Stockholm Syndrome

“Okay sleeping beauty. I let you sleep in all morning. It’s time to get up,” I hear Natalia say. I open my eyes and she’s crouching in front of me with a cup of coffee. I sit up and stretch and she smiles at me. “It’s your big day! How do you feel?” she asks excitedly.

“Fine?” I laugh. I take the coffee and sip it slowly. “So what’s the schedule looking like?”

“Well it’s two. You’re getting married at seven, which gives you five hours until you need to be ready and at the alter. What do you want to do first?” she asks my while typing on her phone. My stomach starts violently growling and we both erupt in laughter. “I guess that answers my question. Trina made French toast downstairs.” I follow Natalia downstairs and sure enough there’s a plate with French toast with bacon and fruit.

“Thanks so much Trina,” I say while scarfing down the breakfast.

“Are you nervous?” Taylor asks me and I shake my head.

“The weather is just beautiful today,” Trina says smiling. I finish my breakfast/lunch and I head outside. Trina was right, the sun was shining but it wasn’t uncomfortably hot.

“Okay I have to go make sure everything looks right. I’ll be back in an hour. Trina makes sure she doesn’t go see Sidney and make sure she stays out of trouble,” Natalia warns. Trina nods and Natalia leaves.

“Taylor do you want to go swimming?” I ask her.

“Sure! I know a place we can go where we won’t run into the guys,” she replies. We take our bikes and find a secluded dock. I strip off my clothes and go running in, with Taylor right behind me.

“I can’t believe today’s your wedding day and you want to spend it swimming,” she laughs.

“I love the water. It’s very calming,” I reply.

“I’m really happy you’re marrying my brother. Kathy was great and all but she wasn’t you. She didn’t make Sidney laugh or smile the way you do. You have this affect on him and it’s so clear to the entire world. He’s a totally different person now that he’s with you. He’s happy and carefree and I’m happy he has something important in his life that isn’t hockey,” she says seriously.

“Awe well thanks for saying that but your brother has the exact same affect on me.” I say smiling. “What about you? Any boyfriends?”

“Nothing serious. I just like to focus on hockey. I guess I’m like Sid in that way.” We continue swimming for another hour and then we get out and head back.

Freshly showered, I sit in an office chair while Samuel does my makeup.
“You have the most beautiful eyes, I can’t get over it,” he says doing my eyeliner. I smile and blush and I can see Natalia pacing.

“Jack isn’t picking up, why isn’t he picking up?” she says angrily. I pull out my phone and call him and put him on speaker.

“Hey, Nix! Are you excited?” he asks.

“Yeah I am!” I reply.

“Jack why are you ignoring my calls. If you want to perform this wedding I need you to be available at all times!” Natalia yells. Jack had gotten ordained one time as a joke and since Sidney and I didn’t really have anyone to preform our wedding, I figured why not get my best friend to do it.

“Okay but you need to stop calling me every ten minutes,” he warns. She sighs loudly and I can’t help but laugh. I tell Jack I’ll see him later and I hang up. Samuel finishes my make-up and starts working on my hair. Trina comes upstairs and whispers something to Natalia.

“You have got to be kidding me! I’ll handle it,” she says exasperatedly and leaves the room.

“Everything okay?” I ask Trina.

“Oh yeah everything’s fine,” she assures me. Vero, Anna and Taylor all walk in the room with their hair and make-up done and their dresses on.

“You guy’s all look amazing!” I say smiling. I chose short black, one-shouldered dresses for the bridesmaid’s dresses.

“These dresses are so pretty. Good pick Phoenix,” Vero says proudly.

“Love this dress. I don’t think I’ll ever take it off,” Taylor laughs. Natalia comes back wearing her dress and looking relieved.

“Done!” Samuel exclaims while tucking a loose strand in. My hair was in loose curls and swept to one side.

“Dress time!” Natalia says excitedly. Me and Natalia go into the bedroom and she helps me into my. She buttons up the back and I look in the mirror. I almost don’t recognize myself. I look at Natalia and she’s tearing up.

