Chapter 29

The morning after the day with the Cup Elia took the dog outside for a walk while Brad slept. They walked up to the road, and turned left. At the end of Brad's street was a small dirt road leading into the woods. It wound through the trees in between his lake and up to another lake on the right. Walking the corgi was slow and tedious. Elia often had to stop and turn around to encourage Byfuglien to quicken her pace. Sometimes she would walk off the path into the brush and just lay down. “Why can't you be normal?” Elia would ask her. She probably shouldn't have named her Byfuglien and expected her to be normal. They were almost half way there when Elia turned to see the dog stopping to smell a small plant with purple flowers growing on it. “Are you serious?” She said aloud, and walked back to Instagram a picture of the creature. Biz always complained that Elia only ever Instagrammed pictures of the dog, but his was mostly girls he banged. Elia didn't understand how that was better. Byfuglien continued waddling up the path until they reached the lake. Elia gave the dog a treat for making it so far. Together they gazed out onto the teal blue water. The notification sound for gchat app pinged from Elia's phone. She sat down in the grass, petting the dog with one hand and checking her phone with another.
There were a lot of messages to respond to. As a person who traveled frequently with friends that also traveled frequently, it could be difficult to keep in touch. Elia couldn't remember how she had kept in touch with anyone before text and gchat. She opened her chat thread with Sid.
That Penguins Guy: Hey, are you in Hali?
Me:Yeah
Me:Are you?

Typing.

That Penguins Guy: Yeah, are you busy today? I really wanted to talk to you about something. Maybe we could get lunch?
Me: I think I'm free, I'll let you know in a bit.

Typing. Message typed. Typing.

That Penguins Guy: K

Elia waited a minute before accepting that was actually all. She had an idea about what Sid was wanting to talk about. The hockey world was hanging on Crosby's every move ever since he left the Winter Classic and never came back to play. He had kept her pretty up to date on the progress, and she knew he had planned to start skating again a couple weeks ago. Sid and Elia had maintained a friendship since their first and only date, but even beyond that some how Elia had become the league confidante regarding head injuries.
Over the past year she had gotten phone calls from different players describing symptoms and asking her for advice. It always started with some variation of, "I got your number from _____. I hit the boards/I hit the ice/I got hit by fist/elbow/knee, now this is happening," and ended with Elia saying "I'm not a doctor you need to see a doctor." But the guys didn't want to talk to doctors. Doctors meant it was real. Doctors talked to coaches. Seeing a doctor wasn't tough. Men toughed it out. Somehow confiding in Elia was a way around those rules. Sidney wasn't stubborn though, he had talked to doctors. Multiple doctors. Hopefully he had good news.
She checked her other unanswered messages.

Mike Green: that car does look cool but I don't need a car
Me: you drive a scooter
Mike Green: yeah that's my point

Elia shook her head. What was wrong with this kid, she wondered to herself. She typed back a response.

Me: that's my point
Me: Tesla has ZERO emissions and needs ZERO gas that is less than whatever your scooter does.

Elia had recently decided to trade in her Maserati for an all electric Tesla and was trying to start a trend. So far she had failed miserably, her boyfriend had bought a Lamborghini instead and a guy that drove a Moped didn't even want to get one. Next message was from one of Jon's friends who was having girl problems.
Oshie: I didn't say she was a bitch, I said she was acting like a bitch, thats different

He and a long time friend had crossed over into the relationship status several months ago and had recently hit a rough patch.

Me: I would agree with you that she was being a bitch, but I think you need to look past that for a minute. She is feeling insecure about your relationship and acting out instead of communicating with you about it. Would you rather win this argument or would you rather put Lauren back in a happy place with you?

She switched over to her “We Chat” group text app. There was a continuous group chat thread with a bunch of the Blackhawks players, including past players. In the last week everyone had been a sending strings of messages made entirely of emoticons. Dave Bolland had started it when he discovered the app had an option for downloading “stickers” which were just strange emoticon type characters. At first they meant something, and it was like a game of charades trying to figure out what they meant. Now it was just completely random and out of control. She had texted that they were out of control but the responses were not helpful. Bolly had replied with some kind of rabbit looking thing giving the “talk to the hand” gesture. Kane had sent a sticker of a cartoon Christiano Ronaldo waving his hand with the words “Calm Down” next to him. Elia sighed and put her phone back in her pocket. They had been gone for quite a while so she decided to head back to the house.

Elia ended up carrying the dog most of the way back to the house. Brad was sitting on the back porch having breakfast when they walked up, and laughed when he saw Elia carrying the corgi. Elia set the dog down on the deck and walked over to his chair. Her shirt was covered with dirt and grass. “It's not funny, she is getting too heavy to carry,” Elia complained. “It is funny because your dog has the same personality as you and that's why you don't get along,” She hit him playfully on the shoulder and sat down on his lap. “That was really mean of you to say, and it's not even true,” Elia said back, taking a piece of his toast. That dog was nothing like her. It didn't listen to anyone and couldn't be trained for praise or for treats. Always making weird noises and rolling around. She asked Brad about his plans for the day. He was going to work out, then meet up with some other hockey players to scrimmage at a local rink.

