The Long Road
I
*July 27, 2015*
*Cole Harbour, Canada*
"Come on Sidney, trust me on this, she knows what she's doing!" Taylor pleaded, giving me the look.
"Taylor I just don't know, sure she might be Gretzky's niece, but that doesn't mean she knows anything about hockey. She's a swimmer," I respond.
"Oh please Sid, that's a load of bullshit and you know it. I know that you watched the USA - Canada game in Sochi. She captained that team and almost scored the game winning goal. Sure she doesn't play hockey any more and swimming is her main focus, but that doesn't mean that she's up and forgotten how to play hockey."
I sigh, knowing she's right," How do you know that she's even going to agree to it? If I remember correctly, she swore off hockey for good after Sochi. And besides, it's a week away. There's no way she would agree to it on such short notice."
"I have my ways Sidney, just say yes," Taylor says, knowing full well that I'm close to giving in.
"Fine. If you can somehow get her to agree to it, then I will allow her to come and coach at the school. But I highly doubt that she's going to say yes."
I wince as Taylor's squeals meet my ears," Thank you so much Sidney! I promise that you won't regret it!"
*August 2, 2015*
*Halifax Airport*
"So you're by baggage claim? Which one? Oh wait no, I see you never mind," The 24 year-old speaks into her phone before hanging up and heading over to greet her friend.
"Jo!" The younger Crosby screams before enveloping the older girl in a hug," How have you been?"
"Oh man," I sigh," I've been, busy, to say the least. Glad to finally have a break and return to Canada. Even though I'm not at home it's still good to be here."
"I'm sure it is. You are just all decked out today aren't you?" Taylor laughs, making me shrug.
"Hey, it was free. It's always fun to wear free clothes," I argue," And besides, I'm a representative for Nike, I have to wear their stuff. Especially when there're other people around," I continue, making note of the small group of men holding cameras not so far from where we were standing. I knew that this would be on the front pages tomorrow, and would likely make headlines in the sports world. People didn't know yet that I wasn't going to be swimming in Russia, but there had been speculation for months. Now, it would be made obvious all thanks to my short trip to Canada.
What wasn't going to be made known however, was how my teammate and close friend Alexis Belinksy would be taking my place in Kazan, returning from her short-lived retirement from the sport of swimming. I was beyond happy for her, especially after everything that had taken place about a year and a half ago.
"How's Alexis doing?" Taylor asks, interrupting my thought process. Taylor had gotten to know Alexis through me, and the two had become pretty close friends as well. It wasn't hard when we all had connections to the hockey world, with my uncle being who he is, Taylor's brother being who he is, and Alexis having a brother who plays for the Chicago Blackhawks, as well as being the girlfriend of the Blackhawks' captain.
"She's doing good. She's back in the pool, obviously, and is going to be swimming in a few weeks in Russia. I think that Jonny and her brother were planning on going, as well as maybe a couple of the other players on the team, like Pat and Andrew."
"She took your spot for that, yeah?" Taylor questions, with me nodding in response.
"Yeah, she's been training for a couple months now, and when everything went down with my shoulder I suggested that she take my spot on the team," It had sucked, having my shoulder go out only a few weeks prior to World Championships, but it was something that I had to deal with. I had a surgery scheduled for mid-September, and then a couple months of rehab afterwards.
"Oh yeah, what's going on with that?" Taylor questions as she unlocks the Range Rover and slides my bag into the back.
"I've got my surgery in September, and then PT and recovery. Hopefully I'll be able to compete for a spot in Rio this summer, but who knows. Recovery has its own timeline, and right now I am at its mercy."
"Well boo," Taylor frowns, mirroring my current mood at the moment," At least you're here though, hopefully we can take your mind off of things!"
"Yeah hopefully. I'm just worried, I haven't been on the ice in months."
"You'll be fine! You're a freaking Gretzky for crying out loud. If I remember correctly, you could skate before you could even walk, and it's not like you can forget something that's in your blood," She points out, making me laugh.
"I suppose you're right. But still, a hockey school with the Crosby's? You're crazy if you think that I'm not going to make a fool out of myself," I tell her, making her scoff.
"As if, you're pretty much perfect in every way possible!"
I laugh,"If only that were true my dear Taylor, if only."
