The Road to the Cup ~ Wattys 2015

Les Misérables

I sat between Beau and Sidney in the high school's auditorium as we watched my sister in Les Misérables. I was so proud of her. Cassie was brave in a way I had never been. Sure, I could go on the ice and smack a piece of rubber with a stick in front of hundreds, or maybe thousands, of people, but I couldn't get up on stage and stand in a bright circle of light and sing in front of a bunch of strangers. No one would want to hear me sing in the first place, but if they did, I wouldn't be willing to perform. My sister was, though, and that made me proud.

Beau was in love and you could tell by watching him watch her. I enjoyed watching him almost as much as I enjoyed watching Cassie. Did it scare me that he seemed to feel this way about her? Oh, hell yes. Hockey players were idiots a large percentage of the time and I didn't know exactly what he was feeling. I was afraid that, being so young, he didn't understand love and he'd leave her broken hearted. I wouldn't be able to look at him if he hurt her, and he played for me.

Sidney must have seen that I was visibly tense and stressed because he patted my knee and leaned over. "Don't worry about Beau and Cassie. She's a smart girl and he's smart enough. He knows better than to hurt her if he ever wants to see the ice again. Plus, we'll keep him in line," he whispered in my ear. I nodded my thanks.

After the show, I went up to my sister, gave her a huge hug, and handed her the roses I'd bought. "You did a wonderful job, Cassie!"

"Thanks, Erin! I'm so glad that you came! And you weren't kidding when you said you'd bring the whole team, holy crap!"

"And Jules is here, too," I said excitedly.

"And me," Justin Abdelkader walked up and gave my sister a big hug. I turned and saw Beau with a disgusted look on his face. I motioned for him to come forward. He had flowers for her, too.

"Hey, Cassie, break a leg- uh, I mean, nice job!" He said, turning beet red.

Abdelkader shot me a look and I shook my head. He nodded, understanding that he'd get an explanation later.

"Thanks, Beau," she blushed.

"Alright, come on, you idiot, before you embarrass yourself more," Robert took Beau by the arm and steered him away. "Nice job, Cassie," he said over his shoulder.

The guys came through in groups, telling her she did a great job and then my parents came up. "How'd you all get here first? We were sitting closer," my mom complained.

"Mom, you forget that they're professional athletes who move fast and were directed by me. I was going to be first to see my little sister after her musical, they just happened to come along," I hugged Cassie and she laughed.

"Are you going out with the cast, or are we buying ice cream?" My mom asked her.

"I'm going out with the cast," Cassie said.

"I'm going out for ice cream," Justin said.

"Shut up, they weren't offering to you," I told him.

"We'll take Justin, and you, and Jules, and Luke, and all of your boys, too, if they want," my mom said.

"I'm paying, then, because you won't want to see that bill," I said.

"Everyone's getting a large," Justin joked.

"Ha ha," I shook my head.

"Erin! You came in for Thanksgiving and you didn't come say hi!" Jules complained, launching herself at me.

"Sorry, Jules, it was a really rushed trip. We had to get in and get out due to our schedule," I explained.

"I heard that you beat Sidney Crosby in football," she elbowed me.