Friday, February 10, 2012

Chapter 26



“That part doesn’t go in there,” Gronk smacks Kennedy’s hand away from the mobile he’s putting together. “Go back to painting. I’m doing this.” 

“Hey, less fighting, more working. We’re bringing Simon home today.  I want everything to be perfect,” he grumbles, his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth as he concentrates on smoothing the edge of a Buzz Lightyear decal on the wall behind where the crib will go, if Dupers ever finishes putting it together, he thinks as he glances at his friend kneeling in the middle of the room, screwdriver in hand. “Need a hand Dupes?”

“I’m just about finished,” Pascal calls back.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Tanger snipes from his perch high on a ladder in the corner of the room where he’s painting fluffy cheerful looking clouds on the ceiling with a sponge. 

“What I’m doing requires some skill and mathematics,” Dupers grins menacingly at the long haired defenseman who rolls his eyes. 

“You’ve got instructions, I’m using my creativity here,” Kris replies, dabbing the sponge in the paint and then flicking the excess down onto Pascal’s head. 

“Fuck you Letang!” Pascal growls and shakes a screwdriver at him. 

“Tu ne me font pas peur,” Kris laughs and showers more paint down. 

“I’ll kick that ladder out from under you,” Pascal menaces, getting up from his knees. 

“Hey! Fuck, what did I just fuckin’ say?” Sid shouts, putting himself physically between his two teammates. “My son is going to be here in a few hours and we haven’t even put up the Christmas tree. Can we please just get this done?” 

“Chillax will ya? We’ll get ir done Cap, don’t get your panties in a knot,” Kennedy grins, a smudge of light blue paint filling half of his cheek. Sid resists the urge to add a yellow stripe to the other side of his teammate’s face and goes back to painting the chair rail a cheery sunny colour. 

“Speaking of your sprogue, where is the little lady?” Jordy asks, his blue eyes nearly crossed as he hangs a small stuffed bear from one of the hooks on the mobile. 

“They have kind of a crash course before they let you take your kid home, bathing, diapers, that kind of thing,” he replies, a smile on his face and a far away expression in his eyes. 

“Diapers...ugh,” Gronk shudders visibly paling. 

“You get used to it,” Pascal tells him with a shrug. 

“You get a fucking nanny to do it,” Kennedy gags and makes a face that makes them all laugh. 

“C’mon, back to work, there’s lots to do still. I want all this done before she gets here,” Sid commands. Dupers reaches over and turns up the music and each goes back to their task, humming happily until Jordan starts to sing, very out of tune and Tanger launches his pet soaked sponge at the tall forward’s head. Sid shakes his head but smiles at all of them in a new, indulgent and paternal sort of way. 

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“Oh god, I feel like I’m never going to get the hang of it,” one of the other women complains loudly as she fusses with the swaddling on her little girl. Fern tucks the corner of her blanket in and smiles at her effort. For an only child, she thinks with a certain amount of smugness, she’s doing pretty well. 

“Very good,” the midwife puts her hand on Simon’s tummy and he looks up at her with his gold flecked green ringed eyes and smiles beatifically. “You’ve got a happy baby there.” 

“I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” Fern answers softly, laying her own hand gently on the top of the dark curls atop his head. 

“I’ll say,” a woman not far from her says, mostly under her breath but shoots her a sideways glance that would wither a garden full of flowers. Fern carefully regulates her expression and keeps her gaze lowered. As Simon has improved she’s become aware of nurses watching her and whispering behind her back, especially when Sidney is around. 

“Just remember, as preemies they will probably cry more often, be a little more fussy, so you’re going to have to be patient,” the midwife reminds them all and then produces a giant white wicker basket loaded with all the goodies needed for taking a little one home. “I have one of these for each of you but hopefully your significant others have more waiting for you at home. I know sometimes when your little bundle of joy comes early you’re not always as prepared as you’d planned to be.” Fern thought of the big empty house back in Selwickly and all of the things they have yet to buy and she has a moment of vertigo and needs to cling to the edge of the changing table. 

“You of all people shouldn’t be worried. What do you have waiting at home, like ten nannies?” one of the other mothers asks snidely. Fern presses her lips together and neither looks up, nor answers. 

“No, just friends, lots and lots of friends, d’accord?” At the sound of the soft musical lilt of her Quebecois accent, Fern looks up to find Veronique standing nearby, a tiny car seat swinging from her hand. “Pretty ones like me,” she adds with a dazzling grin before brushing by the rather dowdy woman and her slightly balding husband. 

“Vero....” There are words she wants to say, apologies she should make, but the only word that comes to the tip of her tongue is, “thank you.” 

“Well what are friends for?” Vero grins as she puts down the car seat and opens her arms to gather Fern in a warm, forgiving hug. “Is everything okay?” she asks, her voice a warm, welcoming whisper in Fern’s ear. “You? Le bébé?” 

