Saturday, January 29, 2011

Chapter 26

***So yes, I have added a little drama, and I realize that I never mentioned it in the story earlier, so I hope it all makes sense. it's not a lot but I'm working on fitting in some more drama. I noticed I have a new follower...yay! Glad ya'll are enjoying the story and as always, comments are always welcome! Enjoy :)
~J


I spend Tuesday morning going thru emails from the ladies back home helping with the wedding stuff. And I FINALLY get around to putting our engagement pictures in the frames I bought a few days before, and hung them up on each side of the TV. Time comes to head to the airport to pick up Bailey. Jon calls me while I’m waiting inside the airport, they just finished practice and were on their way back to the hotel for their naps and such, so I wish him luck again and then hang up as I see Bailey walking my way.

“Hello!” she says
“Hi! How was your flight?” I ask
“Good actually,”
“That’s good!”
“So what are the plans for today?”
“Well, I have to call Dayna; we are going to meet at a grocery store by the house to get food and stuff. Then tonight, the girls are coming over and we are going to have the game viewing party at our house,”
“Ok cool! Who’s coming?”
“Dayna, Laura, Lauren, Chelsea, Elina, Abby and Savannah,”
“Oh wow, ok should be fun! Is there going to be alcohol?”
“Of course! We always do this when the guys have road games that we don’t go to,”
“You go on the road trips?” She asks as she gets her suitcase from the moving belt
“Yeah, sometimes, depends on if I have work at the office or if Stan needs me to go and do something team related out there,” I say as we get to my car
“That’s cool,”
“Yeah, it’s always fun. And I had a goal that I wanted to see a game at every NHL arena, and I’ve done it!”

After calling Dayna, we meet up at the grocery store to stock up on food and also alcohol and stuff to make margaritas and other mixed drinks. Bailey gets settled in the guest bedroom while I clean up the house for the girls to come over. Puck drop is at 7, so the girls come over around 6, as the pizzas are in the oven and the table is full of food. Bailey introduces herself to all the girls and they welcome her nicely. She decides to start asking questions about the boys they are with, and then asks about Jack.

“So, what’s this guy Jack all about?” she asks
“Skille? Oh he’s such a nice guy,” Abby says
“Yeah, I always wish I had a friend that I could set him up with, because he’s such a gentleman,” Elina adds
“That’s why she’s asking. He was asking about the girls in the wedding, and I told him that one of them was single, and that she happens to be coming out here, so he wants to meet her,” I say as I finish up with some of the dip
“Oh yeah?” Elina asks
“Yeah, I think he’d like her,” Chelsea adds
“Yeah, I think so too!” the other girls say
“Well, I guess we will see. I have a feeling me and Jon will go to dinner with them,”
“And we can go to the Underground one night?” Dayna adds
“Yeah! That’s a good idea,”
“What’s that?” Bailey asks
“The Underground? It’s a club, it’s fun to go to and the bartenders are so nice, and we get in free with the guys, they go a lot,”
“Maybe Thursday after the game?” Savannah says
“That will probably be the best time,” Abby says
“Yeah, because we all know we can’t go without the boys anymore,” I say
“Oh my god, that night was the worst!” Dayna says as we laugh
“What happened?” Bailey asks
“We all went to the Underground for Kelly’s bachelorette party, while the guys go somewhere else. Well we didn’t know exactly where we were going to go, we started at dinner and then figured we would bar hop, so that’s what I told Jon, didn’t mention the Underground, because I didn’t know, ya know.” I tell her

“So we go to dinner and Sub51, and then end up there, we’re all dancing and having a good time. Dayna and I go to get drinks when these guys start talking to us, and we weren’t going to be mean, so we talked to them, and then they started buying us drinks. And we all know that you don’t pass up free alcohol. They ask us if we have boyfriends and we say yeah, they ask where they are so we say they are out with the groom; we are out with the bride for their parties. But they were nice and respected the fact that we were taken,”

“When they could have easily bought drinks for other single girls there,” Dayna adds

“Yeah, so they buy more drinks for us, then for Kelly and the rest of the girls too, so we leave the club at like 3:30, the boys are already at their houses when the limo drops us off. So I walk in the house and talk to Jon, he asks where we went, and when I said the Underground, he about lost his mind! Oh my gosh, he was like are you fucking kidding me, why would you guys go there,”

“Seriously?” Bailey asks

“Yeah! So I just say that we weren’t planning on going there, we were just doing whatever. Then he asks what we did and if anyone bought drinks for us, so I wasn’t going to lie; I told him that these guys were buying drinks for me and Dayna and he asked if we exchanged numbers I said no, he was like I leave you girls for one night and that happens? I’m like fucking listen to me ok, I didn’t get his number, I was being NICE, I told him I was taken, and he respected that, I have no clue why he wasted money on buying drinks for girls that were taken,”

“Oh my god!”

“I know! I told him I couldn’t believe he was acting like this, and at the end of the day I was coming home to him. Then I got ready for bed and went to lie down, and Jon goes to sleep in the guest bedroom, and at this point, it's almost 5 in the morning, I’m like fine, I’m not going to argue with that,”
“Wow, James, already kicking him to the other bed,” Bailey says laughing
“Whatever! He’s the one that went to it, it’s not like I told him he couldn’t sleep in our bed,”
“So he actually did?”
“Yeah, but he came back to our bed at like 9 or 10 and cuddled up behind me; we both apologized and everything was fine,”
“Well that’s good,” Bailey says
“Yeah, so moral of the story: We don’t go to the Underground without the boys,”
“Oh, geez, ok well, glad we know that,”

By the time I finished my story, the first period was over; we were too busy talking and watching. But the boys did have a 2-1 lead over the Bruins. After the Bruins took the lead back in the second, the boys came back leading by a goal, only to have it disappear again, resulting in a 5-4 loss. I had a feeling we were going to be picking up some not so happy campers at the arena in a few hours, I could already tell by Jon’s tone of voice when he called me to say they were on the plane heading home; so we finished eating and started sobering up to be ready when the boys landed and arrived at the UC.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Chapter 25

On Monday morning, my mom has work, so Laura, Dayna and I go up to Cake Fetish so we could see what information we can get for cupcake towers.

“I still can’t believe you are doing cupcake towers,” Laura says as were driving towards the place
“Why? I think it’s a cool idea!” I say
“I don’t know, I’m just used to actual cakes I guess,”
“Well me and Jon are going to be different and do this instead,”
“I remember seeing the pictures from Carrie Underwood’s wedding, and it was cool!” Dayna says
“Yeah, that’s what I told Jon and he liked the idea,”

“Hi ladies, welcome to Cake Fetish! How can I help you?” the girl says
“Hi! I want to look into having a cupcake tower at my wedding,” I tell her
“Ok, great! When’s the wedding and how many people are on the guest list?”
“July 28th and there’s 200 people,”
“Ok, so if you would like to sample some of the cupcakes to help you decide, we can do that,”
“Oh nice!” Laura says
“Right, too bad the boys weren’t here, they would attack them!” Dayna adds
“Yeah no kidding. We’ll do that, and do you have a list of all the cupcakes you have so I can take it home with me?”
“Yes we do,”
“Ok, awesome, because I don’t think I’ll place the order today, I want to talk to my fiancé so we can figure it out,”
“That works, and you two could always come in too so he can try them,”
“Well he’s in Phoenix right now and then we are all going back home, so that wouldn’t really work out,”
“Oh, never mind then, ok well let me get some cupcakes for you ladies to try. Did you want them to be your wedding colors? Because that will limit the kinds of cupcakes that you have,”
“Well, our colors are white and red, so it doesn’t matter, I think we were thinking about doing 2 towers, but that’s something I want to figure out with him,”
“Of course! We’ve had brides come in with pink and white for their wedding colors but get different kinds of cupcakes, ill be back in just a minute,”
“Great, thanks,”

“So, here’s a few different kinds of cupcakes that we have, the names are on the plates,” the girl says as she brings out a few trays
“Ok, and how do you guys build the towers, like with the kinds of cupcakes? Can there be different kinds on each layer?” I ask her
“Yes, that’s what we will do, unless you want them to go along with your wedding colors, then it will be different,”
“Ok, well I have a feeling we will just do different kinds anyways,”
“Ok, perfect!”

