The Road to the Cup ~ Wattys 2015

Dear Erin

Erin's Point of View

Several weeks had passed since we had won the Stanley Cup and it almost felt more like a dream than a reality. The rallies and award ceremonies had passed and so had the draft, ushering in new talent and expanding the league. Robert had flown home a few days ago to be with his family and the rest of the guys would be heading in their own directions soon. I was tidying up my apartment before I left to meet Sid for lunch at our usual place.

When I got there, the waitress lead me to a table and I was surprised to find Beau waiting for me instead of Sidney. "Hey, Sunshine," I said, sliding into the seat across from him.

"Hi, Erin," he smiled brightly.

"Weren't you supposed to be leaving for California today?"

"I leave tonight, actually," he replied, "The waitress is bringing you a Shirley Temple; he knows how much you like those."

"Well, I am here often enough," I shrugged.

"Oh, and she's bringing Fettuccine Alfredo, too."

"That's my favorite!" I exclaimed and Beau just smiled. 

Beau and I ate lunch together, talking about our summer plans and how weird it felt to be Stanley Cup Champions. We were finishing up when I finally asked him the question that was on my mind, "Where's Sid?"

Beau grinned and dug something out of his pocket, it was an envelope. He handed it over, "Go on, open it."

Inside was a piece of paper with Sidney's handwriting on it. This little place always reminds me of you. I hope your lunch was good, sorry I couldn't be there. Consol is nice and empty during the afternoon. It's a nice time to go skating, don't you think?

I stood up abruptly after reading the note. "Thanks, Beau, I'll see you later. Have a safe flight."

"Thanks, Erin. See you later," he laughed.

I drove to Consol, excited to see Sidney. We hadn't spent time together in a few days because he had gone on a golf outing and I wasn't the biggest fan of golf, so I had stayed in Pittsburgh and started packing my things so I could spend a few days in Detroit with my family.

I went in through the players' entrance and walked to the locker room. There, I laced up my skates and walked out to the ice. The lights were dimmer than usual and the arena was quiet compared to the last few times I had been there. I looked around to see someone sitting on the bench with two hockey sticks and a couple of pucks. I walked over, but I knew right away that it wasn't Sid. What the heck?

Maxim Lapierre looked up from his phone and smiled, "Up for a game of one-on-one?"

"Uhh, sure," I replied. I accepted one of the sticks from him and lined up at center ice. Max and I played keep away for a little while; he was totally letting me win. I was skating circles around him with the puck and he stood there laughing. "I don't know what we're going to do with you, Max. We're barely into the offseason and you can't even be bothered to poke check the puck away from me," I taunted.

"Maybe you should poke check this love letter away from me," he shot back and I stopped, the puck sliding away towards one of the empty nets.

"You have one, too?"

"I came to skate and found a letter addressed to you," Max shrugged, trying to be nonchalant.

"Can I have it?"

"I don't know, can you?" Max sassed me.

"May I?" I asked, rolling my eyes. He handed it over and I opened it. Another note from Sid. We played one-on-one once and you cheated, but it was okay because I love you. My love for you is stronger than the Ohio River.