Raining on Sunday

-Sid POV-

“Sid! Wait!” I heard a voice coming from down the hall in the Consol. I turned and saw Sam’s long brown hair bouncing towards me. “What’s up?” I asked. She was still in her scrubs. “How are you? I haven’t seen you since Eisley had the baby.” She spoke. I shrugged, “Just trying to get my head in the game for playoffs. What about you? You seen her a lot?” “A few times, I’ve gone over. Her and James seem really happy now that they’re together again. I know how much he meant to her.” I felt my heart start to pound, Sam’s words hurt and they felt intentional. “Yeah, I saw that they announced Scarlett’s birth this morning.” I cleared my throat, trying to hide the pain that rang through my body. “Yeah, I was wondering how they were going to go about that. I heard she’s considering quitting here, said she’s not interested in being in Pittsburgh anymore.” Eisley said that? She doesn’t want to be in Pittsburgh anymore? I had to escape this conversation, I felt like the walls were closing in. I had to stable myself with my hand on the wall. “Sid, you okay?” Sam asked, a hand on my shoulder. I nodded, “Yeah, I just didn’t drink enough water today.” I lied. She dug into her purse and pulled out a new bottle of water and handed it to me, I opened it, and chugged, almost completely finishing it. “Well, if you’re feeling better later, want to go have dinner?” She continued. “Sounds great.” I said without thinking. “Great! Pick me up at seven?” She smiled. I nodded, and walked to my car. Did I just agree to a date with the coaches daughter? In an unusual fashion, I sped home and ran inside, throwing myself on the couch and groaning loudly. I can tell her I need to focus on playoffs? I can tell her I’m still sick? But what if she gets mad that I bailed on her? I’m a good guy, I don’t back out of things. But what am I holding back for? Eisley apparently is back with James, and working things out. Plus, after seeing how his gene pool works and seeing the perfect children he creates, there’s no way I could stand a chance with Eisley after that. She would never want to procreate with another guy again after this. No wonder she wants to leave Pittsburgh. She has everything she could of ever hoped for with James Neal. Before I knew it, I threw myself into a full-blown anxiety attack.I curled up as tight as I could on the couch, and let tears come out. What a disaster, the face of the NHL, the golden boy, crying on his couch like a heartbroken 12 year old over a girl. I managed to crawl off the couch and dig around my gym bag and found my phone, I saw a text pop up on my screen, it was a picture of Scarlett with her hand up, as if she was waving. Eisley captioned it, “Hi Uncle Sid! We miss you!” And all of a sudden, everything was better.

-Eisley POV-

The next morning I found myself perfecting my letter of resignation that I would be turning into Mario in a few hours, James laid on the bed next to me, our sleeping daughter on his chest. I finished up the finishing touches to the letter, and sent it to the printer in the office downstairs. James and I had worked out the final plans to move to Nashville, we would get the necessities packed up and sent and we would drive my car to Nashville with Scarlett, since she was too young to fly. I snuck out of bed to run downstairs, as I stepped off the last step I saw a figure walking by the front door, sneaking around to the back. My stomach dropped, I wanted to scream for James but my intuition told me not to, so I tip toed to the table where I hid my Baby Eagle 40, and loaded it quickly, and snuck to the backdoor. Soon a figure busted through the front door and I lifted the gun up to it. “Shit! No! Eisley! It’s me!” Geno came into focus. I lowered the gun and exhaled deeply, putting a hand up to my heart. “Geno! What the fuck!” I exclaimed, putting the gun on the table. “You hold gun to everyone who come to see you!” He exclaimed, running both hands through his hair. “What are you doing sneaking around the back!” I shot back at him. “Front door lock! Nobody answer phone! I came to see baby not loose life!” “Well ring a doorbell sometime!” He waved me away and sat down. “Is everything okay?” James’ voice came from behind. I nodded, “Geno was sneaking around the house and scared the shit out of me.” I unloaded the gun, and put it back in the drawer. Geno and James greeted each other excitedly, and Geno gushed over the newborn. He was exuberant by the Russian middle name we had given her, and told us the meaning and where it came from. I smiled, watching the boys. I knew that had missed each other a lot, and was glad they were finally getting to catch up. I picked up Scarlett, going to change her diaper and put on a new outfit for her. I returned her to James who hadn’t moved and informed him I was going to run to the meeting with Mario. Geno took notice, and raised an eyebrow but before he could ask questions, I dashed out of the house.

