{Patrick}
"Kaner, let's go! Get your ass down here." A deep voice yells from the main floor of the apartment.
"I'm coming!" I call back, throwing my Chicago Bears flat brim hat on backwards.
I make my way down the stairs to see Abigail and Patrick Sharp in the main entrance to the apartment.
It's Wednesday, June 29.
Sharpie, Shawzy, Jonathan, and I are all having a boys night out at none other than The Windy City Night Bar, tonight.
It's 8:45 in the evening, and the boys and I are supposed to meet there at 9:00.
Sharpie has agreed to pick me up, hence the reason why he is standing in my doorway.
"God, you take forever." Sharpie laughs, running a hand through his brown hair.
Sharpie is two whole years older now, but God, he's still a chick-magnet.
He's been voted Chicago's Sexiest Athlete twice in the past two years.
Age is just doing him well.
He's still the same old Sharpie that he always has been.
"Sorry man!" I laugh, throwing my hands up in the air.
Abby giggles.
"I'll see you in a few hours, Abbers." I say, kissing her on the cheek gently.
She smiles.
"Have fun tonight boys." She says, waving.
"Bye!" Sharpie and I say in unison.
With that, Sharpie and I make our way out of the apartment, down to the lobby, and then out onto the streets of Chicago.
Sharpie has parked his car on the main street in front of Trump Tower, so the two of us find his car, and get in.
He drives, and I take shotgun.
"You excited for tonight?" Sharpie asks, as he pulls out onto the main road.
"Obviously! You?" I ask.
Sharpie smiles, while nodding, exposing his pearly whites.
After about fifteen minutes, Sharpie and I arrive at The Windy City Night Bar, and make our way into the bar.
This bar will never get old.
This bar will forever remind me of the parties following the Stanley Cup victories.
Loud music blares from inside, and I can hear it from just outside the building.
The sun is beginning to set, casting a darker shade of blue sky over the city.
Sharpie and I make our way into the building, and as soon as we take our first steps in, the loud music and the smell of alcohol greets me aggressively.
We make our way over to the usual bar stools, and I locate Andrew.
Sharpie and I plop down on bar stools that are located on either side of Andrew.
"Hey man!" Sharpie says, bro hi-fiving Shawzy.
"Hey, you guys made it!" Shawzy laughs.
"You bet we did." I chuckle.
"Let me buy you young ones a drink." Sharpie says, ordering a few drinks from the bartender.
"Thanks man." I say, nodding upwards.
I look around my surroundings, and simply watch the place.
The energy at this place is nuts.
The dance-floor is super crowded, the pool table is busy, and the whole place is full of upbeat energy.
Even on a Wednesday night.
I feel a strong hand on my shoulder, and I spin around on my stool to find myself looking right at Jonny.
"Hey Jonny!" I say, getting up to bro hi-five him.
"Hey bud!" Jonny laughs.
Sharpie and Andrew greet Jonathan, and Jonny takes a seat next to me.
Before I know it, Sharpie has already ordered Jonathan a drink.
"I say we make a toast before we start really drinking." Andrew suggests.
"I'm down." I say.
Jonathan and Sharpie nod in approval.
We all raise our drinks until they "chime" together.
"To the Chicago Blackhawks, and to another Stanley Cup Championship." Sharpie says.
We all nod, and then drink up.
For the next hour or so, the four of us catch up on all of our summer plans and talk about pretty normal things.
We discuss what we have been up to this past week, and I tell them all about Abigail's dog adventures the other day.
After about an hour, Jonathan speaks up.
"I have news to tell you guys." Jonny says, scratching the back of his neck.
He's wearing white polo shirt with black shorts, and a backwards Chicago White Sox flat brim hat.
"What's up?" Andrew asks.
Sharpie, Andrew, and I all turn our attention to Jonathan.
"I've started..." He says, awkwardly biting his lip.
He looks unsure of how to say something.
He looks at the ground, and then back at the three of us briefly.
"I've started seeing another girl." He says, bluntly.
What?
Did I just hear that?
From... Jonathan?
After two whole years?
My jaw drops, but I quickly shut it.
I don't want him to think that I'm extremely surprised.
My eyes widen at the ground, and I swallow hard.
Wow.
That was... unexpected.
Neither Sharpie, Shawzy, nor myself say anything for the next thirty seconds or so, until Sharpie finally speaks up.
"That's... great, Jonathan." He says, nodding at Jonny.
Jonathan nods, staring at his drink.
