoned out and wasn't listening to him. She leaned up on her high heels and kissed him square on the mouth. It stopped him from talking, but he gladly warmed up to the public display of affection.

When they pulled away, he laughed nervously and asked, "What was that for?"

"Because I love you. You really do care about me."

"Ci, I love you too babe. And I hope you don't take me coming here as like a one up for you never coming to a game," he chided then leaned closer and whispered, "And I'm glad I didn't miss you in this dress again. I'm looking forward to taking it off you later." She slapped his arm playfully with a giggle and turned to go say hi to the other guys, who now all seemed to advanced towards the bar.

*****
"You've been seeing this boy for months now and you've never gone to a game?" CiCi's mother asked as CiCi and her parents walked towards Consol Energy Center.

"No, mom I haven't. Not that he hasn't tried to get me there. But I feel foolish going and not understanding. And I'm intimidated by all the WAGs."

"What are wags?" CiCi's dad asked. He walked behind the women as they crossed Grant at Forbes and started up towards Fifth Avenue.

"Wives and girlfriends." CiCi was impressed that her mom knew that and responded so quickly.

"At least it's a nice night for a walk through the city." CiCi chuckled inwardly, her father was so oblivious sometimes.

"Sidney doesn't mind that we are staying in your place a night earlier than the intended lease begins?"

"I don't have a lease, Mom. He isn't having me pay rent."

"No?"

"I am paying the utilities, that is it. He said he refuses to take my money on a place that he owns."

"What about his mortgage?"

"Mom, he doesn't have a mortgage," CiCi exclaimed. Her mother was downright infuriating sometimes.

"Diane, the boy nets more money in a week than the three of us combined see in a year. He can afford to buy a two bedroom apartment without the care or concern of a loan," Joseph piped in. CiCi was impressed. She was certain he wasn't paying attention.

"He surely has a loan for the house he lives in now though," Diane said.

"I'm not in the business of knowing that, Mom. But you're probably right." It was just easier to say that. She glanced up ahead and noticed the brightly lit arena and instantly felt nervous. It was only fair that she show her support in person for once, but she didn't know what to expect. And part of her was avoiding this for so long because she feared seeing him get hurt. She had met him when he was still recovering from a broken jaw.

"This is going to be great! I've been reading up on the rules of the game. And the stats for both teams. The Pens shouldn't have a problem against these guys, but they shouldn't disclose them either. The blue jackets have improved in recent years."

"Spoken like a true hockey fan, Joe. He went out and bought three books on the sport after you and Sidney came to visit the Saturday before his preseason started." CiCi recalled the day trip to the small northwestern PA city that she grew up in. And how she was incredibly against going, but much to her dismay Sidney was excited to go. In the end, she was happy he convinced her to go because she had a great time. It was then that her mother finally accepted that CiCi was no longer waiting for her ex.

"Where are we sitting?" Joseph asked as they approached the entrance to the arena.

CiCi dug into her bag, pulled out the three tickets that Sidney brought to her earlier that day and read, "The First Niagara Club. I told him no box seats and he said he wouldn't even put us so close to the ice that we can't see everything."

"Makes sense. I read that there isn't a bad seat in this place. And something intriguing about the number of seats."

"What is with the number of seats?" Diane asked seemingly curious.

"When they built this place they designed it so that the number of seats ended in 87."

"Why would they do that? Seems ridiculous!"

"It's Sid's number, Mom. He wears 87."

"But again, why make it so their seat count ends in 87?"

"Because your daughter snagged the face of the NHL dear. He signed a 13 year contract extension last year and the number worked out so that he makes 8.7 million a year for the duration of the contract."

"Oh God Dad. Were one of the books about Sidney?" CiCi asked as they got their tickets scanned and followed the crowd of people up a set of escalators.

"No, no. But I googled the Pens and read up on them. So we get to see Sid before they leave?"

"He left us locker room passes, yes." CiCi was somewhat relieved that no one was honing in on their conversation, as her parents weren't being as quiet about knowing Sidney as she would have hoped.