--^--
"Holy shit this place is nice," I gawk, looking around at the elder Crosby's house. Apparently there was nowhere else for me to stay besides Taylor's brother's house, seeing as her parent's house was currently full and there were no hotel rooms available on such short notice. I didn't quite believe the last one, but went with it because I didn't really want to cause a fuss. So here I was, standing in Sidney Crosby's living room. He had yet to return from wherever he was, and so Taylor was giving me the grand tour.
"Yeah, Sidney really loves it here. It's his home now. Sure, he loves it in Pittsburgh, but he really loves just coming here in the summer to escape from the craziness."
"God that must be nice," I say, walking around the room before stopping and standing before the large picture window that overlooked the lake," Ya know? To be able to escape from everything. Even if just for a little bit. I would love that."
Taylor opens her mouth to respond but is immediately interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing.
"Taylor, you here? I saw your car in the driveway," The voice is soon matched by a large figure entering through the doorway.
"Yeah, obviously. Johanna's plane was a little early, so I figured I would come and drop her off, make sure she gets settled before heading over to mom and dad's house for dinner," Taylor responds, bringing me into the picture. Almost immediately the elder Crosby looks in my direction, almost as though he had forgotten that I would be coming.
"Oh right. I forgot that you were arriving today," He says, directly addressing me," How was the flight?"
"It was good, a bit of turbulence, but nothing new," I respond, making small talk.
"Great, have you seen your room? Set your stuff down?"
"Yeah, Taylor showed me around, helped me out with all of that."
"Alright," He responds before turning back to his sister," I wasn't planning on eating with mom and dad tonight, so I don't know what you want to do about that."
"Oh that's fine, I'm sure that Jo kind of wants to stay in tonight anyway, so you guys can just order takeout or something. Is that alright with you Jo?" Taylor asks, turning towards me. Sidney's eyes also turn in my direction, and I immediately feel awkward.
"Um yeah, sure, that's fine. I wasn't really planning on eating much anyway, I had a pretty big lunch and I don't really want to impose on you guys," I rush out.
"Don't be ridiculous, you're not imposing on us. It's fine Jo," Taylor says before turning back towards her brother," And make sure she eats, Sidney. I'm serious, don't let her fool you into thinking that she isn't hungry because she is. Anyways, I'm off to mom and dad's, see ya bro. Later Jo!" She finishes, giving me a look before exiting out the front door, leaving me alone with her brother.
"So what sounds good for food?"
*Cole Harbour, Canada*
"Come on Sidney, trust me on this, she knows what she's doing!" Taylor pleaded, giving me the look.
"Taylor I just don't know, sure she might be Gretzky's niece, but that doesn't mean she knows anything about hockey. She's a swimmer," I respond.
"Oh please Sid, that's a load of bullshit and you know it. I know that you watched the USA - Canada game in Sochi. She captained that team and almost scored the game winning goal. Sure she doesn't play hockey any more and swimming is her main focus, but that doesn't mean that she's up and forgotten how to play hockey."
I sigh, knowing she's right," How do you know that she's even going to agree to it? If I remember correctly, she swore off hockey for good after Sochi. And besides, it's a week away. There's no way she would agree to it on such short notice."
"I have my ways Sidney, just say yes," Taylor says, knowing full well that I'm close to giving in.
"Fine. If you can somehow get her to agree to it, then I will allow her to come and coach at the school. But I highly doubt that she's going to say yes."
I wince as Taylor's squeals meet my ears," Thank you so much Sidney! I promise that you won't regret it!"
*August 2, 2015*
*Halifax Airport*
"So you're by baggage claim? Which one? Oh wait no, I see you never mind," The 24 year-old speaks into her phone before hanging up and heading over to greet her friend.
"Jo!" The younger Crosby screams before enveloping the older girl in a hug," How have you been?"
"Oh man," I sigh," I've been, busy, to say the least. Glad to finally have a break and return to Canada. Even though I'm not at home it's still good to be here."
"I'm sure it is. You are just all decked out today aren't you?" Taylor laughs, making me shrug.
"Hey, it was free. It's always fun to wear free clothes," I argue," And besides, I'm a representative for Nike, I have to wear their stuff. Especially when there're other people around," I continue, making note of the small group of men holding cameras not so far from where we were standing. I knew that this would be on the front pages tomorrow, and would likely make headlines in the sports world. People didn't know yet that I wasn't going to be swimming in Russia, but there had been speculation for months. Now, it would be made obvious all thanks to my short trip to Canada.
What wasn't going to be made known however, was how my teammate and close friend Alexis Belinksy would be taking my place in Kazan, returning from her short-lived retirement from the sport of swimming. I was beyond happy for her, especially after everything that had taken place about a year and a half ago.
