Since the guys were about to start playoffs, we had a lunch for just the wags to relax a little before things got hectic. I introduced Natalia to everyone and as I expected, everyone was entranced by her. I felt a pang of envy at how well she fit in with everyone. She shares her story of how her and Carl met and everyone turns their attention to me.

“You two must be very close then,” Vero smiles.

“We’ve been friends since we were kids. We’re definitely BFF’s,” she laughs. I spend the rest of the lunch socializing and making small talk with everyone. As the evening went on, I felt more at ease and it felt less and less forced. The more I got to know the girlfriends, the more I realized that not all of them are these superficial women I made them out to be. Instead of taking the time to get them know them better I let this stupid stereotype that was engrained in my skull keep me back.

The lunch was a success and I get a call from Elliott on the way home.
“Hey Elliott what’s up?” I ask.

“Good news Phoenix, Under Armour called and they want to be a sponsor,” he says excitedly.

“No way. That’s amazing!” I exclaim. I practically lived in Under Armour apparel.

“Yeah, they want to fly you out to Baltimore to start filming your first commercial tomorrow. I figured since Sid has a road trip this time would work best?”

“No yeah that’s perfect. I’m so excited!”

“Okay I’ll get your ticket and email you the details. I’ll see you in Baltimore tomorrow.” I hang up. As a snowboarder you make money at contests by winning first second or third but most of your earnings came from your sponsors. My sponsors were Burton, Red Bull, Oakley, Go Pro, Nixon and now Under Armour. I get to the house and run inside where Sidney is napping. I look at the clock and figure he’ll be waking up soon so I pounce on him. His body jolts and his eyes open wide.

“Jesus Phoenix, I need my heart to play tonight,” he says grasping at his chest.

“Guess who’s representing Under Armour?” I ask excitedly.

“No way. That’s awesome Nix.”

“Yeah it’s a pretty big deal. I leave to Baltimore tomorrow with Elliott to do my very first commercial.”

“You better get used to it. You won two gold medals babe. People are going to start wanting you do everything,”

“Hmm maybe. But you’re going to be late,” I say getting off of him. I leave him alone to get ready and realize there are only a couple of games left before the season in over. I didn’t really know what to expect from Sidney during the playoffs. I knew he could get intense and I certainty didn’t want to be a distraction.

Regular season ends and Pittsburgh will be playing Columbus in the first round of playoffs. The city was buzzing and you could definitely feel the energy in the air. Going out with Sidney was hard. People were constantly asking him about playoffs and I knew it put a lot of pressure on him.

Pittsburgh won the first game 4-3. I knew how important it was to get that first win and start on a positive note. Game 2 the Penguins lost to the Blue Jackets 4-3 in double overtime and I did my best as his fiancée to be there by his side and support him. Pittsburgh battled through and ended up winning the series 4-2. I had never been this emotionally invested in hockey. I knew the next series against the Rangers was going to be a battle. The first game ended up going into overtime tied at 2. I’m sitting in the wives box with the rest of the wags and I’m chewing my nails nervously. Anton Stralman shoots the puck at Marc Andre Fleury. The shot is initially blocked but Derrick Brassard buries the rebound. The buzzer goes off the Rangers take it.
I met Sidney outside the dressing room and it was clear he wasn’t happy. We walk to the car in silence and I debate whether I should say anything. When we’re in the car I finally break the silence.

“That was a hard fought game, you guys did well,” I say sympathetically.

“That first period was brutal. We made so many mistakes and they picked up on all of them,” he says angrily.

“Okay but you battled till the end. Now game 1 is over with. Take it and learn from it and focus on what’s in front of you. You guys got this I know you do.” He grabs my hand but doesn’t say anything for the rest of the ride.

The next two games, Fleury got back to back shutouts and the Penguins recorded another win on top of that making the series 3-1.

“Thank god for your husband,” I say to Vero while kissing her on each cheek. The energy seemed to lighten a bit and even Sidney couldn’t help but be in a good mood.

“You’re Penguins are looking mighty good there Captain,” I tell him at home that evening.

“Yeah but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We need to keep up our pace and keep playing our game.” He replies. Sidney usually went to bed early and I liked to stay up late reading old virology textbooks. I’m deep in a book when my phone starts to ring.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Nix what’s up? How’s life?” I hear Jack’s voice ask.

“J-Town! Life’s pretty good. A little crazy but good.”

“Yeah it’s playoff time. How are the pens doing?”

“We’re up 3-1. One more game and the series is ours!” I exclaim.

“Don’t hate me but I had a feeling the Ranger’s were going to take it but I’m happy the pens are proving me wrong.”

“Your lack of faith is insulting. I hope your precious Wild lose,” I reply.

“Ouch that hurts. No need to get nasty,” he laughs. “Well I should let you go, I probably interrupted you studying.”

