Still There For Me

“Kylie, settle down,” I called out to my daughter running ahead of me to anxiously go see her father. I was slightly behind her trying to keep up with my giddy almost 2 year old.
“Daddy!” she yelled, once she saw her father walking away from a crowd of people he was just talking to. He was wearing his compression outfit and a backwards baseball hat, the usual. Once he saw her his face lit up and he bent down to her level and hugged her.

“Hi princess,” he cooed, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“I missed you daddy,” she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I missed you too baby,” he said standing up and walking over to me with her in his arms.

“How’d you like the game?”

“I hated it!”

“Why’s that?”

“We lost! And I hate losing!” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

He let out a cute chuckle and said, “that’s my girl.” By the time he made it to me he said, “hi baby.” And gave me a kiss.

“You played a great game Sidney,” I smiled, knowing deep down he was a little upset. Hopefully Kylie helped with that.

“Thank you,” he said, putting Kylie down to walk by herself. She was so cute in her little black Penguins jersey and a high pony tail. “Hey little man,” he picked up or new son.

That’s right, a son. A lot has changed since after Jordan and Heather’s wedding. A couple of months later we found ourselves pregnant and we welcomed our beautiful son Ty Patrick Crosby on June 8, 2013. We found out about this miracle at the beginning of last season in September and fast forward to this season he’s already four months! We were so fortunate to have him when we did and finally have a son.

When Sidney found out it was a boy, you can say he was more than thrilled. He went out that day and bought him a pair of skates and a mini stick for his nursery. Even in the Pittsburgh house, the room is full of hockey stuff, which makes it adorable.

I can tell the topic of hockey is a sensitive one right now because the boys have been in a lock out and he hasn’t been able to play yet. For now, a couple of players have gotten together to play some shinny but that’s all. They aren’t supposed to practice or train with each other, so they got together this one time. There is still no word as to when they will be playing again but I’m hoping it’s soon. It’s killing him not to play or really see his teammates as much as he’d like to.

We packed the two kids and Sidney’s hockey equipment into the car and drove home to our empty house. “Daddy!”

“Yes pumpkin?” he asked, trying to focus on driving.

“When am I going to see aunt V and auntie Heather?”

“Soon baby girl. Aunt V and uncle Flower are going to come over for dinner tomorrow night. Is that okay?” He had a huge grin on his face, as did I since it was so cute how she asked.

“Yeah! Can we see aunt Heather too?”

“She’s not here sweetie, she’s home with uncle Jordan in Canada. Do you like Canada?” he asked.

“Oh,” she sighed. “I love Canada. It’s pretty.”

“She’s about to knock out,” I whispered. Sure enough she was out like a light and it was adorable!

“Are you ready for our appearance tomorrow?”

“I am. I already have your suit in your closet on the back of the door ready to go.”

“Thank you so much,” he kissed me at the red light, like he always does.

Tomorrow we have an appearance to speak on the team’s behalf. I just go and sit there back stage and he answers all the questions. I know it’s going to be a hard day for him and I expect him to be in a bad mood. The kids will be going to the Lemieux’s house since they haven’t met Ty yet and they’ll get to spend some time there. Kylie’s excited just to play with their dogs since they are bigger than ours. We carried the kids inside and put them to bed and prepared for a rough morning.

Screaming baby. Screaming toddler. Barking dogs. And not enough time to get ready. I’m trying to get the kids ready to go out and myself, while Sidney prepares for what he has to say. It’s a tough adjustment for me. He did help but not for too long. We dropped them off quickly and did a brief introduction and visit and we were out the door again for the interview.

“Alright Sidney, I’ll be in the green room, you have fun and answer wisely.”

“Feel free to help yourself to whatever. I’ll be done as quickly as I can be.”

“Good luck,” I kissed his cheek, watching hurry away.

"Thank you Ashley!" he winked back at me, walking down the hallway to the set.

These things are what’s the most boring to me. I love supporting him and all but I can’t stand sitting here by myself half the time when I could be at home with my kids. I just sit here on my phone and play games or watch the interview on tv. It’s really not glamorous. I came all dressed up in a nice sun dress, knowing I’d more than likely not get spoken to but came prepared just incase. I’ve learned that the hard way.

I was minding my own business when a woman came in and asked me if I was interested on doing a special for the NHL network on how the lockout affects the families. At first I was a tad hesitant but I agreed eventually, thinking about how this would do good for the image of Sidney. Plus, it’s one of the things we deal with as the wives and girlfriends in the NHL. I just needed to let Sidney know and we’ll be set.

But for now, I can go home with my family and friends and have a nice and relaxing barbeque. Kylie was playing with her stuffed horse when she saw the car pull up. “Mommy they’re here!” she yelled.

“Go to the window and wave to them!” I replied, with just as much excitement. She ran to the window and waved with such enthusiasm. Sidney opened the door and let them in, making sure the dogs wouldn’t get out. He hugged Marc-Andre and Vero, and then Kylie ran over.

“Uncle Flower!” she lifted her arms up.

“Hey squirt. Look how big you’ve gotten!” he tickled her. “How old are you?”

“2!”

“You're not 2!” Sidney butted in. “She can’t say ‘almost’ yet.”

“Is my girl not gonna say hi to me?” Vero asked, reaching out for Kylie. She noticed that they had bags for them and tried to get at them. “I got you and your brother some toys for your house.”

“You didn’t have to V!” I said, walking in with Ty. Who just had his diaper changed.

“Shut up, yes I did. This is the little one!” She instantly took him from me and gave him lots of love. They could have at least gotten out of the doorway first.

We sat out in the back yard to catch up and have dinner, then went back out after the kids went to bed. We put a little fire on and sat around it to enjoy each others company.

“I don’t think we’re going to be playing bro,” Flower said, putting his hat on backwards again.

“Neither do I. I went to an interview today and it was the most awkward thing. I didn’t know what to say, I was just like, ‘uh, I don’t know what’s going on but I’d like to start playing again’. It was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been in an interview.”

“What more can you say other than that? Nobody knows other than the people in the immediate group know what’s going on. I don't like that I’m not getting updated on anything or that I can’t even train with my team but I’m stuck here. If I could train in Quebec I would but I can’t so I’m stuck here.”

“Why can’t you guys be home training?” Vero asked.

“Well we can but it depends on who your trainers are or where they go out of. Like for someone like Sid and I we can’t train at home because our trainer lives here,” Marc-Andre filled in.

“But some guys have trainers for the summer in their towns or near them so they can stay. For me personally, I don't like having too many trainers. I have a trainer when I go home or if I’m in Toronto. I have two trainers but they’re booked up so I’m here working with a trainer in Pittsburgh that I’ve never worked with before cuz that’s the only way I can get trained right now,” Sid added. “Flower and myself have the same trainer right now so that’s why we are here. We just have to get trained at different times.”

“Well why can’t you use the teams trainers?” I asked.

“Because it’s not allowed. Hence why we’re screwed,” Sidney chuckled.

“This is too stressful,” Vero sighed, putting her head in her hands.

“At least we can drink our sorrow’s away,” Flower joked, proposing a toast.

We’re in for one crazy year.

Notes

Outfits of the Chapter: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=117720491
http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=117721176
First Chapter! What do you guys think! Please give some feedback, it's always welcome. And if you haven't read My Rock, I highly suggest it You will be lost without it, only because it explains a lot about their relationship. Thank you guys for reading and making this sequel happen!
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