Shortly before noon Sid picked Elia up at the house to go out to lunch. He got out of the Range Rover as she walked out and they hugged hello. Sid walked around to open the car door for her. They drove into Dartmouth, just next to Halifax, to get burgers and poutine. They ordered their food and sat down at a table inside the small restaurant. A group of teenagers from across the restaurant came over and asked to take pictures with them. Their success inspired a few young women to approach Sid for pictures and autographs, one of them giving him her phone number. Once their food arrived people stopped coming up to their table, although many appeared to be taking pictures from a distance.
Elia looked across the table at Sid and smiled, “You know, your head looks just fine you fucking diver, maybe you should retire and go play soccer.” He laughed, “I was going to take you to get ice cream after this but not anymore.” Sid continued, “You know it's funny you would say that. For a couple reasons actually.” He laughed again, “I was just telling someone the other day that you're actually a worse trash talker than Marchand, which is the scariest part of you two dating each other.” Elia raised her hands up questioningly, not understanding why everyone kept thinking it was weird they were dating. Or scary, for that matter. The banter quieted down and there was a heavy silence between them. Sid rested his head on his hand, pushing fries around his plate with a fork.
He started telling Elia that he had been trying to skate again, and it wasn't going well. There were days he really did feel like he might have to retire. He didn't feel as dizzy when he exercised, but on ice he couldn't stay balanced. The world tilted around him, turning his head one way spun the world and he fought to stay upright.
She put her hand on his arm. “Hey, don't ever say that. You're going to get through this.”
“You didn't get through it.”
“Totally different, I was a fucking idiot! You've been out eight months? Look at the progress you have made. If it takes eight more months and then you go on to play another ten years? This will feel like nothing.”
She knew the other half of his worry. If he was having balance problems, would he come back as good as he was before? What would he be if he could no longer be the Next One? Elia had gotten to know Sid well, and he was a really sweet, great guy. But he had also grown up knowing he was the best. Over time she had come to decipher his humility was a carefully crafted facade. His arrogance didn't bother her though, if anything it just made him human. Now that he was struggling he was constantly needing to be reminded how great he was by all the people around him. She was happy to give him words of encouragement if that's what he needed right now.
They got some ice cream after lunch, with Sid seeming to be in a better mood. She tried to keep him laughing by being her usual ridiculous self. Crosby was somewhat of a Gossip Girl and gave her a run down of the recent gossip in the league. She asked him if he had heard anything about Kane or the other Blackhawks. He shrugged. There was nothing specific he had heard, but they had signed Dan Carcillo and Ray Emery over the summer and they both had controversial reputations. The Flyers had recently moved several of their players off the team allegedly because of hard partying, and Carcillo may have been part of the group. Emery was surrounded by cocaine rumors for years, but was said to be clean now.
“Do you want to hear the rumors about you?” He asked, hesitantly smiling.
“Do I?” She asked, surprised.
“Well, everyone thought for a long time that you were with Paul Bisonnette. And then you were messing around with Marchand on the side, but still with Biz. But now, some people think you got back with Marchand because he knocked you up.”
“What?!”
Sidney was laughing at her now. She didn't understand where these ideas came from.
“Well, cause you left right after the Cup win and were with Paul, and then Marchand was all over town making out with women, and then you were in Boston again. And you skipped the summer awards because you don't want to be seen with a baby bump.”
Seeing the stunned look on her face Sid stopped laughing. She gathered her composure and let out a laugh.
“Wow, that is crazy. I can't believe people even talk about that,” She said.
All over town making out with women. The words were running through her head now. Baby bump? She looked down. Obviously she wasn't pregnant but she had put on weight since starting to date Brad. He was obsessed with the Cheesecake Factory for one, and always had ice cream in the house. She looked at the ice cream cone in her hand. Damn it. All over town making out. It stayed in the back of her mind the rest of the time they were hanging out, but there was no way she was going to ask Sid about it. If gossip was coming in to Sid he was probably putting it back out. They kicked a soccer ball around a bit in the afternoon before he dropped her back off at Brad's house.
Brad was playing X-Box when she got home. He paused the game when she came in and sat on the couch next to him. They stared at each other for a moment, an uncomfortable weight in the air. He spoke first.
“Did you go out with Sidney Crosby all day?”
“Yeah,”
Brad seemed surprised by the admission.
“Why?” He asked.
“What do you mean 'why?' we are friends, we got lunch.”
He took out his phone and showed her a picture on Twitter. It was a picture of Elia and Sid standing next to each other with his arms around her shoulder and looking down at her.
“That is totally cropped out of context there were three other people in that picture when we took it.”
He looked at it again. “Oh. Cool.” He shrugged, put the phone down and picked up his X-Box controller again. That was it?
“Hey, were you making out with women all over town while I was in Utah?” She asked him. His head turned slightly towards her but his eyes were still on the video game.
“What?” He asked.
“Can you pause that?”
He stopped and looked over at her.
“Did you hook up with people after the Stanley Cup?” She asked again.
“Uhhh....” He looked down, thinking. “I thought we weren't going to talk about that?”
“So it's true?” She stood up and started to walk out of the room. Brad followed after her.
“Hey, baby come on. It wasn't like that, let me just explain.” He grabbed on to her hand.

