{Abigail}
It is one of those days that you could describe as perfect.
One of those days where the lake is calm, the breeze is almost non-existent, the sun is high, and the sky is clear.
The weather and the world seem to be at one with each other, causing no kind of contradictories.
It's Monday, July 4.
As always, Patrick Sharp is holding a traditional party out at his lake house for Independence Day.
Patrick and I always laugh about how the Blackhawks all get together to celebrate Independence Day when majority of the team is NOT American, but it doesn't matter.
It's basically just used as a day where everyone can get back together again, and re-connect.
It's about 6:00 in the evening, and Patrick and I are minutes away from reaching the lake house.
The party tonight is to start at 6:00, so we are just barely in time.
I sit in the passenger seat, and Patrick drives.
He has one hand on the steering wheel, the other hanging casually out of his open window.
He's wearing a backwards flat-brim hat, and sunglasses.
As we travel along the straight gravel road out towards Sharpie's lake house, I can tell he's not fully concentrated on driving.
His mind is wandering everywhere, his thoughts escaping reality.
And despite not even knowing what he's thinking about, or what his emotions are making him feel, I'm certain in one thing; that I'm in love with them.
No matter what he's thinking about or feeling, I know I'm in love with whatever it may be.
Because I love him.
More than I could ever love myself, or anyone, for that matter.
I love watching him as his thoughts wander, because there is just something so fascinating about his mind.
Before I know it, the two of us have arrived at the lake house, and Patrick parks at the end of the large driveway.
There are already multiple cars here, so obviously a few of the other guests have arrived.
Patrick takes the keys out of the ignition, and then looks to his right over at me.
"Natalie's going to be here tonight." Patrick says, his blue eyes shining.
Shining.
I swallow.
"You're going to be fine, Pat. We're going to be fine. I know you're anxious, but just don't sweat it." I say, smiling.
He nods.
"Got it?" I ask, laughing.
"Got it." He nods, before getting out of the car.
He grabs the beer cases from the trunk, and then the two of us walk towards the entrance of the backyard.
"Still bringing the extra booze, I see?" I ask, laughing.
He throws his arm around my waist, loosely.
"Obviously." He winks, looking down at me.
I roll my eyes, playfully.
Patrick and I make our way into the backyard, and the view is priceless.
The calm lake beyond us, the gorgeous green backyard, people chatting and talking with one another, the sun beginning to set; everything is perfect.
Brandon Saad and his girlfriend Alyssa, are the first to greet Patrick and I.
"Hey man!" Brandon calls, as he walks over to the two of us.
"Saader!" Patrick laughs, bro hi-fiving Brandon.
"Hey Alyssa." I smile, looking over to the young, brown-haired girl next to Brandon.
Alyssa is still really young.
She has a young face, and she's definitely one of the nicest girls I have ever met.
"Hey Abby." She smiles, sweetly.
Alyssa, Brandon, Patrick and I talk for a little longer before we move on, and begin talking with the other guests.
"I'm going to grab us some drinks." Pat says, letting go of my hand.
"Okay!" I giggle, as he disappears into the crowd.
I look around a few times, and see busy people all talking with each other.
Laughing, hanging out by the shore, having drinks, and chatting.
It's a great night.
The atmosphere here is electric.
"ABIGAIL!" A few voices say, in unison from behind me.
I spin around, and my eyes lay upon three, gorgeous, young girls, all with the last name "Kane".
Erica, Jessica, and Jackie.
"Oh my God, hey girls!" I squeal, as we all embrace in one large group hug.
"I missed you guys so much!" I laugh, stepping back and looking at each of the girls.
They look gorgeous, as usual.
From oldest to youngest, they go Erica, Jessica, and then Jackie.
"We missed you too, Abby!" Erica laughs, hugging me once again.
The last time I saw the girls was at one of the after-parties after the Stanley Cup Final.
Even though it's only been about three weeks, it's felt too long.
The girls and I have grown incredibly close throughout my years with Patrick.
The year that Patrick and I were apart was especially hard because I had bonded so close with the girls, and I wasn't even able to hang out or talk to them.
It sucked, and when Pat and I finally got back together, I was so happy to have them back in my life.
