{Patrick}
I make a turn in the road, and begin driving down an even longer road, that is lined with thick, tall trees on either side.
I hang one arm out the window, and allow the summer breeze to blow onto my face.
It's sunny, and the sky is completely blue. The temperature is hot, and it's a beautiful summer day.
It's Sunday, June 18, about 2:00 in the afternoon.
The guys and I have scheduled a team game of golf, with all of our wives, girlfriends, and children, just for fun.
We're going to be playing nine holes of golf at Pine Tree Ridge, in multiple smaller groups of about five, and then we will all meet back at the clubhouse for dinner.
It's been almost a month since the Blackhawks' game seven Western Conference Final elimination, and I'm not going to lie, it still stings a little bit.
Losing the way we did sucked, but it is what it is. I can't go back and change it now, and it always helps to know that the Canucks didn't go on to win the Stanley Cup, but instead, the Habs did.
The loss hurt a lot, but no matter how much the game of hockey hurts me, no matter the immensity of pain after a loss, I will come back to that damn game time after time. I will come back to it because it's the one real thing I've ever known my entire life.
And I know that next season, the Hawks will be back with an even greater intensity than this year.
Abby sits to my right in the passenger seat, her elbow propped up against the door, and she rests the side of her head in her hand.
She smiles, and her naturally straight, light brown hair blows in the breeze. She's wearing aviator sunglasses, and a pink golf polo shirt, with a white skirt.
She looks beautiful, of course.
She rests one hand on her large baby bump, and a small smile sits on her face.
I turn my attention back to the road, forcing myself to overcome the force of her gravitational beauty.
Within a few minutes, I reach Pine Tree Ridge & Country Club, and turn into the parking lot.
I park the car, and then pull the key out of the ignition.
I look over at Abigail, and she looks back at me, smiling.
"I'm just letting you know that we aren't walking the course... I mean, anybody can walk it if you want to, but we are getting golf cars, and I thought that-" I start, but Abby cuts me off.
"Who says that I couldn't walk the course?" She asks, biting her lip, and smiling.
I close my mouth, and smile over at her.
Abigail is one of the most independent women you will meet in your entire life.
She doesn't belong to anyone; she belongs to herself. She's powerful and strong all on her own; she doesn't depend on a man to prove that.
And that's one of the reasons I love her so much.
She's not anyone's; she's her own, strong, individual who doesn't take bullshit from anyone.
"Goddamn, I love you." I say, biting my lip and shaking my head.
"I love you too, and this love is ours." She smiles, gently.
"This love is ours." I reply, quickly.
She reaches over and kisses me on the cheek quickly, before getting out of the car.
I get out too, and we meet at the trunk, where we each grab our golf bags, and then make our way over to the main area of the country club.
We all scheduled to meet here at about 2:15, and it's 2:12 right now.
Abby and I walk across the parking lot, and I look over at Abigail who is waddling with a huge golf bag on her back.
"Abby, I'll carry your clubs." I say, reaching over to her bag.
"No, no, Pat. I got it." She insists, still walking.
"Abigail, love, I know that you are very capable of carrying the clubs all on your own, but you're over six months pregnant with twins. Now can I please carry your clubs?" I ask, laughing.
She sighs, laughing.
"Okay, fine. But just this one time." She giggles, handing over her bag to me.
I smile, swinging her clubs over my back.
"Thank-you." She says, quietly.
"No problem, baby girl." I smile, as we finish walking across the parking lot and arrive at the main area of Pine Tree Ridge & Country Club.
It's a beautiful facility, with a large outdoor pool on the other side of the building, a huge indoor gym, beach volleyball courts, workout rooms, a spa, and of course a stunning eighteen-hole golf course, with a beautiful clubhouse.
A few of the workers stand behind a desk, conversing about a few things that I can't hear, and others ride around in golf cars, rushing to certain areas of the club to make sure things are staying on-task.
"Kaner!" I hear a voice call from behind me.
Abby and I both spin around, and see that Bryan, Amanda and Makayla Bickell are walking towards us.
"Hey man!" I say, as Bicks and I bro hi-five.
"Hello Amanda, and hello Miss. Makayla." I say, smiling at Amanda and Makayla whom is sitting in her arms.
