Forever and Always | Adam Banks

Epilogue

Once Ellie and Adam were both eighteen, they had a small summer wedding with family and friends. They had been together for seven and a half years and didn't want to waste another second not being married. When Adam had asked Ellie's parents for her hand in marriage, it didn't come as a shock to them that they were already wanting to get married. Plus, they couldn't think of a more perfect guy for their daughter. Their wedding day was filled with love and happiness, eager to spend the rest of their lives together. 

When fall came around, it was the first time the Ducks had separated since they had gotten formed for the Junior Goodwill Games. Charlie had gone to Canada to play Junior hockey, deferring from college for two years. Fulton and Portman weren't interested in college and had decided to find jobs immediately after high school, both going into construction. Ken had gotten accepted into a highly accredited college in California and had decided to go back home. Luis was missing the Miami weather and had also decided to go back to Florida. Russ went bakck to Los Angeles wanting to dip his toes in comedy and is now a succesfull comedian. Dwayne was now in charge of the family ranch in Texas and had also decided to skip out on attending college. Speaking of taking over the family business, Goldberg took over the family restaurant. 

As for the rest of the Ducks, they were attending the University of Minnesota. Julie was the starting goalie for the women's hockey team and ended up becoming the goalie for the USA team. Connie majored in political science and is now one of the Senators for Minnesota. She and Guy got married after college and now have three kids. Averman decided to major in marketing and now takes a limo to work every day, clearly inspired by his first meeting with Coach Bombay. 

Ellie had decided to leave her hockey playing days back in high school, wanting to focus on school, majoring in education as she wanted to be a teacher, and be a support to Adam. Adam played for the men's hockey team, immediately becoming the stand out player. He got drafted into the NHL after his freshman year, playing for the Minnesota Wild. He was grateful to be playing for his home state and that he wouldn't be far from Ellie as she finished up her degree. She was at every home game, cheering on her husband as he lived out his dream. 

After a long twenty-two years in the NHL and three kids later, it was officially Adam's retirement day. He had been lucky enough to spend all twenty-two years with the Wild, becoming a household name and would go down as one of the greatest to ever play for the team. The arena was packed with Wild fans, all their hearts breaking that Adam Banks was retiring from hockey. 

"Ladies and Gentleman, please give a warm Wild welcome to Adam Banks and his family!" the annoucer's voice echoes through the arena, following by the loudest cheers Ellie had ever heard come from the stands. Her eyes start water, realizing what an impact her husband had on this team. She could only imagine how Adam was feeling in this moment. Hockey was his life and it was all coming to an end.

There was a carpet rolled out onto the ice where the five of them were standing. Their oldest and only daughter, Olivia, who was almost twelve years old, stood next to Ellie and was looking around the arena. She had been coming to this place for as long as she could remember, so many amazing memories were held here. Holding her hand was her middle brother, Charlie, age nine. He was Adam's twin, not only in looks but wanting to do everything his dad does. And their youngest boy, Gordon, age 6, was squeezing on to Adam's hand for dear life. As familiar as he was with the arena, he wasn't used to everyone's eyes on him. He found it very frightening. 

"I-Wow," Adam was blown away by the love he was receiving from the fans in this moment. He knew he was a well liked player, but this goes above and beyond anything he expected. The cheers weren't getting quieter and at least half of the fans had a poster dedicated to him. It was a lot to take in. His goal for the day was to not cry, but the tears that had started brimming in his eyes told him that goal wasn't going to be accomplished. "These past twenty-two years have been the best years of my life. I'm so thankful to the Wild organization for drafting me all those years ago and letting me live out my childhood dream in my home state. You guys are the best fans in the world and all of your support doesn't go unrecognized. However, none of this would've been possible if it wasn't for my lovely wife. She has been my best friend since I was four years old, always encouraging and supporting my love for this game. A few days after my eleventh birthday, I was lucky enough to call her my girlfriend. And at eighteen, I got to marry her. People thought we were crazy for getting married so young, but she had been by my side through it all and there was no one else I wanted to go through life with. Her support has never waivered during my career and she has blessed me with three amazing kids along the way. Everything I do is for them. Thank you Minnesota for letting me live out my dreams and I will forever be thankful for what you have done for me."

The end of an era was here. No more professional hockey. Adam had lived and breathed this sport for almost fourty years and now the chapter was closing. Hockey was always going to be in his heart, and he was sure his sons will be begging him to coach their peewee teams. That was going to be a full circle moment he won't be prepared for. His jersey now hangs from the rafters in the arena he grew up going to. He was just a guy from Edina, Minnesota who had gotten his shot to live his dream. And the best part of it all was he got to do it with his best friend by his side. 

Author's Note:

The end is here!!! I know in Game Changers they had him be a defense lawyer, which I get, but I think we can all agree he should've been a pro hockey player. Like this man didn't work as hard as he did to not be in the pros. Nothing will change my mind. I really hope y'all enjoyed the little fast forward into the future and thank you for loving Ellie and Adam's love story. They're always going to have a special place in my heart. And I love you all for reading this story. Catch y'all on the flipside. QUACK!