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“Okay, we’re in the car and I’m driving. Where do you need to go?” Sidney’s asking Geno, a touch of impatience to his voice. He’s a little hungry which makes him grumpy but Geno’s on that.
“Breakfast first,” he says in a tone that tells Sidney he shouldn’t feel so put upon.
“Geno, you know I have to get my nap early so I can pick Taylor up from school.” Geno knows Sidney’s routine by now and while breakfast together is sometimes a part of it, that’s usually saved for days they don’t have a game.
“Stop worry. I not,” Geno pauses. There are a lot of pauses when Geno talks these days. He’s pushing his English, learning more and more while he watches Nickelodeon with Natalie. “Not bother nap.”
They end up picking up breakfast and eating on the way, Sidney grumbling the whole time. Geno navigates him to Toys R Us, which has Sidney’s mouth hanging open as the Russian exits the car. Sidney pushes out himself and pulls up beside him, wondering aloud, “What are we doing here?”
“Christmas shopping,” Geno offers plaintively. “Have many gifts to buy.”
“That’s what the internet is for!” Sidney practically gasps. He’s a big fan of the internet, Amazon especially.
Geno snorts and nudges Sidney into the store from behind. He’s guiding Sidney first in the direction of the electronics, mumbling, “Have to see. Play with.”
“Don’t we need a cart?” Sidney flings an arm out and behind them where the carts are all stacked.
“Play, then decide.”
“Geeeno,” Sidney whines, but Geno’s having none of it and soon the two of them are battling each other in Modern Warfare. They both try, but fail to keep from swearing at each other because even in public they can’t avoid being competitive. That, of course, gets them reprimanded by the store’s manager and Geno is forced to get a cart and start filling it with merchandise. He puts so much in the cart from video games to dolls to board games that Sidney can’t really keep track of who is getting what until he asks why Geno is buying the whole store and Geno says, “You see and you buy. For girls and boys.”
They spend over an hour in the toy store and Geno doesn’t let him get out of trying out skateboards and racing down aisles on hippity hop balls. Geno likes to laugh, and for some reason, he likes to make Sidney laugh. Sidney tries not to pay too much attention to it, especially since it’s one of those rare things outside of hockey that just feels good. He doesn’t want to jinx it.
Geno puts Christmas music on the radio for the drive back and there are one or two that have Sidney humming while he drives. He catches Geno smiling at him while they’re stopped at a light and Sidney has to shake his head to hide the way his cheeks pink in warmth.
“So where are we bringing all of this?” he asks instead of drawing more attention to himself or the fact that he’s the worst singer/hummer/whistler in the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“We bring to your house. Wrap.”
“But I -”
Things are simple to Geno. Sidney doesn’t quite understand how everything can be, not when he’d left his home and his family for the NHL, but they are. Geno sees two sides of a coin, he picks heads or tails, and he goes with what he chooses. He doesn’t believe that everything should have a fight, whether mental or physical, and saves his for the ice. He’s never said it to Geno, but Sidney really respects him for that, even if he gets pissed off when Geno gets stupid during a game.
“Mario not mind extra packages. Not be there long.”
And the thing is, Geno’s pretty smart, too. By bringing everything to Mario’s, he’s automatically enlisted the help of the Lemieux girls to help them wrap and with Nathalie’s expertise, it’s done in no time at all.
“Now what do we do with it all?” he asks and Geno smiles at him.
“Tomorrow. You and me and sister. We go.”
He tries to ask where but Geno shushes him because there are cookies and he’s figured out that Sidney has a sweet tooth that won’t be denied. They share a plate with tall glasses of milk and Sidney tries very hard not to like the way his knee is pressed against Geno’s under the table.
He finds out the next day anyway, after they’ve loaded all of the packages and Taylor into the car. He navigates them to Hearth House and Sidney feels a little stupid for not getting it sooner. They do so much for so many organizations around the city as a team but this is different. There’s no press, no pictures, and what they have to gain is immeasurably more satisfying. He sees that with Geno. He already knows that Geno is a giver but it’s something else entirely to truly realize that the guy is happiest when he’s making others smile.
He watches Taylor read with a group of preschoolers and Geno pulls up next to him, that smile big and bright. Sidney thinks he likes it a little too much but he focuses on what Geno’s saying instead.
“Good for sister to see. What give means.”
There are dozens of things Sidney knows he needs to teach Taylor. He’s constantly reading books and asking Mario and Nathalie for advice but the scope of his responsibility often overwhelms him. He tries to think about how his parents taught him but it’s different learning and realizing how it’s all done and then following through. He gets lost in his job and even uses hockey as an excuse when he falters with it. Geno’s got it here, though, and Sidney looks from his sister to his teammate and murmurs, “Thanks, Geno.”