Chapter 40

It was February 8th. Jon was sitting on a bed in a hotel room in San Jose, staring at the team schedule. They hadn't won a game since January 20th. There had been six games between then and now, and they had earned one point in a game pushed to overtime. The slide had knocked them down several places in the conference rankings. He was running out of ways to try and motivate the team. He was also running out of ways to tell the media the team was working on it. Sometimes he just wanted to yell “We fucking suck, alright?” Last night he had almost gone there, telling a reporter “It's not like we're enjoying this.” The quote had gotten him a long voice-mail from Elia. “Don't forget you're playing a game, you can't win if you aren't having fun first!” she had said. Then there was a lot of rambling about what it was like to live in space. He opened his phone and looked at the text she had sent him. “Check out my space gun and my space motorcycle!” Her space jumpsuit and space face were really cute. They hadn't directly spoken to each other since the night in Millennium Park. Western time zone versus eastern time zone problems.
“Has Elia posted anything on her twitter today?” Jon asked Patrick, who was sitting across the room, browsing the internet on his tablet.
“Get your own damned twitter, and follow her, and then you won't have to stalk her through my phone,” Kane replied, annoyed, throwing his phone to Jon. He opened Kane's twitter app. For the past several days Elia hadn't put anything on her twitter except what she was calling #awkwardpicsoftomcruiseeating, which was literally just pictures of her costar in the middle of eating something. He wondered if she had gone to anymore Leafs games. He scrolled through her profile more.
“She favorited one of Joffrey Lupul's tweets, what do you think that means?” Jon asked.
“Probably they've been banging like rabbits and now she's pregnant with his child.”
“WHAT.”
“God, please go back to obsessing about our losing streak!” Pat cried. “Have you ever thought about what would happen if you actually nut up made a move on El and you two actually started dating?” Pat asked.
Jon didn't even validate the question with a response. Of course he had, he thought about it all the time. Kane could be so dense sometimes. Nut up? He was just waiting for the right time. Jon rolled his eyes.
“No, I mean it, you already get jealous about all this shit. Remember when we met El, and she had a boyfriend and was still all over Burish, and staying out with us all night? And then even when she was with Marchand she was all handsy with Biz. In People magazine's Celebrity Yearbook thing she is always voted 'Least Likely to Keep Her Clothes On.' I love her to death but she's a flirt and the girl cannot keep her pants on,” Pat continued.
“It would be different if we were together,” Jon interrupted.
“What makes you think it would be different?” Pat asked. Jon was getting annoyed by the questioning.
“Cause I would let her know it bothered me and she wouldn't do it anymore,” he said.
“Wow. That's your solution? What about when she goes away for a few months to film a movie. You going to tell her not to? Sounds familiar.” Pat shook his head, giving up. “Look, if anything ever happens between you guys, I don't want to be in the middle. Leave me out of it.”
Pat's phone started ringing. Jon silenced the call and went back to twitter.
“Did you just deny a call?” Pat asked.
“It's just Amanda.” Jon answered.
“You're being a real asshole right now, give me my phone back.”
“Hold on a sec,”
Kane got off his bed and walked over to Jon. He tried to take his phone back, but Jon resisted. It quickly escalated to them yelling and wrestling each other. When they knocked over a night stand they heard someone at their door. It was Seabrook, with Duncan behind him now.
“The hell is going on in here?” he asked.
“Nothing, I tripped,” Jon lied.
Seabs and Duncs looked disappointed, and went back to their own room. It was stupid to fight with Kaner, Jon knew. It wasn't just about the phone or Elia. The tension between the team had been high. Everyone was frustrated, everyone was pissed about losing, and anything could set someone off. Jon and Pat had been together a long time, almost five years, and sometimes that meant they took their frustration out on each other. Pat had learned not to expect an apology from Toews. The Captain wasn't the type to say he was sorry. Kane used to wonder if Jon ever even realized when he did something wrong or if he just had trouble saying it. Eventually he just stopped caring. Jon was Jon and Pat had accepted it.
That tension exploded in the game against San Jose. Eleven minutes into the game half of both the teams were sent to the box for roughing, even Jonathan had drawn a penalty. Later Jamal Mayers had gotten a major for fighting. The Sharks scored on both power plays, of course. Because their power play wasn't completely useless. They lost 5-3. If they hadn't given away those goals, it would have been a tie game. Jon was pissed when they got back to the hotel. He called Elia. It was a long shot. He knew she had her charity thing in Boston, and it was almost two in the morning eastern time. Elia stayed up late a lot though. She liked to rib Jon for going to bed early, but never wanted to admit that she frequently took several hours long naps in the middle of the day, and ingested enough caffeine to probably kill a horse. He hoped she would pick up. It went to voice-mail. He sighed and tried to go to sleep.
The Blackhawks lost again the next night to the Coyotes. Not just a loss, a shut out. Jon had a text from Elia the morning after the game, “Hoss says you need an ugly win. Take sharpie off your line and put in John Scott. Duh, omg I should be a coach ;)” That would be ugly. He forwarded the text to Q, smiling at the ridiculousness of the suggestion. Their game the next day was in Nashville. They still didn't win, but their play had finally improved. The Preds had been on a losing streak too, ironically. It was February 16th when the Hawks finally won again. For some reason, they exploded right out of the puck drop, scoring four goals in the first period. Crow did a great job in goal, keeping the Rangers to two goals. Jon was relieved, but knew they had a long road ahead of them. They had to make up for all the points they had just lost in the past month. He didn't want to be too hard on the guys, but they needed to stay focused. Addressing the media that night he reiterated what he told the team “we can't be comfortable with this win for one second."
There was one more road game before they could finally head home to Chicago. They crushed it, beating the Blue Jackets 6 to 1. Now they could start breathing. The flight home the next morning was the first time in weeks that the team had been anything but silent while traveling. Guys were busting out the PSP's, watching movies. Laughing. Jon was ecstatic. Not only had they won, but Elia would be back in Chicago tomorrow night.
“The fuck are you smiling about?” Dave Bolland asked from over the seat in front of Jon.
“Uh, nothing, the win. The win.” he answered. Kane, sitting next to him, laughed. He knew.
“You didn't reply to my wife's email and now she's emailing me about it, asshole.” Bolly continued.
“What are you talking about?” Kaner asked.
“Not you, Amanda replied for you. I'm talking to Toews. We're having brunch at my house tomorrow, to welcome everyone back in town. You need to rsvp so Julia knows how many mini quiches to make or some shit like that.”
“You're going?” Jon asked Kane.
“I guess I am.” he said, sounding confused.
“Yeah, I'm in then Bolly.”

