Patrick Kane and Me
August 13th 1998 Buffalo, NY
I sat on the curb next to the new mailbox, reading , Junie B. Jones is a Beauty Shop Guy fighting the wind that blew my blonde hair into my face. My family and I were in the process of moving into our new house in Buffalo. My dad had recently gotten a job with the Buffalo Sabres.I was pretty excited for this job just because he was going to be one of the Equipment managers one of my favorite hockey teams in the league.
Buffalo is my dad’s home town so we would always try to see the games on TV or listen to them on the radio if we were on the road. My favorite player is Jay McKee #74. My Dad told me he was one of the youngest, so he’ll be in the league for a long time. He’s one of the tough guys, so that’s why I like him.
My mom was sitting on the front porch talking to one of our new neighbors, while my dad gets help from another one of my neighbors to unload the truck. I can’t believe how friendly everyone’s being so far. I mean the last time my family moved I was forced to unpack the truck, and I was 7!
I got tired of the wind and got up from my reading place and looked around at my new home. It was different from the Pennsylvania home I had been raised in, before we started bouncing around the country. I’ve been in Texas, Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, and now New York all within my 9 years on Earth.
My house was a nice two story building, with a finished basement included 3 bedrooms 2, 2 ½ bath, perfect for my little 3 persons family. I guess the only good part of being an only child was the privacy, and the quietness. But other than that I get babied a lot because again, I’m the only child. My mom wanted another child but couldn’t have one because my dad decided to get a vasectomy when he found out the hard way that I was a colic baby. Great move right?
“Natalie! Come meet the new neighbors!” My mom yelled again, but I was too busy taking in all of this new information to answer her.
“Natalie Anne Vaughn!” I snapped my head in her direction. You know that the purpose of your middle name is so you can know when you’re in trouble. She waved her hand towards herself, and then turned to the woman and the two kids and smiled. I walked over and stood next to her, in front of the boy who looked to be about my age.
“Natalie, this is Ms. Donna, and these are her two kids Patrick and Erica.”
“Um, its Pat...I like to be called Pat instead of Patrick.” The boy now known as Pat spoke up shyly.
Then Ms. Donna smiled at her son and then down at me. But did I smile back at her? No, I was too busy smiling at her son, and when he smiled at me, I pushed a strand of hair away from my eyes, because mommy said that if you ever liked a boy show him your pretty eyes. But I really don’t think he cared about my eyes. I mean come on, I was 9 years old! He probably still thinks I have girl cooties! But, since I’m more mature than he is maybe in a couple of years or so he’ll catch on to it. But right now to me he looks really, really cute!
“Well maybe you could come bring the family over for dinner one day.” My mom stated, breaking the silence. “I see our husbands have already taken a liking to each other.” The two women laughed as we looked over and saw the men looking into the now empty truck shaking hands.
“Yes, I think that would be doable.” She looked towards Pat and Erica, “Now why don’t you kids go get to know each other. Pat, maybe you should show her your hockey trophies, and Erica your Barbies!” Erica’s face lit up as she grabbed my hand and started running towards the cream colored house. Pat followed behind us even though I don’t think he was too thrilled to play Barbies.
Our mothers laughed at Erica, “This will be good for Natalie, they can bond and by the time 4th grade starts she’ll have a friend instead of being by herself going to a new school, like all the other times.”
<3<3<3<3<3<3
“Here Natalie, you can be this one,” Erica said giving me one without any clothes on and her head turned facing the wrong way. Erica went to her closet and pulled out her Barbie dream house and started setting up furniture.
“So Natalie, how many Barbies do YOU have?” Erica said trying to get the conversation going.
“I have like 10!” I said trying to get as excited about this as she was.
Actually I really don’t have that many Barbies because I’ve never been really that interested in them. I’d occasionally get one for my birthday from my relatives that live in Pennsylvania just because they don’t know what else to get me. Before we moved they were actually just collecting dust on a shelf above my bed.
The house was completely set up and my Barbie was about to come over from my house to talk about Ken and how he doesn’t have a girlfriend again or something like that. I don’t know I really wasn’t paying that much attention to the storyline she was telling me about.
But thankfully Pat came in and peered through the door. “Hey, um Natalie you wanna come see my hockey stuff? I just got a new Sabres jersey!”
“Really? Whose name is one it?” I asked him curiously.
“Oh it’s Satan.” I think I’m gonna get along with this kid quite well. I mean really, hockey: good, Sabres: Good.
“Ohmygod! He’s one of the best players on the team!”