“So, this is it? Immediate resignation?” Mario asked, looking at the paper in front of him. Coach stood behind Mario’s chair, his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. “I’m forever grateful for my time with the Penguins association, I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity, but with the birth of my daughter I need to take time for her…for my family.” I felt tears welling up in my eyes, so I looked up to force them away. Mario saw right through me, and stood up, pulling me into a hug. “You’re welcome back anytime you like, Eisley. You’re always going to be part of the family.” He said. That was it, I was inconsolable. I cried into his shoulder, I silently thanked God that I had worn water proof mascara, or else Mario’s all white shirt would look like he left a pen in with his laundry. He pulled back, and shook my hand, and Coach hugged me next. I departed the office with tears flowing from my eyes and power walked to my office to clear it out. “Eisley?” Sid’s voice called from inside the locker room. He ran over to me and noticed the tears in my eyes. “What’s going on?” He asked, panic flooding his face. “It’s nothing Sid.” I tried walking off but he grabbed my arm. “You’re doing it aren’t you? Going to Nashville?” He said. “H-h-how did you know?” “You can’t leave Eisley! This is where you belong!” I was at a loss for words. I pulled him into a tight hug. “Please don’t go.” He whispered in my ear. “I love you Sid, thank you for everything.” I told him, giving him another squeeze and pulling away. I walked into my office and slumped into my seat, and took in the moment. I pulled open my duffle bag and began to throw in all my personal items.

This is where I belong.

I walked into the front door of the house, throwing my car keys on the kitchen counter and letting out a sigh. I heard the light noise of laughter filling the living room, and went to investigate. James had moved the coffee table out of the living room and covered the entire floor with blankets and he laid on the floor, playing with Scarlett as a kid’s tv show flashed on the screen. “Look! Mommy is home!” He said, standing up, being careful to support his head. I picked her up out of his arms and kissed her gently. “All things go for Nashville.” I smiled at him.

The day had finally come to move, James had gotten a call from his coach and had to leave early back to Nashville, but Scarlett and I had stayed behind and still planned on driving down on Sunday, which had crept up at the speed of light. I woke up early, my phone ringer shaking me out of my slumber. I rolled over, trying to silence it before Scarlett could wake up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, babe. You up yet?”

“It’s 7 AM, we have a newborn, I’m hardly awake yet.”

James laughed.

“Well, just wanted to see if you had looked outside, I checked the weather, it’s supposed to start raining there pretty soon.” I sulked out of bed and looked at the window, what do you know torrential downpour.

“It’s pouring James. Like badly. The cars packed, but I think I need to wait it out a little bit.”

“That’s fine, take your time. It’s only an 8 hour drive, so even if you left before noon you’d be here at a decent hour.”

“Alright, well I’ll keep you updated, okay?”

“Okay, how’s Scarlett?”

“Knocked out still, good lord this child can sleep.”

“So can her mom, but that’s none of my business.”

I rolled my eyes, and laughed.

“Alright, James. I’m gonna go shower and take advantage of her sleep to get cleaned up. Call you when I’m leaving.”

“Fine, I love you.”

Butterflies.

“I love you too.”

I hung up and looked at my sleeping daughter, she looked so cute. The tiny newborn, inhaled deeply in her sleep, letting out a light snore and moved her thumb to her mouth. I smiled, taking a picture of the little girl and sent it to Instagram.

@EisKempPens: We officially have a thumb sucker! Baby Scarlett is snoozing her morning away before we leave to Nashville! #scarlettdoesnashville #travelingbaby

I showered quickly, not wanting to leave the infant alone for too long, and got ready for the day, throwing on a pair of leggings and a baggy white knitted sweater that I had laid out the night before. I heard a night knock on the door, and gently picked up Scarlett who was starting to wake up, and walked downstairs. A dark figure stood outside the door, with a hood pulled tightly over their head. I opened the door and saw Sid, soaking wet. As soon as I opened the door, he flew in, and kissed me right on them mouth. I stood in shock as our faces were stuck together, and it took everything in me to push him away. “Sid! What are you doing!” I exclaimed, holding my hand to my mouth. “I had to try one last time.” He let out, bracing himself on the door. I raised an eyebrow. “I had to show myself that you really were over me. I had to try. You pushed me away, I know now that you truly do love James.” I turned and bounced gently, a nervous habit I had enquired while holding my daughter. “Look, it was for my own personal help. You’re leaving, and I couldn’t let you leave without knowing if you still loved me the way you love him or not. I know, and I’ll be on my way.” He turned, but I grabbed his shirt. “Sid, come in. Stay for a while.”

Notes