Dave sat back down in his seat, satisfied that he had been answered. Jon positioned a pillow between his head and the wall of the plane and slowly relaxed. He looked out the window for a time, watching the farmland pass by below. Everything was grey and brown in the February cold. They should be over Indiana by now. The plane passed into some clouds, and the world was obscured by white. Jon closed his eyes for a short rest. He dreamed they were in the Stanley Cup Finals again, and he kept having to fight Brad Marchand. Bolly was in the dream, and scored the final goal to win the Cup. They were giving Kaner the Conn Smythe trophy, but Jon was looking for Elia. He couldn't find her. People kept pouring out on to the ice but he didn't recognize them. Elia wasn't there. But Lindsay was. Kaner was shaking him now.
He opened his eyes to see that Kaner really was shaking him. He motioned for him to stop, and sat upright. He didn't think he was going to fall asleep that hard. The rest of the team was already pulling their carry-on bags out of the over head compartment. Jon rubbed his eyes, thinking about the dream. He shouldn't talk to Bolly before sleeping anymore, that was too weird, and fucking Kaner, getting in his head.
As soon as he got home Jon dropped his bag by the door and collapsed on the couch. He meant to lay down only a few minutes, but when he opened his eyes three hours had passed and the sun had gone down. Outside the city had lit up. Who needs stars when your city shines as bright as this, Elia liked to say, but she had never seen the northern lights dance across the Canadian sky either. One day.
The long road trip had been mentally and physically exhausted, and they had another game tomorrow. He walked to his kitchen, opening a drawer where he kept take out menus. Nothing sounded good. He would just call and order something from Filini, a restaurant in his building. They didn't really do delivery, but they would do it for him. After ordering he turned on the tv and tried to find something to watch. In an hour he had a phone call scheduled with his family, but needed something to do between then and now. There was nothing on so he picked up a GQ from his coffee table. His food arrived. His parents called, and then his brother connected in. They never went more than a week without talking. Hockey dominated the conversation a lot of the time, but his parents always had something going on back home. The family talked for about an hour before they said their goodbyes. Jon checked to see if he had any new text messages, then went to sleep.