“Fine...I think,” she answers, haltingly, suddenly wondering why Veronique is here and not...him. “Not that I’m not glad to see you but...?” she begins, only to have Vero hold her at arms’ length, a secretive sort of smile on her face. 

“He wants everything absolument parfait. So you, me et le petit homme are going to do some shopping for one or two thing left on the list so he has some time to make your nest parfait pour vous, ça va?”

“One or two things, I wish,” Fern mumbles as she reaches to unravel Simon so they can put him in the car seat. 

“You might not have had time for a shower but that does not mean nous les filles have not been très occupies,” Vero grins, grabbing hold of the basket. “Dépêchez vous, lots to do,” she adds, turning and heading for the exit. Fern watches her go, sighing at the sight of her friend’s tight little ass squeezed into an even tighter pair of jeans. 

“Well Simon, here we go,” she whispers, making sure he is snug as a bug in a rug and then pressing her lips to the middle of his tiny forehead, inhaling the soothing scent of warm milk and baby powder from his skin. “You’ll hate this when you’re older,” she promises and then, very carefully lifts his car seat off of the table. 

________________________________________________________________


The last light is on the tree when the boys stumble in from the cold, dusting snow from their jackets and, in Tanger’s case, from his hair. Their cheeks are rosy but their lips are almost blue. 

“Did you order pizza?” Gronk asks. Sidney carefully opens the first box of newly purchased Christmas ornaments and pulls the first red glass ball out. 

“No, but thanks for helping, I appreciate it.” The guys all stand in the doorway and stare at him. “What? She’ll be home any minute,” he explains, hanging the first ball on a branch in the middle of the tree. 

“Wait, we worked all day and you’re not even gonna feed us?” Kris asks, frowning. 

“But we get beer, right?” Kennedy asks, starting to shrug off his jacket. 

“I don’t have any beer in the house,” he replies, pulling the next ornament out and holding it up to the light. Hand painted, green with gold leaf, it catches the light and sends green and gold glow through his system.

“Should I kill him on my own or do you want to help?” Gronk growls and TK gets a dangerous gleam in his eye. 

“No need to commit murder,” the door opens, letting in a cold wind as a soft voice calls from behind the group and he looks up to see Flower squeezing between Pascal and Tanger with three pizza boxes balanced on a six pack, another six pack swinging from his pinky finger.

There is chaos for a moment, long enough for the rest of the group to divest Marc of his burden while the two young men stare at one another, both with wary half smiles on their faces. When they are alone, the rest of the group in the kitchen searching for plates or at the least napkins, Flower approaches, silently, and opens a box of ornaments and takes one out. 

“You look like you need some help mon ami,” Marc says quietly, taking in the mostly bare branches.

“Thanks,” Sidney says, meaning more than just for bringing the pizzas. Marc nods, shrugs one shoulder and then reaches to hang the candy cane shaped hand painted ornament on a nearby branch. 

Side by side, companionably, they hang the ornaments one by one, Christmas carols playing on his iPod, a fire in the hearth and their teammates munching happily on deep dish calorie laden pizza. The tree is nearly groaning with ornaments when the door swings open again and all eyes swivel towards the two women, laden with shopping bags. But it’s not those encumbrances that his gaze focuses on. It is the car seat swinging from Fern’s hand, her big, dark eyes and her huge, shocked smile.

“Welcome home,” he says, walking past his teammates and Vero, taking the car seat form her with one hand and cradling her cheek with the other. 

“You did...all this?” she asks, breathless, a look of childish wonder on his face that makes his heart swell to fill his entire chest. 

“Fuck no, he did fucking not,” Kennedy calls out, tipping his head back and shoving most of a giant slice of pizza into his mouth. 

“I had a lot of help,” he admits, brushing her lips with his own. 

“Hey it’s sprogue Crosby!” Jordy yells and hurdles the couch, grabbing the car seat and carrying it, and their child, over to the kitchen table. He hears her laugh and then feels her arms slide around his waist. 

“I tried to get rid of them,” he explains. She beams up at him and doesn’t complain. “I’m glad you’re home, both of you,” he adds. She nods and offers him her mouth and he takes it, capturing her lips in a long, soft, kiss.

6 comments:

  1. AAAAHHHHH!!!! How positively sweet. The emotions you paint are so palpable! I hope everyone leaves very shortly and they can enjoy one another. With that said, you have so captured the teammates just how I would and they are so comedic.
    So looking forward to the next chapters!

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  2. AW i love how you're also including his teammates and their interaction with simon!
    too cute! can't wait for more! :D

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  3. It was sooo cute and great :) I love your story.. Update soon

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  4. awww this chapter was just so adorable!
    I love to see Fern and Sid like that!
    also loved the team! and Vero Too!

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  5. i can just imagine both gronk and tk to be the same way off the ice. SID+FERN are just too cute. i say let sid have his way with her lol. great chapter can't wait for the next one.

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  6. Is it too early to say, "getting anxious for more?"

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