God Bless The Broken Road (Jonathan Toews)

Heartbreaker

Jonathan

The LA Kings. Defending Stanley cup champions and the only thing standing between us and the western conference finals. They had a real quick defensive minded game and we knew it should be tough to complete a series against them. Naturally you would think that it would be a close series but it was quite the opposite really. Going into tonight we had a 3-1 series lead and was hoping to end this sooner rather than later. That's easier said than done but crazier things have happened in a post season.

After morning skate I go home where something always seems to be happening. One time Dagger decided to play in the mud then share some of the fun with everyone else... and the floors and walls among other things. Then there was the time Everly escaped from her crib and was found outside of Jackson's door trying to get him to come play with her. My personal favorite was when Maisie was asleep on the couch and Jackson was practicing braiding hair so he could play dress up with Everly later on. It took her hours to get through her hair again. But she never yelled at us, she says there's no point. We know when we've done wrong and as long as it doesn't happen again she won't be upset. That woman has a lot of self restraint in a house of four boys.

But today I came home and it was dead silent. Everything was cleaned up and not a soul was in sight. The baby monitor was on so I assume Mason was napping along with Everly. The basement door was closed so I assumed Jackson and Sam was down there, but where would my wife be?

"Maisie" I call out yet no one answers. I go into the kitchen and see sam fixing lunch.

"Hello Mr. Toews, are you hungry" he asks handing me a plate. There was a sandwich and fresh fruits and vegetables on there. My favorite.

"Um yeah, thank you. Where is Maisie" I ask.

"We ran out of baby food so she had to run to the store. The babies are asleep and Jackson is training in the basement" he informs me.

"Okay then, did you make this" I ask holding up the plate.

"Yeah, I know you have a big game today and you said this was your favorite so I fixed it while Maisie was out" he shrugs.

"That's really sweet of you" I say and we sit on the couch. It falls silent and he just watches me eat. It was kind of weird. We were still getting used to each other but I honestly haven't had a single complaint since he moved in with us. I decide to make a little small talk to get to know him better.

"So what are your plans for the summer" I ask.

"I don't know. Maybe find some books to read up on. Chill in the pool" he shrugs.

"Is there anything wanted to try? Baseball or football, soccer or hockey" I wonder.

"I don't think I'm the athletic type. At least not like Jackson is. The dude is talented. If you're not good at something don't stick to that, so I'll probably stick to the books. Maybe do some camps or something" he claims.

"We can get that for you. You really like helping people don't you?"

"Yeah. If I can't help myself I want to help other people."

"You know... you're a lot like Maisie."

"I know. She told me how she grew up in the house next to mine. What she did for Jackson, that's really sweet. I hope I can impact someone's life like that some day."

"You already impacted our lives, that's for sure. So what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I want to be a advocate. Voice of the people who can no longer use theirs. Fight for the people who can no longer fight. Be the difference in this world" he replies causing me to smile. Those are strong words for a almost nine year old. He was going to do great things, I already know it.

"Do you miss your dad" I ask randomly. He stirs in his seat and I felt bad for asking, but I was curious.

"Yeah, sometimes more than others. But I'm already doing a lot better in the month I've been here than the eight years I was there. I've made friends and being able to be a part of something like what your doing with your team, it's something I thank God for every day. You're a great captain and a hell of a player, I don't know a lot about hockey but I know that much. Being able to see all this first hand, it's a honor really" he shrugs. I pat his shoulder and he looks up to me with those pretty hazel eyes.

"You can call me dad... if you want" I tell him. He smiles down at his hands before looking back up to me again.

"Thanks... dad."

I go to take a nap and wake up in time to change and head to the rink. My family sits in their usual spots all wearing my jersey and Maisie is behind a camera like always. I send her a wink as we take the ice for warm up and I see her shake her head. We get the game started and like all other post season games, it's intense. But 60 minutes proved not to be enough for this one. I sit on the bench and watch as my team fights to end this tonight. It was getting late and I know a lot of people wanted this to be done and be over now. I look to Q who gives the nod. You know, the line blender the nod. I jump over the boards with Patrick and we skate into the defensive zone. The defense battles for the puck down low and Bickell performs a perfect back check sending the puck my way. I keep my head up and see Patrick with me the whole time. It was a two on one and I wanted to make the goalie work for this. I keep my eyes on him but was thinking pass the whole time, I sauce a pass over the defenders stick and Patrick easily one times it past Quick. The horn sounds and all 22,000 fans were sent to their feet as Chelsea dagger plays in the background. I find Shaw and Patrick falling to the ice and jump on top of them.

"Fuck yeah Kaner, that's how you do it" I scream as chaos ensues around me.

"Beautiful fucking pass" he yells back with a smile. We finally get up off the ice and form the handshake line. We tell each other good luck in the future, because I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again, and then we all head to the locker room happy people. Corey gives the belt to Kaner and we close the book on this chapter. Now we set our minds to the WCF and whatever necessary to win the cup.