Chapter 44

Sorry for the wait! This chapter is my tribute to "Hockey Meets History" :) Enjoy!

Chapter 44
The next morning, Sidney woke up to find Lauren wasn’t in his arms anymore. He climbed out of bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes. When he walked out into the living room, he found her curled up on the couch, sipping a cup of coffee. “Morning sunshine!” she said cheerfully as he sunk down onto the couch next to her.
“Morning beautiful.” He replied, taking a sip of her coffee that she offered him. “Blech.” He said, scrunching his nose up and handing the cup back to her.
She giggled. “It’s just cream and sugar, Sidney. Normal people put cream and sugar in their coffee all the time.” She teased, knowing he preferred his coffee black.
“It’s a good thing I’m not normal, then. I don’t know how you drink that stuff. Besides, you’re sweet enough already.” He said, kissing the tip of her nose.
“So what do you want to do today?” she asked.
“Ahh, the only thing I want to do today is be with you. Other than that, plans are all up to you.” Sidney said, massaging the back of her neck with his fingers.
“Good! I know just where I want to go!” She poured him a cup of coffee before she took a quick shower and got dressed. He jumped in the shower while she brushed her teeth and dried her hair. Pretty soon, they were ready to go.
She grabbed two water bottles out of fridge and threw them into her bad, along with her camera and sunglasses. Sidney pulled a hat down over his head, more to block the sun from his eyes than to disguise himself. People in Cleveland weren’t hockey fans, so he could virtually go unrecognized. Besides, they weren’t headed anywhere too crowded.
They walked a few blocks from her apartment and arrived at their destination. “You want to go to a cemetery?” Sidney said, puzzled.
She just smiled and took his hand. “Famous people are buried here. Like President Garfield.”
“Who?” Sidney asked.
“He was the 20th President of the United States, and he was assassinated, and I hear the monument here is beautiful.”
“Lead the way.” Sidney said. They walked past the beautiful flowers and gardens, noticing picnic benches along the way.
When they got to the monument, Lauren stopped and grabbed her camera, snapping a few pictures from the outside. When they stepped inside, both Sidney and Lauren looked around in awe at the beautiful artwork surrounding the walls, and the giant stone sculpture of President Garfield in the center of the room. The guide gave them some facts and information about the monument, and then directed them towards the spiral staircase. They climbed the stairs all the way to the top and stepped out onto the observation deck. The view was breathtaking. They could see the whole city skyline, with Lake Erie shining in the backdrop. Sidney took her camera from her hands and snapped a couple of pictures of her, and then she pulled him in and he snapped a few “self-portraits.”
After a little while, they walked back down the narrow, winding staircase, Sidney insisting on walking in front of her just in case she fell. She smiled at how much of a gentleman he was. When they got back to the main level, the guide looked at them expectantly. “Well?” she asked.
Lauren smiled. “You were right. That’s Cleveland’s best kept secret.”
“I thought you would enjoy it. Would you like to see the crypt? It’s just down those stairs.” She said, pointing to another winding, spiral staircase, this one leading down.
Sidney looked at Lauren with a somewhat pained expression on his face. “I don’t really want to go, that’s sort of creepy.”
She smiled and took his hand. “Don’t be such a baby. I’ll hold your hand the whole time. I promise.” She said, squeezing his hand. He sighed and followed her down the stairs.
They got to the bottom of the stairs and Lauren froze, staring ahead at the two coffins sitting in the center of the room. An American flag was laid delicately over one of the coffins. “Wow.” She whispered.
Sidney smiled as he watched her. He loved the way her eyes scanned the room in pure wonder. “Okay, so this is actually pretty cool.” He admitted.
“Mmmhmm. This is very cool.” She said.
When they stepped back out into the afternoon sun, she leaned up and kissed his lips. “Thanks for coming with me today and putting up with my weird fascination with history.”
“It’s not weird. It’s history. And besides, I find it very sexy.” He grinned, kissing her neck.
“Sexy?” she said, scrunching up her nose.
“Yes. I find everything about you to be sexy.”
“What a schmooze.” She said, rolling her eyes. “But I love it.” She said, kissing his lips.
They spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the cemetery, looking at the final resting places of the likes of John D. Rockefeller and his family, among others.
“Who knew that spending the afternoon with a bunch of dead people could be so fun?” Sidney said as they walked into a pizza shop in Little Italy, just a few blocks from Lauren’s apartment. She just rolled her eyes and smiled. “Thanks for taking me there, though, it was really cool.”
“Well, thanks for coming with me. Do you really have to go home?” She said sadly.
“I wish I didn’t, but I have to get back on my training schedule.” He said with a heavy sigh.
“Why? You look like you’re in fine shape to me.” She said flirtatiously.
“Oh, who’s the schmooze now?” he grinned, kissing her cheek.
They had a pizza and split a homemade cannoli for dessert. “As much as I hate leaving you, I’m glad that at least I’m leaving you somewhere where they have excellent food.” Sidney said, rubbing his stomach dramatically.
“I don’t know...I think I’m going to miss my Primanti’s.” She pointed out.
“Good point. How about I eat there tomorrow and I’ll let you know how good it is?” he teased.
“Oh, could you? Gee, thanks, Sid.” She said sarcastically. He laughed and threw his arm over her shoulder as they left the restaurant.
When they got back to her apartment, Sidney grabbed his bag from her bedroom. “I’ll walk you out to the car.” She said, following him out of her apartment and over to the parking lot. He tossed his bag into the back end of his SUV and pulled her into his arms.
She looked up and him and tears formed in her eyes. “Hey, there, don’t cry.” He said softly as she buried her head in his chest. He rubbed her back with his hands and whispered in her ear.
She looked up at him with tear-stained cheeks. “I wish you didn’t have to go.” She choked.
“Me too. I don’t to leave you. But you have an exciting new job to start, and I have to get back to my boring old job.” She cracked a smile at his joke and her face brightened a little.
“Yeah, I guess having thousands of beautiful women offering to have your children is pretty boring.” She said.
He wiped the tears from her eyes with the pad of his thumb. “None of them are as beautiful the woman standing in front of me. You are the only one who I want to have my children.” He said, looking her in the eyes.
“I love you. You always know how to make me feel better. Call me when you get home?” she asked.
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss the chance to hear your beautiful voice before I fall asleep.”
“We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?” she asked hesitantly.
He pressed his forehead against hers. “We’re going to be more than okay. We’re going to be perfect. I love you.”
He pulled her tight against his chest and held her, taking in her sweet smell and the perfect curve of her body against his. After a few minutes, he let her go and climbed into the car. He waved and blew her a kiss, and smiled when she pretended to catch it and press it to her lips as he pulled away.