After trying so many kinds of cupcakes, I think I need to go to the gym again just to make myself feel better. The girls and I leave the place with some cupcakes to take home, and some papers about the kinds of cupcakes they have, a price sheet, and an order form to fax over to them. We decide to get an early dinner and get home on time for the hockey game. Game time comes and goes; the Phoenix fans were pretty obnoxious to the boys during the game, mostly Taylor, booing him every time he had the puck. Savannah and I had been texting back and forth, she was mad that the fans had been booing him after the good seasons he had out there, but she knew he was happier with the Hawks, so it’s their loss. The boys won in a shootout, with Jon, Sharpie and (of course) Taylor all scoring.

Jon and I talked for a few minutes while the boys took the bus from the arena to the airport. I filled him in on the cupcake tower deal and he was excited to see everything that I was bringing back home. We hung up after he said he’d text me when they landed in Chicago; so I decided to pack all my stuff and be ready for our flight in the morning.

The trip back home was a good one, relaxing, even with all the planning going on, and thankfully, we got a lot done. We had a nonstop flight back home and were greeted on the other side of security by our handsome men. The minute I saw them, I ran right into Jon’s arms as he picked me up.

“I vote for no more trips without me, I missed you!” Jon says into my ear
“I agree, I missed you so much, I wish you could have come with me,” I tell him
“Me too, but work is work, ya know,”
“Yeah, I do, hey Pat, hey Brent,”
“Hey, how was back home?” Brent asks
“It was good to be home for a while, busy trip too,” I say as we’re leaving to go home


The next day the boys didn’t have practice, but Jon had talked to Bill, one of the team photographers, and gotten a hold of his daughter, Stephanie, that has the photography business. She is taking our engagement pictures for us, which we decided to do at center ice of the arena. Sharpie, Kane, Brian and Jordan came with their ladies so we could take one picture where it looked like the boys were in action. For that picture, I made a sign that said “The captain stole my heart, so I’m stealing his last name”, and the boys were on the ice acting like they are celebrating a goal with the girls and I cheering behind the boys with my sign up. For the rest of the pictures, Jon wore jeans with his red jersey and I wore jeans with black Uggs and a black tank top with a red Hawks shirt over it. We took several shots standing up, him kneeling on the ice, and with him giving me a piggy back ride, then a few on the bench and one with us sitting on top of the goal net.

They all came out good from what we saw, so we went to the studio with Stephanie to see all of them and pick out which ones we wanted. The one we decided on to include in with the invitations was the one of us standing at center ice, smiling at the camera with my hand on his chest to show off the sparkle of my ring, so we ordered 215 of those. Jon picked the one of us sharing a kiss with me sitting on his knee and my arms around him to put in his locker and I picked the one of him giving me a piggy back ride to put in my office. We also got one of each picture to hang up around the house, and also got each of the ones we picked on a cd so if we decided we wanted more, all we would have to do is bring in the cd.

Since we were in the downtown area, we decided to go to Smitten boutique to get an idea for wedding invitations. The ladies were happy to see us walk in and were excited to make the wedding invitations for us. We told them all the details and they made a sample of the invitation so we could see what it would look like and it turned out perfect. The background of it was red with white writing, and the red matched our color perfectly. We got the package that included the RSVP card, prelabled envelopes with our name and address on it, and also had one of the calligraphers make labels for us with the guests names on it, so all we had to do what stuff the envelope with the invitation, the RSVP card, the little tissue, and our engagement picture.

But of course we didn’t have anything with us, so I would go back tomorrow to drop everything off. The invitations would be done next week, perfect timing to mail them out. It would also be perfect timing with our pictures being ready to get picked up. I had the finalized guest list to give to the ladies to have address labels made, which turned out to be 210 people, so it was a good thing we ordered some extra pictures.



March was nearing an end and April was only a few days away. Our engagement pictures came out looking amazing, and so did the invitations, which got sent out within the week of getting them…everything was becoming more real. My best friend from back home, Bailey was coming out for a week, her daughters dad would have her for the week and said that she deserved a vacation, and he even paid for the plane ticket, so I was stoked to hear that she wanted to come out here, I was in my office ordering the playoffs shirts for the guys while Lauren was ordering the shirts that the WAGS would be passing out on the night of the first playoff home game, which should (as of right now) be against the LA Kings, when the office phone rings, Lauren answers it and says its for me.

“Hello?” I say
“Hey,” Bailey says
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Just doing laundry, you?”
“Ordering shirts for the guys,”
“The guys…like all the guys on the team?”
“Yeah, playoffs are coming up and the boys always have shirts that they wear, I’m ordering them and Lauren is ordering the ones that we will be passing out to everyone coming to the game,”
“Dang, sounds like a lot of work,”
“Yeah, because I have to get the guys sizes and we have to decide on the design, it takes a while,”
“Oh yeah. So Jason is getting my plane ticket. I’m looking at flying out on Tuesday, and then fly home on April 4th, will that work out ok?”
“Yeah, that’s perfect actually, the boys will be in Boston that night so I’ll be here, then we play the Kings on Thursday and the Lightning on Sunday, so you’ll be here for all the last of the home games,” I say, looking at the game schedule
“Ok, cool! I’ve never been to a professional game so I’m excited,”
“Oh, yeah, you will love it! They are so much fun,”
“Ok, so Tuesday at 2:30 is the cheapest flight, and it’s the O’Hare airport right?”
“Yeah that’s it,”
“Ok, and you will pick me up right?”
“Yeah,”
“Ok, so what else is there to do out there?”
“The river walk is always fun, so is Navy Pier, and there’s a TON of shopping, the clubs are fun too, we might be able to manage going to one of them one night”
“Ok, great!”
“So what’s going on with Jason, I mean obviously ya’ll are civil for Briar but you’re not together right?”
“No way, he’s going to be stationed at Eglin after I get back. Neither of us wants to be together, its better,”
“Ok, because there might be someone out here who wants to meet you…”
“What? Who?”
“Jack, he’s one of the players, he’s super sweet, and I’m gonna introduce you guys, I mean, if you want,”
“Sure! That sounds good, might as well have fun out there,”
“Yeah, no kidding,”
“Ok, well Jason just got here, we are going to get the tickets so I will text you with my flight info and I’ll see you on Tuesday!”
“Ok, great, see you soon girl!”

Most of the girls and I were at the arena to watch the boy’s morning skate before they took off for Boston, the UC had practice open to the public today, so there was a decent amount of people there. We watched from the runway so we saw practice and the people; a few puck sluts were there too, so needlessly to say, we had some cheap entertainment to watch. After the guys finished up, they got ready to jump on the bus to go to the airport, after getting their suitcases out of their cars. I add to Jon and also Jack that Bailey will be in town for a few days, Jack makes me promise that we will go out to dinner as a group. All of us girls see our men off and wish them luck against the Bruins before we head out to lunch.

“Let’s have a get together for the game tomorrow night?” Abby says
“Yeah, let’s do it!” I say
“We haven’t done one in a while,” Laura says
“And we have empty houses!” Lauren adds
“Who wants to volunteer their house this time?” Abby asks
“I will!” I say
“Yeah?” Savannah asks
“Absolutely! We haven’t had one there before, so why not?”
“Ok great! Do you want to go shopping for food and stuff?” Dayna asks me
“Yeah, Bailey is coming into town tomorrow, so after I pick her up, we can meet at the store?”
“Sounds great!”
“I’ll make cupcakes or something!” Laura says
“Sweet, that sounds good,”
“Do we want to get frozen pizzas again?” I ask

So we decide on pizza, chips and dip, brownies and cupcakes, and margaritas of course. Dayna and I plan to meet at the Jewel-Osco by Jon and I’s house after I pick up Bailey to get everything we need for that night.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Chapter 24

“The red we have is called apple red, here’s what it looks like,” Danielle says as she shows me the fabric
“Oh, yeah that’s the exact color we want!”
“Do you want to call Jon to make sure?” Dayna asks
“Yeah maybe, let me take a picture of the fabric and send it to him, I don’t know I they are at practice or not, or where they are” I say as I get my phone to call him, but no answer
“Well, he didn’t answer, so I will text him and send the picture, but it’s a good color, and all the guys need to do is get a red sash thing that they wear,” I say
“A cummerbund?” Danielle asks
“Yeah! That’s all they need,”
“Really? Lucky boys,” Laura says
“Right? Their wardrobe is so easy compared to ours,”
“Jon is calling!” My mom says as she hands me my phone

