44 - Goodbye

Anna fell asleep on the way to Pittsburgh, awakening once to see Ryan covering her in a blanket at a gas station. They got there in no time, it seemed, meeting at the old Mellon Arena with the rest of the group. Parking amidst the full lot, Anna saw that it was almost sunset. It had been a full day of driving.

The first person she recognized the second she got out of the car was Marc-Andre Fleury. Her eyes met his briefly. That was when he started to walk toward her, which turned into a sprint, and then a run. Marc put his arms around the girl who was like his younger sister, embracing her. Anna hugged him back, just as hard, holding back tears.

“I’m so sorry...” she whispered.

“Is not your fault,” Marc replied, “Is no one’s...Anna, I’m so happy you’re here...we need you...”

Anna felt a few tears escaped as she hugged Fleury, letting him go after a moment. He smiled at her, patting her belly gently. “You have a glow, Annie...”

She felt Ryan by her side, “Well, I’ve been fortunate.”

Fleury extended his hand, “Hello, Miller. Welcome to Pittsburgh.” He paused. “I would much have liked to met you in other circumstances, but we must take things as they are.”

Ryan nodded, “I’m terribly sorry for your loss. Max was always a feisty guy whenever we played you Pens.” He smiled a bit. “I know he meant the world to Anna.”

Fleury nodded, “We announced the accident earlier today, at the game. We decided to meet here, make the arrangements...”

“We’re going to do a memorial service throughout the city.”

Anna turned to see none other than Mario Lemeuix standing behind her. She swallowed, not knowing what to say. Mario put an arm around her comfortingly.

“You look quite nice, Anna,” Mario said, “Pregnancy agrees with you.” He turned to Ryan, who appeared slightly starstruck. “Thank you for coming to pay your respects, Mr. Miller.”

Ryan shook hands with Mario, “You’re welcome, sir.” His mouth was too dry to say anything.

Mario nodded, “We’ll be bringing everyone in after Ray arrives. He’s late for everything. Good to see you both.”

“Anna?”

Before she even had the chance to say good-bye to Mario, Anna heard the familiar voice of her brother-in-law behind her.

“Hi Sid.”

Sidney blinked, his brown eyes wide seeing Ryan Miller standing with his sister-in-law. Fleury shoved him, and he realized that they were, in fact, together. He gave Miller a quick nod.

“Ray’s here, Mario,” Sidney Crosby told the GM, “Come on, guys. We’re going to have a meeting.”

Anna reached for Ryan’s hand, which he took gently. She needed him now more than ever. Walking into the old arena, seeing the rest of the Penguins, Anna felt her heart ache. Looking around the table in the meeting area, she felt her heart ache as she knew that one was missing.

“...so then TK will pass it on to Billy, who will help light them all through to the arena. Then we’ll pass the balloons to the kids.” Ray finished. Anna was so deep in sadness that she hardly registered any of this.

“We’ll continue after a short break. Fifteen minutes.”

The group eagerly got up and went outside for some fresh air. Anna told Ryan she had to use the washroom, and he reluctantly walked out into the sea of Penguins and associates. He had absolutely no ties here, and felt lost without Anna.

That was when Sid approached him.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“So, you guys still living together?” Sid asked non-chalantly.

“Yeah,” Ryan nodded, “I, um, I’m very excited for this baby.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really,” Ryan replied, “Anna said you have a son?”

“Gavin,” Sidney said with a small smile, “Your life will change in a heartbeat, you know. That baby will become your whole world.”

Ryan nodded. They were quiet for a moment.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

Ryan felt a lump in his throat, “I know Anna and her sister don’t have any parents, so...I was wondering, if maybe you’d give me permission...” Sid gave him a confused expression. “I want this to be done properly. I want to marry Anna.”

Sidney raised his eyebrows, “Wow, really?”

“Yes,” Ryan told him, “And I’ve already got a spare bedroom that could be a nursery.”

Sid smirked, “You’re planning ahead, aren’t you?”

“I know you’ve just met me,” Ryan said, seeing a small laugh from Sid, “Ok well, ignoring all the times you’ve scored on me...but I am in love with your sister-in-law. I want to provide for her, make things right.”

