Chapter 42

I warned you about the music that might show up on here. Of course my choice for this chapter may have something to do with the fact that it's late (or early depending on how you look at it) and I can't sleep. Being overtired does strange things to me, haha.










I woke up the next morning when Sidney’s alarm clock went off. He shut it off immediately and then rolled back over to wrap his arms around me. I smiled when I was pulled into his embrace. I’d be a happy woman if I got to wake up like this most mornings. He began to place kisses on my neck and cheek until I giggled.

“Is something funny?” he asked.

“You’re tickling me,” I replied with another giggle. He laughed too before rolling me over to face him and placing his mouth on mine in a lingering kiss.

“I shouldn’t be gone too long this morning. I’ll see you at my parents’ around noon?” he asked. I’d told him I still wasn’t feeling up to going with him this morning to his exhibit in the Sport Hall of Fame the night before.

“Yes you will.”

He got out of bed and got dressed to head out for his second day with the cup. Thankfully his schedule for the day only included the morning. It made what I had planned for him possible. I waited until I was sure he was gone before getting out of bed. I woke up the rest of the girls and we all met downstairs.

“What do you want us to do?” Kelly asked.

“I need someone to run to the grocery store and pick up all of the last minute stuff. Whoever does just needs to go to customer service and ask for Jim. He’ll have everything ready. Then I’ll need two of you to start setting everything up and do any cleaning that you find necessary so the place looks nice. The last person is with me in the kitchen helping me bake,” I explained.

Lisa volunteered to drive to the store and pick everything up. Grace agreed to help me in the kitchen and Hailey and Kelly decided to start cleaning and decorating. We all got started on our tasks right away, knowing there was a lot to be done.

“What’s the order?” Grace asked.

“The cake is first because it needs to cool completely before I can decorate it. Guacamole will be third, and the brownies and cookies are last.”

“Do we have time to finish it all?”

“I hope so.”

Grace and I got to work. She prepped everything and I did the rest. Once in a while I’d make my way out to check on the progress of Hailey and Kelly. When Lisa returned from the store she assisted the two of them with everything.

Just before noon I called Sidney to tell him I still wasn’t feeling well. He thought the plan was to be at his parents' place for the rest of the day, not knowing that Trina and Troy were in cahoots with me. I told him that I’d be there later after resting some more even though I had no intention on heading over at all.

Grace and I managed to get all of the food done in time and the other three girls finished the decorating just as Sidney’s friends started to arrive. All of his family was with him and his parents and I knew they were following him over here. I wasn’t sure what reason Trina and Troy were going to come up with on why he’d have to go back to his place, but I trusted that they’d find something that worked.

The band arrived plenty early and set up everything outside. The caterers were also there with plenty of time to get everything out. Trina called me and asked if everything was set to bring him over. I told her we were ready and she said they’d be here soon. Things were going off without a hitch and I couldn’t wait for Sidney to get home for his last birthday present.










Sidney hung up the phone with a frown. Tanner still wasn’t feeling well and he hated that. He especially hated that she felt sick these past two days. He tried to forget about it for now and enjoy his day. She said she’d be there later so he should just focus on his family right now.

“Hey, Sid?” his mom called to him a few hours later.

“Yeah, Mom?”

“I just talked to Tanner and she said she’s feeling better and wants to come over. The only problem is that something’s going on with the girls’ rental car. Do you want to go get them or should I go?” she asked.

“I’ll go get them,” he told her. As much fun as he was having today, he needed a breather and the drive over would do that for him.

He left Max with his family, grabbed his keys and walked out to his car after telling his family where he was headed. He pulled out of the driveway, cranked the tunes and headed back to his house to pick up the girls. There was a smile on his face the whole way because Tanner was feeling better.

Part of the way to his house his car stalled out. He looked down at the dashboard in frustration and saw that he was out of gas. How was he out of gas? He thought he’d just filled it up two days ago. He groaned and pulled out his phone to call his dad. A little bit later his father showed up with a gas can.

“I don’t know how this happened!” he exclaimed.

“You probably just got too caught up in the excitement to check. Don’t worry about it,” his father told him reassuringly. “I didn’t bring much gas so I’ll just follow you back and then I’ll drive everyone back to the house.”

Sidney agreed and got back into his car. He waited until his father was ready to go before pulling back out onto the road and finishing the drive to his house. They pulled in and he got out of his car.

“Hey, Sid, can you help me with something in back real quick?” Lisa asked, popping out of the house.

“Yeah, sure,” he agreed. He diverted his route to the front door and followed her around the house with his father on his heel.

“Surprise!” a chorus of people yelled out.

He looked around in shock to see not only Tanner and the girls, but all of his friends, and his whole family. Hadn’t his family just been at his parents’ house? A smile broke out over his face as a band started to play ‘Happy Birthday’ and every joined in to sing. There were black and gold balloons tied to trees, along with numerous chairs and tables lined with the same colors.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” he cried out turning to his dad.

“Don’t look at me. Every bit of this was Tanner. It was her idea and she did everything herself,” he told Sidney. Sidney turned to Tanner to see her grinning at him from ear to ear.

“You haven’t been sick at all, have you?” he asked her, wrapping her into a big hug.

“Not in the least,” she confessed with a devilish smile.

“This is amazing. Thank you.” She kissed him in response and led him towards everyone.

Sidney quickly learned that Tanner had put this party into motion as soon as she’d heard that the Cup was coming on his birthday. He also learned that his car’s gas tank had been emptied on purpose so that he’d stall out so his family could get from one house to other and beat him there. He had to hand it to everyone, they’d gone all out for him.

He spent the rest of the day hanging out at his house with his friends and family listening to the band play long into the night. It was probably the best day of his entire life and he had Tanner to thank for it all. She’d gone above and beyond for him and he wasn’t sure that he could ever make her realize just how much that had meant to him.

Dusk started to fall and everyone was still there enjoying themselves. Then a hush fell over the crowd and Sidney started to look around, trying to figure out why. He froze when he saw Tanner walking out of his house, a grin on her face, carrying a very large penguin shaped cake with candles forming the number 87 on it. The band struck up ‘Happy Birthday’ again and everyone joined in like before. He gave Tanner a wicked smile before blowing out his candles.

“Where did you find a cake like this?” he asked her as he cut the first slice. She gave him an offended look.

“I made it!” she yelled at him. He looked at her in shock.

“You did not.”

“I did too!”

“How come you never told me you could do this?” he questioned.

“With everything that’s happened so far in our relationship, I never had the chance to showcase this particular talent,” she explained. He gave her a long kiss which received cheers from the crowd.

Night fell and his family began to head out. All of them made sure to stop by to congratulate him before they left. His friends stayed much later, and he didn’t mind at all. It was late into the night when the last person left. Tanner’s friends and Max all bade them goodnight before retiring to their rooms leaving him alone with her.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you enough for doing this for me,” he told her when they fell into bed.

“You don’t have to thank me. I wanted to do it. You deserved it,” she replied. He pulled her to him and kissed her.

“Have I told you today how much I love you?” he asked.

“Only a few million times,” she joked.

“Then it wasn’t enough. I love you, Tanner Falco.”

“I love you too, Sidney Crosby.”

He glanced at his dresser and saw the Stanley Cup sitting on top of it. He knew that tomorrow he’d have to part with it, but he didn’t care. It was something he’d worked for since he was a boy, and was the symbol of one of the most important things in his life. He looked back at Tanner and smiled. The Cup could go tomorrow but he’d still be holding the one thing that was most important to him long after it was gone.