“Hello?” I answer as the girls start trying on dresses
“Hey baby, I saw you called,” he says
“Yeah, did you see the picture I sent you?”
“The fabric? Yeah, is it the color of your lingerie on our wedding night?”
“Wow! No babe. That’s going to be the color of the girls dresses, so the guys cummerbunds need to be that color, its called apple red,”
“Aw, man. Ok, that should be easy enough, ill tell the guys.”
“Ok, thanks babe,”
“Your welcome, did you find your dress?”
“Yeah, it took like 2 hours but I finally found it,”
“That’s good, so what are you going to do tomorrow?”
“My mom and I are going to find places for the reception, and maybe the cake too,”
“Ok, cool, you know what I was thinking?”
“What?”
“For our engagement pictures, we could do them at the arena? Like at center ice?”
“Oh yeah! That’s a good idea!”
“Ok, well when we get back to Chicago, I’ll talk to Bill or Rudy, I think Bill’s daughter owns that photography studio on west Madison, I’m sure she could do them,”
“Ok, sounds good! Are you guys in Phoenix yet?”
“No, were going to lunch with Bur in a while then were flying to Phoenix, when are you girls coming home?”
“Aw, tell Adam I said hi, and we will be flying home Tuesday morning, we’ll get in around 1:00,”
“Ok, I will, were heading to eat so I’ll talk to you later ok?”
“Ok, bye babe,”

“Ok, sorry. What have ya’ll found?”
“Well we didn’t know what style you wanted, so we tried on different styles to see which you liked best,” Dayna said
“Oh, ok! Hey Danielle, are all these styles available in the apple red?”
“I believe so, let me double check,” she says as she walks to the back
“So I think that if all these dresses come in red, we should do that, because I like all the styles, and I was thinking of having different styles,”
“Yes, Jamie we have all those styles available in apple red,”
“Ok, great, does that sound good for you guys?”
“Yeah!” the girls say
“Ok, so we will go ahead and do that then, I’ll take this dress and then these dresses will be for the girls,”
“Ok, let me get a few more measurements on the girls, I got all the ones I need on your dress,”
“Ok, thanks so much. Oh my gosh, I totally forgot to even look at the price of the dress, how much is it?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, the dress has been taken care of” she says with a smile
“Really? Can I ask who paid for it?”
“Your fiancées mother,” She whispers
“But…she’s not even here”
“I know, your mom talked to me, they worked it out, and Andree faxed over her credit card information,”
“Oh wow, ok thanks Danielle!”


[These are the dresses...but they are red instead of blue]

So we finish up at the dress shop. I call Andree to thank her numbers of times for buying my dress. She said her and Bryan talked about it and they were more then happy to take care of it. I made an appointment to have another dress fitting when it gets closer to the wedding, which Jon and I had decided on, it’s going to be on July 28th. Laura’s mom goes back to work and my mom goes home while the girls and I go to lunch at Red Robin.

“Are you and Jon going to take engagement pictures?” Bailey asks as we sit down at the restaurant
“Yeah, when he called me he mentioned the idea of taking our engagement pictures at the United Center,” I say
“That’s a cute idea!” Ashley says
“And it was all his idea?” Dayna asks
“Ha, yeah sounds like it! He said he’s going to call Bill, because his daughter has a photography studio so she can probably do them,”
“So July 28th?” Laura says
“Yep, it’s far enough after the playoffs, and we will most likely come down here a week or 2 before,”
“And your bachelorette party!” Ashley says
“Oh geez, ok well as long as we don’t go to Fantasy World, like we did for yours,”
“Oh hell no, that place was disgusting, and we only went there because we weren’t 21 yet and we couldn't go anywhere else,”
“Yeah, true story”

Lunch went well, my old manager who was more like a sister to me took care of our meal that day, which was nice of her. I also managed to get a photographer for the wedding! A friend of mine, Julianne, was working part time there while starting her own photography business, and she said she’d be happy to take the pictures; which makes me happy, because she is an amazing photographer, I know we wont be disappointed.

Sunday was another busy day. Me, Dayna and my parents went to church that morning, I was able to talk to the pastor, and started filling out the paperwork needed for him to do the wedding ceremony, after that we went to several different hotels for the location of the reception. The one hotel resort I really wanted was going to be almost $7,000; a ballroom in my favorite casino was going to be about that price too. So next our next stop was a relatively new Embassy Suites hotel right off the freeway, and it is super nice too.

Kristin was in charge of the events going on around the hotel, she was excited to help plan out the wedding reception. The hotel had a package deal that included the banquet hall for the night, the option to have the hotel cater the food, with banquet servers for the night, and an open bar; the total price being $5,000; I’m pretty sure the casino and the other resort would have charged so much more and probably wouldn’t have included. The only thing we would have to arrange was the DJ, the photographer and reserve any rooms that we would need, and any extra decorations we wanted in the banquet room. And that was the day that Kristin became my new best friend, because she made my life so much easier that day. The best part was that the hall was available for the night of the wedding.

I took pictures of the hotel, inside and out, and the banquet hall to show Jon when we got home. Then my mom and I filled out the paper work to save the hall; then we got to sample the food that we could pick for the wedding, thankfully, Jon and I decided on chicken and fish platters with rice or mashed potatoes. They had both of those, with the choice of either side, and a dinner salad with bread before the entrée.

After finishing things at the hotel, we were thinking about the cake…the one thing that Jon and hadn’t figured out yet. So I call him, hoping we can figure something out over the phone real quick, but that was something that could also wait an extra day or two.

“Blackhawks slut house, this is Jack speaking, how can I help you?” Jack says laughing
“Ha, funny Jack, is my fiancé around?” I ask
“I knew you’d love it and yeah he’s right here,”
“Hey babe, sorry my phone was next to Jack, and I didn’t hear it ringing, what’s going on?” Jon says
“Well, we have a place for the reception!”
“Already? Dang you girls must be doing all that planning nonstop”
“Yeah, pretty much. I have all the info that I will bring home to show you and I took some pictures of the hotel too so you can see what it looks like,”
“Ok, awesome,”
“But there’s one thing that we didn’t really figure out,”
“What’s that?”
“The cake,”
“Oh yeah! I totally spaced it!”
“I know, me too, I was thinking though something that would be cute is a cupcake tower?”
“You mean instead of a cake?”
“Yeah, I saw it in Carrie Underwood’s wedding pictures and I’ve seen pictures, they are cool, and different too,”
“So what would it look like?”
“Well it’s just like a cake, like shape wise how it’s towered, but they are cupcakes. And depending on what I can find, we could probably do 2 towers and just have a ton of cupcakes,”
“Yeah, that would be cool, what about the cake that we cut into?”
“Well, I can see if there are cake toppers on the tower, if not then we can just get 1 or 2 cakes to have with it,”
“Ok, that sounds good! And there’s a place out there that does it?”
“Yeah, there’s this place called Cake Fetish, and they actually have all kinds of different flavors of cupcakes, so I think if we wanted, we could do a different kind on each layer,”
“Let’s do that!”
“Ok, it’s already closed for the day so we will go tomorrow and get the information, and I can even bring it home so we can decide what we want it to look like and I can do that order over the phone,”
“Ok, don’t forget our game tomorrow night!”
“I know babe, we get FS-A at the house, and so we will be able to watch it!”
“Ok good, oh here Jack wants to talk to you again,”
“Hey JJ!” Jack says
“Hi Jack, what’s going on?”
“So I know that none of the beautiful ladies in the wedding party are taken, but you got any other single beautiful friends for your favorite?”
“Ha ha, well not ALL of them are taken, my best friend that is walking with Sharpie is single,”
“Oh yeah? Well I think you should talk with her about a good ‘ol guy like me,”
“You think so, eh?”
“Yes mam!”
"Well, I'll see what I can do, I have a feeling I could find someone for you,"
“I have faith in you! See you on Tuesday! Here’s Jonny,”
“Hey,” Jon says
“Hey, Jack is a trip,”
“Oh, I know. Ok well we’re going to have a team dinner then turn in early, so I’ll talk to you later?”
“Ok, sounds good babe,”
“Ok, bye, I love you,”
“I love you too,”