"Hey Patrick. Hello Abigail, my God you look so good with your pregnancy!" Amanda giggles, hugging Abigail.
Abby and Amanda begin talking about Abby's pregnancy or something, and Bicks and I talk about a few things.
Within ten minutes, the entire team has shown up, as well as their wives/girlfriends and kids, if they have any.
Our entire group simply chats for about twenty minutes, before we break up into our separate groups, and go sign in with the clubhouse.
After about half an hour, we have been given the right amount of golf cars, and broken off into our groups.
My group consists of Tazer, Shawzy, Saader, as well as Sadie and Maddy Sharp, both of Sharpie's little girls.
Sadie and Maddy both love me, and so I insisted that I could take the girls and look after them, so that Sharpie and Abby could hang out on the course without the girls.
My Abigail also insisted that it would be good for me to get used to looking after two little ones, of course.
Abigail is in a group with Chaunette, Alyssa, Kelly-Rae, and Amanda Bickell.
Maddy is now about six, and Sadie is four, so they really aren't that much of a handful.
"Alright girls, are you ready to go?" I ask, smiling down at the two blonde haired girls that look adorable today.
"Yeah!" Maddy laughs, stepping up into the golf car.
Jonathan, Shawzy, and Saader sit in the golf car in front of us, and Maddy, Sadie, and myself are sitting in the other one.
I help Sadie up into the golf car, and then head into the driver's spot, where I follow Tazer, Shawzy, and Saader to the first hole.
We arrive at the first hole, and Maddy and Sadie have already decided that they aren't going to play, they are just going to watch the game.
"Just for the record, Kaner, I'm going to beat you." Jonathan laughs, as he grabs his driver from the back of the golf car.
"No way, Tazer. I'll bet money that I'll beat you." I smirk, grabbing my club from the back.
"I'm cheering for Patrick!" Sadie giggles, raising her small arms in the air.
"Why thank-you, Miss. Sadie." I laugh, grabbing my driver from the back of the golf car.
"Well thanks, Sadie." Jonathan rolls his eyes, playfully.
Sadie giggles.
"Let's be real, fuckers, I'm going to beat you all." Shawzy announces, as he steps up to the tee.
"Shawzy, shut up man! Watch your language, God, there are kids here." Saader laughs, rolling his eyes.
I laugh, looking over at Sadie and Maddy. They don't seem to notice the fact that the F-bomb was just dropped.
"Oh, shit, sorry! I forgot!" Andrew says, widening his eyes.
"Shawzy, you did it again. Just take your shot man." I laugh, rolling my eyes.
"Where's that damn mute button when we need it?" Jonathan mutters, under his breath.
I laugh as I lean against the golf car waiting for Shawzy to take his shot.
He does a few practice swings, before taking his actual swing.
It's not a bad shot, to be honest.
Maddy starts clapping and cheering.
"Thank-you, thank-you," Shawzy laughs, raising his arms up in the air.
"Told you I was going to win." Shawzy shrugs, as he steps off of the course.
"That was your first shot Shawzy, calm down." Saader laughs, rolling his eyes.
"Whoever loses the most this game, has to buy drinks for everyone else tonight, how does that sound?" Shawzy asks, raising his eyebrows.
I nod.
"Yeah, sounds good." I say, smiling.
Jonathan and Saader both agree as well.
"Kaner, you shoot next." Shawzy says.
I nod, stepping up to the tee.
I take a few practice swings, adjusting the flat brim hat on my head.
"That would have been a garbage shot." Tazer laughs.
I look up from the tee, and over at him.
Maddy has made her way over to Jonathan, and he's now holding her in his arms.
She smiles, as he holds her up with one arm under her bottom, and the other around her small back.
"Yeah, yeah." I roll my eyes, laughing.
I re-focus myself, and take another practice swing, before taking my actual shot.
I take my shot, and the ball goes soaring through the air, exactly how I wanted it to.
"Perfect." I laugh, as I hold my pose until the ball lands.
"Yay!" Sadie claps, as she sits in the golf car.
"Thank-you, Miss. Sadie." I laugh, as I plop my club back into my bag.
"Up." She says, looking up at me, smiling.
I hold my arms out, and she immediately climbs up on me.
