Gold

“Well, if today isn’t the best day of all of our lives, I don’t know what is.” Jordan said, not for the first time, as he waited for more boxes to carry downstairs.

I was still standing ten feet away from my TV with my mouth hanging open. It would have been more embarrassing if Max and my mom weren’t doing the exact same thing. My dad and Jordan had already returned to hauling out all of the boxes of my belongings, although Jordan always made sure to either say something to convey his excitement or would take a moment to awkwardly dance in front of all of us. Max and I were still in complete shock. Both of us had stood up as soon as the overtime had begun, and we hadn’t sat down yet. It had been fifteen minutes since the game had ended and we were still staring in shock.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” Max said.

I nodded.

“I thought for sure they had lost it. The US had all the momentum going for them,” He added.

I nodded.

“I can’t believe that just happened.”

I nodded.

“Come on, Hanna, you can’t make your father and that that tall boy do all of the work for you,” My mom scolded, coming to stand in front of Max and I. “The sooner we get all of this packed up, the sooner you can all head over to talk with Sidney.”

I nodded.

“You should feel free to bring me with you,” She added. “I mean, I’d like to meet the boy who’s not only stealing my little girl away from me, but also just scored what might be the biggest goal in Canada’s history.”

I finally managed to do something other than nod my head. “You want to meet him?”

Max laughed, “I like how the assumption that Sidney is basically kidnapping you is completely ignored and the thought of your mom meeting him is scarier.”

“Why do you want to meet Sidney?” I asked, ignoring Max.

“What do you mean why do I want meet him? Hanna, it’s Sidney Crosby. Not only is he the best player in the world, but he just scored the gold winning goal at the Olympics, and on top of all of that, he’s spending his free time organizing all kinds of things for you. I want to meet the boy.”

I sighed, “Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”

My mom nodded, turning to look at Max. “That sweatshirt really looks ridiculous on you.”

He shrugged, “I know. I’m French.”

My mom looked at him, completely confused, before shaking her head and heading off. I shook my head, “Why do you always use that as an excuse?”

“Because people don’t know what to say back. It saves me an explanation,” He explained, grinning. “Come on, let’s get everything packed up so we can head out to meet with Sid.”

I nodded, glancing at the TV once more as they were showing an interview with Patrick Kane who, despite not winning a gold, was still smiling, unlike a lot of other players. “I think Kane and I could be friends,” I said aloud to Max.

Max laughed, “Yeah, maybe. I don’t really know him since we only play the Black Hawks twice a year, but I’m sure he could give you some hair tips.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, “What’s wrong with my hair?”

Max’s eyes widened as he tried to grasp at some form of an explanation. My mom had wandered back into the living room, and upon seeing that neither Max or I had moved to start packing, she placed both hands on her hips and gave me a stern look. “Hanna Danielle Ashton, I swear if you don’t move your ass and start packing up all of your stuff, I am going to take you outside and hit you with your car.”

Max started laughing. “Wow, your mom is way more badass then mine.”

“Watch your mouth,” My mouth scolded Max. “Now come on, get packing.”

Both Max and I moved off to finish packing up the few things that were still lying around untouched and tried to get everything packed up before my dad came back upstairs. I was having a hard time focusing, with Team Canada having just won the gold medal and Sidney being the one to score the game winner. It was also hard to imagine that I was leaving Vancouver tomorrow morning. My apartment was being completely emptied out tonight, with all of my belongings being shipped off to Pittsburgh tonight except for the items that I could take on board with me.

I sealed the last box shut, picking it up and carrying it over to where the last few boxes were waiting to be carried down and packed into the truck, taking a moment to glance around at my now nearly bare apartment. Some of the furniture was staying behind, Peyton said she would happily take the couch, but other than that, the apartment was completely empty. Jordan had already loaded my bags into the back of the SUV he and Max had rented for the weekend. Once I walked out that door, I wasn’t coming back. I would be spending my last night in Vancouver sleeping on Peyton’s couch, then getting woken up at some God awful hour and boarding a plane with the guys. Just the thought of leaving almost made my eyes tear up.

“You ready to go, Hanna?” My dad asked from just outside my apartment door. He walked in so he could pick up the last few boxes.

I nodded, “I guess so. I should have kept a change of clothes out, though. Now I’m going over to meet Team Canada covered in dust,” I told him, glancing down at my clothes, which were wrinkled from the hours spent sitting on the floor, walking up and down the stairs and lifting boxes.