“Phoenix, I just-“ she stops and wipes away a tear. “You’re the most beautiful bride I have ever seen and I’ve seen a million brides before.” I smile and wrap my arms around her. “You’re going to ruin your make-up. But thank you Nat,” I reply.

“I told Samuel to use his best waterproof mascara on us.” I put on my heels and Natalia puts my veil on. We walk downstairs where all the women are and I walk into the kitchen and everyone immediately goes silent. I stand there uncomfortably waiting for someone to say something.

“Oh my god Phoenix. You look incredible,” Taylor says, her eyes wide.

“You’re absolutely breathtaking,” Trina adds.

“Simply stunning,” Vero agrees. I look over and notice my mother is here. She has tears in her eyes and I’m stunned. She walks over and hugs me. I hug her back and we stand there for a moment. I slowly pull away and she wipes tears away from her eyes.

“You’re so beautiful,” she says quietly. I stand there awkwardly not knowing what to say.

“Okay ladies it’s show time.” Natalia says. I get into Trina’s vehicle and we head to the large lakefront dock. We get there a few minutes later and I start feeling nervous. My stomach is doing somersaults and I remind myself to breathe. I see my dad standing there with his tux and I get out and hug him.

“Hey dad, you clean up good,” I tell him.

“My little girl, you look like an angel. So beautiful. I can’t believe I’m giving you away.” He says tearing up. I feel a lump in my throat and I quickly blink the tears away.

“Dad if you cry, I’m gonna cry and it’s going to be a whole thing,” I tell him.

“Oh right. Okay I’m sorry.” He clears his throat and regains his composure. A random guy stands there and I figure he’s the guy Natalia must have hired to help with the wedding. I know that the bridesmaids must be walking down the aisle at this moment and I anxiously wait for the moment when I walk around the corner and see Sidney. ‘Breathe Phoenix. Keep breathing’ I tell myself. The man lets us know it’s our turn and we begin walking. We turn the corner onto the aisle and my eyes immediately find Sidney’s. Just like when we first met, time and space seem so slow down and I forget where I am. Step by step I make way down the aisle, my eyes never leaving Sidney’s. We get to the end and my dad puts my hand in Sidney’s and kisses my cheek. He leaves to his seat and I’m left there standing on the large dock with Sidney.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen.We have joined here today to share with Phoenix Hagelin and Sidney Crosby an important moment in their lives. Their time together, they have seen their love and understanding of each other grow and blossom and now they have decided to live out the rest of their lives as one.
As a reading, I have a quote from one of Phoenix’s favourite books.

“Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don’t blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being ‘in love’, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.
Do you Sidney, take Phoenix to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?" Jack asks. Sidney looks at me and smiles.

“I do.”

“Do you Phoenix, take Sidney to be your lawfully wedded husband, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.” I reply smiling.

“Okay you two have written your vows, Sidney, you can read yours,” Jack tells him.

“Phoenix. With this ring, I promise to encourage your compassion, because that is what makes you unique and wonderful. I promise to nurture your dreams, because through them your soul shines. I promise to help shoulder our challenges, for there is nothing we cannot face if we stand together.
I promise to be your partner in all things, not possessing you, but working with you as a part of the whole. Lastly, I promise to you perfect love and perfect trust, for one lifetime with you could never be enough.
This is my sacred vow to you, my equal in all things.” He slides the ring on my finger and a tear slides down my face.

“Okay Phoenix, you can place the ring on Sidney’s hand.” Jack tells me.

“Sidney. With this ring, I promise to love you without condition. To honour you each and everyday. To laugh with you when you’re happy and to support you when you’re sad. To guide you when you ask for direction. To challenge you to be a better person, and allow you to do the same for me. To be your biggest fan and your ever present listening audience. As I put this ring on your finger I give you all that I am, and all that I shall become.” I say as I place the ring on his finger.

