Shadows (Patrick Kane)

(31) Sobriety Pack

Patrick

I've been to a few Bears games out here in my time in Chicago. I'm a Bills fan being from Buffalo but I do appreciate what they do with the Hawks. They always invite us to games and cheer us on when we're in the playoffs. We have some of their players come do shoot the puck and it's fun to talk to them. Funny to see these huge guys on the ice just imagining them trying to get around on skates. Unfortunately they haven't had much success recently, but we're hoping Henry can pull through. I had his jersey on and was rooting for him. I know how a city like this can eat you alive if you don't live up to their expectations of you. And this is his first real game so you wouldn't think it's the end of the world if he inevitably makes a mistake or two. But the world if sports isn't that forgiving.

I was up in the boxes for the game today and Sophia was up in the media room. They had the game on the TV's in here so I wouldn't miss her big live television debut. And since she wasn't going to be on tv while the game is being played I got to text her for the game.

You nervous?

You mean for me or for my brother?

Both.

I feel great. I got the bracelet you gave me on and a pair of earrings from Henry so I feel ready. My brother on the other hand... that's a different story.

It doesn't help that Henry will face the Packers in his first real game. A rivalry that started way before he ever played a snap here and will last long after he's gone. So in a already intense game he faces even more adversity. I hope he has a will like his sisters. That's all I got to say.

The first half comes and goes and I retreat to a tv for halftime. I smile to myself seeing Soph on the screen doing her thing. She still had a while before she does our games but I couldn't wait to record the games then come back and watch her talk about us. She was a natural in front of a camera unlike me.

It was a rough first two quarters for Henry and the Bears. He had a touchdown and a interception and it honestly wasn't awful. He was hitting open guys and using his legs to keep him mobile. But he was hesitant. Timid. Unsure. Three things that gets you eaten alive in the NFL. And Sophia was letting him know.

"What does it take to be a great quarterback in this league? You can say Brady's Accuracy, Rodger's arm strength, Wilson's legs or Manning's heart. You can take things from each future hall of famer to mold your game around but in the end, the only person out there is you. You don't have these guys out there with you telling you how it's done. But to be a quarterback in this league you have to be undeniably you. Use Henry legs, Henry's arm and Henry's heart. I know he has it in him. It's not his dad out there. If Henry wants to be what this city so desperately wants, so desperately needs, he needs to be himself. And the rest will work out" she says.

Second half comes and Henry is firing right out of the gates. It certainly seemed like he got some sense knocked into him. After a dismal performance in the first half he picked it up and showed just why he was what this organization asked for. What I was to the Hawks my rookie season is what he was to the Bears now. A glimmer of hope of better days ahead. This city needed a reason to believe in football. The monsters of the midway can get them so far without a generational QB. And now it looks like they have him.

Sophia interviews her brother after a hard fought win and they have great chemistry. All hard feelings seemed to be slipping away from them. Of course their dad is out of the picture now so that helps, but they seemed in good spirits which made me happy.

I wait until Sophia is released from her job and I steal her away. We head to the bar we first met at and grabbed some drinks.

"Is your brother coming" I ask.

"Nope. My dad said I am a bad influence and he shouldn't be caught drinking with me around game times" she snickers.

"You know I don't think he's wrong" I joke.

"I can leave if you want" she tells me.

"Please don't" I beg as I grab her wrist. I quickly retreat my hand once I realized that caused my heart to beat faster as I put my hand back around my drink. "All I'm saying is that my season is about to start and I don't know how much longer I can get away with spending my nights in a bar" I try.

"You're not drinking in season now" she raises her eyebrow.

"Not as often, no. And if I do drink I should do it at home away from people trying to lie about me. I think it's about time I start taking my job... my life seriously" I try.

"So I'm supposed to come here alone" she asks.

"You don't have to come alone. I prefer you don't knowing how crazy some of the guys around here are. Don't want a desperate guy showing up asking you to get back together with him and no one be there to save your ass" I tease.

"So you want me coming to the bar with another man I trust" she challenges.

"Of course not" I shake my head.

"So I just sit around the apartment every night drinking by myself" she questions.

"I can't tell you how to live your life Posey. I know you want people to just tell you what to do but I can't. I don't have the answers you need. All I know is that after spending the summer at home with you I realized that I was lost. Not wandering but lost. And I want to focus on things that matter without distractions. This is a distraction" I admit.

"Oh, and I'm not" she challenges.

"Not if you're something I-" I start. She sets her drink down and I realize this was a path we were not ready to cross. "You're not a distraction. Trust me."

"So what? We make some kind of sobriety pack" she wonders.

"I never said I'm going to stop drinking" I assure her. "I just think it would be better to spend less time in bars and more time working on ourselves" I say.

"Are we breaking up" she jokes as I roll my eyes.

"No we're not breaking up. But you just started your career and you looked amazing doing what you do. I can see it in your eyes. You love it. I don't want to ruin what we've been working so hard for in this bar. We would be better off somewhere else" I insist.

"What if I don't want to stop" she wonders.

"I'm not going to be in your way of coming here. I just won't be with you" I say.

She lets out a long sigh as she shakes her head. Her fingers slowly push her drink away and I smile. "I hope we're both too drunk to remember what was decided tonight" she mumbles.

"I already decided this. And you don't have to do this because I am" I assure her.

"No Pat, I do. Not because I follow you blindly but because in this life we walk side by side lifting each other up. And we can't do that in two different places" she claims.

"We can just hang at my place instead. It'll be fun" I promise.

"I sure hope so" she smirks.