I looked over at Erica who was frowning at the fact that she was going to play Barbies alone again. “Do you mind Erica? I’ll come back again some other time. I promise!”
She took a deep breath and sighed, “Fine, go ahead, but you better not break your promise!”
“K” I said already half way out of her pink room.
<3<3<3<3<3<3
“Pat your room is so cool! You must be really good!”
“I guess I am I practice a lot. Maybe you should come to one of my games.”
“Yeah that would be awesome, what position do you play?”
“I’m a forward, but mostly I’m a right wing, or a left wing.” He went to his closet and pulled out his new jersey in all its glory.
“This is amazing, I wish I had a jersey but we’ve never gotten one just because we’ve moved so much but I think I’ll get one soon just because my Dad works for the Sabres now.”
“Your Dad works for the Buffalo Sabres?!”
“Yep, that’s why we moved here, he’s an equipment manager, but he’s training to become a massage therapist.”
“That’s awesome! You’re so lucky! That means you’ll get to go to a lot of different games!”
“That’s what I’m hoping for, and to get my first jersey.”
It was quiet for a few seconds, but a good quiet not like an awkward quiet. He walked over to his closet and slid open the door. “Wow how many do you have?” He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know I’ve gotten one every year from a lot of different teams for my birthday or Christmas or whatever holiday it is.”
“So who’s your favorite Sabres player?” He asked me skimming through and putting back the Satan jersey. “McKee #74 on defense, been with the Sabres and Rochester Americans since 1996.” While I was mumbling off random facts he pulled out a McKee home jersey. My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open, “Pat this is so cool!” He paused for a second. “Hold on a sec, I’ll be right back.”
I waited there for a couple minutes, until he came back. Then he handed the jersey to me. “Here, I want to give you your very first Sabres jersey. And look at the bottom of the 7.”
I turned it over, “It’s signed too! Pat, you seriously can’t just be giving this to me.” He nodded his head and smiled.
“I mean, I have like 16 jerseys and I asked my mom and she said I could give it to you as a welcome to the neighborhood present.” I gave him a huge hug and kissed him on the cheek not really thinking of what I was doing. I blushed after I realized what I just did. “Sorry, I was excited.” He was blushing too, “No, no it’s fine, I understand.” We ran downstairs and I showed my mom and dad my new jersey.
“What do you say?” My mom said like she does after Christmas is done.
I thanked Pat again and he smirked at me.
<3<3<3<3<3
That was the first of many times he smirked and each time he did my heart skipped a beat.
Buffalo is my dad’s home town so we would always try to see the games on TV or listen to them on the radio if we were on the road. My favorite player is Jay McKee #74. My Dad told me he was one of the youngest, so he’ll be in the league for a long time. He’s one of the tough guys, so that’s why I like him.
My mom was sitting on the front porch talking to one of our new neighbors, while my dad gets help from another one of my neighbors to unload the truck. I can’t believe how friendly everyone’s being so far. I mean the last time my family moved I was forced to unpack the truck, and I was 7!
I got tired of the wind and got up from my reading place and looked around at my new home. It was different from the Pennsylvania home I had been raised in, before we started bouncing around the country. I’ve been in Texas, Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, and now New York all within my 9 years on Earth.
My house was a nice two story building, with a finished basement included 3 bedrooms 2, 2 ½ bath, perfect for my little 3 persons family. I guess the only good part of being an only child was the privacy, and the quietness. But other than that I get babied a lot because again, I’m the only child. My mom wanted another child but couldn’t have one because my dad decided to get a vasectomy when he found out the hard way that I was a colic baby. Great move right?
“Natalie! Come meet the new neighbors!” My mom yelled again, but I was too busy taking in all of this new information to answer her.
“Natalie Anne Vaughn!” I snapped my head in her direction. You know that the purpose of your middle name is so you can know when you’re in trouble. She waved her hand towards herself, and then turned to the woman and the two kids and smiled. I walked over and stood next to her, in front of the boy who looked to be about my age.
“Natalie, this is Ms. Donna, and these are her two kids Patrick and Erica.”
“Um, its Pat...I like to be called Pat instead of Patrick.” The boy now known as Pat spoke up shyly.
Then Ms. Donna smiled at her son and then down at me. But did I smile back at her? No, I was too busy smiling at her son, and when he smiled at me, I pushed a strand of hair away from my eyes, because mommy said that if you ever liked a boy show him your pretty eyes. But I really don’t think he cared about my eyes. I mean come on, I was 9 years old! He probably still thinks I have girl cooties! But, since I’m more mature than he is maybe in a couple of years or so he’ll catch on to it. But right now to me he looks really, really cute!