“You know me too well. I’ll talk to you later.” I hang up and return to reading about viral reproduction.

Just when everyone thought the pens had it, the Rangers ended up winning the next two games tying the series at 3-3. Game seven wasn’t the ideal situation to be put in but the pens just needed to pull it together and win this last game.
Me and Natalia sat in stands anxiously watching the first period. Brian Boyle is the lone scorer for period. The second period starts and Jussi Jokinen scores a beautiful goal. I jump up screaming spilling my beer on my Crosby jersey.

“Perfect,” I mumble. Matt Niskanen trips Derrick Brassard and the Rangers go on the power play.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” I tell Natalia. Sure enough, there’s a loose puck in front of the net and Brad Richard’s buries it. It’s 2-1 going into the third and me and Natalia are on the edge of our seats.

“I never thought I’d be this invested in a sport,” she whispers to me. The majority of the third goes scoreless and I know they’re going to pull Fleury. The Penguins get the puck and Fleury skates to the bench. My stomach is in knots and I’m silently praying to the hockey gods. The seconds are counting down and the Penguins are battling. Just like that, the buzzer goes off and everyone in blue is jumping on one another and I sit there in shock. I was so sure we had it. I look at Sidney and his head is hanging low. They all line up to give handshakes and I see Carl shake hands and hug all his old teammates. I can’t imagine what he’s feeling right now. I wanted so badly for Carl to be able to beat his old team. I wait until all the players are off the ice before finally saying something.

“You ready?” I ask Natalia. She nods and we get up and leave. We drove together because I knew the guys would be awhile with press and everything and I knew they would probably want some space.
I dropped her off at Carl’s and took the long way home. That was a tough loss and I wasn’t what Sidney’s reaction was going to be. Growing up with Carl he always got angry and distant when his team lost. I know that Sidney was going to carry the weight of this and blame himself. I get home and I don’t know what to do with myself. I go to the den and turn on the TV. Highlights from the game are playing and they are showing players interviews. I turn up the volume when they show Sidney, still in his spandex layer. One of the interviewers asks him about scoring.

“Obviously I would have liked to score more and contribute more,” Sidney says. “Wasn’t a lack of effort or competing or anything like that. I’d love to tear it up every series but that’s not always the case…It’s tough losing as it is. When you’re not able to contribute that makes it tougher.” They start showing highlights of the Chicago Minnesota game and I shut the TV off. I go into the office and lose myself in a textbook. I hear the front door open and Sidney comes and leans against the doorframe.

“Hey superstar,” I say gently.

“Hey. I’m pretty tired so I’m just going to go bed.” He replies. I nod and he leaves. I finish my chapter and turn all the lights off. I go upstairs and find Sidney lying in bed. I change into pj shorts and a tank top and I crawl into bed behind him, being the big spoon.
“I’m really proud of you Sidney. You had a great season and you guys battled this post-season. Lucky for you you’re young and healthy and you have a lot more seasons to win the cup again.” I say into his back. He takes my arm and wraps it tighter around his torso.

“I love you Phoenix,” he says gently.

“I love you too Sidney,” I reply.

---

It took Sidney a couple weeks to get out of his playoff loss funk. I couldn’t believe that we had experienced an entire hockey and snowboarding season together and as sad that I was that Pittsburgh was out of the playoffs, I was happy to start the offseason with him.

“We have so much to plan!” I say dramatically over breakfast.

“Like?”

“Like our wedding. Which is in two months by the way. We both have the same offseason, which means we finally get to travel together.”

“Well there’s the lake house in Nova Scotia,” he adds.

“Yes and I have to show you Sweden, you’ll love it.”

“Like to your parents house?” He looks at me and I remain quiet. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened?

“I want to see my brother,” I reply.

“What about your parents? Aren’t they coming to the wedding?”

“My mother is dead to me.” I say harshly.

“What did she do? Phoenix tell me, please,” he pleads.

“She said I wasn’t a legitimate athlete. She said and I quote ‘You’re a snowboarder honey, it’s not like you’re a gymnast or run track’.”

“Wow. Nix I’m sorry. If you really don’t want her at the wedding then she doesn’t have to come. What about you dad?”

“He says he’s proud of me but he never sticks up for me. I’m not sure if I want him there.”

“Let’s go to Sweden. Let’s go visit you brother and show me everything there is to love about Sweden and if your mother is a problem, I’ll stick up for you.”

“Okay. When do you want to go?” I ask. He pulls his phone out and starts tapping on the screen.

“Well our tickets are bought for tonight, you better pack,” he says smiling.

“Tonight? That’s a little short notice don’t you think?”

“Like you said it’s off season.” I smile and race upstairs to pack. I couldn’t wait to show Sidney the city that shaped me.

Notes

Writing this chapter made me anxious for this seasons playoffs haha.