"I had no idea you guys were coming tonight! What a pleasant surprise!" I laugh.
"Our flight just got in a few hours ago, and we headed straight to the lake house from the airport. We are only here until Wednesday though, because we have to be back in Buffalo for Wednesday night." Jackie explains, laughing.
"Does Pat know you guys are here?" I ask, smiling.
"No! Chaunette told us about the party, so we flew down for it. Our plan was to surprise both you and Pat!" Jessica laughs.
"Well you guys certainly did. I'm so happy you're here." I giggle.
"Us too." Erica smiles.
Within a few minutes, Chaunette has found our group, and the five of us are all talking together.
We laugh about a few things, when Chaunette brings up a new topic.
"Did you girls hear about Jonathan?" Chaunette asks, quieting her voice slightly.
Her high ponytail moves up and down slightly as she talks.
Erica, Jessica, and Jackie's faces all grow slightly confused.
"No, what happened?" Jackie asks.
Chaunette looks over to me, and I look back at her.
"He's started dating another girl." I say.
All three of the girls' mouths drop slightly.
"What?" Jackie asks, her voice flat.
Chaunette and I both nod.
"Oh my..." Erica sighs, running a hand through her short blonde hair.
"That's... wow. That's great, but, holy I didn't see that one coming." Jessica says, looking down at the ground.
"I didn't either. I mean, it's great, but I wasn't expecting it." Chaunette says.
"Yeah. Wow." Jackie says, her eyes wide.
"That's good for him, though." Jessica shrugs.
"That's what I feel too." I nod.
"Is she here right now?" Erica asks.
"I haven't seen her nor Jonathan yet, but I'm sure they are here. This is a pretty big lot, and there are lots of people." Chaunette laughs.
"I want to meet her." Jackie nods.
"Me too." I say, quickly.
Right then, Shawzy and Patrick barge into our conversation, laughing obnoxiously about something.
Patrick hands me my drink with a smile, before his eyes meet with those of his sisters.
"Erica? Jessica? Jackie?" He laughs, as the four of them all embrace in a big hug.
Patrick's large arms hold all three of them close to his body.
"You guys didn't tell me you were going to be here!" He laughs, his eyes widened, and voice excited.
"We wanted it to be a surprise!" Erica giggles.
"Oh well, it's great to see you guys." Pat laughs, throwing his arm around Jackie.
I smile at the sight.
I've always loved the relationship between Patrick and Jackie.
He's the oldest, she's the youngest and the two of them just click.
It's precious.
Jessica fills Pat in on all the details about how they got here, and after a few minutes our group branches off and begins talking to a few other people.
Patrick and I run into Sharpie and his wife Abby, Bryan and Amanda Bickell, Duncan and Kelly-Rae Keith, and a few others as well.
Within half an hour, Andrew, Chaunette, Erica, Jessica, Jackie, Patrick, and I all re-group again.
We stand in one large circle on the grass, laughing and conversing with each other.
Patrick's arm is snaked around my waist.
The smell of barbecue has filled the air, as dinner is almost ready.
Andrew is in the middle of telling some hilarious story, when my eyes catch sight of something.
Something that throws me completely off-guard.
My heart starts beating rapidly, and my eyes widen.
My stomach is doing flips.
I wrap my fingers around Patrick's strong forearm, keeping myself from falling.
"Abigail, are you okay?" Patrick asks, looking down at me.
"Pat, look..." I say, feeling the color drain out of my face.
Patrick's eyes follow my gaze.
"Holy shit..." He says.
After a few seconds, everyone in our group has caught on to what we are staring at.
None of us can believe our eyes.
"Oh my God..." Chaunette says.
"Is that...?" Erica starts.
"That's impossible." Andrew says.
All of us stare in shock.
Walking towards us, is Jonathan Toews holding hands with a girl who I could swear on my fucking life, is Ally Summers.
In a few moments, Jonathan has reached our group, as well as the girl he is with.
She's gorgeous.
Mid-length dark hair, stunning green eyes, a welcoming smile.
The similarities between her and Ally are impossible to deny.
That's what we are all in shock at; this girl is almost identical to Ally.
Now that she's getting closer, you can easily tell that it's not her, but God, do they look alike.
