Kris
After losing the first game to the cardinals we win the next two and look to close the series out here at Wrigley. On our off day today we're going to a Blackhawks game against the Blues of all teams. I put on my Toews jersey that I stole from Anthony and McKayla sported her Kane jersey I got for her on her birthday.
"Why did you want a Patrick Kane jersey" I ask just a tad bit jealous.
"I was at the Hawks-Bruins Stanley cup series when I studied out in Boston. My friend was a huge Bruins fan and I just wanted to know more about hockey. Man she was upset when I told her my favorite player was Patrick Kane after that" she laughs.
"Am I ever going to meet your college friends" I wonder.
"I don't know, I'm sure we'll find the time eventually" she shrugs. I pick up my wallet and keys and we head to the United Center.
I was able to get locker room passes so we could meet the players. We sit in the hallway as a bunch of them come out to talk to us. I find myself talking to Toews because I could relate to him the most. That and I was wearing his jersey.
"Can I ask you a question" I ask.
"Yeah man, what's up" he replies.
"I'm in a situation kind of like you at the beginning of your career, although I'm a lot older than you were. But we both came to a storied organization who was championship starved and expected to do great things. Granted I'm no teenager it's still hard to stay levelheaded when there is such high expectations. How did you deal with it your first few seasons" I ask.
"I had a good team surrounding me. Yeah I was a high draft pick and chosen as captain at the ripe age of 20 but I didn't do it alone. I had Kaner and coach Q and Duncs and Seabs, they were perfect for me to feed off of, to build a team off of. You have guys like Anthony and Addi and Swarber who are going to be doing great things for a long time. Build off of that and you'll be surprised what you can make" he replies. What a guy. He just won his third championship in six seasons and it doesn't look like he's going to slow down any time soon. The team brought the cup to a Cubs game it was so cool to see. I admired how hard he worked literally all the time, he's something else. We talk for a little until McKayla comes to me with bright eyes and a smile from ear to ear.
"Look at this shit" she exclaims while turning around showing all the signatures on her jersey.
"Nice" I smile as she gives me a high five.
"Did you just high five your girlfriend" Jonathan asks with a chuckle.
"Yeah, we've been friends for well over a decade and played baseball together in high school. I guess it's a habit" I shrug.
"I see. And a Kaner jersey" he asks her.
"I went to school at Boston college and my friend dragged me to your championship series there" she explains and he nods.
"Make sense" he admits. She takes off to go talk to a curly headed kid and Jonathan looks at me weirdly.
"Does she speak Russian" he asks me.
"Um not that I know of" I say slowly. I look over and she's talking and laughing with the same kid.
"That guy doesn't speak a lick of english. I mean he knows the bad words but that's just because he's a hockey player" he tells me. I try to listen in and they defiantly weren't speaking English. I wave her over and she happily plants herself right beside me.
"What's up buttercup" she sing songs.
"I didn't know you knew Russian" I say questionably.
"I never had to use it up until now. They wanted me to take a language in college and I already took French in high school and Spanish came naturally to me so I decided on Russian" she explains.
"You speak French" Jonathan asks and she nods. He says something in French and she responds easily. They go back and forth for a few lines and I get so very confused. I took French in high school but only because she did. How much I actually remember is questionable.
"What are you guys talking about" I finally ask.
"He asked my favorite thing about you and I told him it's that you let me be myself but always pull me down when my heads get stuck in the clouds" she smiles.
"That's cute" I smile. We talk for a little while longer before taking pictures and heading to our seats.
"I know I say this every day I'm with you but this is the best day ever" she exclaims.
"Glad you're having fun" I reply lacing her fingers through mine. We watch warm ups and I jump when the pucks hit the glass. She laughed at me until a send her a glare and she tried her best to control herself. The game starts and I find myself getting into it. The stress of playoffs melt away and I find myself as a sports fan cheering for someone else for once.
"This is so violent, why is it so violent" I ask.
"You're job is to either put the puck in their net or keep the puck out of yours. In order to get the puck from someone you have to take it from them, they're not just going to give it to you. So you have to read the play, know when to back check, when to poke check, and when to turn into a wall a opposing player is going to crash into like a high speed car chase. It's rarely intentionally violent but this sport is for the strong willed and crafty. Violence comes with it" she explains. Nice to know. During the first intermission she grabs us a hot dog and a drink and we watch the videos shown on the board. I ask questions about hockey and she answers them easily. The crowd cheers loudly and I look out to the ice and see no one was there, just the ice cars that I learned are called Zambonis. McKayla points to the screen and I see us up there on the kiss cam. I turn to kiss her and the people cheer. I always found the kiss cam weird but I hadn't kissed her in a while so it worked for me.
The game ends and we head come after a thrilling over time win.
"That game was so good. I missed going to them" she admits. I listen as I continue to stare out the window while I drive through the city.
"Kris what's wrong" she sighs.
"What makes you think there's something wrong" I ask.
"You're avoiding eye contact and if your grip on the wheel gets any tighter we're gonna crash" she says softly. I look down as the veins in my hands looked like they're going to burst. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in and loosen my grip.
"I guess I'm just upset that there was so much I didn't know about you, that I don't know about you" I reiterate.
"Kris, we were away from each other for five years. Yeah we texted and called and Skyped but there's only so much we can talk about across the country. All the things you need to know about me, you do. You were there for all the important parts. The other stuff will come up when needed but it doesn't change who I am. I'm still the same person" she replies using her soft voice as she rubs my shoulder.
"How do you always know the right thing to say" I wonder.
"Communication is somewhere between telling someone what they want to hear and telling them what they need to hear. Once you know where you lie on that line you're good to go" she smiles. I pull into my parking place and turn to look at her.
"In that case, I can't wait to find out all about you" I smile.