AUTUMN LEAVES

“Lauren, sweetie, he’s like your older brother, of course you love him, but not in that way. That’s Sid we’re talking about,” Mario told his daughter in disbelief.

“Dad, please, don’t make this more difficult. I know he sees me as his little sister and nothing more. So, let’s just move on from this,” Lauren suggested.

“Lauren, even if you had real feelings for him, he’s ten years older than you,” Mario said, instantly realizing that he was the last person to lecture his daughter on this subject.

“Really! You want to talk about age difference. Okay, fine,” Lauren spoke, outraged by her dad’s hypocrisy.

When Mario tried to speak again, she held her hand up. “When I told you that you should never marry a woman who was 15 years younger than you, what was your response? Oh, I know. ‘Love doesn’t know an age, Lauren’!” she spoke mockingly.

Mario tried to remain calm as this topic has been a sore one for him lately.

“Lauren, do you think my marriage isn’t suffering from that fact?! We love each other. But love is not always enough to make a relationship work,” Mario spoke candidly.

Lauren’s face fell. She was not aware of any marriage issue that her dad was having.

“Sorry, papa. What’s going on with you and Autumn?” she asked, genuinely concerned for her dad.

“It’s nothing serious. Or at least I didn’t think it was,” he sighed. “Things between us haven’t been the way they were before her accident back in October. She’s often sad. I suspect she may be a little depressed even. But she won’t talk to me about what’s bothering her. She even had an argument with Tiffany and didn’t speak to her for a while. Worst of all, I feel that at times she was actively trying to avoid me,” Mario said as he contemplated the swaying palm trees outside his window.

“Why would she avoid you? Do you think the accident messed with her head?” Lauren asked.

“Maybe. I’ve been trying to convince myself that it must have been some sort of trauma response following the accident. She could’ve easily died that night, Lauren. But I know that I can’t blame the accident. I know why she’s been distant. Deep down, I do.”

“Why?” Lauren asked curiously. She noticed her dad hesitate. He looked so unsure of whether he should tell her or not.

“Papa, you can trust me. It’s me.”, Lauren spoke as she settled on the chair closest to him, putting hand on his shoulder.

Mario remained quiet, but he was getting noticeably emotional at this topic. Lauren realized that it was the first time that the composed confident man that was her dad, was replaced by a hesitant, apprehensive man who was clearly in love with the wrong woman.

The longer she waited for him to speak, the more livid she started to get. She had no idea what Autumn has done, but she was furious with her nonetheless. After all, her dad was miserable because of her. She was upset with Sidney too, not only did he not reciprocate her feelings, but he has always defended Autumn. He probably convinced Mario to marry her. He had told her once that Autumn would make her dad happy, but he couldn’t have been more wrong about that.

She couldn’t stay quiet any longer, “what did that bitch do, dad?!” she seethed.

“Lauren, don’t! It’s not about what she did, It’s about what I did!” Mario said, almost yelling.

Lauren raised her eyebrows surprised. What did her dad do?

“I told her that I wasn’t ready to have kids. We had a big fight. And while she said that she wasn’t ready either at the end of our argument, I don’t think she meant it. She was still very upset with me. She clearly wants to have kids, Lauren. I can’t blame her for wanting that,” Mario said as Lauren nodded slowly. She felt bad for her dad. He was in a tough position.

“Unlike what she said at the end of our fight, she was more than ready and I wasn’t. And ever since that day, nothing has been the same between us. So yeah, our age difference is a big deal. And I don’t know what to do because I love her and I want our marriage to work. The problem is that I don’t see it working if I don’t compromise,” Mario said, feeling helpless as he poured his heart out to his daughter.

Lauren put her hand gently on his. “Papa, do you want to have kids with her?” she asked the logical question. When her father nodded, she continued, “but not now, is that what you’re saying?”

“I don’t know anymore, Lauren. But if that’s what’s going to save our marriage, then…”, Mario spoke quietly.

