Meet The Parents

I let out a yawn as I looked over at the mass amounts of people racing around the airport, frantically trying to find their way to the luggage carousel, or to find their awaiting family members.

I was standing about thirty feet away from where the luggage from my parents flight was supposed to be circulating, a cup of steaming coffee in my hand and a weight of fatigue on my shoulders. When my mom had told me that she had chosen the earliest fly in date available, she wasn’t kidding. I had to be up at five am so I could make it to the airport in time for their 6:30am flight, and even though I had become accustomed to waking up relatively early thanks to Kris, five am was just too extreme for my poor brain.

My dad was easy to spot in the crowd. His tall build and bright red Snap-On jacket was drastically different from the majority of travellers who were almost all wearing black jackets. My dad didn’t believe in bringing anything more than what could it in a carry-on bag, which I generally agreed with, so he was carrying a large duffel bag with him as he walked beside my mom, who looked as if she could barely walk because of how tired she was. She was whispering something to my dad, probably complaining about how fast he was walking, and didn’t even see me standing less than twenty feet away from the two of them.

Peyton was behind them, quite a ways behind. She was yawning as she tried to catch up with them, her usually perfect hair slicked back into a ponytail and no make-up on her face. I spent many hours making fun of Peyton and the amount of make-up and hair products she used, but when I glanced over at her and her bare face and natural hair, it was obvious that she was a beautiful girl even without all of the help. It almost made me less thrilled to see her.

“Hanna,” My dad finally greeted, spotting me. He placed his duffel bag down and walked the few feet between us, embracing me in a stiff hug, a gesture that caught me off guard since I wasn’t used to him showing affection in general. He placed both of his hands on my shoulders and looked me over, nodding his face. “You look good. I’m glad. I was worried the change would have worn you down.”

I smiled, patting his arm. “I’m fine, dad. I promise.” I turned to look at my mom. “How was the flight?”

She smiled tiredly. “Long. I wanted to sleep, but the man behind me kept snoring and I just couldn’t get comfortable.”

“Well, I’ll drive you guys to your hotel and you can sleep for awhile,” I told her, moving around her and my dad so I could almost knock Peyton over with a hug. “Peyton, I’ve missed you so much!”

Peyton laughed, returning the embrace and almost lifting me off of my feet. “Oh. Hanna. Life at the arena is so dull without you! They hired this new girl, Elisa, and she does not understand how to answer a phone.”

I let out a small laugh, offering to take her carry on bag for her as we all watched the luggage belt spit out suitcase after suitcase, trying to spot any of their luggage. I tugged my cell phone out of my pocket to check the time, yawning as I saw that it was nearing seven thirty. Even though their flight had been a mere five minutes late, coming through immigration took a good half hour for them since their flight landed at the same time as a flight from Jamaica.

My dad lunged forward suddenly, startling my mom as he had apparently spotted her suitcase: a large, white case with purple polka dots and tiny blue elephants. She had been using it since I was six years old, and I was still embarrassed by it.

“What does your luggage thing look like, Peyson?” My dad asked.

Peyton sighed, “It’s Peyton, Mr. Ashton,” She told him, shrugging slightly when my dad didn’t seem to care. “It’s black. I attached bright green luggage tags to it and tied a giant yellow bow on the handle so it would stand out more,” She explained.

“Oh, I see it,” I said, nudging past the two people in front of us so I could grab her suitcase, apologizing to the couple afterwards as I dragged the giant suitcase over to Peyton. “Is that all of it?” I asked, looking between Peyton and my parents.

“That’s it,” My dad said, looking down at his watch. “We should make our way out now, we don’t get caught in all of the traffic.”

I glanced at him, “Traffic?” I repeated, almost laughing. “Dad, it’s seven thirty on a Saturday. I doubt there’s a ton of traffic out right now.”

“Better sage than sorry, Hanna,” He said, turning and speed walking his way across the airport to try and find the doors that would lead out into the parking lot.

I sighed, falling behind a bit with Peyton as my mom scurried off to try and catch my dad. “I’m sorry if my parents were terrible to fly with,” I apologized.

“Nah, they were fine. I mean, your dad’s pretty intense, but your mom is so sweet that she makes up for it,” Peyton promised. “The food on the plane, however, I will not forgive the staff for serving that to me. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get that taste out of my mouth.”

I laughed, sighing as I noticed my dad standing just beside the airport doors with a frown on his face as he watched Peyton and I take our time. “I guess we better hurry up,” I muttered, picking up my walking pace as Peyton and I tried to catch up.

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

“Wow, sweet digs,” Peyton said as she entered my basement suite, nodding her head as she looked around.

“Did you just say sweet digs?” I asked her, frowning. “I almost want to send you back to Vancouver.”