She stopped and turned around to face him. All she had to do was look him in the eyes and she couldn't be mad anymore. He brushed her hair out of her face and put his hand on her shoulders. There was no hooking up. He kissed one girl, one time but he was really drunk, and Seguin was wanting to hook up with her friend. That was all. He loved her, and that was it. He shouldn't even have had to explain it to her. He put his hands on her face and kissed her forehead. Then her cheek, then her mouth. And then he was all she could think about.

By the time they went to Toronto the next week for the Film Festival everything was mostly back to normal. The dog stayed with Brad's sister at her apartment and Brad and Elia stayed at a hotel near the fest. Their first night in town they walked the red carpet for the “Drive” premiere, starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. If Brad was uncomfortable at all he didn't show it. The man handled the photographers and the celebrities like a pro. Apart from the Stanley Cup day, it was their first public appearance together as a couple, and the pictures were uploaded to websites and social media almost immediately. Elia wore a simple navy blue Chanel dress with a plunging neckline and beading below the bust line. Brad wore dark grey Calvin Klein. Oufits coordinated by Brad's sister Melissa.
They attended an after party but left early when Elia decided she couldn't tolerate being around Carey Mulligan anymore. The next day they went to a screening of “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” which Brad completely hated, and a romantic drama titled “Like Crazy”, which Brad actually liked. Elia hoped he could be taught to appreciate better film but remained doubtful. Towards the middle of the week she had a lunch meeting with director Neill Blomkamp, who was interested in working with her on his next movie. She was very interested in the concept but wanted to read the script first. In the evening she and Brad grabbed drinks with director Cary Fukunaga, another director. She had sent him a screenplay she wrote and wanted to get his take on it.
“I thought it was good at the time, but now when I look back on it, I'm like, I don't know. It's too 'Pan's Labyrinth', you know?” She was saying.
“No, I disagree. 'Pan's Labyrinth' was a girl's fantasy interpretation of a horrifying historical event, the viewer was aware of it the whole time. You are framing this almost as a horror film, and only at the end pulling it back on the audience that it really happened. I dig it.” Cary replied.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
They went back and forth like that for a while before talking about directing and cinematography. Brad mostly zoned out and texted people on his phone. Dating an actress had its perks but having to watch artsy films and have drinks with hipster film makers was not one of them. Instead of going to another premiere they hit up an after party for Keira Knightley's film “A Dangerous Method”. She was mad they hadn't gone to see the movie, but Elia insisted she couldn't get passes on short notice. The more they drank the less angry Keira was. They didn't get back to the hotel until almost sunrise.

The final night in Toronto they planned to have dinner with George Clooney and Brad Pitt before seeing the premiere of 'the Descendants'. They hadn't even ordered drinks when George and Elia got into a conversation about Sudan's civil war and the re-colonization of Africa. Pitt tapped Marchand on the shoulder from across the table.
“These two are always stressing out about something.” He said, gesturing towards Elia and Clooney.
“You're with Angelina Jolie, right? Isn't she into all that?” Marchand asked him.
“Yeah, she focuses more on helping refugees. That and Millenium Village, which is sort of similar to what Downs does in the Congo. Downs and Clooney are more into the politics. She's in to some pretty heavy shit, I don't know how she can handle it sometimes.”
“What do you mean?” Marchand asked.
“Negotiating cease fires with rebel groups. Rumors of bribing parliament members, arms dealing. Those are just rumors though.” Pitt shrugged, “Glad Ang isn't in to that.”
“Yeah you seem pretty chill though man,” Marchand said, almost as a question.
“Yeah, I do what I can, I support Angie, but I don't let it affect me and how I feel. I can only do what I can do and I accept that.” Pitt replied.

Brad and Brad really hit it off, having similar nonchalant personalities, at least, when they weren't working. They talked about golf and Pitt wanted to know about good places to travel in Canada. Next to them Elia and George were getting worked up, talking about funding and criticizing world leaders. Eventually Pitt got them to settle down so they could order their food and enjoy a nice dinner, but Elia's mind was still far away, thinking. She talked a bit with the guys about their experience with animated movies, but was mostly quiet. The movie was good, and even Brad enjoyed it.
Back at the hotel afterward Elia was in a somber mood. Sometimes she felt pulled in so many directions. Her friends, her family, her job, the horses, trying to make things right in Chicago, trying to make things right across the ocean. She had been focusing on herself and overlooking her responsibilities. Brad tried to comfort her, and tell her she didn't need to take on so many things but that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

By the morning she seemed back to normal. She said she had to get her mind right. Brad didn't know what that meant. They met up with Brad's sister for one last breakfast in Toronto before flying to Boston. In only a few weeks the NHL preseason was going to start.

Notes