It's Never too Late to Try ~ Sidney Crosby

Chapter 9- The Party

I was in my bed, wide awake. I glanced over at the clock. 3:57 AM. I couldn't get myself to fall asleep and I had one thing on my mind -- Sidney. When is he leaving? Am I just a summer fling? Does he actually like me? Am I overthinking? Overreacting? Ugh... These are the thoughts that have been racing in my mind since I put Eli to bed at 10:30.

I found myself sitting on the patio with a cup of tea in my pajamas. The sky was pitch black and the stars were clearly visible. When I was in New York, the sky never was like this. The lights and tall buildings hid the beautiful stars. I recently found myself missing home, which was odd for me. I haven't really had the best relationship with my family. We haven't spoke in a long time. Almost 5 years. I never fully forgave them for how they acted when I got pregnant. They called me a failure. A 19 year old who threw their future away. How could someone have a child with someone they aren't married to?

I missed how things were before I even got pregnant. Living in New York with my parents and my older sisters, Casey and Becca. We used to be so close until everything happened. My sister, Becca, lives in Greensburg, Pennsylvania now. I saw on Facebook that she is engaged and living with the guy. I wish I could talk to her but it doesn't seem like she'd want to talk to me. We used to be so close.

After sitting outside for a while, I returned to my bedroom and passed out. After all the overthinking, I got exhausted.

In the morning, I got up around 9:00. Today was Sidney's birthday party at his house in Cole Harbour. I was excited to meet his friends and his family. Sid received the Stanley Cup last night, so he was bringing it everywhere today. Including the party. Eli was excited to finally see it in person.

"Mommy!" I heard Eli yell from his bedroom. I ran into his room and saw him looking through his closet. "What's wrong, bud?" I asked, walking over to him. He plopped on the floor and sighed. "I don't know what to wear. Is this fancy?" I giggled and browsed through his closet. "It's casual but you should look a little nicer since it's Sid's birthday." I told him, pulling out a blue short sleeve button up shirt and khaki shorts. "Wear this and put on your sneakers." I laid it out on his bed and he ran over to change out of his pajamas.

As Eli got dressed, I went into my bedroom to do my makeup. I wanted to look good today, so I put a lot of effort into it. Winged eyeliner,
gold eyeshadow, brows, highlighter. I got dressed in my yellow sleeveless button up dress and white pumps. I decided to leave my wavy hair loose today. It only took me 30 minutes to get ready, so I had time to make sure Eli was presentable.

At around 11:30 AM, Eli and I headed out to Sidney's house. The party was starting at noon, so I wanted to give myself time to get there.

We got to the house in about 20 minutes, which was pretty good. I saw him and his family in the front of the house talking. It looks like they just got here too. I parked the car in front of the huge house and opened the door, jumping out on the grass. As I looked over, I saw Sid beaming at me. Eli and I hauled the heavy trays of food that I made and made our way over to them. I walked up to my boyfriend as he planted a small kiss on my cheek. "Hey, I'm so glad that you guys are here." Sidney looked at me and then Eli. His parents were standing next to him and I felt my heart racing. "Mom, dad. This is my girlfriend, Scarlet and her son, Eli." Sidney introduced us and I shook their hands. "I'm Trina and this is my husband, Troy. We've heard so much about you. You are absolutely gorgeous." Trina said to me. "Thank you so much. Sidney talks about you a lot." I gave her a quick hug. Sidney's mother shot me a big smile and then looked at her son. "Take the trays from them and put them in the kitchen, dear?" She asked him. "Of course. I'll meet you guys in the backyard." Sidney took the tray from my hands and kissed me softly before heading inside.

I walked to the backyard with Trina and Troy with Eli following us. "He's such a handsome little fella. How old is he?" Trina asked me, looking at Eli. "He turned 5 in June actually." I replied, as we walked over to the deck. "A hockey player too?" Troy pried, smiling at me. "Of course. Sidney loves playing with him and teaching him new things."
"He's always talked about that. He loves working with the kids." Troy told me, sitting down at the table on the deck. Trina sat next to him, while I leaned against the railing. As I looked over, I saw a tall blond girl walk out of the house. She walked over to me and smile. "Hi, are you Scarlet?" She pried, looking at me. "Yes, I am." She hugged me quickly and the pulled away. "I'm Taylor. Sidney's younger sister. It's so nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm glad that I finally get to meet you guys."

Taylor and I chatted while Sidney walked around saying hello to his guests. Eli ran around and played with the other little kids in the yard. After a few minutes, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Sidney standing with a tall, tan man. I stood up from my chair. "Scarlet, this is my best friend. This is Geno." Before I could say anything, Geno hugged me tight and said, "So nice to meet captain's girl." He had a thick Russian accent, so his English was off. "It's nice to finally meet my boyfriend's best friend. He talks about you all the time."
"Sid is nothing without me." Geno proudly told me with a huge grin on his face. Sidney couldn't help but laugh at his goofy Russian friend.

Later on in the day, we ate dinner on the deck and talked for a while. Being surrounded by Sidney's family made me miss mine even more. The Stanley Cup sat on the patio and Eli kept staring at it, causing all of us to laugh. Sidney leaned over and looked at me. "Can we talk?" He whispered to me. I nodded and he grabbed my hand as we walked over to the dock. My heart was racing and I had no idea what he was going to say to me.