Peyton grinned, tugging her suitcase into the room with her and pulling the door shut behind her. “I can’t believe you live here. Not even just here as in this basement, here as in Pittsburgh. I still think that you’re just going to come home soon.”

“It’s still weird for me, too,” I told her, heading over to the fridge and pulling out the fruit platter that Pascal’s wife, Maria, had made up for me. The woman was convinced that I didn’t eat enough, so she constantly made me take the leftovers from their dinners, or made up desserts for me. It was a sweet gesture, but since my jeans were starting to fit tighter, I was kind of hoping she’d stop. “I still have mornings where I wake up and wonder where I am,” I admitted. “And don’t even get me started on how weird it is to constantly have players from the Pittsburgh penguins chilling in your living room.”

She nodded, grabbing a piece of watermelon from the platter and taking a bite, leaning tiredly against the couch. “I’m so tired. I slept a little on the plane, but your mom kept nudging me to ask if what I thought of Sidney.”

I felt my cheeks hit up a bit. “Yeah, she’s really curious about him. I hadn’t even told her that we were together until after Sidney’s agent called her to make travel plans.”

“You didn’t tell her?!” Peyton yelled. “Are you kidding me? Hanna, he’s Sidney Crosby. I don’t care if you don’t think of him as just the hockey star, how do you not run around screaming that he’s your man?”

I shrugged, chewing on a strawberry. “I don’t know. He doesn’t really talk about it with other people because of how private he is, so I don’t want to make it a big deal, I guess. I mean, people can learn so much about him on the internet already, and I know he tries to keep as much to himself as he can so I don’t really want to give people more of a reason to stalk him.”

Peyton shook her head, “Well, I guess that admirable. I’m just saying, your mom is not a crazed Crosby fan, she’s a grown woman who wants what’s best for her little girl, and Sidney is certainly someone she should know about.”

I nodded, “I know. I still have days where it’s hard to believe that Sidney Crosby can even remember my name, let alone cares about me. I guess it was more so a way of protecting myself, in case he doesn’t care as much as he lets on or I was insane and we weren’t actually in a relationship.”

“You are far too paranoid,” Peyton said, yawning and stretching her arms above her head before she added, “But Sidney’s crazy, too. So, I guess it works.”

I smiled, eating a piece of cucumber. “So, there’s a tiny guest room over here,” I told her, leading her past the living room and to the bedroom that was juts big enough for a twin size bed and a nightstand. “I know it’s really small-”

“Its fine, Hanna,” Peyton assured me, stepping into the room and sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I appreciate this so much, I really do. One day I will find a way to pay you back for all of these things, I swear.”

I shrugged, “Don’t worry about it. I consider you taking time off from school and work to come and make me feel less homesick as payback for me letting you sleep in a room I never use, anyways,” I told her with a smile.

Peyton laughed, tugging off the boots she was wearing. “I hope it’s not rude of me to sleep right away, but-”

“No, it’s fine,” I told her. “I have to call Sidney and see when he and the other guys are free to head over anyways,” I told her, waving as I stepped out of the room and pulled the door shut behind me.

-----------------------------
“I’m so nervous,” Sidney admitted, stretching out the collar of his shirt.

I smirked at him. “Calm down. My mom is the sweetest person ever. She’ll probably ask what your favourite kind of cake is so she can bake you one. My dad will act like he’s super hard-core, but I can already promise that he’s going to like you. It’ll only be an hour or so, and then we’re off to meet everyone else.”

Sidney nodded, still looking unsure. “I’ve never met a girl’s parents before.”

I was surprised, leaning away from him. “You’ve never met the parents? But, you told me you’ve had a semi-serious girlfriend before.”

He sighed, still tugging at the button down, red shirt he was wearing. “Yeah, but she didn’t care about any of this. She was just with me because of the status. And I knew that, but I thought I was okay with it because it made me feel less lonely.”

I frowned, placing a hand on Sidney’s shoulder. “Well, don’t be so nervous. Come on, you’ve played in how many playoff games and in the Olympics and you’re worried about what two people might think of you?”

“Two important people,” He corrected. “Should I tuck my shirt in?”

“Why, are you thirty-five and desperate?” I asked.

He sighed, “Are your parents like you?” He asked. “Because if they are, I don’t know if I can handle it.”

I laughed, letting my hand fall from his shoulder so I could take a hold of his hand and give it a squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right beside you, and if my dad gets too intense, I’ll tell him to stop.”

Sidney nodded, letting out a deep breath. “Yeah, I can do this. I can make really awkward conversation for an hour, charm your parents and still attempt to eat something.” He frowned, “Hanna, I don’t think I can do this.”

“Wow, no wonder people call you a whiner,” I teased, letting go of his hand so I could grab my cardigan from the counter and slide it on. “You’ll be fine, Sidney. You’re one of the most likeable people I have ever met, I promise my parents will like you. And even if they don’t, I still will.”

