Chapter 44

I walked out of class and practically skipped to the parking lot. I’d been going to classes for three weeks now and being back in school was amazing. It was the start of getting my normal life back. Now today I was taking the second step in that. I spotted Sidney’s car parked in the same spot it usually was and I rushed over to it.

“Are you ready?” he asked with a smile after kissing me.

“More than you know,” I responded, grinning back. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

I sang along with the music in the car and danced around a little in my seat. I was anxious and excited. I watched buildings pass by on the trip and even grinned up at the hospital when we pulled in. I took Sidney’s hand and bounced into the entrance. He laughed at me as we checked in.

“Do you want me to come in or wait out here?” he asked when we reached the door.

“I think you should make some surprise visits to the children’s ward. I’ll be fine up here. I’ll call you when I’m done,” I told him. He gave me another kiss.

“Have fun.”

“This will be the first time I might.” I watched him walk away and then I followed the nurse back.

“You’re in a good mood,” she commented.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I gushed. She just smiled back at me as I settled in.

When I was done with the treatment I called Sidney and he told me he’d be right up. The nurse led me back to the waiting room to wait for him. He appeared a few minutes later and laughed when he saw me fidgeting in my chair like a child. The doctor called us back to his office a little while later. We both walked in and sat down. Sidney took my hand in his as the doctor sat down at his desk.

“How are you feeling today, Tanner?” he asked.

“Wonderful,” I replied. He laughed and Sidney gave my hand a squeeze at the response.

“Well, I just wanted to congratulate you on completing the chemotherapy. We’ll have to do some more tests in the coming months of course, but there’s nothing that would indicate that you haven’t beaten this cancer,” he explained.

I let out a squeal of excitement and Sidney kissed me on the forehead. I was done with chemo and done with cancer. At least for a while. I couldn’t remember being this happy in a long time. The doctor explained a few more things before Sidney and I left. I was in such a good mood I danced out of the hospital and to Sidney’s car, much to his amusement.

“I haven’t seen you like this in a long time,” he said. I stopped dancing and threw myself into his arms.

“Thank you for sticking with me through all of this and for everything you did. I couldn’t have done it without you,” I told him. He kissed me long and hard in the middle of the parking lot.

“Don’t ever thank me for caring about you,” he demanded. I laughed and got into the car.

“When I’m finally feeling back to myself I’m going to make this up to you. Don’t even bother arguing. I’m going to think of something amazing to do for you.” He just shook his head at me before starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

We started the drive home. In the last three weeks I’d started school, Sidney had gone to Olympic camp, we’d finished the house, he’d started camp with the Penguins, and I had finished chemo. It felt like a whirlwind and the best three weeks of my life. Now I could get back to being myself again.

I chatted away endlessly the entire way home, mixing in a few terribly sung lines from songs on the radio. I was so distracted with my thoughts and how I felt that I hardly noticed all of the cars parked along our street. I hopped out of Sidney’s car when he pulled into the garage and followed him through the door into the house.

“Surprise!” a large crowd of people yelled out in unison as I walked in.

My heart jumped into my throat and I screamed in shock. I looked around and saw that the entire Penguins team with their wives and girlfriends were there, along with my friends and family. My jaw dropped as they all started shouting their congratulations and I turned to Sidney. He just smiled at me and shrugged.

“You deserved a surprise party more than I did,” he told me. I grinned back at him and made my way further into the house.

Everyone at the party made sure to come up and congratulate me on finishing the chemo. It was amazing to have so many people in one place that cared about me. It was one big crazy family and I wouldn’t have given them up for anything in the world.

My parents, who had been in and out of Cole Harbour all summer, flanked me and wouldn’t stop hugging me. Being around them and seeing them like that made me cry, which in turn made them cry. We were a mess in front of everyone, but no one seemed to care.

Brendan, Delia, and Andrew made their way up to me next. I hadn’t seen my brother or his family since I’d left Pittsburgh, and it was great to see them again. Delia looked about ready to pop with their second child. I knelt down to look at Andrew. There was something that I needed to do.

“Thanks, Andrew,” I told him. He looked at me funny.

“For what?” he asked.

“Being crazy and going on that bus and pulling Sidney off last year. I wouldn’t have met him if it wasn’t for you,” I explained. He smiled at me and gave me a hug.

“You’re welcome,” he replied.

I continued to make my rounds and made sure to talk to everyone that was there. When I finally got to Mario and Nathalie I almost broke down. It meant a lot to see them there because they knew better than anyone what I had gone through. I also knew that if it hadn’t been for Mario, I don’t know that I would have gone through with any of it.

“Thank you for coming to see me that day in the hospital. I might not be here today celebrating if it wasn’t for you,” I thanked him. He just smiled and hugged me.

“I didn’t do anything. If you were that easy to persuade, you would have done it anyway.” I laughed at him and thanked him again.

“Tanner, it’s time for surprise number 2!” Hailey, who had flown in from Anaheim, called out.

I made my way over to her, unsure of what this surprise was going to be. I, along with many of the people in the house, followed her and the other girls down to the basement. I hadn’t been down there much and I couldn’t figure out what could possibly be down here. What I saw when I reached the bottom of the stairs made my jaw drop. I had my very own wine cellar, which I’d always wanted.

“Are you kidding me?!” I shrieked excitedly.

“It’s our gift to you. We all pitched in,” Kelly told me.

“We know that there’s only one bottle of red wine in there right now, but we wanted you to pick out your collection,” Lisa continued.

“Even so, we had to get you one. We wanted it to represent the last six months,” Grace threw in.

“You’ve been through hell and back and you survived. You fought cancer and kicked it’s ass. We hope every time you look at this bottle you remember that you have people that love you and admire the strength you possess,” Hailey finished.

By the time they were done talking I was crying again. I thanked them over and over as I gave them each hugs. I had the most amazing friends in the world. That bottle was going to forever remain intact. I was never going to open and drink it.

When I’d composed myself I made my way back upstairs and continued to hang out with everyone. Dinner was catered and I even managed to stomach a fair amount of it. It was probably the most I had eaten since I’d started the chemo. It made me realize exactly how much I’d missed food.

After dinner almost everyone stuck around. It separated like it normally did into girls in one room and guys in the other. It was nice to see all of the girls again. I hadn’t seen most of them since we’d left Pittsburgh and we had a lot of catching up to do. It got to be pretty late, and I was grateful I didn’t have class the following morning. When the last few left, I turned to look at Sidney.

“I can’t believe you did this for me,” I said to him.

“Like I said before, you deserved it,” he replied. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his shoulder.

“I’m one lucky girl to have someone like you in my life.”

“And I’m even luckier.” I stretched up to kiss him and then yawned. “Tired?”

“Not exactly,” I told him with a wink. He picked up on the wink immediately and laughed. He lifted me into his arms and carried me upstairs. This really was officially one of the best days of my life.