Dream On (Jonathan Toews)

Chapter Sixteen| Valentines Day

Jonathan

First game home from the road trip was a shut out of the Preds and then a shoot out loss to the ducks. 13 games in and we still haven't lost in regulation, earning a point in each game. As the schedule fell we didn't have a game or practice on Valentine's Day so I could plan something with Mary Kate. "Hey, can you maybe get lost for a few hours tomorrow" I ask Pat as he goes into the living room. "Well since you asked so nicely" he trails off and I roll my eyes. "Please Pat... don't make this harder than it needs to" I beg. "Yeah yeah, I'll go mess with Shaw or Sharpy or something" he says waiving me off. "You're the best" I call out and he flips me the bird. So kind.

The next morning I wake up to the smell of food cooking. I roll out of bed and let my feet hit the cold hardwood floor. I make my way down the hallway I hear music and laughing. As my eyes adjust I see Mary Kate in one of my t-shirts dancing to a maroon 5 song while cooking. The island had bacon and heart shaped pancakes and eggs and French toast, everything you could think of. "What is this" I ask looking at all the food. "I decided to make you guys some Valentine's Day breakfast. It's a unnecessary holiday, but a holiday none-the-less. So we have eggs, fresh fruit, heart shaped pancakes, and bacon, both Canadian and American" she says and I sit at the island. "Did Patrick help cook, because I can just leave now" I say as he sends me a glare. "No, he was the honorary DJ" she laughs sitting next to me. We all eat a nice meal before I kick out Patrick. "You know, if you keep walking round here without a shirt on I'm not sure I can stick to these plans" she says cleaning up. "Yeah, because you wearing my shirt as a dress is fair to me" I laugh cleaning up the dishes. "Happy Valentine's Day" she says going to her tippie toes to kiss me. "Happy Valentine's Day" I say back with a smile.

"So what are our plans" Mary Kate asks me as we finish picking up and I finally get Patrick to leave. "I know you're not into the big plans and all the fancy stuff so I thought we could stay in pajamas and watch Disney movies all day" I say causing her to smile. "That sounds amazing" she replies and I feel a chill crawl down my spine. I grab a few pillows and blankets while she pops the popcorn. I knew she loved Disney movies so I grabbed The Lion King, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Hercules. She returns to the living room with the largest bowl she could find filled with popcorn and two hot chocolates. I sit on the floor and she places herself in my lap as I wrap a blanket around us. I take a cup of hot chocolate and press play on the DVD player as the beginning of the Lion King cues up.

Somewhere during Aladdin she fell asleep and I take a bunch of funny pictures with her. Eventually she starts stirring and wraps her arms around my waist and grabs me tightly. At first I thought nothing of it until her grip tightened and her face scrunched up. When her breathing picked up decide to wake up because it seemed like she was having a nightmare. "Sweetie, wake up" I say rubbing her back and he eyes shoot open. "Oh shoot, did I fall asleep on you" she asks. "Yeah, but it was really cute" I say tapping her nose and she giggles. "I have something for you" she says seriously and springs from my lap. All the heat built up from the last few hours escapes and I feel cold for more reasons than one. She returns with a guitar case and I just stare at her. "You didn't" I say and she hands it to me. "I did, open it" she instructs me and I follow. Inside was a stunning wooden guitar and I take it out to tune it. "Why did you get this for me" I ask as I strum my fingers across the chords. It was a beautiful guitar. "Because you said it's something you wanted but probably would never get for yourself. So I wanted to get it for you" she says with a smile. "Do you sing" I ask. "Depends on the song" she replies. "Do you know this one" I ask playing one of the few songs I know how to play on the guitar. "I do, I love Bruno Mars" she says moving closer to me. I continue to play and she sways to the beat before singing the words. Just The Way You Are was one of my favorite songs and it sounded even better coming out of her mouth. "You didn't tell me you can sing" I say setting the guitar down. "You never asked" she shrugs. "Thanks for the guitar. How'd you know I wanted this" I wonder. "I know things" she smirks. I've wanted my own guitar since I was a little boy but never got around to it. A month and a half with her and she learns things about me that even I forgot about.

Patrick comes back a little while later and we all decide to go skate at Navy Pier. We all bring our skates and enjoy the brisk February air that was coming across the lake. "I got something for you" I announce as I skate hand in hand with Mary Kate. "Is it a signed Jonathan Toews rookie card? I've aaaaalways wanted one" she jokes and I nudge her. "No, smart ass, it's not" I say digging a small box out of my coat pocket before placing it in her free hand. She lets go of my hand to open the box revealing a heart shaped locket. On the front it had "For The Girl Who Never Wakes Up From Dreaming" and had a picture of us on the ice together in it. "Jonathan, this is amazing... I'm... I'm speechless" she says placing her hand over her heart. "It's something little compared to all you've done for me, but in pretty proud of it" I admit. I take it out the box and place it around her neck. "I'm never taking this off" she says and I smile. I'm glad she likes it. We continue to skate around and Patrick played with little kids who recognized him. He loved interacting with fans. "I will never get over how great this city and the people in it are" she sighs looking over the city. "I can honestly say that's the second prettiest sight out here tonight" I say squeezing her hand. "If you keep complimenting me you're never going to get rid of me" she joked. "I hope you never leave" I admit.