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Chapter 23

“Hello?” Pat says
“Hey Pat, it’s Jonathan, I have you on speaker with Jamie here,” Jon says
“Hey Jonathan, hey Jamie, how’s it going guys?”
“Hi Pat,”
“It’s going good, we are calling you to share some news with you,”
“Ok,” he says
“I asked Jamie to marry me yesterday,” Jon says proudly
“Really? Congratulations guys! I take it that Jamie said yes, that’s why you’re sharing,”
“Wow thanks, Pat. And yes, she did. I know you would want to know, being my agent, I was hoping you could help with how we can go about this with the public deal,”
“Yes, I can. I know that you like keeping your private life private, so what I was thinking was that we could run a little article in the Chicago Sun Times, but no big press announcement or anything. Have you guys told the guys on the team?”
“Yeah we told a few guys last night, but after we get off the phone with you, we are going to tell the rest of them, coach Q is talking to them first for a while.”
“Ok, so let me call Matt at the newspaper and see how much room we have to work with and when it will be put in, as for between now and then, it’s up to you guys who you want to tell,”
“Ok,” we both say
“Now, Jamie, I know your probably concerned for what people are going to be saying about you or asking you,”
“Yes, kind of. I’ve dealt with some girls already with being with Jon, but now that we are engaged, I don’t know what to expect other then I think it’s going to be more intense,” I say
“Your right, now I would advise you not to say anything, but I’m sure you’ve done that before, when reporters have come up to you, so just do what you’ve done before and only answer what you feel like you need to,”
“Ok,”
“Ok, good, I’ll call you back in about 20 minutes and let you know what Matt says, should I call this number or your cell phone Jon?”
“Call my cell phone, because we might still be in the locker room,” he says
“Ok, and Jamie, I know you can handle this as well as Jon will, there’s a reason why you guys are together, you fit perfectly. Oh and once I get the info from Matt, Jamie if you want to write the piece, since you are a PR rep after all, and I can look over it before I send it in ”
“Really? Thanks Pat!”
“No problem, talk to you guys in a while,”
“Bye,” we both say as we hang up

“See babe, that went well, and he even has faith in you! He doesn’t hate you, I promise,”
“Yeah, that makes me feel a little better,”
“Ok, good, lets go make the announcement to the rest of the guys,” he says, grabbing my hand and leading me to the locker room. But apparently someone already spilled the beans because we got hoots and hollers as soon as we walked through the door
“It’s about time Jonny boy!” Turco says
“Yeah, Tazer!” some other guys say
“When’s the wedding?” Stalberg asks
“July or August,” I tell him
“Let me see the ring!” Jack yells, so I walk over to him and put my hand up
“Damn, Tazer you did good!” he says
“Thanks man,”
“Ya know, Toes, I’ve been giving you a lot of shit, but you know what, you did good here, Jamie really is a winner, and she’s a good girl for you,”
“Thanks Sharpie,”
“How about we all go to dinner after the game to celebrate?” Abby says as she walks into the locker room
“That sounds good!” I say as Jon excuses himself to answer a phone call
“Ok, great, you guys pick the restaurant, then we will go!” Pat adds
“Ok, I’ll tell Jon, I think he’s talking to Pat right now about making the announcement,”
“Oh, exciting! Daniel wanted Patrick and I to do that too, it’s the right thing to do and it makes it easier on us so there aren’t a zillion rumors going around,” Abby says
“Yeah, I bet! Ok well, I should see what Pat is telling Jon, so I’ll see you for the game tonight!”
“Ok, see you later!”

“Hey, what did Pat say?” I ask Jon as I walk into the office
“We have a section at the bottom of the sports section, you know where there’s usually 2 or 3 areas for something, we get one of them, which is basically 2 sentences. Like he said, you can write it, and then send it to him first, and he will fax it to the guy at the newspaper, and it will be published in Friday’s paper,”
“Oh, wow ok,” I say, getting on my computer

“The Chicago Blackhawks organization is proud to announce the engagement of team captain Jonathan Toews and his girlfriend, Jamie. The couple began dating early last year before Jamie moved out here to take a job with the Hawks organization. We wish all the best of luck to the soon to be married couple, and congratulations!”

“I think that sounds good,” Jon says as he reads it over again
“Yeah, should we send it to Pat and see what he thinks,”
“Yeah, send it to him in an email why don’t you? I’ll send him a text and tell him to be waiting for it,”
“Ok,” I say as I copy and paste it to send to him

We get the ok from Pat a few minutes later and he tells us that it will be in Friday morning’s newspaper…oh goodness, I love that but I’m a little nervous.

“So, the announcement is going to be in the paper on Friday?” Abby asks while were sitting in the player’s lounge before the game
“Yep, I wrote a little release type thing earlier and sent it to Pat, he ok’d it and faxed it to the editor, it’s going to be in the sports section,” I tell her
“That’s so great! It’s like actually going to be official!” Savannah says as she joins us
“I know! That’s what I’m nervous for, because everyone is going to know, hopefully they still respect our privacy,” I say
“They will, I went through the same thing after Patrick and I got engaged, I was scared that people were going to hate me and that girls were going to want to kill me,” Abby tells me
“Well see and I’ve already been dealing with that too, since day one practically, and all those dumb tabloids online; I mean I know that Chelsea and Elina have told me that Jon and I are the ones that know the truth and it’s not something I should worry about, but I’m just nervous about what people are going to say,”
“Oh, girl, I know what you mean,” Abby says as we walk to our seats
“But you gotta remember what the girls told you, you and Jon are the ones that know what’s really going on, you know who he’s coming home to at the end of the day, and if the girls hate you, then screw them, they are just mad that the hot captain is no longer available,”
“Thanks girl, I appreciate it, really”
“Oh of course! And you know that if you ever need anything, you know where to find me! I know I can try and help you as much as I can,”

Laura and Elina join us for the game, and we talk a little more about the wedding, but as the seats fill, we quiet down a little bit, knowing that some of the people around us are little chatter boxes and will start talking about anything they hear. So we talk a little bit while the guys are doing their warm ups, so I decide to tell the girls about Laura and I’s run in with the guys, because its something that could be spread around the internet.

“I can’t believe Lupul tried to get you guys to agree to get drinks with them!” Savannah says
“Oh, I know! As soon as I told them that I didn’t think my fiancée would appreciate that, their eyes shot to my hand to look at my ring,”
“Did they ask who it was?” Elina asked
“No, but I don’t think I would have told them. The only guys that don’t play for the Hawks that know I’m engaged to Jon are Jordan, Sid and Max…actually no, they just know were together from when I ran into them,”
“Do you talk to any of those guys still?” Abby asked
“I talk to Jordan every once in a while, we exchanged numbers, but we talk like once every 2 weeks,”
“Does Jon know?” Laura asks
“Yes, he does. He doesn’t care though, he knows those guys and he knows I’m just friends with Jordan,”
“Ok good,”

The game was scoreless until 3 minutes left in the 2nd period, when the Hawks were on the power play. Jon was out there with Sharpie and Hammer on the first line, they did some tick tac toe passes to each other before Jon shot it top shelf over Jonas Hiller and “Chelsea Dagger” played loudly in the building as we all got on our feet to cheer on the boys. The Ducks came out flying in the 3rd, scoring 2 goals in less then 2 minutes. After a collision in front of the net between Jack, Cam Fowler and Hiller, Jack was rewarded a penalty shot...all the fans were on their feet again as we watch Jack skate from center ice. There’s nothing like hearing the goal song again after he scores on the goaltender and skates past the rest of his teammates. The Ducks had gotten a 4-minute power play for John Scott’s double minor penalty. Taylor had been on the ice for the last half of the penalty-killing shift when he stole the puck in a midway pass between Bobby Ryan and Getzlaf, and scored on a breakaway to put the boys up by 1.

After the boys won the game 4-2, they finished post game interviews and got changed and everything while the girls and I headed to Hard Rock Café for dinner. Thankfully, we were able to make reservations, and even got the private room saved for us, knowing that fans might bombard us. The guys showed up within 20 minutes after, a few drinks in for us girls. We didn’t even have to stop our conversations to hear the guys come in, as people at the restaurant got a little louder and started cheering as they all came in.