Sid seemed to be taking this all in, “You know, you’re not what I expected. I guess Max had the right idea sending her to live with you.” He shook hands with Ryan. “You have my permission.”

“Thank you,” Ryan said, relieved, “I’m going to wait to ask her, of course, but not for a long time. Just until things are right again.”

“Understandable.” Sidney paused. “You love her?”

Ryan closed his eyes, “You have no idea.”

While Ryan chatted with Sidney, Anna emerged from the ladies’ washroom and nearly walked right into a stunned Evgeni Malkin.

“Sorry!” she said quickly, “Oh, hi Geno. Good to see you.”

“Miss Anna,” Malkin stuttered, “You are with Miller?”

Anna nodded, “Yes, Geno, I am. We’re going to have a baby.”

“Baby?” Geno frowned. Anna gently took his massive hand and placed it on her belly, letting him feel the baby kick. His mouth fell open even wider than usual.

“Is good!” Geno exclaimed, “Miss Anna, you are love with Miller?”

Anna smiled, “Well...I don’t know about that....”

“Max be happy see you with baby,” Geno said slowly, “I miss Max very well.”

“I know, honey, I miss him too,” Anna said quietly, “I didn’t want to come here because it made me sad...but Ryan insisted I come here.”

Geno looked at her strangely.

“Yes, love is what you are with Miller,” Geno said, nodding, “I have find Oksana. Good wishes to you.”

Anna shook her head as she watched him walk away. He was simply the most awkward yet adorable Russian she knew. Which only meant tomorrow was going to be even harder.

-

Monday was a bright and sunny day. The snow seemed to gleam in the sunlight as the people of Pittsburgh stepped out into the streets, shivering in the cold. It was a sea of gold and black; some people wore Talbot jerseys, some wore mourning clothes. Anna grasped Ryan’s hand ever so tightly as they sat in the car, leaving the church service. The burial had been difficult, but Anna was able to make it through. Now came the hard part: the memorial.

It was 11:00 am as Dan Byslma stepped up to the podium in the middle of the city.

“There will be 25,000 candles lit throughout the streets of Pittsburgh today, in Max Talbot’s memory,” Dan said quietly, “We ask that you please refrain from autographs or photography of any sort of our players.”

Dan was quiet for a moment. Anna watched on the screen as Brent Johnson began lighting the candles at the other end of the city. The entire city was silent.

“Max Talbot was a player like no other. He will remain in my memory as the guy with the sense of humour in every situation, but quick to beat you down if you insulted him or one of his teammates...”

Anna had to block out Dan’s words. She laid her head against Ryan’s chest. Press, who were allowed to document the event, snapped pictures of the two together. It was most certainly be on the news the next day, but Anna didn’t care. She wanted Ryan’s comfort.

As Dan finished, it moved on to Marc-Andre Fleury. Marc choked on his words several times, but somehow managed to get through. Kris Letang was next, hardly audible. It was painful to watch each Penguins member speak about their fallen teammate, while the others helped to light the candles throughout the city.

As Sidney Crosby finished speaking, he lifted his son Gavin up to the podium. With clarity, Gavin announced, “To all the kids who wrote something on your balloons for Max, now is the time to let them go. When we start playing the song, Max will be ready to read them all in Heaven.”

Anna watched a spare balloon float around in front of her. She grasped it and took a Sharpie from her purse, starting to write. She didn’t care that it was just the kids doing this. As ‘Shine On,’ by Jet, played throughout the entire city of Pittsburgh, Anna watched her balloon go to the sky. It read something simple.

THANK YOU. FOR EVERYTHING.

At that moment, she felt a warm feeling on her right hand. Expecting to see Ryan, Anna glanced over, and to her surprise, she saw no one. Was she just imagining things?

Of course, at the worst possible time, Anna's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out to shut it off, not before checking the text.

ANYTIME :)

Anna frowned. The number was unknown. She tried to text back, but the message refused to send. Confused, she nudged Ryan, but when she tried to show him the message, it was no longer there. Anna stood there in silence, unable to believe whether or not she had imagined the whole thing.

The warm feeling met her again. No, she wasn't just imaging things. Anna smiled, letting the tears fall from her eyes. Max Talbot never left without saying goodbye.