About a dozen members of the team showed up to Bolland's house for brunch the next day. Jon was one of the last people to arrive. It was unusual for Julia to host dinner parties or anything like that, so he was unsure of what to expect. She wasn't exactly known for her cooking or baking skills. The dining room table had already been set with plates and a several dishes of food. Each place set did indeed have a mini-quiche, and there was fruit, scones, bacon, sausages, and a plethora of other breakfast items. Pitchers of fresh squeezed juices had been set at either side. Sharpie, Duncan and Seabrook were already sitting at the table eating, with Kelly and Dayna. Crow and Sylvie were just sitting down next to Bickell, Shaw, Chaunette, Kane and Amanda. Jon made his way into the kitchen, where he found Amanda Caskenette, Abby, and Julia.
“Do you need any help?” He asked Julia. She gushed, thanking him for offering. She had a Paula Deen breakfast casserole in the oven but everything else was done. The ladies went back to their conversation, forgetting all about Jon. The Tribune was laying on the kitchen counter and Jon picked it up to check the Sports section. Underneath it was the Entertainment section, and there was Elia looking back at him. Elia Downs Bares Her Scars. It was an article about the brain research foundation and the charity event. Julia saw him looking at it.
“Oh Jonny, have you seen the RedEye?” she asked. He shook his head. She walked around the counter and opened the pantry. There was a paper bag of recycle papers on the floor. She picked through it before pulling one out, and handed it to him. It was on the back page.
Chicago's very own superstar Elia Downs sat down with RedEye contributor Dana Moran to answer our reader submitted questions.
Elia: Why are you always writing such weird shit about me? (laughs)
Dana: In an interview, the interviewer usually asks the questions. Why are you always doing such weird shit?
Elia: touche.
Dana: This is from one of our Twitter followers: Are there any films or shows you regret not being a part of?
Elia: Space Jam
Dana: You had an opportunity to be in Space Jam?
[Elia doesn't answer]
Dana: Would you like to address the Paul Bissonnette topless photo scandal?
Elia: I don't consider it a scandal, there is nothing to address. We had another school shooting two months ago, and haven't figured out how to prevent it from happening again, that, to me, is a [expletive] scandal. A pair of tits is not a scandal.

“No, look at the bottom,” Julia told him. The bottom of the page was a blurb about Jon and Elia. New Couple Alert? It said. There were reader submitted photos of them all over town together, walking around downtown, getting dinner, sitting with their arms around each other under the bean that night. The newspaper had asked readers to give their opinion on the couple. One reader sent in, “If Elia Downs and Captain Serious are a couple the city will stage a coup and oust Rahm Emanuel. A monarchy will be established hailing them King and Queen of the city. Long may they reign!” Another was less than pleased, “Ugh, keep the succubus away from Tazer, at least until the season ends.”
“Oh don't read it all, some of those people are mean!” Julia said, taking the paper from him. The timer went off on the oven, and she walked over to take out the casserole. The Hjalmarrsons had arrived sometime, and Elina walked into the kitchen, smiling. Amanda C almost screamed when she came in, running over to give her a hug. Abby and Julia both said hello. Jon gave Elina a hug hello and started to leave the kitchen when he heard Amanda say, “What is the hot gossip you keep teasing me with!?” Elina walked around the kitchen, still smiling. She was enjoying the moment of having information nobody else did. Jon tried to hang around to listen, but Julia asked him to take the food to the table. He walked back to the dining room and set the dish down on the table. Carcillo had arrived at some point, and Jon sat down next to him, grabbing some food. It was only a few minutes before the ladies came back out from the kitchen, smiling like high schoolers.
After sitting down at the table Caskenette asked, “Has anyone heard from Elia lately anyway?”
“I texted her to come sit with us at the game tonight but I haven't heard back,” Amanda said.
“Me too, but she usually doesn't respond during the day,” Abby added.
“From her Instagram it looks like she is having too much fun in Toronto, maybe she doesn't want to come back,” Elina said.
“Yeah, I'd say she's having some fun,” Carcillo said, smirking.
“What is her Instagram?” Jon asked. Pat rolled his eyes, and handed his girlfriend's phone over to Jon. Amanda didn't bother resisting.
“What do you know!?” Caskenette asked, playfully hitting Dan on the shoulder. He just laughed. Toews was only half listening now, looking at Elia's Instagram. He couldn't believe that Pat had never mentioned it before. Pictures of Elia on set, hanging out with the Leafs, looks like they had gone paintballing, lots of pictures with Elisha, drinking with Kanye, Two Chainz and Drake, and...hanging out with Dave Bolland's parents?
“Bolly there is a picture of Elia with your parents on her Instagram?” Jonathan asked. Dave laughed, “Yeah, Elia went to a bake sale with my mom. You'll have to ask her about that.”
“Tell me!” Amanda C was still asking Carcillo.
He finally stopped laughing long enough to say, “She called me like last week to ask me about premature ejaculation.”
Everyone stopped what they were saying and looked at Carcillo.
“I told her I didn't know anything about that, I don't do that,” he said, looking defensive.
“Is there context to this question, or does Downs just have a general interest in the subject?” Sharp asked.
“I guess she hooked up with some guy and he happened to bust his nut early, and she was wondering if he would think to rub one out before they hung out the next time or if she should suggest it to him.” All the guys laughed except Jon, who was incredibly disturbed by the news.
“Eeew, I don't want to talk about this!” Elina protested.

“I agree this is wrong to talk about. What was this guy's name?” Jon said. Carcillo shrugged. He hadn't asked, and he hadn't gotten a follow up story, except for some thumbs up emojis a few days later. That was the most he had heard from her recently, although they had exchanged some emails about songs. The table kept talking but Jon was staring at the Instagram pictures. When he and Elia did connect, they had great, meaningful conversations, or so he thought. He thought they had been getting closer and closer. Maybe he didn't really know her as well as he thought.

Notes