The Pursuit of Happiness (Patrick Kane)

|Eleven|

Patrick

After pulling a lot of strings and me wearing Kayleigh down for a few days straight we find a night for her to come out to a Blackhawks game. There was a little over a month left of regular season hockey before the post season started. Time was flying and there wasn't a lot of time to get her into a game before the playoffs madness begins. Luckily for her, she has met a few of the guys and their significant others who will also be in attendance. I know this isn't her type of thing but she's learned pretty quickly. I've been over to her place and we watched a game together and I explained what was happening. Naturally she picked up quickly and between her and I she actually liked it. She's done some research of her own about the sport and the Blackhawks and I think she will fit right in.

So I pick her up from her place and bring her to the United Center. We were super early so I decided to give her the tour. She was curious to say the least so I didn't always have answers to her questions, but knowing her she will find out one way or another.

"Is this you" she asks as she finds a picture of me hanging up. It was my rookie season and it was right after I scored my first goal. I had the baby face and curly blonde hair, and not a clue in the world of the wonderful things that awaited me with this team.

"That's me" I smile. "I thought I was some hot shit, I'm not going to lie. But I was only getting started."

"Your eyes look different now" she claims. I stop walking by her side as I turn to her.

"What do you mean" I question.

"They're a little bit more tired. Like you've been through so much since this picture was taken and although it hasn't all been bad, it still wears on you. You're a outgoing kid but these pressures are more than any man should have to withstand. Your eyes are still bright, that innocence and pure enjoyment is still there. But it came at the cost of being this age and not having control over your life or what happens to you" she explains.

"A lot has happened since that picture. We won the cup, I won rookie of the year, I played in the Olympics and in Switzerland and in outdoor games. People are saying that by the time it's all said and done that I'll be the greatest player from the United States" I say.

"And what will your eyes say" she questions.

"I'm a little afraid to know. I live in the present because I don't know what the future holds, my eyes can't see that far ahead of me. I've done so much already and there's so much more I can be doing. I know I am meant for greatness, I just wish I knew what that means" I sigh.

"I think you will be great, but I don't think you need to lose your sparkle in your eyes in order to do so. No matter what your love for the game, for your teammates and all the sacrifices you and your family made won't go unnoticed. It'll be hard but your history is in your hands should you have the strength to mold it" she mentions.

"I don't have strong hands like you" I insist.

"From what I learned you have the best hands in the league" she smirks.

"So you did look me up" I accuse.

"I never said I didn't" she argues.

"At least you don't believe everything you read" I mumble as I roll my eyes.

"Why do you care so much what those people say about you" she questions. "They don't know you Patrick, they never asked who you are or why you're this way. So why give them the satisfaction of taking away your voice on top of everything else? Why do you let these people write these lies and then die a little bit every day you don't say the truth" she asks.

"Because people don't want to hear about my side of the story. The more I talk the more people put me down" I defend.

"Because you let them. What would this you in this picture say if he saw you now" she wonders.

I sit and think as I look at myself. While I was a bit arrogant and cocky back then, I also knew my worth and I stood up for myself. Somewhere between then and now I lost a few different parts of me. I stopped being Patrick Kane and I became like every other NHL player too afraid of the power they hold and wanting to keep it for themselves. But maybe I can be the one who steps out of the shadows we were forced to be in to protect this image professional athletes are held to. And maybe Kayleigh was just the girl to help me do it.

"He would be disappointed in me, in the things I said but more of the things I didn't say. Making mistakes is natural but not owning up to them and staying silent isn't okay. I knew that back then and I forgot it. I forgot a lot of things on my way to being the athlete I am now" I admit.

"You should try being someone that kid would be proud of" she suggests.

"I think I can give it a try" I smile.

We finish up the tour and I send her off with Patrick's fiancé Abby and Jonny's girlfriend Lindsey. They take off to their seats and I go to get ready for the game. I walk past that picture of me again and stop in my tracks. I look at my eyes and she was right, they're still bright but they were defiantly more tired. Life was wearing on me and I showed it. I let everyone and everything around me get the best of me and now I don't know where I stand on much of anything. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon.

The game comes and goes and we once again win. We were making history here as we have the best start any sports team has ever seen. And being a part of the success is a honor and I love being able to be a part of this history. I hope we can continue to defy all odds and change the game.

We do interviews and I shower before doing a cool down then going out to look for Kayleigh. She has class early tomorrow so I don't want to keep her out too late. So I find her talking away to her friends she's made in her time here. She wasn't like many of the girls down here, she's working on her fourth degree and a masters while not a lot of the girls around here work or have a degree. But she's not like anyone no matter where she goes so she is probably used to it.

"Hey you" I say as I appear by her side. She smiles up to me big as I wrap a friendly arm around her.

"Hey you. Good game" she says making my heart skip a beat.

"Thanks. I might have had a little more motivation out there knowing you were here watching. I didn't want to disappoint you at your first game" I tease.

"Well I loved it. I think Lindsey and Abby talked me into moving some things around in my schedule so I can catch another game" she claims as I raise my eyebrow at her.

"Really" I ask.

"People change, remember" she questions.

"You said it, so of course I remembered" I promise.