AUTUMN LEAVES

“What?” Sidney whispered. He looked around him for support as he almost lost his balance. As Linda helped him into a nearby chair, he looked at her in a daze.

“Gone? Where?”

Sitting in front of him, Linda clasped her hands together and sighed. “There is no easy way of saying this, Sid,” she finally said.

Raising his eyebrows, Sidney asked, “what are you saying?” His voice was barely audible as he waited so intently for an answer.

“She, um... well sort of skipped town. She gave her resignation letter to Will, packed her bags, barely said goodbye, and left. For good, she had said,” Linda explained.

Sidney opened and closed his mouth a few times. “So, she just left? For good?” Looking at floor, he frowned, “I don’t understand. We had a plan. Where would she go?”

Linda pursed her lips, “she wouldn’t tell us. She said it’s better that we didn’t know in case someone asked,” Linda said.

“You mean someone like me?” Sidney asked furrowing his brows. “I don’t understand. I don’t get it, why...I…” Sidney was at a loss. “What does that mean? Is she done with me, with us? That’s it?”

“I wish I fully understand it, but I don’t, son,” Linda said sympathetically.

Sidney shook his head, “so she just picked up and left, without a single word, without a fucking consideration of how I would feel about it?!” He breathed heavily, not even trying to control the anger that began bubbling up as soon as the idea of Autumn leaving him behind started to sink in.

“She left me so she doesn’t have to deal with reality,” he said as clutched his head in his hands. He remained quiet for some time.

“She just ran away, after everything we’ve been through to be together,” he said with a hoarse voice. “Why does that shock me? I mean, I should have seen this coming. She was ready to give up on us every single time things got tough. Why am I shocked?”

“I’m sorry, Sid. She said that it’s for the best, that you would be better off without her,” Linda said, putting her hand on his gently.

“But she said she would follow me to the ends of the earth, Linda. Was I a fool for believing her?”

*****

“Today is the day, Penguins fans. The captain will be released from the hospital this afternoon after spending nearly two weeks recovering from a gunshot wound. As I’m sure you’ll agree, John, events surrounding this mysterious incident have left us all with so many unanswered questions,” the morning news anchor spoke to her co-anchor.

“Is it on?” Shona asked.

“Not yet, they’re just discussing the incident, or the very little that they know about it,” Autumn answered as she increased the volume of the TV.

“I get how private Sidney Crosby is,” the co-anchor said in response. “But with news of this size, you would think the Pens, or even Sidney’s publicists, would give his worried fans a little more information. All we know so far is that someone broke into the Lemieux mansion and shot Sidney Crosby. But who would do that and why? Was the attack targeting Crosby personally or did he just happen to be there? We were told as journalists to respect the privacy of the Crosby and the Lemieux families. What about the families in that neighborhood? A shooting incident happens inside someone’s home, inside Mario Lemieux’s fortress. He certainly has a state of the art security system in place - that’s not very reassuring for the Sewickley residents. It makes you wonder.”

“I guess we will have more clear answers once the investigation is over,” the news anchor spoke again. “For now, we are very excited that Sidney is doing well, as I’m sure everyone watching us from home or from downtown Pittsburgh is. He will have to go through some rehab before he gets back on the ice, but as his doctors said in the press conference yesterday, he is expected to make a full recovery! Stay tuned for our afternoon broadcast. We will take you live to the UPMC where Sidney is supposed to make an appearance on his way out of the hospital.”

Shona switched off the TV and turned towards Autumn. “Would you stop that? It’s for the best, you said it yourself. And like you said, he will get on with his life eventually.”

“It doesn’t make it any easier though,” she whispered as she ran her fingers over the soft, plush fabric of her new favourite stuffed animal.

Shona tilted her head, “with you out of the picture, he will remain Pittsburgh’s prince forever and ever. He will be what he always wanted to be. You took that tough decision for the both of you so that he can be happy. Now, it’s time to respect your choices, turn that page and get on with your life – your new life here.”

Autumn wiped her cheeks and nodded slowly. Hugging the Caribou, she inhaled it. It has only been two weeks, but his scent was already fading away. Giving the brown toy a small kiss on the head, Autumn placed it on the couch.

Shona shook her head. “Remind me to get you a cat, or a dog or something, but can we please go now? Those newbies aren’t gonna teach themselves,” Shona added, earning a small smile from Autumn who started strapping on her sandals.

That afternoon, a large crowd gathered in front of the main UPMC entrance in Pittsburgh. And unlike any other time that Sidney Crosby has left this hospital, that day he was taking the front door.

Sidney looked at his tired reflection in the mirror of the bathroom. He ran his hands in his unusually long hair and thought about how Autumn preferred it much shorter. Well, it’s gonna stay long now, he thought. As he adjusted his black ball cap, his father walked in.

“We should be leaving in 10. Do you think you’ll be ready?” Troy asked.

Sidney nodded and continued with his task.

“Mario is here,” Troy said.

Sidney’s froze. He dropped his hands that were busy tucking his hair under the hat. Turning towards his dad with wide eyes he said, “why?”

Troy took a deep breath. “I was surprised too. Jennifer is here and she explained that it would be odd for Mario not to be part of the whole scene of Sidney Crosby, his protégé, leaving the hospital after surviving an attack,” Troy said, borderline sarcastic.

Sidney turned away from his dad, his eyes glued to the floor. He rubbed his freshly shaven face, “I’m guessing Jennifer knows?”

“I think she’s one of the very few people who know that it was Lauren who shot you, but she doesn’t know why. People at the organization are aware of a tension between Mario and us. But I guess no one wants to ask at this time. The media is in the dark completely though, don’t worry,” Troy said.

“And Mario has agreed to what Jennifer is asking?” Sidney asked quietly.

“He did. I think that, on some level, he was relieved that you decided not to press charges against Lauren.”

Nodding weakly, Sidney frowned and looked lost in thought.

“Listen, son, I don’t know what I would do if I were in your position, but I think an apology is a good place to start,” Troy said placing his hands on his son’s shoulders.

Jennifer knocked at the open bathroom door, signaling for Sidney and Troy to follow her. “It’s a go. Sid, remember, you don’t need to answer any questions from reporters,” Jennifer explained as they walked into the hospital room. Once she briefed Sidney on the situation, she said, “Mario is waiting for you out in the hall.”

Notes