“By the power vested in me by the province of Nova Scotia, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Sidney you may now kiss your bride!” Jack exclaims. My breath gets caught in my throat and Sidney leans in to kiss me. Our kiss is deep and sweet and for a moment I forget that we’re standing in front of people. I pull away smiling and I realize that we’re officially married. Everyone stands up and starts clapping and we walk down the aisle. I’m smiling from ear to ear and me and Sidney head to the limo. Before getting in, I pull Sidney towards me and kiss him fervently. I hear the guy’s start hollering and me and Sidney separate.

“So we’re married now,” I say casually.

“Yeah how does it feel?” he asks smiling.

“Amazing.” The rest of the wedding party gets to the limo and we all head towards the lake to get pictures done. After forty-five minutes we finally head to the reception. The sun has set and it’s a short drive to the park by the lake.
We get there and I’m absolutely floored. There were four very long rectangle tables with white tablecloths and overhead was a canopy of string lights and lanterns. There’s a large stage and dance floor in between the tables.

“Natalia this looks incredible,” I say in awe.

“Not bad hey?” she says proudly. “Okay you and Sidney wait here. Jack has to introduce you guys. Everyone is seated and Jack takes the stage.

“And for the first time ever ladies and gentleman, Mr. and Mrs. Crosby!” he yells into the microphone. Everyone stands and starts clapping. Holding hands, we make our way to sit at the head of one of the tables. Our meal is served and I spend my meal laughing with my wedding party. I see Carl get up and head for the stage with his glass. He gets to the microphone and starts tapping his glass with his fork.

“Hi everyone. I’m Carl, Phoenix’s twin brother. When I invited Phoenix to Pittsburgh I had one rule and that was no dating any of my teammates. But Phoenix being Phoenix, she broke the rule and went straight for Crosby. I was against it at first but when you see these two together you can just tell that they’re supposed to be together. I didn’t want to get in the way of fate and Sidney I see how happy you make her and I honestly couldn’t have picked a better guy for my sister. I love you both and I wish you tons of happiness. Oh and Sid, I hope you know what you signed up for. She’s your headache now,” he laughs. We toast and I give him a hug once he gets back to the table.
Marc-Andre gets up and gets everybody’s attention.

“Hello I’m Marc-Andre, I play hockey with Crosby. Sid’s not like most guys. Hockey is his main focus and he never lets anything interfere with that. Then one day Carl gets traded here and brings his hot sister along and suddenly Sid’s on a point streak. You could tell he liked her because he would get all smiley and start blushing whenever we talked about her at practice. I want to say thank you to Phoenix for bringing out the best in my captain and I wish you guys all the best. Cheers.” I take a sip of my champagne and put my head on Sidney’s shoulder. Jack gets back on stage and grabs the microphone.

“Time for the first dance. Would the bride and groom please make their way to the dance floor,” Jack announces. We get up and Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran starts playing. I wrap my arms around his neck and he places his hands on my waist. We gently start swaying and I look up at him and he’s looking at me with so much love in his eyes. He leans down and softly kisses me and I’m in heaven. He pulls away and smiles.

“You look absolutely breathtaking,” he says softly.

“You look pretty handsome yourself,” I reply. Sidney looked amazing in his suit and he styled his hair just the way I like it. We continue to sway and I soon forget about everyone else. I couldn’t believe that I was this man’s wife. I couldn’t believe that I get to spend the rest of my life with him. He truly saw me and still loved me. Through all my faults and flaws, he wanted to spend his life with me. The song comes to an end and Jack calls my dad to come over for the father daughter dance. My dad and Sidney trade places and my dad is smiling.

“You did good today kiddo. You’re going to make him very happy,” my dad says gently.

“Thank you dad,” I smile. We move back and forth until the song is over and then the DJ plays an upbeat song. Tons of people get up and start dancing and I make my way around the tables greeting everybody and thanking them for coming. I was surprised at how many hockey players were all at our wedding. Everyone from Nathan Mackinnon, Steven Stamkos, Matt Duchene, John Tavares and all the Pittsburgh guys were here. I spend the rest of the evening dancing and mingling. I start to get tired past midnight and Sidney and I start saying our goodbyes. We drive to his parents house and his house so we can get changed and grab our luggage. We head to the airport to catch our flight to Peru.

Notes