“You two need to talk. She may not be ready for real, dad. So, stop blaming yourself,” Lauren spoke softly giving her dad a warm hug. She did not like Autumn before, but now, Autumn just got herself higher on the list of people that Lauren absolutely hated. She may even compete with Sidney on that list.

“You are right, sweetie. I think I will postpone my meetings. Business will wait, but our happiness won’t.”

*****

It was an odd morning at the cabin. When Sidney woke up, Autumn was already awake. Maybe his morning habits were rubbing off on her after all. He sat up and smiled wistfully as he heard the shower running and her happy singing voice filling the empty space. Her voice, as always, gave him peace. The serene lake and the early morning sun accentuated this beautiful morning. Everything seemed perfect until he heard the distinct sound of a car stopping outside their cabin.

Sidney jumped out of bed and put on his boxer briefs almost impulsively. He carefully approached the bedroom window that had a limited view of the driveway. Peering from behind the half-open curtain, his heart dropped. From the dark SUV came out a tall figure that he knew all too well. Their uninvited guest did not need to turn around for Sidney to know who he was.

What was he doing here?! He was supposed to be in California! Maybe he wanted to surprise Autumn?! Sidney panicked, his palms were sweating, but he couldn’t move from his spot. Just about the time the doorbell rang, Mario was no longer in sight.

There was nowhere to hide now. He couldn’t come up with any plan to explain his presence at the cabin or the absence of Autumn’s friends. He needed to tell Autumn but he couldn’t find his voice nor the time to do it as he heard Mario calling Autumn from inside the cabin, his voice approaching. Sidney braced himself for the moment of truth.

That was it.

Mario appeared at the bedroom door, his expression full of confusion as his eyes scanned his son’s almost naked form. Mario blanched. His usual red cheeks void of any color. He looked surprised, shocked even.

“What are you doing here, Sid?” Mario asked sternly, as his gazed turned towards the messy bedsheets. Then, his head snapped in the opposite direction, to where the bathroom was, drawn by Autumn’s voice who was still singing under the shower.

“And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather”

That’s odd, this was not the song that she was singing earlier, Sidney thought confused. He looked back at Mario, but Mario wasn’t there anymore.

The bedroom wasn’t there anymore. The whole cabin wasn’t there.

Instead, facing him now was Geno. Geno looked impassive as he took his position at center ice, preparing to take a faceoff against him, at an eerily empty PPG Paints Arena. No fans were chanting his name, no players at the bench, there was nobody else but them.

Geno had his home jersey on, but instead of the usual “A” on his chest, there was a “C”. Sidney looked down to check his own jersey, but he had none. He had no skates either. His hands were empty, with no stick or gloves. He was stripped of everything.

He had nothing.

Then her voice came back again, singing that same happy song. He looked around trying to find her, but the arena was too dark, except for Suite 66. He was too focused on the Suite that Geno started skating with the puck and sent it to the back of the net. Fans appeared in the stands and the arena erupted in cheers. Pens players skated past him to praise Geno, not even acknowledging his presence. It was like he was invisible as he helplessly stood barefoot at center ice. Looking above him at the large screen, he saw Mario’s face smile lovingly at him as he said: “You got what you wanted.”

Sidney opened his eyes, relieved that it was just a dream. Autumn often had nightmares, not him, he thought trying to calm down. He could hear Autumn sing that damn same song. He must have been hearing her voice while dreaming. He rubbed his eyes as he replayed the different parts of the dream in his head.

He was delusional about the relief he felt when he woke up from the dream. That nightmare was not just a product of his anxious imagination. That nightmare was about to be his reality. Mario WILL find out, and he WILL leave the team. Of course, Geno will be captain. He will probably face him in the circle at some point in time too. Fans will hate him; his teammates and friends will desert him.

“You got what you wanted” echoed in his head for the rest of that day.

Notes

Hello!

So, how about that game last night! Sidney was on fire, eh?

Seems that things are heating up fast in the story too ;) But who will burn down at the end? (aside from the flyers of course)

Thanks for reading and for your feedback!

Let's go Pens! #3elieve