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

2 comments:

  1. Just wanted to let you know that I loved this chapter.
    Can't wait for more!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Miranda! Glad you are enjoying it :) Another chapter will be up soon!

    ReplyDelete