They got settled into their seats just as the National Anthem began and then began the longest two hours of CiCi's known adult life.

******

"Yeah, they played tough. They knew what the expect, but we came out on top. And a win is a win. So," Sid replied to the last reporter standing in front of his locker. He wanted to get out of his gear, shower and see CiCi before having to drive out to the airport for the quick flight to Columbus.

The locker room was finally cleared of all media so he grabbed his phone and texted CiCi to see where she was. When no reply came through, he threw on a shirt over his sweaty body and headed towards the family area of the lounge. He spotted them standing awkwardly in the corner, away from the families of the other players. As he moved forward, he watched as Vero Fluery, baby on hip, walked up to the trio and started talking.

He got distracted briefly by the Dupuis kids, but the loud screeching "WHAT?" that erupted from the corner of the room stopped him and everyone else for that matter. Sid looked up in time to see CiCi's mother waltz out of the room, red-faced and a very embarrassed CiCi standing next to an apologetic Vero and Joe, seemingly going about the situation nonchalantly. The entire room was silent, just watching and waiting to see what happened next.

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag," CiCi directed towards Sidney. The large grin on her face calmed his nerves. "Good thing Dad already knew."

Sid shrugged, stifling his laugh and moved closer to them. Joe grabbed his daughter's shoulder affectionately and whispered something Sid couldn't hear before turning towards the door to follow his wife. "No beating around the bush now is there?"

"I am really just tired of bending over backwards to live by her rules, you know?" Sid was shaking his head, but his laughter broke through and the apologetic look on Vero's face transformed to one of confusion.

"Close but not cigar in keeping that a secret," he spoke when he finally stood in front of CiCi.

"She acts like I am ten still. Vero, don't even worry about this. My mother is in denial that I am a grown adult. We cooked up some story to make her think we weren't really living together," CiCi explained.

"Seriously, you think she didn't have any idea?" Sidney asked as he leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek. CiCi shrugged her shoulders and flashed him a toothy grin after he stood upright.

"So, are you going to leave us hanging here Sid?" Erin Orpik spoke up from across the lounge. He and CiCi had no idea that they were still holding the interest of the room. When he turned several sets of eyes were on him, making him blush immediately.

"Uh, this is my girlfriend Cesira," he addressed the room as he draped an arm around CiCi and pulled her close to him.

"CiCi, and you stink," she said loudly making the room erupt into laughter.

"You'll get used to it," Sid said as he moved slightly away from her.

"No you won't," Vero piped in making CiCi laugh and Sidney groan.

"I should probably go check on my mom. I'm so sorry she reacted that way. She is such a drama queen," CiCi said mostly to Sid.

"It was great meeting you CiCi! Please don't be shy when you come to future games. Our little group of wags aren't like other teams," Vero started.

"Yeah, we all actually like each other here," Erin interjected.

"Oh thank you. I'm not really sure what you mean though. I just have no knowledge of sports so watching the game without Sid commentating was very daunting."

"No worries! We all have pretty good knowledge of the rules, we can help you out," Vero explained. It was then that CiCi noticed the soft French accent and she immediately wondered where the woman was from. She immediately got the sense that she could get along well with her too. Glancing up at Sid and smiling shyly, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Go find your parents. I'll call you when I land in Columbus."

"I'm so sorry!" CiCi whispered to him. She rested her head against his chest in order to hide her shame filled face.

He chuckled, "There is no reason to be apologizing. Seriously."

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to go deal with her." Little did CiCi know, Sid was certain his dad would react the same way. Especially since his parents had yet to meet CiCi.

"Go, I love you." He kissed her briefly on the lips and brushed his knuckles along her cheek.

"See you when you get home tomorrow night stud," she winked at him and waved shyly to the few women who were trying their best to look occupied. Sid watched CiCi leave and regardless of how the two of them were managing to complicate their worlds, they were happy. And he would be coming back to the city and straight into her arms. Home never sounded so good.

Notes