He sighed, rubbing his face before he nodded. “Okay. I think I’m ready.” He followed me out the door and out to his car, to nervous to do his usual charming gesture of opening the door for me.

“So, my dad is super hardcore,” I told Sidney as he backed out of the driveway and started drive in the direction of the restaurant my parents were meeting us at. “He was in the army for seven years, working as an artillery soldier and sometimes as a sniper,” I explained. “So he’s kind of… intense, for lack of a better word,” I continued. “He has a really hard time saying how he feels. I actually have a hard time remembering the last time he said he loved me, even though I know he does,” I told him.

Sidney didn’t say anything, probably because of how nervous he was.

“My mom was a nurse for most of her life. She’s the most compassionate woman I’ve ever met, the complete opposite of my dad. She has to touch your arm when she talks to you, and she’s crazy about keeping eye contact when she talks to you, so just a heads up. My dad will ask you about your finances, your education, your view on the army, the last book you read and, maybe, who your favourite team growing up was. Have a good reason for why it was the Habs, my dad hates them,” I instructed, seeing Sidney nod from the corner of my eye. “My mom will ask about your family, your childhood, how your stress level is and, maybe, how we met.”

Sidney let out a long rush of air, nodding his head. “I will try to remember all of that.” He took a few deep breaths as he parked his car in front of the restaurant, turning the car off and pulling his keys out before he turned to look at me nervously. “I might throw up.”

I laughed, “Sidney, calm down. It’ll be fine, okay? You can handle this.”


The walk into the restaurant felt much longer than it was. You had to walk up a flight of stairs before you reached the inside door , and my parents were sitting at the far end of the restaurant, my mom sipping on a glass of water while my dad stirred his Caesar, looking around at all of the people sitting around them.

Sidney was standing completely still next to me, and I had to give him a nudge before he loosened up enough to take a few steps. I could hear him taking deep breaths as I led him over to my parents, smiling sweetly at them as I slid into the booth, Sidney sliding in beside me. “Mom, dad,” I greeted, “This is Sidney.”

My dad held out his hand, looking Sidney straight in the eye. “Nice to meet you, son. You can call me John,” He said.

Sidney accepted my dad’s hand, wincing from the strength of my dad’s grip. “It’s great to meet you, sir.”

My mom was almost bouncing beside my dad, biting her lip as she watched my dad and Sidney for a moment. Once my dad had let go of Sidney’s hand, my mom extended hers, grabbing Sidney’s hand and holding it in between both of her hands. “It’s so nice to meet you. Do you prefer Sidney or Sid?”

Sidney forced a smile. “Doesn’t matter, whichever you prefer.”

“Well then, Sidney,” She said, smiling, “I am so happy to finally meet you. You must be a pretty special guy if Hanna was willing to move to Pittsburgh for you.”

I felt my entire face heat up. “Mom, Sidney and I weren’t even together then. I came here to try and figure my life out.”

My mom winked at me, “Sure you did, sweetie.” She finally let go of Sidney’s hands. “So, Sidney, tell me, how is your relationship with your mother?”

Sidney seemed surprised by the question, and I almost started laughing from the obvious look on his face. “Uhm, I get along with her pretty well. She’s very judgemental of me, but I know that she does that because she cares. She sacrificed a lot for me, so I’m always grateful for her,” He answered, nodding.

My mom seemed satisfied with the answer, taking another drink of her water. “That’s good.”

“I know your money situation is good, seeing as your in the NHL,” my dad began, pausing to take a drink of his Caesar. I knew that he was only allowing the pause to try and freak Sidney out even more, and by the gulp Sidney made, it was working. “What I want to know is, what do you use your money for? And don’t bullshit me, if you spend it on shit like expensive cars and golden statues of Star Wars characters just tell me.”

Sidney’s eyes widened a bit and he took in a deep breath before he answered. “I honestly don’t spend a lot of money. I rent a car out here, an SUV, actually for my hockey equipment, and I own a Lexus, which is pretty pricey, but that’s about the only drastic thing I’ve bought. I have my own house in Nova Scotia, but I save the majority of my money. I know I’m young, but I’m already thinking about how I need to be able to support my family, and I don’t want to rush out and waste my money. Hockey isn’t a forever career, and I know that most people don’t have the luxury of making this much money. The last thing I’d want to do is waste it with hasty purchases.”

My dad eyed for him a moment before he nodded, a teeny hint of a half smile on his face as he raised his glass and took another sip before pointed at the menus sitting in front of us. “You two should order.”

Sidney sent me a confused look which I answered with a smile, picking up my menu and leaning over a bit so I could whisper, “That means he likes you so far.”

Sidney let out a long breath of air and nodded, looking over his own menu.