The Pursuit of Happiness (Patrick Kane)

|Five|

Patrick

Professional hockey has been in quite a uproar lately. It started in the summer where a lockout was being threatened for the 2012-2013 season. Then September rolled around and there was no hockey, not even talks of it. October came by and there was no deal so I had a choice. I could stay and wait for someone to take the sticks out of their ass to get a deal done or go overseas and play. But with no real ties to Chicago and hockey being the only thing in my whole life that I have cared about, moving my whole life to Switzerland and playing hockey there was a no brainer. So I grabbed my sister Jackie and my mom and took them with me. We spent a few months there learning some Swedish and taking in the sights before we got the call to come back. And with the shortened season right around the corner life was finally getting back to normal here in the city.

"Please don't tell me you're trying to introduce me to one of your puck bunnies again" my sister Jackie begs over the phone. I loved all three of my sisters, but with Jackie being the baby I was most protective over her. She loved hockey too and I can usually pull her into my shenanigans both near and far. She knows me a little too well but I wouldn't have it any other way.

"She's not a puck bunny" I groan.

"How do you expect me to believe you? The last girl you introduced me to thought the bean was a actual metallic Lima bean" she reminds me.

"She wasn't from around here" I defend.

"That excuse is only suitable if she wasn't from this planet" Jackie argues.

"She did like to eat the salt and pepper from the tables at restaurants" I admit making my sister laugh.

"I really don't like it when you get me mixed up with your booty calls. Then they try to be my friend so you like them more even though we both know they're here for a week tops" she insists.

"This one is different" I argue. "She has hopes and dreams, a lot like you. And she is strong enough to make them all come true. I've never met someone with bigger ambitions than me and honestly she puts mine to shame. She doesn't do or say anything just to satisfy me, hell, she's the only girl besides you who is okay with putting me in my place. She doesn't care about what I do or how much money I make. She's real and for once in my life I want something real" I insist.

I hear Jackie let out a sigh on the other line before taking a second to think. "I'll be out there with mom and dad at the end of this month. If by some miracle this girl is still around by then I'll meet her" she promises.

"Wow, I can feel the love" I tease.

We talk for a little while longer before we hang up. I go through my phone and look at the messages Kayleigh and I had. We haven't been able to talk too much with her starting up school and me focusing on hockey. But I didn't want to let this, whatever this is, die. I was trying everything I can to keep the flame alive no matter how desperate I sounded. I know that if I let her just slip through my fingers it just might be one of the dumbest things I could do. To let someone like that walk away knowing that I won't find anyone like her, I wouldn't bounce back from that.

So I decide to give her a call. She sent me her schedule so I don't bother her while she is in class. But if she's not at school she's volunteering or helping someone or studying, I swear the girl is non stop.

"Hey Patrick" she answers and I smile when she says my name. Something about the way she says it makes my knees week.

"Hey Kayleigh, how was class today" I wonder as I fall onto my bed.

"It was long, I'm not going to lie. Thankfully I have a good group of friends that are doing a lot of the same classes as me and they gave me the notes that I missed" she explains.

"So do you only hang out with smart people" I question.

"If you want to be the best you have to be surrounded with the best" she claims.

"I guess that's true for hockey also" I admit.

"Life is a game too you know. You have to play it right or else even when you win you feel like you lose" she explains.

"Then how come I'm good at the game on the ice and not off of it" I question.

"What do you mean" she wonders.

"Nothing" I insist not ready to face this truth. "What are your plans for the evening?"

"Just to study some more. I'm working in the city tomorrow with a school going around talking to kids, asking them what they need in order to succeed instead of treating everyone the same way. So I'll probably turn in early and read a little" she explains.

"You want to, I don't know, hang out" I question.

The line falls silent as she thinks before speaking. Something I have yet to master. "I would love to Patrick, but I can't. I'm not like your other friends, I can't just drop what I'm doing knowing that so many people rely on me. What you're doing in your field is important just like what I'm doing in mine. My pursuit of happiness is hard and sometimes it is lonely, but it's necessary in order to help others" she claims.

"I understand" I sigh. I should have known this wasn't going to be easy.

"But I am available Sunday. I looked and you don't have a game then. So if you want to do something then, I'm there" she claims.

"Really" I ask a bit surprised she willingly wanted to be around me.

"Yeah. Believe it or not but I enjoy learning about you. You're a really cool guy and nothing like the people I know" she admits. 

"You mean smart" I joke making her giggle.

"I mean genuine. There's two kinds of people in this world, the people who tell you who they are and the people who show you. The people who have to tell you often lie, but actions don't lie" she says.

"That is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me" I tease.

"Don't flatter yourself, I just tell things like it is whether it's convenient for you or not" she reminds me.

"So I'll see you Sunday then? We can go somewhere and just hang out" I say.

"It sounds good to me. And I'll leave my chaperone at home this time" she jokes.

"I can't wait" I admit.