Pat and Laura had shown up, him being a little upset due to the fact that he is still in the doghouse with coach about his playing. But he didn’t let that stop him from coming to celebrate his best friends engagement. We all talked and shared funny stories about the past year when Brent stood up and gave a speech

“I think we should all be thankful that Jon found a girl that he loves and that we all love too, we all knew it would happen eventually. Jamie- I sure hope you are prepared to keep this guy in line, we try but sometimes it’s not enough with captain serious. So congrats to you both, you’re great together,” he says as he takes a drink and sits back down

“I have to add something too,” Taylor says, standing up
“Coming out here, I was pretty nervous to meet a new group of guys, since I hadn’t moved around in the league too much. But Jamie was there talking with Stan and helped me with everything to get situated here. When she told me she was with Jon, I saw them together and how they interact with each other. You guys fit together so well, congratulations!”

“Aww, you guys are going to make me cry!” I say
“I have to thank all of you guys for being here, and I think I speak for J when I say that too, we’re really glad to have you guys around, even though I’m stuck with you more then she is,” Jon says as we all laugh
“But really, it’s been an amazing year with this girl and I can’t wait for more to come. And I definitely have to thank Jack, and Patrick and Abby for helping me that day with the scavenger hunt.”
“Of course buddy!” Jack yells
“Yeah, Toe-ezz, we’re glad to help, I doubt we would have done that with any other girl, JJ is like the younger sister that I never had,” Patrick adds
“Agreed with Patrick!” Abby says

The next day I had talked to my mom and Andree and decided that I should make a trip home soon to look for a dress, and also to talk to the pastor at my church, find a place for the reception and get cake ideas…oh boy. I had talked to Laura and Dayna also to see if they could squeeze in a few days to go back home with me to help with dresses and also to look for bridesmaid dresses, Laura got the ok from Mike, the head athletic trainer and Stan to have a few days off. Dayna was able to get off work also, so within a few days we were getting ready to go to New Mexico for a few days.

The boys were on a 2 game road trip in Dallas and Phoenix, so we decided to leave at the same time. The game against the Stars would be the next night (Friday) and in Phoenix on Monday. Kaner and Seabs were at the mine and Jon’s house the day the girls and I were leaving, they each had a red envelope in hand and gave them to us; inside was a first class ticket for each of us.

“How did you guys manage this?” Dayna asked
“J left the flight info on the table the other day, and since it had the info for the 3 of you, I talked to the boys and we decided to surprise you and upgrade your seats,” Jon says
“Aww, that’s so sweet!” I say as I walk to Jon and he gives me a kiss
“Right, you guys didn’t have to do that,” Laura said
“It’s the least we can do since we wont have our girls with us on the road trip,” Brent says
“BUT, that means you girls have to rock our jerseys all day today,” Pat says with a smile
“Oh, and we will rock them proudly,” I say

We all pile into Jon’s car, suitcases and all and the boys drive us to the airport before they have to go back to the arena before leaving for Dallas. They drop us off at the American Airlines ticket counter, and we say our goodbyes for a few days.

“Call me when you get in?” Jon asks with his arms around my waist
“I will, you too?” I ask
“Yeah, I will,”
“Ok, and I’ll call you too when I get info about where the reception is going to be and food and all that stuff,”
“Ok, and your dress too?” he asks with a mischievous smile
“No sir! Not til the wedding day,”
“Aw, well I tried,”
“Yep, you did! Nice effort though.”

The 3 of us say bye to our men and head to the ticket counter to check in, all proudly showing off our men’s jerseys, just like Kaner wanted. Getting to sit in first class again was pretty amazing, the last time I flew first class was with Jon and Brent and Dayna going to Duncs wedding; it’s definitely something I could get used to. We had a 2-hour layover in Atlanta, but flew by pretty fast since we found a restaurant to eat at.

After the second 90 minute flight, we landed home. My mom was at the airport to pick us up and I had already arranged with Bailey and Ashley to plan for a dress-shopping day on Saturday and possibly Sunday too, so an appointment was made for both days. Laura went to spend some time with her mom so Dayna and I decided to go up to Baileys and hang out with her, and then eventually ended up at Grahams, for a night of dancing, because lets face it, on a Thursday night in New Mexico, there was nothing else to do.

The boys won their game against the Stars, the boys called us to share the news. The next day, Dayna, Bailey and I went with my mom and met up with Ashley, Laura and her mom at David’s Bridal. With the help of Danielle, the dress consultant, I had picked out at least a dozen and a half dresses and got to work trying them on. Dress #1 was too fluffy, and it had a zipper on the back, I had always loved the corset type back, so I traded out some dresses with backs like that. My mom had Andree on the phone; she was asking about them all and was wishing that she were there. So I told her I’d send her a picture of the dress I decided on. Dress #2 was a shorter summery dress that looked similar to some of the dresses I had worn for team events. So that was a no.

After 2 hours, I was on dress #11, and getting tired too. Pretty sure I would have married Jon in a summer dress and cute flip flops, but then I would never hear the end of it from anyone as to why I didn’t get an actual wedding dress. But this is what I wanted, so I kept trying on more dresses. By dress #15, I was pretty set on the one I had on, it didn’t have the corset back that I wanted, but it was beyond beautiful and I was thinking that it was ‘the one’, now I had to walk out to see what everyone thought of it, and I’m almost positive that their jaws dropped.





“Oh my god, it’s beautiful”
“Oh, I love it!”
“Jon’s not going to know what to think when he sees you!”
“So, ya’ll like it then?” I ask after the responses
“YES!” they all say
“Ok…I think this is it then! I love it,” I say
“Yay!” the girls say
“Hold on Jamie, let me take a picture of you in it so you can send it to Andree,” my mom says
“Oh, yeah good idea!”

“So, would you like to look for bridesmaids dresses today as well?” Danielle asks
“Yeah, might as well, since we’re here, then we can do reception stuff tomorrow,”
“Yeah, lets do that, what are the wedding colors going to be?” My mom asks
“White and red,” I say
“Red?” she asks
“Yeah, ‘blackhawk red’ to be exact” I say as I quote to color that Jon and I decided on

Monday, January 17, 2011

Chapter 22

***New chapter...FINALLY I know! I apologize for the delay...I had that 2 week class kicked my butt then I was working again and I got so sick for a few days, but Im back and healthy so without any more delay....here it is! Hope ya'll enjoy :) Oh and I had to throw in a part with Ryan Getzlaf because I had a bad run in with him last month, so I wanted to make it fit! Another new chapter will be up soon!
~J

“Oh my gosh babe,” I say again, not being able to take my eyes off the beautiful ring I have on my finger.
“I’m glad you like it, baby,”
“Seriously?? I love it!” I tell him, giving him a kiss
“Good! So, we have dinner reservations at 7:30; and I’m guessing we should make some phone calls, yeah?”
“Oh boy, yeah we should…who to call first?”
“How about your parents, then mine?”
“Ok, lets do it,” I say as I dial my moms number, then putting the phone on speaker

“Hey kid,” my mom says
“Hey mom, is dad around with you? Jon and I have some news,”
“Yeah, he’s right here,”
“Hey guys!” my dad says
“Hi dad,”
“Hey Tim,” we both say
“So, you guys have some news?” my mom asks
“Yep!” Jon says
“Were getting married!” I add
“It’s about time kids!” my mom says
“Congrats guys!” my dad says
“Thanks,” we both say
“Well, I knew it would happen soon, especially since Jon called me last week to ask for permission,” my dad says, totally catching me off guard
“Really?” I say looking at Jon
“Yeah, I got your house number from your phone and I called him to ask first,” he says
“Aw, I didn’t know that, that’s sweet,” I say, kind of tearing up
“Yeah, Jon earned good points by doing that, that’s how you know he was well raised,” my dad says
“Yeah, he was,” I say
“So, anything planned yet?” my mom asks
“No, we haven’t even been engaged for an hour! We still have to tell everyone too,” I say with a laugh
“We will start planning things soon though, and between you guys and my parents, you guys will be the first to know,” Jon says
“Ok, good,”
“Ok, but we have to make some more phone calls before we go to dinner, so we’ll talk to ya’ll later, mom will you tell people back home?”
“Ok, yeah I can do that, talk to you guys later and congratulations!”
“Bye guys, talk to you soon!” my dad says
“Bye!” we both say as we hang up