I hold her the same way Jonny is holding Maddy, and she giggles as she wraps her small arms around the back of my neck.
"I love Patrick." She giggles, kissing me on the cheek.
"I love you too, little Sadie." I smile.
Sadie hugs me tightly, and although her hugs are small, they are filled with far more love than the average hug.
***
After about two hours, the boys and I are on the ninth, and final hole of the day.
It's about 4:30 in the afternoon, and by the looks of it, we should be back at the clubhouse in time for dinner with the rest of the crew.
Saader, Shawzy, Tazer, and I are all on the green of the ninth hole, putting to see who will be the ultimate winner of this game of golf.
Right now, it's between Tazer, Saader, and I.
Shawzy has sort of fallen out of the mix, and isn't exactly in the competition right now, I guess you could say.
He's hit some pretty unlucky shots, and so he will be the one to buy us all beers at dinner.
These next few putts will determine the winner of the match.
Shawzy sinks his ball, but in way too many shots to even be close to our scores.
He rolls his eyes, taking his ball out of the hole, and walking over to the golf cars.
"This game was rigged. I'm calling bullshit on this game." He laughs, rolling his eyes.
At this point, we have all just given up on telling Shawzy to watch his language.
He's too annoyed, and the girls honestly don't seem to be noticing all that much.
Guys as competitive as professional hockey players have a hard time playing a sport "for fun".
We usually end up getting pretty competitive.
Now, is my turn to putt.
"Alright, this is it." I say, through gritted teeth.
"You suck." Tazer laughs, trying to break my focus.
"Shut up." I laugh, rolling my eyes at him.
I line up my putter with my golf ball, which isn't too far from the hole.
It's dead silent, and I take my shot.
I hold my breath as the ball rolls closer and closer to the hole.
Come on, I need to make this, I think to myself.
The ball continues to roll, until BAM!
It lands in the hole.
"YES!" I scream, throwing my hand up in the air.
I look over at Saader and Tazer, and they are both rolling their eyes.
"SUCK ON THAT!" I holler, pointing at them.
They roll their eyes again.
Laughing, I go and grab my ball from the hole, and then watch as Tazer takes his shot.
He misses the hole on his first shot, and so does Saader.
Tazer makes it on his second, and Brandon makes it on his third, making me the official winner.
"I told you guys I would win." I smirk, shrugging.
"Save it, Kaner." Tazer rolls his eyes, laughing.
"Shawzy's right, this game is rigged." Saader laughs.
"No way. I'm just too good." I shrug, smiling.
The guys and I all laugh and continue to chat a little bit, as we make our way back to our golf cars.
Sadie and Maddy both congratulate me on the win, and I thank both of them.
All of us then take the golf cars back to the main area of the clubhouse, where we will meet up with the rest of the crew before going for dinner.
After about five minutes, the six of us all reach the clubhouse again, and check in our golf cars.
"There we go girls, time for dinner." I laugh, as I park the golf car, and jump out.
Both of the girls laugh, and jump out of the car with me.
"I want up!" Sadie giggles, as she holds her arms up to me.
"Me too!" Maddy laughs, jumping up and down.
Before I know it, Sadie has crawled up onto me, and she sits on my shoulders. Maddy does the same, and I hold her up by holding her with one arm.
They both giggle as I walk, talking to each other, and I simply smile and continue to walk towards the clubhouse.
Jonathan, Andrew, Brandon, and I all walk together, and we make it back to the main area, where I notice a large portion of our group already waiting for us.
A few of the guys are back, and most of the wives/girlfriends are there, including Abigail.
They all chat with each other, and right then, I notice Abby catch my eye.
She looks up at me from across the main garden of the clubhouse, as I make my way closer to her.
I watch carefully as her eyes find both Sadie and Maddy as they giggle and laugh with each other, and she continues smiling.
She tilts her head, eyes watching me carefully for a few moments, before we arrive back at the group.
"Hey." I say, smiling down at her.
"I see you have some new best friends." Abigail giggles, looking up at me.
I shrug, and Sadie giggles.
"I like Patrick." She smiles.
"Alright Sadie, I know you love Patrick, but let's give him a break and go get some dinner, shall we?" Sharpie asks, walking over to Abby and I.