"How's Alexis doing?" Taylor asks, interrupting my thought process. Taylor had gotten to know Alexis through me, and the two had become pretty close friends as well. It wasn't hard when we all had connections to the hockey world, with my uncle being who he is, Taylor's brother being who he is, and Alexis having a brother who plays for the Chicago Blackhawks, as well as being the girlfriend of the Blackhawks' captain.
"She's doing good. She's back in the pool, obviously, and is going to be swimming in a few weeks in Russia. I think that Jonny and her brother were planning on going, as well as maybe a couple of the other players on the team, like Pat and Andrew."
"She took your spot for that, yeah?" Taylor questions, with me nodding in response.
"Yeah, she's been training for a couple months now, and when everything went down with my shoulder I suggested that she take my spot on the team," It had sucked, having my shoulder go out only a few weeks prior to World Championships, but it was something that I had to deal with. I had a surgery scheduled for mid-September, and then a couple months of rehab afterwards.
"Oh yeah, what's going on with that?" Taylor questions as she unlocks the Range Rover and slides my bag into the back.
"I've got my surgery in September, and then PT and recovery. Hopefully I'll be able to compete for a spot in Rio this summer, but who knows. Recovery has its own timeline, and right now I am at its mercy."
"Well boo," Taylor frowns, mirroring my current mood at the moment," At least you're here though, hopefully we can take your mind off of things!"
"Yeah hopefully. I'm just worried, I haven't been on the ice in months."
"You'll be fine! You're a freaking Gretzky for crying out loud. If I remember correctly, you could skate before you could even walk, and it's not like you can forget something that's in your blood," She points out, making me laugh.
"I suppose you're right. But still, a hockey school with the Crosby's? You're crazy if you think that I'm not going to make a fool out of myself," I tell her, making her scoff.
"As if, you're pretty much perfect in every way possible!"
I laugh,"If only that were true my dear Taylor, if only."
--^--
"Holy shit this place is nice," I gawk, looking around at the elder Crosby's house. Apparently there was nowhere else for me to stay besides Taylor's brother's house, seeing as her parent's house was currently full and there were no hotel rooms available on such short notice. I didn't quite believe the last one, but went with it because I didn't really want to cause a fuss. So here I was, standing in Sidney Crosby's living room. He had yet to return from wherever he was, and so Taylor was giving me the grand tour.
"Yeah, Sidney really loves it here. It's his home now. Sure, he loves it in Pittsburgh, but he really loves just coming here in the summer to escape from the craziness."
"God that must be nice," I say, walking around the room before stopping and standing before the large picture window that overlooked the lake," Ya know? To be able to escape from everything. Even if just for a little bit. I would love that."
Taylor opens her mouth to respond but is immediately interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing.
"Taylor, you here? I saw your car in the driveway," The voice is soon matched by a large figure entering through the doorway.
"Yeah, obviously. Johanna's plane was a little early, so I figured I would come and drop her off, make sure she gets settled before heading over to mom and dad's house for dinner," Taylor responds, bringing me into the picture. Almost immediately the elder Crosby looks in my direction, almost as though he had forgotten that I would be coming.
"Oh right. I forgot that you were arriving today," He says, directly addressing me," How was the flight?"
"It was good, a bit of turbulence, but nothing new," I respond, making small talk.
"Great, have you seen your room? Set your stuff down?"
"Yeah, Taylor showed me around, helped me out with all of that."
"Alright," He responds before turning back to his sister," I wasn't planning on eating with mom and dad tonight, so I don't know what you want to do about that."
"Oh that's fine, I'm sure that Jo kind of wants to stay in tonight anyway, so you guys can just order takeout or something. Is that alright with you Jo?" Taylor asks, turning towards me. Sidney's eyes also turn in my direction, and I immediately feel awkward.
"Um yeah, sure, that's fine. I wasn't really planning on eating much anyway, I had a pretty big lunch and I don't really want to impose on you guys," I rush out.
"Don't be ridiculous, you're not imposing on us. It's fine Jo," Taylor says before turning back towards her brother," And make sure she eats, Sidney. I'm serious, don't let her fool you into thinking that she isn't hungry because she is. Anyways, I'm off to mom and dad's, see ya bro. Later Jo!" She finishes, giving me a look before exiting out the front door, leaving me alone with her brother.
"So what sounds good for food?"
: )
11/5/15