“Babe, I didn’t know you asked my dad for permission!” I tell him
“Well, I knew it was important to you and it was important to me too, I wanted to talk to your dad first,”
“Oh, well it means a lot that you did that, thank you,” I say
“Your welcome baby, lets call my parents,” he says

So we call his parents and talk to them as well as his brother, they all ask about the same questions, and Andree is beyond excited to help with planning, so I tell her I will conference call her and my mom when we figure out more stuff. Between calling both our parents and with a little time left before we have to get to our reservations, we send out texts to friends here in Chicago as well as all our friends back home, I took a picture of my ring and sent it to my girl friends back home for them to see, and the best friend is the first one to call

“Hey Bay,” I say
“Oh my gosh, is that real??!” she asks
“Yes, it’s real!”
“Dang! Congrats girl, that is so exciting!”
“Thanks!”
“When did he ask you?”
“Today, it’s our one year anniversary, so he sent me on a scavenger hunt, and then asked me,”
“Aw, that’s so cute! Any single guys left on that team? Because I will gladly take one!” she says with a laugh
“Umm…probably” I say thinking
“Jack is!” Jon says
“Oh yeah! Jack Skille, oh he’s such a sweet guy, I think you’d like him!”
“How tall?” she asks
“6’1”
“Do-able”
“Ha ha wow Bailey, well hey we gotta get to our dinner reservations soon, so I’ll text you later ok,”
“Yes, please do, I want to hear all the plans!”
“Ok, bye girl,”

Jon and I change and get ready for dinner while we send a few more text messages out to people. We get our coats on and head out the door a few minutes after 7, and then we arrive at Volare for dinner. We get the same booth in the back where we sat the last few times we’ve been here.

“So, I think I’m going to call Pat tomorrow, being that he’s my agent, he needs to know,”
“Oooh, ok,” I say, I never thought Pat liked me, Jon always said he did, but he’s strict on business, and that he doesn’t have a problem with me
“Babe, you have nothing to worry about, he wants what’s best for his clients, and he doesn’t hate you,”
“Ok, so then basically after we tell him, then everyone will know?”
“Probably, but it’s not like we have to stand on top of the Trump Tower and announce it, we may just put a little something in the sun times, but it’s pretty much up to Pat,”
“Ok, that works, we wont have to like make a big deal and have a press conference or anything?”
“Oh, no nothing that big. Pat knows that I like to keep my personal life private, so we will make the announcement, and that is about it, I don’t want reporters asking me about it after every game, and I have to warn you that they will be after you too,”
“Oh, I had a feeling it would happen, I mean, yeah we’re not going to be completely quiet about everything but we also aren’t going to be telling every detail about it either,”
“Exactly, see I knew I was doing the right thing, I can’t wait to marry you!”

Dinner goes well, of course. We head home after to have a relaxing night with the fireplace on and movies also; along with some paper to start getting some general ideas for the wedding; and we got some good things written down too, so far we figured that either late July or early August for the date, but we didn’t know the location, and we had 3 options,

“So, we can pick between either Winnipeg, here or New Mexico,” Jon says
“Well, Winnipeg would be amazing, but I don’t know how many of my family or friends have passports to get over there,” I say
“Oh yeah that’s true, and it might be crazy too with trying to find a place, not to mention it’s ridiculously expensive too, remember how much Duncs and Kelly’s wedding was?”
“Yeah, true, and Chicago is way hot too during the summer,”
“So, it sounds like New Mexico is our last option,” he says
“Yeah, sounds like it, does that work?”
“Yeah, of course! I mean, you’ve already said you wanted to get married in the church where you grew up,”
“Aw, babe, you remember!”
“Of course I do, and that church is beautiful! I think a New Mexico wedding would be perfect!”
“Ok, great!”
“So, now I think we should figure out the wedding party, so we can let them know.”
“Yeah, well I know for sure that Ashley, my best friend you met at my grad party, will be my maid of honor, we made that promise to each other years ago”
“Ok, and I am going to ask David to be my best man,”
“Ok, then I was thinking Dayna, Laura and Bailey for the bridesmaids,”
“With Seabs, Kaner and Sharpie,”
“Sounds like we have our wedding party!” I say giving him a kiss

I called Ashley to tell her that I will be needing her maid of honor services and she said she would be happy to, then I text the rest of the girls to ask if they will be bridesmaids, they said of course. Jon knew the guys would all be happy to take part in the wedding.

The next day is game day against the Anaheim Ducks…and we all know that I’m a HUGE fan of Ryan Getzlaf, yeah, can’t wait to see the guy…sense the sarcasm? I was too busy anyways with pre game reporters, talking to Stan and Diana and also talking with the other WAGS and showing off my ring. I was waiting for the boys to finish practice, because Jon was going to meet me in my office so we could call Pat. So when I got a break, I decided to get Laura so we could watch practice for a while, we were walking towards the ice when we ran into a few Ducks players…and just my luck, Getzlaf was one of them, along with Bobby Ryan, Joffrey Lupul and Cam Fowler. Ugh.

“Ladies,” Getzlaf says
“Getzlaf,” I say still trying to walk away
“Wait, you know who I am?” he asks
“Yeah, I’ve been a hockey fan for so long, and I used to be a fan of yours, up until you nearly ran me over in the San Francisco airport and didn’t apologize or anything,”
“Oohhh!” comes from the guys behind him
“Really?” he asks
“Yeah, it was a while back, but you were pretty rude about it though, you weren’t paying attention, and you didn’t turn around to apologize or anything, so I didn’t care to cheer for you after that,”
“Aw man, I’m sorry,”
“It’s ok, because I think it was a week after that, that you took a puck to the face and missed like 5 weeks, so I thought that was good karma for you, and if I wasn't in such a hurry that day, I probably would have given you a piece of my mind”
“Ok, that’s true. Well if it means anything, I am sorry,”
“Apology accepted,”
“Can we take you ladies out for a drink after the game?” Joffrey asks
“Thanks, but I don’t think my fiancée would appreciate that, bye gentlemen,” I say as we walk away

“Ha, oh man that was funny!” Laura says as we get to the seats
“Right, sorry but someone had to put him in line,”
“Well at least he apologized,”
“Yeah, forever later! And asking us to drinks…no thanks!”
“But that guy was cute! Who was he?”
“Joffrey Lupul, and yeah he is, but still, no thanks I have a fiancée to go home to and a wedding to plan,”
“So how’s that coming along?”
“Good, Ashley is the maid of honor, you, Dayna and Bay are bridesmaids; David is the best man, and Seabs, Kaner and Sharpie are the groomsmen, and it’s going to be back home at my church,”
“Cool, date yet?”
“Not yet, were thinking late July or early August,”
“Seriously? It’s horrible back home this time of year!”
“Oh whatever, it’s not that bad, and we will be in buildings most of the time,”
“Ok, well it’s your wedding,”
“It’s mine and Jon’s wedding! But yes, it is,”

We talk for the rest of practice and hardly notice that the guys are off the ice. But when we do, Laura goes to work in prepping anything the guys need, I go to my office and wait for Jon to come in so he can get Pat on the phone.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Chapter 21

**I tried to leave this as a cliff hanger, but then I re-read it, and it sounded better if I just finished my thoughts, so here it is. I have 1 more week of my class and it's harder then I expected so I'm hoping it wont be too long before another chapter is posted but I'm working on the next chapter to be posted. As always, enjoy ladies...and comments are always appreciated!
~J

It was the day of Jon and I’s 1 year anniversary, he had made me breakfast in bed, and had pink carnations and daisies delivered to the office for me; he had more plans up his sleeve, but wouldn’t say anything. He had gone to morning skate while I went to work after. The Better Halves had another toy drive and also a bake sale for the children’s hospital, so I was in my office sending some thank you emails out when Marie, a receptionist from the front office transferred a call to me, nothing unusual.

“Hello?”
“Hey babe, what are you doing?” Jon says on the other line
“Hi, writing some emails…shouldn’t you be practicing?”
“No, I’m done,”
“Oh, then why didn’t you just come to my office?”
“Because I’m sending you on a scavenger hunt. The first clue is at center ice, ok? I love you, have fun!” He says before hanging up…oh that boy.

