Kind Hearted (Patrick Kane)

54- Everlasting Memories

Tori

After the funeral for Patrick's Grandpa we return home to Chicago for a little. We had some unfinished business to take care of here and I have to admit, it was good to be back. The Olympics were only a few days away but Patrick insisted he wanted to be back with his team before he left for the Olympics. There he would be playing against his teammates instead of with them and I thought that was such a unusual concept. But it should be exciting nonetheless.

"It's weird that you and Jonathan are going to be playing on different teams. You guys are like hockey soul mates" I insist and he laughs.

"What makes you say that" he asks.

"Well you guys lived together until Gracie and Jon wanted a place of their own. You and Jon do everything together even when you don't want to. You're like a part of his family and Gracie is one of your best friends too. She and Jon have always been there for you. You guys are like a hockey couple. I feel like you being on different teams should be illegal or something" I insist and he kind of laughs.

"Do you want to know something kind of funny" he asks.

"Of course" I insist.

"The very first time I met Jonny we were like 7 years old up in a hockey tournament in Canada. My team beat his team for the championship but he scored all three of the goals the other team scored. Then we recruited him to come help us out a little for part of the season and that was the actual first time we played together. Of course we had no idea what was coming in the years after that. But that was the first time we played against and with each other" he explains and I smirk big.

"That's so cute" I coo and he rolls his eyes.

"Sure. Now it is. But him and I have so much history together since those innocent days and a lot of it was not pretty. I mean between world juniors and our first year of training camp. I'm pretty sure he hated me for a while" he claims.

"It's tough love" I defend.

"He tried to smother me with a pillow" he says and I laugh.

"Okay. Really tough love" I insist.

"Yeah, it is. But he's a great guy. From after world juniors to our rookie year to winning the cup to when my grandpa died. He's always been there for me. I wouldn't be this far in my career without him. We played on the same line for a while and we have great chemistry on and off the ice. He's someone I'm very thankful to have in my life. Especially with Gracie around too. She's made him so soft and he's actually a lot of fun to be around now. He used to be such a ass. Now he's like one cheek" he claims and I laugh.

"You love him" I accuse.

"I do" he agrees. "But I can't wait to play against him. He's a great competitor and a hell of a player" he claims.

I sit in his lap as our empty luggage sits next to us on the bed. We had just unloaded from being in Buffalo but now had to pack for Sochi. We left in a few days and I was excited. I got to spend some time exploring a new land with Patrick and his family while watching Olympic hockey.

I place my hand on Patrick's chest as I let his heart beat against it. It was always so strong, but it was usually pretty fast. I can feel in his heart that he was still hurting. I can see it in his eyes that he wishes that things are different. He was so excited to bring his Grandpa with him on this trip and now he can't. He thinks he has to be strong but he didn't have to be. Not here.

"How are you feeling" I ask him.

"I feel fine" he claims.

"Okay. And how are you really feeling" I ask and he smiles at me.

"I still miss him, but I know he's still here. He's all around me. He's in the way I think, the way I talk, the way I play the game. It's going to suck because this is the first really big moment in my life that he won't be here for. But I don't even think I could get him to Russia even if he was alive. He hates that place" he claims and I laugh

"He's might have mentioned that a few times before" I admit.

"Do you miss him too" he asks and I smile.

"I do. I miss the way he called me Torrence when he forgot what my name was. I like that name. I miss how he always asked if my dad was around and always had old newspaper clippings of you when you accomplished something cool and it made the paper. He lit up when he showed us those things. I miss the way he always smelled like the expensive coffee. I do miss him a lot" I admit.

"He loves you so much. He had three granddaughters from his one son alone and accepted you as the fourth. He would always call and ask how you were doing. He would always ask how many lives you saved in a given day and I always said all of them" he explains and I smile.

"I didn't know that" I admit.

"It never really seemed like much in the moment. Whenever we talked it was always just us talking. It was natural. Sometimes it didn't mean anything. But now it means everything" he sighs.

"You know, sometimes you sound just like him" I insist and he smiles really big.

"Really" he asks.

"Yeah. I thought it was a New York accent, but I'm starting to think it's more of a Kane thing" I admit.

"Is it my lisp" he asks and I shake my head.

"That's not it. But I do love your lisp. I always adore the way that you inhale sharply when you're thinking. You both did that. And the way the right side of your mouth pulls into a tight smile when you laugh at a joke you make" I list off.

"Do you notice everything" he questions.

"Yeah, I do. Because someday all I'll have left is memories and I hope the details are good enough to make those memories last."