You and I

It’s been about a month since the funeral. Brooklyn hasn’t quite rebounded like everyone expected. We are still in Ohio with her family trying to get everything sorted. Unfortunately, I’ve had to split my time between here and training. I knock on the door to the office, where she’s been going through all of the papers and mementos. “Brooklyn?”

She looks up from a mountain of papers, and I can’t help but wince. My girlfriend is almost unrecognizable. She’s lost weight and her face has been pale and drawn for the last few weeks. “Hey Sid, what do you need?”

I think about the conversation I just had with her mother and I wonder how this is going to go. “Tomorrow’s the first day of August. I’m going to Nova Scotia.”

“Okay.”

Not quite the response I wanted, so I approach the desk. Scattered on top are old photos and tissues. All over again my heart breaks for her. “You should come with me.”

Her attention never leaves the pile. “I can’t.”

I crouch down and turn the chair so she faces me. “Let me rephrase this, you’re coming with me.”

“Sid, I have too much to do here. Mom needs help and Brianna left last week. As you can see it’s all a mess.”

“Babe, your mom has the support of her siblings and your aunts and uncles, besides they hired a lawyer.” I rest my hand on her knee. “You’ve already done so much.”

She flinches, pulling away. “I’m not going to let some stranger go through this stuff, it’s personal. These are our memories.” Her voice breaks, “All that we have left.”

I sigh. “Brooklyn, that’s not true.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Her tone is harsh, defensive, something that’s becoming the norm over the past few weeks. “Life goes on Brooklyn, you can’t stay here forever, going over old memories. It’s not going to bring him back.”

“No shit, Sidney.” Finally she looks at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Trust me, I know he’s gone for good. Thank you, though, for making that clear to me.”

“What can I do here, Brooklyn?”

“Let me stay, I need to stay.”

“Why? Why do you need to stay? Your mother told you she would be fine.”

“Because I wasn’t here.” We are both silent. “I wasn’t here when he died. We were in a fucking airplane when my father died.” She holds up his obituary in a shaky hand and recites. “’Mr. Donahue passed away quietly surrounded by his family’ well all of his family besides his daughter. His own fucking daughter wasn’t there Sidney.”

She stands and stalks away from me. “I promised him, that I would be there for him. That was the whole point of the new job, so I could be there and I wasn’t. Once again, I fuck it all up. Once again, I’m the disappointment.” Brooklyn stops on a gasp. “God dammit, Sidney, I didn’t even say goodbye. So now I’m going to stay here and say goodbye as long as it takes me.”

I’m near her when she finally breaks down into sobs. She’s incoherent as I hold her close to my chest, absorbing her convulsions and tears. After a few minutes she’s quieted a little. “I just wanted to tell him that I loved him one last time.”

We sit on the floor of the office entangled in each other until Brooklyn calms down.

Slowly, I smooth down her hair and brush a tear off of her cheek. “Your father knew you loved him Brooklyn. You have to know that. He loved you so much.”

“How do you know that?”

I smile slightly remembering our talk in the hospital. “It’s just one of those things I know. And he knew it too Brooklyn.” We are silent for a little longer. “Don’t you think he would want you to live the rest of your life? He loved that you were successful. If you stay here, that ends.”

She nods against my shoulder. “You’re right, it’s hard though.”

“I can only imagine.” I kiss her on her forehead. “Do you want to come to Nova Scotia?”

“I wouldn’t miss your day with the Cup for the world. Would you mind though, if I brought a photo album with me? I was hoping to make a scrapbook.”

“Of course.”

While Brooklyn is gathering her things the next day I’m in the kitchen with her mother. She hands me some cookies in a bag. “I saw you sneaking a few of these over the past few weeks. I’ll keep your secret from the trainers.”

I smile. “Thank you.”

She waves her hand. “I should be thanking you. I’m glad you got her to see reason. The poor girl has always taken on too much, blamed herself for things beyond her control.” She smiles, clearly thinking of something that only she remembers. “I’m so happy she has you Sidney. You’re good for her.”

“She’s good for me.”

“You know, Douglas liked you, a lot. And Brooklyn was his little girl, in every way. She was his world.” She breaks off and I reach out tentatively to hold her hand. “I know that he would have, would have given you his blessing.”

“He did.” I see the questioning look on her face and I continue. “And if it’s alright with you, Mrs. Donahue, I would also like to ask for your blessing.”

Her hand flies to her mouth and I see her swallow back a sob, before smiling. “Oh, Sidney, of course.”

Brooklyn comes down the stairs shortly after and we say our goodbyes. We are silent for the drive to the airport and then for the plane ride as well. There’s nothing to say.

Finally we land and already I feel at home, centered. I turn to Brooklyn and gently wake her up. She rubs her eyes adorably. “We’re here.”

Slowly she wakes up and remembers where she is. To my relief she smiles, and it’s the first one I’ve seen in weeks. “Good morning.”

“Actually it’s afternoon,” I trace her cheek, hoping that she will be getting some color back soon. “My parents are waiting for us. Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?”

“We’re in my territory now; I’m officially more famous than you.”

She laughs and I cherish the sound. “In your dreams Crosby.”

“We’ll see.”

It takes us thirty minutes to get through the small airport, as I stop for autographs and photos. Brooklyn is a good sport about being the designated cameraman and even chats up the disgruntled girlfriends whose boyfriends insist on talking to me. Once we make it to baggage claim I fold my hand around hers. “I told you so.”

She just laughs.

My parents our waiting for us and we exchange quick greetings. Out of the corner of my eye I see my mother whisper quick comforting words to Brooklyn. I sigh, hoping that she can stay in good spirits.

They drop us off, with the promise to join them for dinner. We agree.