My dad shook his head. “You look beautiful, Hanna. You really do.” He hesitated for a second before adding, “And if that boy thinks any different, then he’s not good enough for you. All of these boys better know how lucky they are to have a girl like you in their lives, because I wake up every morning thanking the Lord that he gave me you.” He shot me a smile before he carried the last few boxes out the door, leaving me to stand there fighting back tears.

My dad, the stone man, was going to miss me. And after years of wondering if the guy ever felt anything, I had my answer.

I said a last good bye to my apartment before I grabbed my keys off of the counter and locked the door behind me as I headed downstairs.

------------------------------

“Oh my goodness, it’s so loud!” Jordan yelled, covering his ears as we made our way through the Moulson house in downtown Vancouver.

“Well, this is how Canada acts when they won a gold medal in hockey,” Max reminded him.

Peyton and I were both completely shocked by the abundance of noise that hit our ears as soon as we had stepped into the club. There was barely even standing room down on the club floor, and even though the game had ended over two hours ago, the big screen TV was still up re-playing the winning goal, and every time the puck went in, a cheer went up in the club.

There was a roped off area for the hockey players, and since Sidney had gone ahead and gotten passes for the four of us, we were ushered in there immediately. Team Canada was apparently set to arrive within the next half hour, save for Niedermyer who had opted to see the closing ceremonies. I had been smart enough to leave my Team Canada jersey unpacked so I could get it autographed, but hadn’t managed to clam myself down yet. At the sight of Jarome Igninla leading the rest of the team into the building, which was met with an even louder outbreak of cheers then before, I was beginning to think I might throw up.

“They are all so giant,” Peyton whispered to me as we watched the team file in, most of them stopping to high five the fans who were close to them or wave to the club before they headed over to where we were sitting.

I laughed, “I know. They’re all Jordan sized.”

Jordan grinned from beside me, standing up so he could head over to give Eric, his brother, a congratulatory hug, leaving me to stare with my mouth open as I hadn’t even thought about the fact that other Staals would be here.

Roberto Luongo followed in just two behind Eric Staal, with his little girl in his arms and his wife right behind him. His presence was met with a breakout of “Lou!” chants, causing the already grinning man to grin even wider as he thanked the crowd, looking almost overwhelmed by the appreciation. I joined in on the chants, my love of the goaltender being no secret, and laughed when Max decided to join in as well.

Sidney was the second last guy to walk in, and unlike the rest of the players, who were there with family or with their significant other, Sidney was alone. I knew his parents must have been in Vancouver to watch him in the Olympics, but they had either already headed back to Nova Scotia or had chosen to watch the closing ceremonies instead. His arrival was met with the loudest applause, with a Crosby chant breaking out. People in their Crosby jersey’s were standing up on chairs to catch a glimpse of Canada’s newest saviour.

But Sidney didn’t seem to really notice. He gave the crowd a smile, but he made his way over to the roped off area right away, his head down as he did so. The reaction didn’t seem to take away from the atmosphere at all. In fact it almost seemed like the crowd hadn’t even noticed his lack of jubilation, and they turned their focus onto the last man to make his way into the building, Jonathan Toews, who was met with another roar of applause.

“Sidney!” Max called, seeing that Sidney was heading over to another table. “Over here, buddy!”

Sidney brightened up a bit when he noticed us sitting there, walking over to the table and taking a seat before he let out a sigh and ran his hands over his face. “How did packing go?” He asked.

Peyton made a scoffing sound. “Are you really trying to avoid the topic of that gold medal that you just won?” She asked. “Because it’s not working.”

Sidney smiled, a tired smile that showed how exhausted the Olympics had made him. “It was amazing, that whole game. I couldn’t have dreamt a better ending.”

I grinned at him. “You remember just a couple of weeks ago when I told you Luongo was the hardest goalie to score against?”

He rolled his eyes, letting out a small laugh. “I will never question your hockey knowledge again, Hanna.” He promised.

“Who’s that?” Peyton asked me, poking my arm and pointing over at someone.

I turned around to see who she was pointing at. “Oh, that’s Ryan Getzlaf.”

“He is missing some hair,” She told me, causing both Max and Sidney to start laughing.

“Yes, but that’s okay. He doesn’t need hair to score goals,” I told her.

Max and Peyton became distracted by one of Iginla’s kids wandering over, leaving me to move over and sit next to Sidney. “You look tired,” I told him.