The eyes and smile are exactly the same.
And then it hits me.
This is why Jonathan is interested in her.
She looks almost exactly like Ally did.
Jonathan and this girl finally arrive at our group, and we all shake ourselves out of our thoughts.
"Hey guys," Jonathan smiles, his face warming.
I swallow, looking right at the couple in front of me.
"Hey Jonny!" Andrew laughs, decreasing the awkwardness slightly.
Andrew has always been good at that.
"We decided we'd come say hello." Jonathan laughs, a beer in his hand.
"Let me introduce you. Guys, this is Natalie. Natalie this is Andrew, and his girlfriend Chaunette, Patrick and his girlfriend Abigail, and Erica, Jessica, and Jackie, Patrick's younger sisters." Jonathan smiles down at her.
She smiles.
"Nice to meet you all!" She says, kindly.
"You as well!" Erica says, shaking her hand.
"This party is amazing. I'm so happy I'm here." She laughs, looking around.
I eye Jonathan, carefully.
He looks down at Natalie, a small smile on his face.
I smile at the sight.
I look over to Patrick, and his face seems to be frozen.
His arm muscles are tensed, and his emotions are starting to kick in.
I follow his gaze, and his eyes are watching Jonathan and Natalie's intertwined fingers.
I nudge him lightly, to stop staring.
He clears his throat, and then continues laughing as Andrew gets back to his story.
After about forty minutes, Jonathan and Natalie move on from our group, going around and meeting other guests.
Once they leave, we all exhale deeply.
"Was it just me, or does Natalie look almost exactly like Ally...?" Chaunette says.
"It's not just you. I could have sworn..." Patrick trails off.
"That's why he's so into her." Jackie shakes her head.
"She's really nice though." Jessica says.
We all agree on that.
And despite the initial awkwardness and tension, I can tell that all of us are going to get along really well with Natalie.
***
"You and me. We're going to have a date night on Wednesday night. I promise you." Patrick says, holding my hand.
"Pat, that sounds lovely." I giggle, resting my head on his shoulder.
It's 11:55 PM, on July 4.
The fireworks are about to go off.
By now it is dark, and the stars dance through the night.
The fireworks over the lake are always the most amazing sight.
All the couples have branched off into separate groups, each trying to enjoy the fireworks with their significant others.
Patrick and I sit on the spongy grass, near the shoreline, hand-in-hand.
"It's going to be an amazing night. Wednesday night, it is," Patrick says, nodding.
I look over to him, and laugh.
"I promise." He finishes.
"You got it, Kaner." I wink, laughing.
His dimples become prominent as he laughs.
Five minutes pass quickly, and the real show begins.
The first firework goes off, exploding into a million colors.
They shimmer as they start to fall out of the sky, like stars falling from heaven.
Everyone in the backyard stands up, all laughing and clapping at the fireworks.
More fireworks in the sky, primarily displaying the colors red, blue, and white, for America.
American pride.
Patrick's grip on my hand tightens, and his hand is warm and loving.
The fireworks explode passionately in the sky, making loud booms of brilliance as they do so.
I look over at Patrick, and his head is tilted back, looking up at the sky.
A small smile is written on his face, and the fireworks appear to be blue in the reflection of his eyes, because of the color of his irises.
He then turns his head to me, and smiles.
I smile back at him, and squeeze his hand.
Right then, he pulls me in close to him, and tilts me backwards slightly.
I giggle, wrapping my arms around his neck, as his strong arms support my back and my head.
"I'm in love with you, Abigail Quinn." He states, before crashing his lips against mine.
His lips press against mine hard, and I kiss back, moving in-sync with him.
The taste of his lips are all too familiar.
The gentleness of his skin, is all too familiar.
After a long kiss, with the exploding fireworks in the background, he pulls away from me slowly, biting my bottom lip as he does so.
We part completely, and I look into his blue eyes as he looks back at me.
I smile, blushing uncontrollably.
My gaze moves past his face, and to the fireworks, as they continue to go off way up there, dancing with the stars and the moon.
But Patrick isn't just my sun, my stars, my moon, or those fireworks, for that matter.
He's my whole goddamn sky.