Dream On (Jonathan Toews)

Chapter Twenty-Seven| Backyard Barbeque

Mary Kate

We arrive at a quaint house in a small town in Canada and I take in my surroundings. This house looked a lot like the one I grew up in, it was rustic and homey, I loved it. "Welcome to my humble abode" Jonathan announces getting bags out the car. I grab my things as we walk up to the door and he knocks lightly. "Mary Kate" his mom exclaims pulling me into a hug. I've become very fond of her, she treated me like her daughter and it was a really good feeling that I haven't felt in such a long time. "What am I, stale pizza" Jonathan says teasing his mother. "Oh sweetie I'm happy to see you too" she says pulling him into a hug. "Come on in, get settled" she says moving out the doorway to let us in.

Jon and I unpack then I hop in the shower because planes make me feel gross. I change into a tank top and shorts and go downstairs to see Jon and his parents chilling on the couch. "There's my beautiful girlfriend" Jon smiles patting the seat next to him which I gladly take. "Hey guys, what's the plans for today" I ask. "Well we have a cookout planned for tonight but nothing until then" Bryan says and I nod. We sit around and talk for a while, it's been so crazy the last few days it was nice to just reflect. They were there for most of the important parts and it's nice to share those memories with them. It's easy to see where Jonny got his great personality from.

I help Bryan start the grill and prepare the food, I always loved barbecuing and Andrée even let me take a family recipe back to Chicago with me. The food was smelling good and people were starting to come in handfuls. "Hey Mary Kate, come here" Jon calls and I excuse myself from my conversation with his dad at the grill. "What's up Champ" I ask as he pulls me into his side tightly. "I wanted you to meet my hometown friends" he says with a bright smile. He loved where he came from and it was humbling. I meet a bunch of them and talk for what feels like forever. They were all so nice and when they asked questions and I answered. "So do you think you can beat Jon 1 on 1" one guy asks and I give him a smirk. "Hell yeah. He's not half as good as he thinks he is" I say nudging him. He knows I'm not being serious, I thought the world of him and wouldn't dream of demeaning all his hard work. "Oh she's sassy, I like it" one says and Jon sends a playful glare. We talk some more and decide to go out on the lake tomorrow which I was super excited about. I've always loved being in the water and we would be on a boat for most of the day. I liked his friends because they were all so nice, or maybe they were just being Canadian. I find it weird that lately I've been surrounded by nothing but boys and it made me that much giddier to get practices for the Olympics started.

I finish helping Bryan with the food then join Jon and his friends at the picnic table. "I missed you" Jon says placing a kiss on my head. "Awww that's cute" said the guy I knew as Jake. He was a nice guy but made me a little uncomfortable. I usually trust my instincts but brush this one off because I was far away from the place I was calling home with a bunch of new people and just think it's nerves. I enjoy the amazing meal Andrée and Bryan prepared and made sure to thank them for the food. As the night goes on I notice Jake keeps asking me unusual questions and would stare until I looked up at him. I just snuggle in closer to Jon who seemed to not see what happening. Eventually the night ends and I was thankful to be back in the house.

"So, are you and Jake close" I ask Jon setting out my PJs. "Jake? Not really. He's more of a friend to my friends than a friend of mine" he shrugs and I nod along. "Is he coming to the lake tomorrow" I wonder and he stops fiddling with his cloths to look at me. "Does he make you uncomfortable" he asks me and I look away. I didn't come up her to cause trouble, these were Jons friends and I wanted them to like me. "Don't you dare lie to me" he warns and I let out a breath I was unconsciously holding in. "Yes, okay. He does. You happy now" I say exasperated. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. "No, I'm not happy. I wish you would have said something sooner. Jakes not my favorite person, far from it. He's done some things that I'm not exactly happy to know about but he's still apart of my friend group. But you're the one I care about, so if he's bothering you tomorrow you have to let me know, okay" he asks and I nod. "Okay" I agree and we finally lay down. "My friends really like you" he informs me as he wraps his arms around me. I rest my hands on his large arm muscles and look at the ceiling. "What was it like growing up here" I ask. "I loved it. Sometimes I was sent away to play hockey but I always knew I had something good to come back to. When my dad made the rink out back the whole neighborhood would be out there at all hours. I had so many friends from school and hockey, this town really bands together. And even through all the success I've had so far, this place is where I will always retreat to. The people, the atmosphere, it's who I am. I never asked for a lake named after me or for my childhood rink to be named after me too, but it makes what I do that much better because I do it for them" he says. Halfway through that I started smiling like and idiot. I loved listening to him talk because more times than not he's super passionate about it and I love how in touch with himself he is. But the way he described growing up reminded me of my childhood. How I met most of my friends and being able to look forward to coming home. It was pretty cool that we shared that. I was about to ask another question until I notice he was asleep and I decide to fall asleep too.