"Daddy!" Maddy giggles, jumping off of me, and into Sharpie.
He catches her, and then Sadie moves over to her dad's arms as well.
"Thanks for looking after them, Kaner. Abby and I really appreciate it." Sharpie nods, smiling.
"Anytime man." I smile, adjusting the flat brim hat on my head.
Sharpie walks off with his two little girls, and I smile as I watch them.
I look down at Abby, and she's already looking up at me, smiling.
"What?" I ask, laughing.
"Nothing." She says, quietly.
Even having the privilege of hearing Abby lie to me about what's going on in her brilliant mind, is enough sometimes.
I shrug, smiling down at the ground.
Within a few minutes, everyone arrives back at the clubhouse, and we all head in for dinner.
I throw my arm around Abigail, kissing her on the cheek gently.
"Let's go, love. Shawzy has to buy me a drink."
***
I lean against the back of the elevator, as it ascends quickly.
I close my eyes, sighing happily.
It's still Sunday, June 18, but it is now about 9:00 in the evening.
Abby and I have just arrived back at Trump Tower, after leaving Pine Tree Ridge & Country Club nearly an hour ago.
The whole Hawks team, as well as their girlfriends/wives, and children all had dinner together, which lasted a good three hours.
We ate and then talked for what seemed like forever, and everyone was telling hilarious stories.
Before anyone knew where the time went, it was 8:30, and the kids were growing tired.
We packed things up, and now, Abby and I are taking the elevator up to our apartment.
The elevator doors slide open, and I gesture for Abby to get out first.
She smiles, and I follow her out of the elevator, down the hallway, and finally into our apartment.
I close the door behind us once we make it in, and we both take off our light jackets, as well as our shoes.
I throw my shoes in the closet carelessly (Abby gets mad at me every single time I do it, but it's become so adorable to watch her get upset about it that I continue to do it anyways), and then look over at Abby who is struggling to get her shoes off.
With her baby bump, it's hard for her to reach all the way down to her feet, since she can't even see her feet all that well.
Biting my lip, I take her hand, and sit her down on the stool by the entrance.
"I got it, love." I say, quietly.
She sighs, running a hand through her hair.
"This pregnancy thing is getting in the way of everything." She jokes, as I take off both of her shoes.
I laugh, as I stand up and look down at her sitting on the stool.
Her eyes are dark and beautiful, and her hair is pulled to one side, letting it fall perfectly down her shoulder.
I press a kiss to her forehead, resting my other hand on the side of her cheek.
"Well the good news is that you only have three more months until you won't be pregnant anymore." I laugh.
She laughs, standing up.
"Do you want to watch a movie or something in bed?" She asks, tilting her head.
"Sure." I say, nodding.
She smiles, and with that, the two of us head upstairs to our room.
After about ten minutes, both Abby and I are changed and ready for bed, so we both snuggle under the sheets, and I flick on the TV.
Jurassic Park is on TV and it's just beginning, so we both decide that we'll watch this tonight.
Both of us lie down, and Abby rolls over so that her cheek is resting over my left peck.
I throw my arm around her, and she wraps her arms around me.
We watch the movie for about twenty minutes, before Abby speaks.
"The Sharp girls love you, Patrick." She laughs.
I look down at her, and her eyes are still locked on the TV, but she's smiling.
"Yeah, they're good girls." I say, quietly.
"I saw you with them for a few moments here and there throughout the day, and Patrick, you are going to be a really, really god dad. And I'm just excited that you are going to be the father of my children." Abby says, bluntly.
I bite my lip, smiling.
"Abigail Kane, there is not another woman in this world that I would want to be the mother of my child. Do you understand that?" I ask, and she looks up at me, smiling.
She nods.
"Yeah. Yeah, I do." She says, quietly.
"Good." I laugh, pressing a kiss to the top of her head gently.
She giggles.
Abby and I watch the rest of the movie, and by the end of it, she has rolled over to the other side of the bed, so she can sit more comfortably.
The end credits come rolling onto the screen, and I suddenly hear Abby gasp.
I look over at her from across the bed, and she has both of her hands resting on her baby bump.
Her eyes are widened, and her mouth is partially dropped.
"Abigail, what's wrong?" I ask, looking over at her.
Oh God.