So I finish my emails, and get up to leave when Lauren is walking in

“Hey girl, you done for the day already?”
“Almost, but the boyfriend is sending me on a scavenger hunt,” I say putting my coat on
“Really?” she asks
“Yeah, he was like the first clue is at center ice, have fun and I love you, I was like umm ok. So if I can find my car keys, I will get started on it,”
“I saw you with them earlier,”
“I know, I think I need a GPS on them because I’m always loosing them,”
“Well, go see what’s at center ice and I’ll look for them,”
“Ok, thanks, I’ll be right back”

So I walk towards center ice, although I was thinking that the ice would already be cleaned so I don’t know why he would put a clue at center ice, then I see Corey still on the ice working with Stephane, the goaltending coach.

“Hey! Tazer left you something,” He yells at me from the net
“Yeah, this is the first clue of my scavenger hunt,” I grabbing what’s at center ice; it’s a red rose, my car keys, and a note that says

First clue is easy, but you might need these for the rest. Much to find in a short time, so get started! ☺

So I say bye to the guys and head back to get my stuff in the office

“What was the first one?” Lauren asks me
“My keys! And a rose and a note that says I’ll need these for the rest of the clues,”
“Ha! Crazy boyfriend of yours here,”
“Right? Ok, I’m off to finish this, I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Ok, bye, have fun!” Lauren says as I walk out and head to my car

Yet another rose is sitting on my window with another note,

Something is waiting for you at our coffee shop; it’ll help you stay energized

Favorite coffee shop…Starbucks? Pretty sure that’s the only one we’ve ever been to, and the only one that I’m constantly at is the one by the Drake hotel, where Laura and I ran into him and Kaner last year. So I get there and walk up to the front counter,

“Hi, can I help you?” The girl asks
“Yeah, my boyfriend actually sent me here saying…” I begin to tell her
“Oh, are you Jamie?”
“Yeah!” I say as she turns around real quick
“Here you go,” She says and hands me coffee, a red rose and another note
“Thanks!”
“Your welcome, good luck!”

I read the next note as I’m walking out drinking my caramel latte…oh he knows me too well.

I remember my exact words-“If people want to talk, then we might as well give them something to talk about” look for one of the guys, they will have the next clue.

Ok, now he’s making me think here…OH DUH! He told me that after we left the pizza place like way last year, on the first day we met, wow he has a good memory. So I get back in my car and drive near the pizza place where we went to lunch that day that feels like forever ago. I get out and walk down the street trying to remember the exact spot when I see Jack sitting on one of the benches.

“Lookin’ for someone?” Jack asks with a smile
“Yeah, actually. Jon sent me over here and told me to look for one of the guys…and since your holding a rose, I’m going to assume it’s you,”
“Yes, ma’am it is. Jon did good with setting this up, and I’m happy to help, so here you go,” He says handing me the rose and the note
“Thanks, Jack!”

We said our first ‘I love you’ and even though you got a black eye, it was still an amazing night.

Ok, team night on the riverboat, when the crazy bitch punched me. Navy Pier. But who do I look for?

“Hello, are you Jamie?” A gentleman near the dock asks
“Yes, I am” I tell him
“Well, your boyfriend is a clever man, these are for you,” he says, handing me a note and of course a rose
“Thank you” I say as I read and walk away

Pretty sure that if you wanted to, we would eat here every night. We’ve made so many memories here, and this is where you first met the guys that I call my family.

Cheesecake Factory! My favorite restaurant. So I walk back to my car and head to the restaurant, notes and roses in the seat next to me. I get to the restaurant and walk in when the hostess and someone who looks like a manager say hello

“Hi, my boyfriend sent me on a scavenger hunt and said that a clue is here,”
“Would that boyfriend of yours happen to be Mr. Toews?” the girl asks
“Yep, sure is” I tell him as she grabs the note…and another rose
“So you’re the lucky girl who stole the heart of our Hawks captain,” the manager says
“Yes sir, that would be me,”
“Well, we wont keep you, but please wish him and the rest of the boys good luck,”
“Thanks, and I will,”

We watched Stanley Cup Playoff games here. We also had our first kiss of the New Year here. And I can see so many more memories being made. #10

Sharp’s house. ‘Nuff said. So I get back in my car and drive to their house.

“Hey Jamie!” Abby says as she lets me in the house
“Hi! How are you?” I ask
“Good, you?”
“Good, Hey Patrick,”
“Hey JJ, what brings you here?”
“Wow nice to see you too!”
“Yeah, honey. Jon sent her on a scavenger hunt and he asked to leave one of the clues here,”
“Toes is smart enough to do something like that? I never woulda guessed!” Patrick says
“Yeah, he is, and they have all been good too,” I tell him
“Yeah! Here you go, missy!” Abby says and hands me the paper and a rose
“Thanks! I guess I’ll see ya’ll later,”
“Ok, have fun!”
“Bye, Jamie!”
“Bye guys” I say as I walk back to my car and get in before I read the note

You made it! Ha ha, now it’s time to go to your favorite place at home. Further instructions will be waiting for you.

Further instructions? Geez where the heck is this boy? I wonder if he will even be home when I get there…well my favorite place at home is by far the easiest. I get home and open the door to see that the balcony door is open, so I put my things down right away and slowly walk towards the door. Jon is standing there, with 4 more roses in his hand; he turns around when he hears me open the door a little more

“Hey, baby,” He greets me with a hug and a kiss
“Hi,”
“Did you have fun on your scavenger hunt?” he asks as he hands me the remaining roses
“Yeah, it was interesting, but fun too,”
“Well good, I figured that the balcony would be a good last clue to throw in there,”
“Yep, I do love being out here,”

“So, Jamie. I did this scavenger hunt because I wanted to point out the best memories I’ve had with you out here,”
“And you did a good job at it too,”
“Thanks, I had been planning this for a while, and I wanted it to be perfect,” He says as he turns to face me
“The last year has been so amazing, and I’m so thankful for everyday that I get to spend with you, I know we have had our ups and downs, but we have worked through them, and became stronger, together; and I look forward to more days of spending with you and making more memories, even if it includes some ups and downs.” He says, as he gets down on one knee. OH. MY. GOD.
“Jamie, I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?” and opens the box he pulled out of his pocket

"Oh my god, yes, of course I will, oh my gosh babe!" I say tearing up as he stands up and puts the ring on my finger, then his lips meet mine
"You just made me the happiest man in the world, baby,"
"Well, I'm happy to do that, wow babe, I didnt expect this!"
"I love you so much baby,"
"I love you too!" I say as we share another kiss

Oh goodness...I'm getting married!!!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Chapter 20

**Didnt think I would be getting this up, but it's short and I'm in between brainstorming and writing more, so I figured I would post this. ALSO...I noticed I lost 2 followers, kinda made me sad :( so I want to thanks all you ladies following and even other readers, please follow my story! I promise I have a lot planned for these two and even though I have a crazy school schedule coming up, I want to continue it!
Another chapter will hopefully be up by this weekend, this is basically a filler chapter, so enjoy! and please leave comments if you like it or what you think is going to happen or whatever! Thanks ladies :)
~J

“Hello,” I say,
“What the hell is happening right now?” she asks me
“What do you mean?”
“I just spent the last hour listening to Pat talk about some hooker he was with out in Toronto,”
“Ok, well what happened?”
“Him and the boys went to a bar after they beat the Leafs, he got crazy drunk and hooked up with some random girl. He told me he didn’t sleep with her, but they hooked up for a while and she went back to the hotel with him. But doesn’t he room with Jon on road trips?”
“Yeah, and I have a confession that I knew about this after the boys got home,”
“WHAT? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because he asked me not to say anything until he could clear his head and talk to you about it himself, and it’s not my place to tell you that your boyfriend cheated on you.”
“Oh, ok then,”
“So what did he say? I mean, what’s going to happen?”
“He said he needed time to clear his head and figure things out; which was part of the reason why he played like shit tonight, he said he didn’t know how he was feeling about it,”
“Ok,”
“And he’s not used to being in a relationship, because he’s not really that kind of guy, and he didn’t know how I would feel about it,”
“Ok, so what do you think, what do you want to have happen?”
“I don’t know. Now I feel that I really cant trust him, so I don’t know what to do either.”
“Well, maybe you guys need some time apart so ya’ll can figure things out,”
“Yeah, he had mentioned that,”
“I know people always say that time apart usually means a break up but that isn’t always the case, I’m just trying to help you guys out so do whatever you feel is right,”
“Ok, I guess I should call him again,”
“Ok, let me know how it goes,”
“Ok, bye,” she says as we hang up

The two of them talked and decided to take a break…basically breaking up, but I wasn’t saying that. Laura was having a harder time with it, because I know she really liked him. She had some stressful days at the arena, being that she couldn’t really avoid him. 2 weeks had gone by and she was completely miserable when she came into my office and sat down as I sent a few emails.