Sidney nodded. “I am. I was prepared for the physical fatigue that came with two weeks of Olympic hockey, but I had no idea how wearing it was going to be on me mentally.”

“Really?” I asked him, surprised. “People have been discussing how Canada needs the gold in this tournament since the last Olympics, and all of the stores sell out of Crosby jersey’s daily. I thought you’d be used to all the weight falling on your shoulders.”

Sidney shrugged, glancing behind him as the crowd was attempting to start another Crosby chant. “I guess I had figured all of the attention wouldn’t be on me. At least not as a leader. I mean, they made Niedermyer the captain so he could lead this team. He’s, in my opinion, the best captain in the league, and all of these commercials were still saying I would lead the team. I guess it got to me more then I wanted to admit.”

I had to nod, trying to drown out all of the sounds around us and just focus on Sidney. Corey Perry, who was sitting at the table behind me, was accepting every beer that was bought for him, chugging it back and earning a cheer from the small gathering just below the area we were all in before he’d accept another beer and do the same. Needless to say, he had been there for many twenty minutes, and Ryan Getzlaf already had to try and hold him up because he couldn’t stand on his own. It was distracting, but since Sidney hadn’t even glanced in the direction yet, I was determined to ignore him as well.

“People just expect you to do everything, and they expect it because you’re one of the few people in the spotlight that actually seems capable of it. It seems like you’re unstoppable,” I tried to explain.

Sidney nodded, running a hand through his hair. “It was harder then I thought it would be. But, it turned out better then I could have ever imagined, so I shouldn’t complain.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please. Just because things turn out okay and you have a good life, that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing wrong. If there’s something you need to get off of your chest, just tell someone.”

Sidney nodded once more, finally looking away from me and over at the rest of the players with a soft laugh. “Well, I guess I could introduce to some of my team mates. I’m going to go ahead and guess that Luongo is near the top of that list?”

I grinned, “Sidney, you know me so well already.”

He laughed, standing up and leading me over to the table where Roberto Luongo was sitting with his wife as well as with Dan Boyle. He noticed Sidney approaching and grinned, setting down the glass of wine he was drinking and nodding to Sidney. “Hey, golden boy!” He greeted, standing up to pull Sidney into a hug.

It was a funny sight to see. Sidney, who, when standing next to me, seemed so gigantic, looked like a tiny little boy next to the towering Luongo. According to the stats, Crosby was only a few pounds lighter, but Luongo looked almost double the size. I was actually intimidated, staring up at him when he noticed me standing behind Sidney.

Roberto pointed, smiling, “Hey, you’re Sidney’s friend, right? Heather?”

I smiled, accepting the enormous hand he had extended and shaking it briefly. “Hanna, actually. But, yes.”

“Oh, Hanna. I’m sorry. There’s too much going on, I can’t keep anything straight,” He apologized, still grinning.

I didn’t know what to say back, I was too overwhelmed. Meeting all of the Pittsburgh boys, and even Mario Lemieux, that had been amazing in itself. But I had grown up with the Canucks, and Roberto Luongo was arguably the best goaltender the team had ever had, at least while I had been alive to watch the games. My mom and dad had the Luongo measuring poster hung up in their living room, and my hockey loving friends and I had all rushed out to purchase Team Canada Luongo jersey’s the second he was named to the team. I didn’t know how to talk to him. In fact, I was fairly positive that if any of the Canucks were in front of me, I would have the same reaction.

Thankfully, Sidney seemed to sense this as he moved back so he was standing next to me. “Hanna’s a huge fan of yours. She always tells me that I’m lucky I play in the East because my goal total would be down if I faced you every month or so.”

Roberto laughed, a surprising sound that I wouldn’t have expected from such a gigantic man. “Wow, thank you, Hanna. It’s people like you that give me the drive to play the best I can. We all won this medal.” Upon that last comment, he grinned again. “Speaking of which,” He turned around, lifting his medal off of the table and handing it to me. “Take a second and try it on.”

I just about fell over as soon as the medal was placed in my hand, staring down at it. It was a lot heavier than I had expected it to be, and even though I knew all of these guys had just won the medal a few hours ago, I was still surprised some of them had brought them with them. I looked up at Sidney, as if asking if it was really okay for me to wear a medal I had done nothing to deserve, relieved to find him grinning down at me, too. “Put it on, Hanna. Come on, this is Canada’s medal, not just ours,” He said to me.
I had to take in a deep breath before I finally lifted the blue string that the medal hung around and placed it around my neck.