Her water is breaking early. Oh God, she's going into labor three months early, holy shit.
I jump off of the bed, my heart beating frantically in my chest.
"Abigail, we have to get you to a hospital right now, oh my God, you're going into labor, Jesus Christ this is-" I start, but Abby cuts me off.
"Patrick, love, it's okay!" She coos, smiling over at me.
"Are you kidding me!? This is not okay, you're giving birth to premature twins, Abigail we need to go right now, oh-"
"Patrick." She says, quietly.
I freeze, and look over at her.
She smiles, both of her hands still over her baby bump.
"I'm not going into labor, don't worry." She giggles, smiling at me from her spot on the bed.
I exhale deeply, closing my eyes.
"Sorry," I say, quietly.
"I just jumped to conclusions..." I laugh, running a hand through my curls.
She giggles, biting her lip.
"Okay, now that we know you're not going into labor, what's up?" I ask, sitting back down on the bed.
My heartbeat has calmed to a normal pace, thankfully.
"I think you need to feel this." Abby says, looking down at her baby bump.
I widen my eyes, and move across the bed so that I'm sitting next to her.
She moves her hands aside, so that both mine and her hands will fit on her large baby bump.
I place both of my hands on her baby bump gently, and I gasp.
Under my hand, I can vividly feel movement.
Kicking.
The twins are kicking.
"Oh my God..." I say, my jaw dropped.
Abigail giggles, biting her lip and watching me carefully.
"This is the first time I've been able to feel kicking..." Abby trails off, smiling.
I shake my head, my eyes wide.
"I have no words." I say, inhaling deeply.
Abigail giggles, moving my hand around her baby bump, to wherever she feels the kicking most vividly.
She stops moving my hand, and another kick surfaces.
I look at Abigail, and she bites her lip, smiling.
I shake my head, and I can feel the disbelief on my face.
"It's beautiful." I say, swallowing hard.
Gently, I pull Abigail's pajama shirt up to just below her breasts, revealing her bare belly.
And without the shirt clothing her baby bump, the faint outline of one tiny foot can be seen as it pushes against Abby from the inside.
"That's incredible." I say, staring out at the tiny outline of a baby foot.
I shake my head.
I can feel tears brimming behind my eyes, and I can't stop myself.
I blink, a tear rolling down my cheek silently.
"Pat, are you crying?" She asks, her eyes glossy as well.
I nod, sniffling.
"Yeah, I guess I am," I laugh, as she wipes a tear as it escapes from the corner of my eye.
"That's our baby, Abigail. Right there." I say, smiling and looking at her.
She smiles, sniffling.
"I'm so happy." She laughs, wiping a tear from her eye quickly.
"I've never experienced anything this tangible in my whole pregnancy, and I'm just really overwhelmed, oh my God, it's so beautiful..." She trails off, giggling.
I nod, swallowing hard.
"I don't know which twin you are, but hello little one. This is your daddy." I laugh, resting one finger over the spot where the outline is visible.
It kicks gently under my hand.
"And to think that there's another one in there." I laugh, shaking my head.
"I'm so happy right now, Patrick. Oh my God, I'm so happy with everything." Abby says, running a hand through her hair.
I kiss her forehead gently, before returning my eyes back to her baby bump.
"I am too, Abby. I am too," I repeat, smiling.
"This love is ours." I say, absentmindedly.
"This love is ours." Abby says, smiling.
I keep both of my hands on her baby bump, and both of us remain silent for a few more minutes.
"You know what I've been thinking?" I break the silence, as I keep my hand resting on Abby's baby bump.
There are multiple vivid movements under my hand, and this is the absolute biggest miracle I have ever experienced in my entire life.
The little ones within Abby are miracles all on their own.
"What have you been thinking, love?" Abby asks, smiling.
I cuddle her up closer, wrapping my arms around her.
She keeps one of her hands over my hand, which is resting on her belly.
"When you're a kid, you automatically assume that your parents are soulmates." I say, swallowing.
I feel a kick under my hand, and I smile.
"Every kid thinks that their parents are soulmates." Abby shrugs, her eyelids fluttering and brown eyes shining brightly.
I nod, smiling.
I press a kiss against her temple, before speaking again.
"But our children are going to be right about that, Abbers."