The Hockey Life

PART FIFTY-EIGHT: BIG NEWS
When I got into my apartment, everything was so calm. The TV was on, showing commercials in between bits of some show on Bravo. There was a cup of fresh, steaming hot chocolate sitting on the coffee table and Tess was slumped on the couch.
“Hey, how’d it go?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the TV. “Where’d he take you?”
“Well, we basically re-did our first date. We had dinner at Ciao Bella and then we went to Millennium Park to skate,” I explained as I took off my coat and stepped out of my heels.
“Fun! So, what did he get you besides the roses?”
“Oh, not much, really,” I said as I made my way over to Tess, who was now actually looking at me. “Just some jewelry, that’s all,” I added, waving my hand around to make it obvious.
“What the hell is that?” Tess suddenly asked as she grabbed my arm.
“It’s my anniversary gift,” I grinned.
“He proposed?!” Tess wondered as she examined the ring.
“He did. On the ice in the park.” I tried so hard to sound nonchalant, but I was bursting with excitement on the inside as I relived the moment in my head.
“So for your one year anniversary he freaking proposed to you on center ice in the middle of Millennium Park on a beautiful, snowy winter night in the Windy City?!” I nodded. “You lucky girl, you! Congratulations!” she yelled as she pulled me into a suffocating bear hug.
“Thanks. I seriously could not even believe it when it happened. I didn’t even think when he asked, I just said yes. I was so shocked that it was kind of a blur,” I laughed.
“You meant it when you said yes, though, right?” Tess checked.
“Of course I did! Do you seriously think I would ever not want to marry him, after all the times I told you how happy he makes me?”
“No, I was just checking to make sure you weren’t drugged at the restaurant,” Tess clarified. “Damn, now I actually have to be nice to Kaner. I can hardly call him a jerk anymore, now that he’s done this,” she decided. “This is bad news for Johnny, though. If he ever decides he wants to marry me, he’ll have to beat this proposal, and that’ll be pretty difficult.”
“True that!”
I stayed up long enough that night to tell my parents and Brian the big news. I had friends to tell, of course, but they would have to wait. I would be up all night talking if I told them, and quite frankly, I wanted to get some sleep. I called my parents and Brian, who were only slightly surprised because Patrick hadn’t told them exactly when he was going to pop the question. I sent pictures of the ring and they let me go, so I changed out of my dressy clothes, took off my makeup, brushed my teeth, and hit the hay.
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I got up at my normal time in the morning for practice. I had some extra time after I got ready, so I created a group text between my friends from hockey and I sent a text saying, “Someone popped the question last night!” along with a picture of the ring on my finger. I knew my phone would blow up, but I wouldn’t have to tend to it until after practice was over. I slipped it into my purse and headed out the door when Patrick got there to pick me up.
“So, how did everyone react to the news?” Patrick asked in the car.
“My parents and Brian were really happy for me. For us, actually,” I said. “You know Tess, she went crazy. I sent out a mass text to my old teammates but they aren’t awake yet, so my phone will be vibrating non-stop during practice today once they’re up,” I explained.
“That sounds about right,” Patrick decided. “My parents already knew it was happening, but they were still pretty excited. My sisters are already asking about the wedding. I told a few of the guys but I’m sure the whole team knows by now. I swear they gossip more than girls sometimes,” he rolled his eyes.
Sure enough, as soon as we arrived and the players saw me, something was said.
“So I hear Peeks made a very grown up move last night,” Sharpy said.
“I’m twenty-five years old, I do grown up things all the time,” Patrick assured him.
“Whatever you say, Kaner,” Sharpy retorted. I just smiled and shook my head as Patrick shoved his older teammate into the door frame.
“Well, did he do a good job?” Bickell asked me.
“He did an amazing job,” I replied. Patrick and I both received a chorus of congrats before I left the guys alone to get dressed and I found my fellow trainers.
As I expected, once practice was over, I had a ton of replies from friends, asking for details and saying congrats. I enjoyed replying to them all. It was nice that everyone was being so positive. I just hoped that it would stay that way.
That afternoon I packed a bag and Patrick and I got on a plane with the rest of the team to go to Nashville for an away game the next day. By the time we arrived there, we all were hungry, so we got settled in our hotels and then went to Red Robin. I honestly loved team meals. They had to be one of my favorite things about road trips. The guys always had a lot of fun and I liked being a part of that.
After our big meal and a not-so-relaxing swim at the hotel’s indoor pool, we all were exhausted. Of course, nobody would be excused from the morning practice, so almost everyone went to bed early, including me. I needed an early start on sleep the most, it seemed. Even though I had been on quite a few road trips already, I still didn’t sleep well in hotels. They were just unsettling to sleep in. It was probably just a dumb psychological thing, but it took a toll on me anyways. I was just thankful that I wasn’t a player when I got up in the morning, not at all ready to function at such an early hour.
That night the Hawks played really well and won the game, which ended up having a score of 5-3. I was glad we got the win but even more overjoyed by the thought of sleeping in my own bed. The flight back to Chicago wasn’t a long one, but it was late. By the time we got home, I was too lazy to even take off my makeup before I flopped into bed and drifted off to sleep.

Notes