"Good for you man! I'm happy for you!" Shawzy chimes in, smiling at Jonathan.
Jonathan's eyes move over to me, expectantly.
I clear my throat.
I honestly don't have words.
I did not expect this.
Since when?
So many questions, and no answers.
"That's... great, Jonny. Really, that's great." I say, truthfully.
"Spill about her, man!" Shawzy laughs, taking a sip of his drink.
Jonathan swallows before talking.
"I've known her for about a year and half. She lives in the apartment building down the street from me, and her name is Natalie Clears. When I first moved in to my new apartment, I would always see her jogging down the street, almost every morning. When I started running, we would always see each other, and eventually, we started talking. Then, we started running together. We've been running together for about a year now, and I actually know her really well." Jonathan nods.
I swallow, keeping my gaze locked on my drink in front of me.
Jonathan continues.
"She knows a lot, about my past relationship. About Ally. She knows all about it. She's known about it for a while now. It was one of the first things I ever told her, to be honest. She's really nice. Not pushy, and really sweet. It wasn't until about two weeks ago that I realized I might have feelings for her. We've had a few dinner dates here and there, but we are really taking things slowly." Jonathan finishes, his jaw clenched as he nods.
Wow.
That was a lot to take in.
I swallow, letting everything sink in.
This is good.
Really, this is good.
It's just coming to me as a shock.
"That's excellent, Jonny. I'm really, really happy for you." Sharpie says, approvingly.
"Thanks man." Jonathan says, smiling.
"So you guys have known each other for about a year and a half, but you've been a thing for about two weeks?" Sharpie asks.
"Yes." Jonathan nods.
"So, what does this Natalie do?" Andrew asks.
"She's actually a dentist." Jonathan says, scratching the back of his neck.
"Wow, that's impressive!" Sharpie laughs.
"Definitely." Jonathan nods.
"How old is she?" I ask.
"27." Jonathan replies, quickly.
She's right around his age.
"Natalie understands the importance of Ally in my life. She realizes how much Ally means to me, and how much she always will mean to me. I want you guys to know that." Jonathan clarifies, his face serious, and his eyes dark.
I nod, taking a deep breath.
"We do, Jonny. Don't worry." I say, nodding.
He nods back at me, a small smile on his face.
With that, the boys move on to a new topic.
I'm hardly listening though.
I'm feeling so internally conflicted, for some reason, and I'm so confused.
I think it's because I'm just overwhelmed at the moment.
That was a lot to take in, and I was not expecting that at all.
But, it's good.
It's a good thing.
This is good.
I try to convince myself, but something is stopping me from fully believing it.
I'm feeling overly nostalgic, and for no given reason.
Suddenly, Sharpie breaks my deep thoughts.
"So, I too, have some news for you guys!" He says, finishing off his second drink.
He's not drunk, though.
None of us are.
Yet.
"What's the news!?" Shawzy asks.
We all turn our attention to Sharpie.
"I bought eight tickets for us and our significant others to all go to the Coldplay concert on Friday, July 8! That's the day of the Stanley Cup Parade, so we can go after that's finished, since the concert is in the evening. They're playing Soldier Field!" Sharpie exclaims, smiling.
I freeze.
Andrew cheers, excitedly.
"Really man!?" He asks.
"Yeah!" Sharpie laughs.
"That's incredible! Sweet!" Shawzy laughs, finishing off the rest of his beer.
Coldplay.
Jonathan. Ally.
I turn my head to look at Jonathan, and the color has drained out of his face.
He swallows, blinking, and his eyes appear slightly glossed.
He has a small smile on his face, one that could be described as bittersweet.
I know how much Ally loved Coldplay, and I know how much Jonathan and Ally talked about them and quoted them.
I think I'm the only one here that knows that, which is why Sharpie and Shawzy aren't really understanding what is really going on inside of Jonny's head right now.
I don't even know.
I can't even imagine.
"That's great, man! Thanks, that's incredible!" I say, shaking myself out of my thoughts.
Sharpie smiles at me, nodding.
"That should be a really good show." Jonathan says, smiling slightly.
I nod, in agreement.
With that, Shawzy quickly changes the subject, but I watch Jonathan out of the corner of my eye.
He rests his head in his hands for a few moments, and then looks back up.
I keep my eyes on him, carefully, but he doesn't seem to notice.
When he looks up, his face is slightly pained.
His face is hurting.
Still hurting from the tragedy he endured, two years ago, on a cold, winter night.
And a part of him will never let that go.
Never.