Chapter 30 – And it all came tumbling down, part 2

Nef’s POV

He didn’t say anything. He just crawled into my bed and buried his head under the pillows and blankets. That was last night after the Caps were eliminated by Montreal after being up 3 games to 1 in the series. That was 14 hours ago. He hadn’t moved. He hadn’t said anything. If it weren’t for the rise and fall of his chest which indicated he was still breathing I would have thought he was dead.

What was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to say to him? He had played well even though he had zero goals to show for it. He’d played better defense than some of our defense men. He hadn’t taken any bad penalties. He hadn’t had any turnovers that led to goals…but he hadn’t scored and his team had lost.

I sat on the bed side him. I had just gotten back in from work and he was still in the same spot.

“Sasha, babe? Are you hungry?” No response.

“Babe, do you need anything?” No response.

“Do you want me to hold you?” That got a response.

He rolled over and buried his face in my lap, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“I sorry,” he said.

I threaded my fingers through his hair gently rubbing his scalp. The muscles in his body relaxed and he lay limp against me. A little while later his phone rang. It was Coach Bykov and the GM for the Russian National Team. They had called to ask about Sasha playing for the team at the IIHF World Championship games in Germany. I knew that it was coming – he’d mentioned it briefly a few months ago. We both thought that he wouldn’t be playing for team Russia because he would still be playing in the playoffs.

”The championship dates are May 7th through the 23rd?” I heard him repeat into the phone. ”What day do I need to leave to come back to Russia?...ok.”

He hung up the phone and looked at me. “I have to leave Saturday afternoon.”

What?! That’s two days from now. No, it’s too soon. I’m not ready to let you go. I want you to stay. I exhaled sharply. Nef, that’s selfish. You know that he’s a hockey player and Russian Hockey player at that. There is no way he’s going to say no to playing at World’s.

“Okay. I understand. I’ll miss you.” At least I still had another three weeks of school left to distract me.



Sasha’s POV


At the end of the season Media Day on Friday I was told that I didn’t have to talk to the reporters; that I didn’t have to sit for any interviews. I had spoken with Dmitry Chesnokov on Wednesday night after the game very briefly. On Media Day I stayed for the end of year meetings and then packed up my equipment. The equipment staff had done most of the work. I just needed to load what I was taking back to Russia with me.

I had been with Nef since Wednesday night. I was leaving on Saturday to fly back home to Russia for a week of training and then I would be off to Germany hopefully until the 23rd. My parents would be staying in the States for a little while longer. Nef and I had sorta planned the summer; we hadn’t planned anything before July when she was coming to Russia. I would spend a week with her in Egypt in August and training camp started in September.

Now I was spending May in Germany and June was up in the air. Could we really go two and a half months without seeing each other? I wasn’t looking forward to it. Nef was supportive though. I knew that she was upset about the change in our plans but she didn’t say anything negative about it.

“I’m dating a hockey player. There is a little bit of uncertainty with it. Hell for the first few months of our relationship I had the worry that you wouldn’t be resigned maybe even traded to another team,” she’d told me this morning.

It’s true. I hadn’t signed my new contract until December and it was only for a year. Let’s get this straight. I don’t want to leave Washington but I wanted a fair value contract. I know that some of my best years of hockey are still ahead of me. This year I reached 40 goals, a new career high. I only missed a handful of games – so much better than last year when I missed 19 games. George McPhee told me that they wanted to keep me and that we should be able to find common ground; place where both parties could be happy.

After loading my gear I drove back to my place where Nef would be meeting me later on. She had classes in the afternoon. There were still a few weeks of classes left for her. I had to pack for Saturday. When I got home my mom had done most of it for me. She’d finished my laundry and had a suit case, garment bag, and a carry one lying open on my bed. She’d already taken the liberty of putting under clothes into the suit case and pulling out three of my suits and my blue blazer.

”I started packing for you.”

”Thanks Mom, my flight leaves at 6:30 tomorrow. I’m flying out with Ovie and Uncle Mischa. ”

It didn’t take me long to finish packing. With all the traveling I do during the season I’ve become a pro at packing. Nef called my phone when she pulled into the drive way telling me that she was downstairs. When I opened the front door she had a gift bag in her hands.

“I brought you a present,” She said smiling.

She gave me the gift bag and pushed me toward the couch in the living room. I opened the bag and pulled out a picture frame. She’d given me the picture that we took together in DC at the Cherry Blossom Festival. She made me go with her.

“I go every year!” she said. “I want you to come with me.”

“No. I not want to,” I whined. I am not afraid to admit that I whine to my girlfriend, most of the time it works. I’ve been able to get out of a lot of crap with her. This time however, not so much.

“Sorry, I don’t speak whine. Can you repeat that in English?” I bit her for that one.

In the picture she was sitting on a low hanging tree branch with me standing beside her. We were facing each other nose to nose. It was the first time I’d seen the looks on our faces when we look at each other. It was…loving. That’s the only way I can describe it. It was a beautiful picture.

“Take it with you to Germany….just in case you miss me.”

”Of course I’ll miss you. Thank you for the present. It’s beautiful.”



Nef’s POV

I was debating on whether or not I wanted to go to the airport with Sasha. I knew that I was going to lose it when he left. He had yet to see me crying hysterically and I didn’t want to weird him out. When had I become so attached to him? When had my heart decided that I needed him? When had my body decided that it wanted to physically ache when Sasha was away?

Come on girl get it together. I understood that Sasha had to go. There was no confusion with that. That didn’t mean that I had to like it. Realistically it was a little more than two months. It was do-able. There are people that spend years apart. If military families can do this you can too.

The decision was taken out of my hands when Sasha asked me to drive him to the airport.

“Call me when you get settled,” I said.

“Okay. I call you. I will miss you.” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I would miss this; the closeness of his body, warmth of his embrace, just knowing that he was close to me.

I stayed with him until he reached the security gate. I watched him until he was through security and I could no longer see him. I’m not going to cry. I’m not. I’ll see him soon enough.

The drive home was quiet. The evening at home was quieter. My roommates were gone. Steph was with Terry and Jesse had gone home to visit her mom and dad.

Later the next day I got a text from Sasha telling me that he had landed in Russia and settled into the team hotel. He had a week of training and practice before they flew out to Germany.

It's cold here, the text message said. It was significantly cold in Russia when compared to DC. I was enjoying 85 degree whether when it was closer to 55 degrees at the training facility. I need you to keep me warm.


I wish I could.