I wait as Brooklyn explores the house first, hoping desperately that she loves it as much as I do. When I decide to join her, she’s in one of my favorite spots. I have an alcove that looks over the lake, usually I eat breakfast there, alone. My heart warms at the thought of eating breakfast with her there. “How do you like it?”

“It’s so calm, peaceful.” She turns to me. “It’s beautiful Sidney; I can see you here.” I bite my lip, wondering what she means. “I can see us here, is that okay?”

I have to clear my throat before I can answer. “More, than okay.”

She comes over to me and wraps her arms firmly around my middle. We stand together, content for a few minutes, before she peeks up at me. “Maybe I want to change one or two little things.”

I burst out laughing. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Don’t I know it.”

After dinner, Brooklyn excuses herself to go to bed while my parents stay for a little bit. “She looks exhausted Sidney.”

“I know mom, she had a rough month.”

“The poor girl, maybe I’ll bake her some pie. The girl is entirely too skinny.”

I chuckle. “I’m sure she would like that.”

“And what about your birthday? Have you decided what you’re going to do with the Cup?”

Shrugging I fidget with the table. “I want to keep it low-key.”

My father nods. “We will take it the old rink, though.”

“Of course.”

My mother frowns. “No parade?”

“No, maybe we’ll bring it to the golf course.”

“Now that’s a good idea, son.”

My mother sighs in exasperation. “Unbelievable.”

I put her out of her misery. “Mom, relax. I’ll have a big community party at my place. Just keep the invitation list down to a hundred okay?”

Her face lights up, “I’ll try.”

*******


I wake up early on Sid’s birthday. It’s hard to leave the comfort of his big bed, but I slowly slide out anyways. Quickly, I throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and go downstairs. In just the few short days we’ve been here, I’ve already started to consider this place home. We fit well here, and even if it is a little too…manly for my tastes, I can deal with it. Sidney is so happy here, it’s obvious.

Thirty minutes later, I’m balancing a tray, full of food back upstairs. I place the tray on the bedside table and give Sidney a quick kiss. His eyes open lazily, “Good morning.”

“Happy Birthday, babe.” He smiles and I can’t stop myself from kissing him again. “I made you breakfast.”

“You did not,” I point towards the tray. “Damn, I knew there was a reason I kept you around.”

I laugh and we eat breakfast in bed. “Are you excited for today?”

He shrugs, “Most of today isn’t about me, you know. I’ll have the Cup, but I’m carting it around town all day.”

I nod, never really thinking about it like that. “Well, what would you do with it if it was just yours?” I nudge him in the stomach. “And don’t say sleep with it.”

“So you’ve seen those photos?”

“Yes, and I’m still dating you, so count your blessings.” I laugh, but Sidney sends me a stern look, which causes me to laugh even more.

“You’re hilarious,” Sidney runs his fingers through my hair and I relax into his chest. “If I could though, I would just take the cup, a beer and sit on my porch. I just want a minute to take it all in.

I nod. “Well, maybe you’ll get a chance.”

“Doubtful.”

The day passes by in a blur. We jump from one place to the next all day. Sidney signs autograph after autograph and probably takes a thousand pictures. I’m in awe of him and this city. It looks like the entire population of Canada came out to see their Golden Boy with the Cup. I smile, feeling immensely proud in Sidney.

Later that night the party is in full swing at Sidney’s place. I can’t keep track of how many people I’ve met or the last time I actually saw Sidney. So I figure now is the perfect chance. I give the high sign to Trina who clears her throat and gets everyone’s attention. “Alright, if you could all join us downstairs in the home theater. We are going to watch, much to my son’s embarrassment, the highlights from the championship game!”

Everyone cheers and follows Trina downstairs. And finally, I see Sidney. He is making his way downstairs with the crowd with a blush on his face. Once he gets close to me, I pull him out of the crowd. “You coming downstairs?”

I smile. “Come on, this will be better.”

He cocks his head to the side, but follows me nonetheless. “Where are we going?” I don’t answer him as I lead him around the crowd and upstairs. “Brooklyn, the highlight reel isn’t that long, we don’t have time for…”

“As tempting as that sounds, I have something else in mind.” I open the door to the deck and walk outside. He follows me and takes in the scene.

The Stanley Cup is sitting on the table, flanked by its security guards, and that’s it. No one else is here. “Brooklyn…”

I lead him to a chair and push him down. “Enjoy it, babe. You’ve earned this and so much more.” I reach below the table and hand him a beer. “See you in a few.’’

I leave Sidney alone on the porch, taking the guards with me.

Instead of waiting there impatiently I go to our bedroom and lie on the bed, enjoying some quiet time for a moment. These past few weeks have been a whirlwind, and Sidney’s been my rock throughout it all. I really, just don’t deserve him. The way I feel when I’m with him, or around him is…complete. I sigh and hold back the tears, which threaten.

There’s a knock on the door a few minutes later, “Excuse me miss, but Mr. Crosby is looking for you.”

Puzzled I walk back out to the deck. Sidney is there with the cup still, and pats his lap when I walk out. “This was incredible, Brooklyn.”

I flip some hair over my shoulder, when I settle into his lap, “What can I say, I’m kind of amazing.”

He chuckles and I can feel his chest rumble against me. Sidney’s hands wrap around my back and pulls me close. “I was thinking, when you first left me out here that this was perfect.” He pauses and I feel him tilt my chin up. I get lost in those dark brown eyes for a moment. “But something was missing, you. I want to share this moment with you Brooklyn and every moment from here on out.”

I smile as I rest my head against his shoulder. “It’s just you and me, right?”

He nods and rests his chin against my head. “Together.”

Notes

So many feels in this chapter. I'm not sure when I'm going to post the last one, just because i want it be pretty close to perfect haha But also I want it to be an ending that I'm happy with and y'all too. Enjoy!