Roberto, and a few of the other players who had turned around since Sidney and I came over, grinned at me. “It’s pretty cool, right?”

I nodded, looking down at the medal. “I feel kind of dizzy.”

Sidney and Roberto both laughed, giving me a moment to wear it before I felt too overwhelmed and took it off, handing it back to Roberto. “Thank you for that.”

He nodded, still smiling. “Hey, thanks for supporting us all.”

My eyes moved past him and towards the table next to him where Rick Nash, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook were sitting. I pouted, looking up at Sidney. “When I’m in Pittsburgh, I won’t see those guys playing as much. You only play their teams once or twice a year.”

Sidney pouted back, “I’m sorry. But we play equally handsome teams. Like the lighting.”

I sighed, “The lightning. Ryan Malone. Yes.”

Sidney laughed, as did Roberto Luongo, who, despite having sat down again, could still hear us.

“It’s weird to think that this is my last night in Vancouver.” I said, looking around the Moulson house, taking in the abundance of red jersey’s, the random outbursts of “O Canada” and the giant TV screen that was still replaying Sidney’s goal.

“Pittsburgh’s a great place,” Sidney promised. “It’s not the same atmosphere as out here, but it’s got an amazing one in itself.”

I nodded, still looking around before I looked at him again. “Do you think, maybe later, we could just walk around Vancouver? I mean, if you’re busy-”

“No, we can do that,” He said. “I mean, you can’t leave without saying goodbye, right?” He asked, smirking. “Now, come on. I know you want to meet Rick Nash. And if I introduce you to Iggy, you have to promise not to insult his team.”

I made a face. “I will be nice to Iginla, but I can’t promise that the Canuck fan in me will remain silent and respectful of the flames,” I told him honestly, making him laugh. “Also, and this might be totally awkward, but my mom wants to meet you so she can brag she met Canada’s golden boy.”

Sidney laughed again. “Alright, so we’ll introduce you to all of these guys, and head over to see your parents, and walk around Vancouver. Sound good?”

I nodded, letting him lead over to Rick Nash.

---------------------------

“I’m really sorry,” I apologized again.

Sidney laughed, “Hanna, stop apologizing. It’s been an hour now, it’s fine.”

“It is not fine! My mom grabbed your ass,” I whined.

Sidney only laughed again, “Yes, and as weird as that was for me, you’d be surprised at how often it happens.”

I shook my head, walking beside him. “I don’t know what came over her. She’s a pretty well mannered lady, most of the time.”

“Well, she probably didn’t expect me to be as good looking as I am, and the shock of my facial features made her lose control of herself,” Sidney explained.

I shook my head, letting the two of us fall into a brief silence as we walked forward again. It was nearing two am, and although the streets further downtown were still completely packed with people celebrating, the few streets near Peyton and I’s apartment complex was nearly deserted, making it easy for Sidney to be out in public.

“Where are your parents?” I asked him. “Everyone else at the Moulson house, they had family with them or someone, and you came in looking so alone.”

Sidney hesitated with the question before he started to answer. “They were here for the game, and for most of the Olympics, but my dad only has two weeks of holidays and he has to be back at work tomorrow morning. Plus, Taylor has a hockey tournament coming up and she needs to get back to practice. They left about an hour before the medal ceremonies,” He answered.

I nodded, looking up at him and seeing the way his face had sagged down a bit with sadness suddenly. “Sidney?” I asked, earning his attention again, “You feel alone a lot, don’t you?”

He looked like he was about to laugh for a second before he let out a deep breath of air. “I do, yeah. I mean, I have so many amazing things in my life, and I feel like I have no one to share that with. My parents aren’t in Pittsburgh as much as people assume they are, and I’ve only seen my sister play hockey twice this year. There’s a lot of times where I find myself staring up at the ceiling in my room wishing I had someone to talk too.”

I nodded, feeling the wind blow some of my hair into my face and reaching up to fix it. “Well, since I’m going to be in Pittsburgh, you can talk to me now. I barely sleep anyways, so you can just call me whenever you want.”

Sidney smiled at me, giving his head a small shake before he made a surprising move, lifting up an arm and letting it rest around my shoulders for a moment. “Hanna, I am really looking forward to you being around all the time.”

I could only grin back.