“Well maybe you could come bring the family over for dinner one day.” My mom stated, breaking the silence. “I see our husbands have already taken a liking to each other.” The two women laughed as we looked over and saw the men looking into the now empty truck shaking hands.
“Yes, I think that would be doable.” She looked towards Pat and Erica, “Now why don’t you kids go get to know each other. Pat, maybe you should show her your hockey trophies, and Erica your Barbies!” Erica’s face lit up as she grabbed my hand and started running towards the cream colored house. Pat followed behind us even though I don’t think he was too thrilled to play Barbies.
Our mothers laughed at Erica, “This will be good for Natalie, they can bond and by the time 4th grade starts she’ll have a friend instead of being by herself going to a new school, like all the other times.”
<3<3<3<3<3<3
“Here Natalie, you can be this one,” Erica said giving me one without any clothes on and her head turned facing the wrong way. Erica went to her closet and pulled out her Barbie dream house and started setting up furniture.
“So Natalie, how many Barbies do YOU have?” Erica said trying to get the conversation going.
“I have like 10!” I said trying to get as excited about this as she was.
Actually I really don’t have that many Barbies because I’ve never been really that interested in them. I’d occasionally get one for my birthday from my relatives that live in Pennsylvania just because they don’t know what else to get me. Before we moved they were actually just collecting dust on a shelf above my bed.
The house was completely set up and my Barbie was about to come over from my house to talk about Ken and how he doesn’t have a girlfriend again or something like that. I don’t know I really wasn’t paying that much attention to the storyline she was telling me about.
But thankfully Pat came in and peered through the door. “Hey, um Natalie you wanna come see my hockey stuff? I just got a new Sabres jersey!”
“Really? Whose name is one it?” I asked him curiously.
“Oh it’s Satan.” I think I’m gonna get along with this kid quite well. I mean really, hockey: good, Sabres: Good.
“Ohmygod! He’s one of the best players on the team!”
I looked over at Erica who was frowning at the fact that she was going to play Barbies alone again. “Do you mind Erica? I’ll come back again some other time. I promise!”
She took a deep breath and sighed, “Fine, go ahead, but you better not break your promise!”
“K” I said already half way out of her pink room.
<3<3<3<3<3<3
“Pat your room is so cool! You must be really good!”
“I guess I am I practice a lot. Maybe you should come to one of my games.”
“Yeah that would be awesome, what position do you play?”
“I’m a forward, but mostly I’m a right wing, or a left wing.” He went to his closet and pulled out his new jersey in all its glory.
“This is amazing, I wish I had a jersey but we’ve never gotten one just because we’ve moved so much but I think I’ll get one soon just because my Dad works for the Sabres now.”
“Your Dad works for the Buffalo Sabres?!”
“Yep, that’s why we moved here, he’s an equipment manager, but he’s training to become a massage therapist.”
“That’s awesome! You’re so lucky! That means you’ll get to go to a lot of different games!”
“That’s what I’m hoping for, and to get my first jersey.”
It was quiet for a few seconds, but a good quiet not like an awkward quiet. He walked over to his closet and slid open the door. “Wow how many do you have?” He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know I’ve gotten one every year from a lot of different teams for my birthday or Christmas or whatever holiday it is.”
“So who’s your favorite Sabres player?” He asked me skimming through and putting back the Satan jersey. “McKee #74 on defense, been with the Sabres and Rochester Americans since 1996.” While I was mumbling off random facts he pulled out a McKee home jersey. My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open, “Pat this is so cool!” He paused for a second. “Hold on a sec, I’ll be right back.”
I waited there for a couple minutes, until he came back. Then he handed the jersey to me. “Here, I want to give you your very first Sabres jersey. And look at the bottom of the 7.”
I turned it over, “It’s signed too! Pat, you seriously can’t just be giving this to me.” He nodded his head and smiled.
“I mean, I have like 16 jerseys and I asked my mom and she said I could give it to you as a welcome to the neighborhood present.” I gave him a huge hug and kissed him on the cheek not really thinking of what I was doing. I blushed after I realized what I just did. “Sorry, I was excited.” He was blushing too, “No, no it’s fine, I understand.” We ran downstairs and I showed my mom and dad my new jersey.
“What do you say?” My mom said like she does after Christmas is done.
I thanked Pat again and he smirked at me.
<3<3<3<3<3
That was the first of many times he smirked and each time he did my heart skipped a beat.
Notes
Chapter 1! A lot of people enjoyed it on Mibba so here it is on Hockey Fanfiction!(:Enjoy(;
