The Hockey Life - A Patrick Kane Fanfic

Part Four - The First Day

PART FOUR: THE FIRST DAY

The drive actually went by relatively quickly, which surprised me. I had been lucky that the roads had been plowed. Even by my house, the roads were pretty clear, which surprised me. I had lived in the same house my whole life. I lived ten minutes outside of town, which wasn’t all that far, but it was far enough to give me and my family a lot of privacy. We had neighbors, but we all had big lots and our houses didn’t feel smooshed together like they seemed to be in town.

When I pulled into my long, winding driveway, I realized how much I had missed being there. I still loved the beautiful, brick house I had grown up in. I remembered playing outside with Brian in the roomy backyard. We spent our summers on the patio with my dad grilling and we spent our winters snowboarding down the one big hill until we got too cold. This house made me so nostalgic.

“I’m home!” I announced as I went inside. Pine scents wafted up to my nose as soon as I got in - my mom definitely had her winter candles out. Besides the amazing aroma, I was also greeted by my dog Puck. As usual, he seemed really happy to see me, and I was happy to see him too.

"Hi there Puck! Did you miss me?" I asked, and I was showered in doggy kisses.

“Hi Lena! How was the drive?” my mom wondered, coming up to me and pulling me into a hug once Puck calmed down.

“Not too bad, actually. They plowed the roads out here for once, it’s a miracle!” I said as my dad and Brian walked into the hall from the kitchen to see me. Of course they had been in the kitchen. That seemed to be their favorite room in the house.

“Hey Lean!” Dad greeted me. I hugged him too, and Brian was next. Once they all had squeezed me to death, they took me into the kitchen and I realized why Dad and Brian had been in there. They had ordered a pizza from me and Brian’s favorite local pizza place.

“I don’t know if you’ve had lunch yet, but I figured you wouldn’t turn down your favorite pizza,’ my mom said, and she was right. I actually hadn’t had lunch yet, so I was pretty hungry. I put a few pieces on a plate and sat down with my family to eat.

“So when does your internship start?” my dad asked.

“Tomorrow. And since it’s in the city and it’s two weeks long, I’m only going to be here for a few days, to save on gas,” I explained.

“That’s understandable, as long as you come back for Christmas!” my mom responded. Ha, as if I would miss a Christmas with my family. Not a chance. It was my favorite holiday because I got to see my whole entire family all at once, which pretty much never happened otherwise.

“So you’ll get us some autographs, right?” Brian asked, laughing.

“Yeah, I’ll take a signed stick if you don’t mind. I may be getting old, but I’ve still got some game,” my dad added.

“Very funny you two. This internship isn’t going to just be all fun and games, you know. I might not even get to meet the players. And if I do, it’s not like it’s going to be a party and I’ll be able to hang out with them and get all their signed stuff every day. It’s a learning experience, I’ll have to actually work. I don’t know if you knew, but that’s kind of what an internship is,” I explained. As amazing that would be to hang out with the players and have fun with them every day, that wasn’t what I was expecting. I planned on working hard in hopes that I’d get to at least see the Hawks in person. I mean, they would be busy with practices and games there, so I figured I could at least say I was there with them, the up and coming legends.

“We know, we were just kidding, Lean. But don’t take this experience too seriously. Work hard and do your best, but have fun with it. You’re very lucky to be in the position you’re in and you have to enjoy it,” my dad told me, and Brian nodded. They were right, as usual. I loved them to death, but they always did this. They teamed up to prove a point so they could say “I told you so” later. It was for the best, though.