There's Things That Aren't Worth Giving Up

Natalia McDonough woke up that Sunday morning with a smile on her face. She had been in Prague with her boyfriend, Marty Havlat, for the past two weeks, and she found herself falling in love with the place. When she had first left Chicago to come to Prague, she had been extremely nervous, as this was the first time she was going to meet Marty’s parents.

She and Marty hadn’t had the best experience when Natalia’s father, Chicago Blackhawks’ President John McDonough, had found out about their relationship. John hadn’t been open to their relationship in the beginning, as he was worried that Natalia was using Marty as a rebound relationship after her last boyfriend had gotten killed when they had been overseas with the Army. But, after a while, everything had worked out, and John had given them his seal of approval.

Then, it was Marty’s parents turn to meet Natalia. The entire plane ride Natalia had sat, tapping her feet on the floor nervously. “Natalia,” Marty said, grabbing her hand and giving it a small squeeze. “Calm down. Everything is going to be fine. I’ve already told you that my parents are going to love you,” he told her, leaning over and giving her a kiss, which seemed to have calmed her down for a total of five seconds before she started tapping her feet once again. He laughed to himself, realizing this was one of the many reasons he was so in love with Natalia.

As they got off the plane, Natalia’s breathing had started to become erratic, and Marty grew more and more worried. Natalia had post traumatic stress disorder, and while it was under control at the moment, he knew that anything could send her into a panic attack, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen to her. “Nat, are you okay?” he asked, putting his arm around her.

Natalia spun around to look at him, worry evident in her eyes. “What happens if they don’t like me?” she asked.

“Natalia, I’ve told you a million times that they’re going to love you,” Marty said with a smile. He knew that his parents were going to like her. There wasn’t a person out there that couldn’t like her. “Please stop worrying,” he begged. Natalia gave him a small smile in return, walking towards baggage claim to get their luggage.

Before they got out of the car at Marty’s parents’ house, Marty turned to look at Natalia. “Nat, take a breath,” he said with a laugh, and she did as she was told. “Okay, now, are you ready to meet my parents?” he asked, and Natalia slowly nodded her head. Marty got out of the car, walking around to the other side and opening the door for Natalia. He grabbed her hand, leading her inside.

As soon as she walked in the front door, Natalia could smell food baking in the kitchen. Marty walked towards the smell, and as soon as his mother saw him, she ran over to him, throwing her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. “I missed you,” she told him in their native language of Czech. Marty said something back to her, but Natalia was unable to understand him.

He turned around, pulling Natalia to his side. “Nat, this is my mother, Adéla,” he introduced. “Máma, this is my girlfriend, Natalia.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Natalia,” Adéla told her, and Natalia reached out her hand for Adéla to shake, but Adéla immediately enveloped her into a hug.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Natalia smiled, looking over Adéla’s shoulder at Marty, giving him a smile that he immediately returned. As soon as his mother let go of Natalia, Marty instantly wrapped his arm around her.

“Where’s táta?” Marty questioned, referring to his father, Erik.

“He went into town,” Adéla spoke in Czech, but when she saw Natalia’s confused face, she immediately apologized. “I’m sorry,” she told her. “He went into town,” she repeated in English, and Natalia nodded her head in understanding. “Dinner will be finished in thirty minutes,” she told the two of them before turning around to look at Natalia. “Natalia, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself,” Adéla suggested.

Twenty-five minutes later, Erik walked through the front door, and as soon as he saw Marty, a smile spread across his face. “Marty!” he called, and Marty went to his father, giving him a hug.

“Erik, I think there’s someone else you’d like to meet,” Adéla told her husband, and Erik looked over at her curiously. “This is Natalia, Marty’s girlfriend,” she explained, and Erik quickly walked over, giving Natalia the same hug he had just given Marty.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” he said with a thick accent. “It’s good to meet you,” he told her.

“It’s good to meet you, too,” Natalia smiled, while Adéla shuffled everyone into the kitchen for dinner.

By the end of that night, Natalia already felt like part of the family with the way Adéla and Erik were treating her. Walking up the stairs to show Natalia the guest room since she refused to stay in the same room as Marty in his parents’ house, Marty put his arms around her. “See, I told you it wouldn’t be bad,” Marty told her, opening up the door to the guest room.

Natalia walked inside, looking around at the room that held a few pictures of Marty’s family from when Marty was a child. “You were right,” she agreed, stopping in front of one of the pictures. “Oh my God, you were like the cutest child ever!” she gushed, pointing her finger at the picture.

Marty laughed a little. “I was adorable, wasn’t I?” he asked jokingly.

“Yeah, too bad you couldn’t stay that way,” she laughed, punching him lightly in the arm, and when Marty feigned sadness, Natalia gave him a kiss to cheer him up. “Seriously, though, your parents are amazing.”

“I told you they would love you,” he told her. “Just like I do,” he added.

“I love you, too,” she told him, giving him another kiss. “But, I’m really tired right now, so do you think you could leave so I can go to bed?” she asked with a sweet smile.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t be more comfortable sleeping in my room with me tonight?” Marty asked.

“I’ve already told you, I’m not sleeping in the same bed as you while we’re at your parents’ house,” she told him. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she told him with a final kiss as he reluctantly left the room, going to his own bedroom.

So, now it was two weeks later, and Natalia couldn’t believe that she was ever nervous to meet Marty’s parents. They were two of the nicest people she had ever met, and they had welcomed her into the family with open arms. She grabbed some clothes out of the closet and a towel and walked down to the bathroom. She saw the door shut, and she was about to turn around when the door suddenly opened, and Marty walked out with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Good morning,” he smiled at her, leaning down and giving her a kiss. “Now, why couldn’t this have been the other way around?” he asked.

Natalia looked up at him, confused. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

He saw his mother coming down the hallway, and he leaned in, whispering in her ear, “I would much rather see you standing here in a towel.” Natalia started to say something, but Marty looked behind her saying, “Máma, how are you this morning?”

“I’m good,” she smiled at him. “But, you need to go get dressed and let this poor girl into the bathroom,” she laughed, putting her hand on Natalia’s shoulder.

“I see who you love more,” Marty joked, and Adéla and Natalia laughed at him, as he walked down the hallway towards his room.

A half an hour later, Natalia was making her way into the kitchen, throwing her damp hair up into a pony tail, listening as Marty and his parents spoke in Czech. She had no idea what they were talking about, but the way they were talking excitedly brought a smile to her face. “Natalia!” everyone exclaimed when she walked into the kitchen.

“Get yourself something to eat,” Adéla told her, and Natalia smiled at her as she did as she was told.

“So, what are your plans for today?” Marty asked her as she settled in with her piece of bread that she had spread jelly on and her cup of tea.

“Well, Adéla said something about going into town to shop,” Natalia told him, turning around to Adéla. “I don’t know if you’re still interested or not, though,” she told her.

“Of course I am!” Adéla exclaimed. “We’ll go as soon as you’re finished with breakfast."

“Okay,” Natalia said with a smile on her face as she took a bite of the bread.

Moments later, Marty’s cell phone started ringing, and he excused himself to take the call. Natalia assumed it was something important if he was leaving the room to answer it. But, she shrugged it off, as she began talking to Adéla and Erik. When Marty came back into the kitchen, Natalia instantly knew everything wasn’t okay. “What’s wrong?” she asked him as he sat back down at the table. Adéla and Erik looked over at Marty, waiting on his answer, but Marty remained quiet. “Marty?” Natalia asked, concerned.

“I was just traded to Minnesota,” he announced.