“Hey girl,” I say
“I hate this,” Laura says
“I’m sorry, I wish there was something I could do,”
“Can I go back home?”
“No, because then that’s showing Pat that you are giving up, and besides you have a great job with the team, you wouldn’t want to give that up,”
“But nothing is changing! I can barely look at him if he walks into the trainers room, and the most we do is say hi,”
“Well you can’t expect things to change right away,”
“It’s been 2 weeks!”
“I know, but he has other things on his mind too, like trying to win games and not get into any more fights or being on coaches shit list, you can’t rush things otherwise it will make things worse,”
“It seems like everything is making it worse,”
“Ya’ll agreed on the whole taking a break thing, so you both have to stick with that, and figure things out between the two of you,”
“But, I just want to be happy,”
“You will be! But you have to quit being so stubborn in the mean time. I really hope things work out because I hate seeing Kane so quiet, it’s very unlike both of you,”
“But what if we break up for good?”
“Then I’m sorry to say it but shit happens. I can’t control Pats emotions or feelings or what he wants to do, all I can do is be here and support both of you, and that includes not letting you go home”
“Ugh, ok fine.”
“At least stick it out through the season, that would look bad to the organization if you quit in the middle of the season, especially for the reasoning,”
“Spoken like a true professional,” She says with a slight laugh
“Well, ya know, I have to be professional working with all these crazy boys around.”
“I just wish we had a relationship as awesome as yours and Jon’s”
“Oh girl, it’s not perfect or anything, we both have our flaws,”
“Yeah, but ya’ll are so cute, I have never seen you guys fight, like ever! And he’s never cheated on you either, ya’ll are perfect for each other,”
“Well thanks, but I have faith in you and Pat, I think you guys will end up being ok, but you can’t let it get in the way of either of yours jobs, because we all saw how well that worked for him,”
“Ha! Yeah, ok well thanks, I’ll try to be patient,” she says getting up,
“Patience is a virtue!” I yell at her as she’s walking out

Barely 2 minutes later, Pat walks in…geez is my office the new therapists office?

“Hey” Pat says before sitting down
“Hi Patty!” I say with a smile, he HATES that nickname
“So, I’ve come to a conclusion,”
“Ok, and what’s that?”
“If Laura is willing to give me another chance, I want to see if things will work out again,”
“Ya know Pat, I think she will do that, but you are seriously going to have to earn back some major trust points, because she still doesn’t trust you,”
“Ok, yeah I know,”
“And both of ya’ll are my friends, so I don’t want to kill either one of you for hurting each other, so figure it out…please?”
“You got it,”
“Ok, and Patrick, don’t do anything stupid either, because I will make sure you will never play hockey again,” I say laughing
“Yeah, good luck,” he says getting up
“Just a warning, kid,”

So, turned out Laura was a little more of a softy then I thought…ha. She and Pat decided to give it another shot, but she was still having a hard time trusting him, and she pretty much had every right to, after what he did. But people make mistakes, and learn from them.

March was fast approaching; the boys were 2nd in their division and looked great getting closer to the playoffs. I had started to think about being out here for spring break last year and it dawned on me that Jon and I’s one year anniversary would be here soon…it had been a while since I had been a relationship this long, but I wouldn’t change anything for the world.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Chapter 19

**Pretty short and mostly dialogue, but I know ya'll have been waiting to see what happens with the Kane situation....so here it is! I havent had time to write ahead like I was tryin to do so Ill try to write more tonight and have a new chapter up by like Tuesday at the latest....enjoy! :)

Jon heads home while I finish up at the office. I get home to him taking a nap so I decide to start cooking something for dinner when my phone rings…Kaner.

“Hello?”
“Hey, are you busy?”
“No, just making dinner, what’s going on?”
“I need to talk to you, it’s kind of important,”
“Well, do you want to come over here?”
“Ok, I’ll be there in like 10 minutes,”
“Ok, bye” I say as Jon is waking up

“Who was that?” He asks
“Kaner, he’s coming over because he said he has to talk to me about something important…any idea?”
“Kind of,”
“Oh, geez, am I going to hurt him?”
“I think he’s hurting himself, so that might not be needed,”
“Does it involve you too?”
“No, I tried to stop him,” he responds as the doorbell rings, so he gets up to answer it

“Hey Kaner,” Jon says and lets him in
“Hey,” Pat says as he walked to the table and sits down
“Pat, I don’t know what your about to tell me but I love you like a brother so please don’t make me hurt you,” I tell him, sitting down at the table
“Ok, well I hope not so here goes nothing…you know how we went out for drinks that night after we beat the Leafs?” he asks me, I say yes before he continues
“Well, things got a little crazy, a little more out of hand then I would have expected, and I’ll tell you too that Jon did nothing but try and help, he didn’t do anything wrong,”
“Ok,” I say
“We were at the bar getting drinks when some girl came up to me and we started talking, I bought her a few shots, so we were a little drunk. I honestly couldn’t even tell you her name because that’s how drunk I was. But before I knew it, we were dancing and ended up kissing on the dance floor,”
“Oh my gosh, Patrick!” I say
“I know, I know. So we leave the bar and she comes with me. Jon and Sharpie try and get her to leave but neither of us did anything. She came to the hotel, Jon crashed in Sharpie and Hammer’s room because he didn’t care to see anything. But I didn’t sleep with her, I started getting sober and yeah it took a while but I realized what was going on, so I kicked her out.”
“Did she know you have a girlfriend?”
“No, that wasn’t brought up, but I kicked her out before things got worse,”
“Ok, so now that you’ve told me this, you want to know how to tell Laura,”
“Yeah, basically. I don’t want to hurt her and I know that I’m known for the reputation of being a man whore. So I don’t know what to do.”
“Ok, well, obviously you need to tell her, especially now that I know about it. It’s not a secret you can keep. But when it comes to you not knowing how to tell her, that’s all up to you. You have to clear out your mind and feelings and figure out what you want. But you have to be completely honest."
“Yeah, but I need some time to think about it all, and I don’t know about that either.”
“So take the time to think about it, and if it becomes awkward when you’re around her, you need to bring it up. I can’t really help you with that one either.”
“I figured that much, I just don’t want to hurt her,”
“Well I hate to break it to you but I think that will have already been done when you tell her,”
“Ok. Well thanks Jamie, I’ll get things cleared up soon, but please don’t mention anything to her,”
“Oh, I wont, this is all up to you kid,” I say as Kaner gets up
“Ok, thanks for letting me talk to you about this, and thanks for not killing me,”
“Your welcome and I think I’d be dead shortly after killing you,”
“Yeah, true. Ok, Ill talk to you guys later,” he says walking out the door

“So is that why he was so quiet after ya’ll got home?” I ask Jon as we sit back down to eat
“Yeah, he’s never really been in a relationship so he doesn’t know how to handle things well,”
“Yeah, I could see that. I know he’s used to being crazy and living the single life,”
“That’s Kaner for you,”
“True. Well it’s good too that you tried to help,”
“I usually try. I hate when he gets out of control, and apparently Sharpie and I couldn’t keep an eye on him,”
“But at least you tried which is a plus. Geez, how did I get so lucky with you?”
“I’ve just never been one to be a crazy partier, and always being serious, you know,”
“Yeah, I know all about that. Chelsea told me that it’s the girls that don’t worry about their men are the ones that should be worried, but she said I’m not one of them.”
“And she is right, because I know that we have that level of trust where we can be together and still do our own thing. I know that you do worry about me, but it’s when I’m on the ice,”
“Yeah, it is. I always worry about you getting hurt,”
“I know, that’s always a worry, but we do our best to be as safe as possible. But you know I love you right. I’d like to think I’m a little smarter then Kaner to act as crazy as he does.”
“And I love you too. Yeah I think you are, you’re not as crazy as he is.”
“Ok good,” Jon says with a smile as we finish eating and start cleaning up, and decided to have a relaxing night at home and watch movies; I couldn’t help but wonder how and when Pat was going to talk to Laura.