The Hockey Life

PART FIFTY-ONE: THANKSGIVING
I had a conversation with my parents and Brian about Thanksgiving as soon as I got back from the road trip. I actually decided to go to my parents’ house and stay with them on a day off since I wouldn’t really get to be home for the holiday. They seemed to be on board with the idea of going to the Kane’s house for Thanksgiving. They, like me, weren’t very sure about meeting the rest of the family, but they at least had Patrick Sr., Donna, Erica, Jacqueline, and Jessica to talk to. Plus, they never went anywhere, so they knew it would be a good chance to see what New York was like.
Once Thanksgiving arrived, I was excited and nervous. We were flying out to Buffalo and we took a morning flight so we’d be there plenty early, which meant it would be a few hours before Patrick’s family even arrived. Because of that, I was able to push my nervousness aside for a little while and focus mostly on the positives, like the fact that I’d be back in Buffalo, a place I had decided that I loved.
When our plane landed in New York, my parents, Brian, and I searched for Patrick in the airport. He had gone home the night before, so he was the one who offered to pick us up. We located him quickly and we went out to his car and piled into it. The drive was familiar, but my surroundings looked just a little different. This time the leaves on the trees were brilliant shades of yellow, scarlet and chestnut, and many littered the ground already. We drove by some houses and I noticed people raking their leaves, which I didn’t necessarily understand. I actually liked the look of leaves on the ground during fall. My mom felt the same way, so she never raked them or pressured my dad to.
When we arrived at Pat’s childhood home, we all received the usual warm welcome. My parents and Brian got a tour of the house while I stayed back with Patrick and his sisters.
“That’s your brother?” Erica asked.
“Unfortunately,” I laughed, although I didn’t mean that. I was glad I had him as a big brother.
“He’s very…” Erica began.
“Attractive?” Jacqueline suggested.
“Okay, that’s just weird. And I’m sure that’s awkward for Lena to hear,” Patrick told them.
“Believe it or not, I’ve heard it before,” I admitted.
“Yeah, and besides, it’s not like we’ve never had our friends say you’re attractive,” Jessica said.
“Whatever,” Patrick said. “Don’t you guys have to go do your hair or something?” he wondered, clearly trying to get rid of them.
“Oh crap, we do actually. You want me to do yours, Jess?” Erica asked.
“Yes please. I found a really cute idea on Pinterest that you can do, actually…” They all headed upstairs to perfect their looks and Patrick just laughed.
“I should have known that they actually had girly things to do,” he said. “Please don’t tell me you have to do your hair or anything. You look perfect already.”
“Well, I don’t need to do my hair, but do you think my outfit’s okay for dinner? Too casual? I didn’t really know what to wear,” I asked. I looked down at my simple burgundy sweater dress, gray infinity scarf, black leggings and gray distressed combat boots and wondered if it was okay.
“It’s perfectly fine, Lean. I love it, actually. I wish I could be as fashionable as you,” he joked.
“I can help you with that, if you want,” I smiled. I thought he dressed fine, but I would never turn down a chance to pick out new clothes for him.
The hours quickly slipped away as my mom and I helped Donna in the kitchen, my dad talked with Patrick Sr., Brian played video games with Patrick and his sisters came downstairs to watch. Before I even realized what time it was, the doorbell rang.
“Oh, god,” I mumbled as my hands went down to my dress and then my scarf and then my hair.
“I don’t know why you’re nervous. You met my parents and sisters and they love you. Why would this be any different?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I just want to make a good impression,” I explained.
“Well, my family is already impressed with you, so you don’t really have to try very hard to make a good impression,” he assured me. “Just relax.”
One by one family members filed in and every time they did Pat introduced me and I shook their hands. I was immediately getting compliments, which made me feel a little better. As we eased into dinner, I realized it wasn’t all that hard to talk to his family. They were all so nice and fun to be around, especially his grandpa. He was a sweetheart, so I understood why Patrick had such a good relationship with him.
Once we were done eating, things got a lot more casual. The house seemed to be broken up by gender: all the females were in the kitchen or dining room mingling and sipping on wine while the men were in the living room focusing on a football game. I had been practically clinging to Patrick for most of the time, but I felt comfortable enough to leave him alone at this point.
Patrick’s P.O.V.
Lena seemed to be fitting into my family just fine. I told her there was no reason for her to be nervous, and I think she had figured that out now. She left me to hang out with the women of the family and I stayed with my dad, a couple of my uncles, and my grandpa. We acted like typical guys and stuck to watching football. It was a Bears game, so naturally I was interested. Halftime eventually came, though, and that was when my dad decided to talk to me.
“Where’s Lena at? I feel like I haven’t seen her without you all night,” he asked as he sat down next to me, a cold new beer in his hand.
“She’s with the girls. Apparently we all have cooties now,” I told him.
“Well, are things going well with you two, at least?”
“Yeah, of course. We’ve never been better, honestly.”
“How long have you been together again?”
“About ten and a half months now,” I recited. I had memorized that after being asked so many times by every family member that showed up.
“That’s a pretty long time,” my dad commented.
“Yeah, it is…” I looked over at Lena in the dining room, getting along perfectly with my aunts and cousins and sisters and my mom. She laughed at something Jackie said and I felt myself cracking a smile. When I thought about how long we had been together and how well things were going and all the feelings I had, I realized that I might want something more than what we already had.
“Do you think it would be a bad idea to do something…big…in the middle of the season? I mean, I don’t want to get too distracted from hockey, but…I don’t know.” I knew I had to be sounding so cryptic, but I didn’t want anyone to overhear the conversation I was having with my dad.
“Are you thinking of doing something drastic? Have you thought it over?” my dad wondered. He knew me too well, and he spoke in a hushed tone.
“I haven’t really thought about it until tonight. I mean, I know I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and things are going so well that it’s unbelievable. It’s just that, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m pretty sure it’s what I want,” I explained.
“Well, you know I love Lena. We all do. She’s a sweetheart, and I can tell that you guys make each other happy. If it’s what you want, I know the whole family will support it. Don’t rush into anything, definitely think some more, but I’m all for it if you’re sure,” my dad said. His words made me feel better. I still wanted to talk to my teammates just to get help and more opinions, but I was definitely glad to hear how positive my father was. Lena and my sisters joined us in the living room at that point, but I felt good about our conversation, and I didn’t mind ending it.
My family members all left once the game was over and dessert had been eaten, and before it got too late, Brian and Lena’s parents left too. They planned on staying in Buffalo for another day, but they insisted on staying in a hotel so they could get up early and explore without taking up too much space or disturbing anyone. Lena, on the other hand, spent the night with me. It wasn’t as if she took up a lot of room, considering the fact that my parents didn’t care about her sharing my room with me. It felt strange at first to have a girl in my bed with me in my childhood room, with my parents in the house. It seemed wrong, but then I remembered that we were adults in a committed relationship and this was the way it would be for holidays in the future, and I decided I could get used to it. With that thought, I noticed that Lena had completely passed out next to me, probably exhausted from the craziness of the evening. I stayed awake and listened to her steady breathing for a while before my frantic mind finally was able to shut down. When it did, I fell into a deep sleep that was necessary after a night of such serious thoughts.

Notes

Hey guys! I know I just updated yesterday, but I got a lot of writing done and I wanted to update again, so here you go! Let me know what you think of the chapter :)