Blue Paint & Red Lights

It had been about two years since I said those words to him. That year, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup with Antti in goal, and the city erupted. Parties in the streets, in bars, in restaurants, outside the United Center, everywhere. My heart felt like it would explode. When Antti burst out of the locker room to meet me all I could do was shout, "I'm so proud of you!" Over and over, trying to raise my voice above the crowd and punctuating each repeat with kisses all over his face. The city was hysterical and so was I. Antti brought be into the locker room and there were shouts of, "DOC!" and champagne everywhere. