057

The months flew by and before I could even blink my eyes it was July 8th, and we were in Nova Scotia. The Penguins were knocked out of the playoffs after the first round and it shocked me to see Sidney took that a lot better than he did losing the cup. It didn't help that going into the playoffs it seemed like half the team was either injured or had fallen ill. "This year just wasn't suppose to be our year," Sidney would say over and over again, but he didn't hibernate, which I was extremely happy about. Once the playoffs were over he jumped into the wedding planning head first. He had helped since Colby gave me my pep talk, but now he was turning into the bridezilla. Everything had to be perfect in his eyes, but that's how he is, he's a perfectionist. 

The 8th was turning out to be one of our busiest days that summer, it was when everyone was flying in. I was stressed out, making sure everything was going to go to plan, and it was making me sick. Every time I tried to sit down and relax, something came up that needed my attention. I was becoming physically ill because of the stress. It's really pissing me off. My mom, Trina and Nathalie were my life savers. Wherever I went somewhere, one of them was with me. It was the mothers union. My mom, Nathalie and I headed into downtown Halifax to check on the cake as well as the flowers. It was suppose to be a quick and easy trip, but was anything but. "At this point I don't care what the cake looks like, as long as I have a cake at my wedding. White, three layers, some design. If you can't do what we had originally planned then just do that, I don't have time to figure out a new cake." I was frustrated, the bakery had two employees quit and didn't know if they would be able to do my cake. "We are going to try our best to get you the cake you want, but if we can't then we will make a three layer white cake," she explained to me as I paced back and forth, holding my hand to my forehead. I could hear my mom start to talk to the baker, but I became dizzy. When was the last time I ate? I was about to ask if they had a bathroom but I settled for the nearest trash can, throwing up whatever it was I had to eat last. "Alright hun, let's go, you need a mini vacation from your wedding," Nathalie smiled as she walked me out to the car. I sat in the passenger seat and laid the seat down. "I need a drink. I'm frustrated. Pissed off! It's making me sick, I can't deal with this Nat," I whined as I started to cry. My mom came out of the bakery and climbed into the back seat. Nathalie got in the drivers seat and I quickly dozzed off. 

When I woke up we were at Sidney's house on the lake. "What are we doing here? What about the flowers?" I panicked. If I wasn't going to have a cake I at least wanted flowers! "Come on dear," my mom smiled dragging me into the house. Sidney had been gone the whole day playing chauffeur to people flying in from all over. I wasn't expecting him home 'til late. "You need fluids," Trina explained handing me a glass of water. I looked at her confused, she wasn't with us earlier. They must have picked her up. I took the glass of water and headed out back. I sat down at the table and then the mom's walked out and sat around me. As soon as I finished my glass another was set in front of me. "You're dehydrated Avery, drink it," my mother demanded as she caught me starring at the glass. I stood up from the table and all of a sudden the three of them did too. I'm not THAT sick! I walked inside and started making my way toward the bathroom. "Avery!" my mom shouted and I turned around to see a box flying through the air. I caught it and looked down. "A PREGNANCY TEST?!" "Just pee on it," Trina smiled with a little laugh. "No, I can't . . . no." I couldn't argue with them, I really needed to pee. I headed to the bathroom and stared at the box. Might as well do it to make them happy. I peed on the stick then set it on the counter top, washed my hands and walked out. "Well?" They asked all standing around the door. "I don't know, I didn't look." I walked passed them into the living room and sunk down in the couch. I didn't feel pregnant, I felt sick. 

Minutes later, three red-eyed, cheek soaked women walked out into the living room to look at me. I looked at them in horror. Before they could say anything I jumped up and ran into the bathroom to once again throw up. I threw some cold water on my face and turned around to see them standing in the hall way. My mom handed me the stick and I looked down. 'PREGNANT' "Just like that huh? Isn't there suppose to be a plus sign or something?" "Avery, you need to be seen by a doctor right away because of the miscarriage. So you need to find someone, call and make an appointment," my mom explained but my eyes never left the capital purple letters starring up at me. "Mom, if you forgot I'm getting married on Saturday. We're leaving for Italy on Monday for two weeks." "You really should be seen before you leave, I'll make a call and I should be able to get you in tomorrow. You need to relax anyways Avery, you can't be running around with your head chopped off like you have been," Trina said as she rubbed her hand up and down my back. 

I didn't kick them out, but I did politely ask them to leave. I needed time alone, I was angry, tired and now confused. I didn't know what was going on in my head. I headed upstairs and tossed the stick into the bathroom trash. I climbed into bed and opened my laptop to check my email. One hundred and nineteen new emails, I was just about to close my laptop when one email caught my eye.

I arrived in Halifax last night, I hope we can put our differences aside for one weekend. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't get to see my younger sister get married. Mom and Dad don't know I'm here, so no need to get mad at them. Just know I won't ruin the day for you, I'll keep my distance, I just want to see you marry the love of your life. I want to see you happy. Can't wait to see you sis, Robert.

It was going to be hard to put our differences aside, but if he was going to make the effort to not interfere I couldn't be happier to have him there to celebrate with us. I closed my laptop and looked over at the clock it was nearly 10 PM so I crawled underneath the covers and tried to fall asleep. There were a million things going through my head, the cake, the flowers, my dress, the location, our guests. I wanted everything to be perfect. I was starting to think this wedding was for our families more than it was for us. After tossing and turning for about twenty minutes I got up and headed down to the basement. I pulled out my veil and put it on. My mom was upset that I wasn't going to be wearing a traditional veil, but when I saw the birdcage veil with the feathers on the side I fell in love with it. What could I say, I LOVE feathers! I looked in the mirror and that's when all my fear and worries turned into excitement. All my doubts, questions, everything was gone. I wiped away a stray tear. "I'm marrying the love of my life!"

When I woke up the next morning I saw my phone blinking which meant I had a new message. I grabbed it off the nightstand and saw I had a message from Trina. 'You have an appointment with the OB/GYN today at eleven. We will come pick you up.' I took a deep breath and all my fear was back. I didn't know how Sidney would take the news. I rolled over to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, with his shoulders rolled forward and his head hanging. "Hey babe, what's wrong?" I asked terrified to what he would answer. "When were you going to tell me?" He didn't move a muscle, he stayed where he was. "Tell you what?" I asked as I sat up and inched closer to him. He held the pregnancy test up in the air and my eyes got wide, he got to it before I could tell him. I felt awful! "I just found out yesterday, I was going to tell you today," I whispered as I swung my legs around and sat down next to him. "Are . . . are you mad?" His head never came up and he held on tight to the stick in between his knees. "No I'm not mad, just overwhelmed," he said just above a whisper. That's when I started panicking. He knew he was too young for all of this. He was starting to get scared. "I'm ready to tackle anything with you though, you need to see a doctor right away though, because of the miscarriage." Okay, maybe he's not freaking out! "Your mom made me an appointment for today," I explained to him and he lifted his head and looked at me. "My mom knew before me?" I took a deep breath. "Your mom, my mom and Nathalie attacked me yesterday. I was heading to the bathroom when my mom threw the test at me, I didn't even look at it, they told me what it said. So technically your mom knew before I even knew. I've been under so much stress I thought it was making me sick, but they obviously thought otherwise, and they were right." Now I was the one hanging my head, all until I felt his arm wrap around my shoulders pulling me in tight to him. "Just like I told you before, there is no one else in this world that I would want to have children with than you. I love you babe." I wiped away another stray tear then tilted my head up to kiss him.

The mothers union and I made our way to my OB/GYN appointment and both Sidney and I were sad that he wouldn't be able to come along as well. There were just too many things that needed to be done. "So I was told that you're getting married on Saturday, that's exciting!" The doctor smiled as she walked into the room. "I am, it seems like Trina has been telling everyone in town," I laughed as I watched her pull some gloves on. I went over my history with her about my previous miscarriage and how stressed I had been over the past few months. After a quick exam and blood work it was confirmed. I was indeed very pregnant and also very healthy. "You're six weeks along, so when you get back to Pittsburgh you'll want to schedule an appointment with your doctor and just make sure to take it easy for the next month and a half. The risk of having a miscarriage after your first term drops significantly." I nodded my head. "So when will I be due?" The only thing I could think about was hockey season, was this going to interfere with hockey season? "Very beginning of March, when you see your doctor they will be able to give you an exact date. Congratulations Mrs. Crosby." We exchanged smiles and I left the room. I met the mom's outside and smiled. "Okay, I'm ready to get married now."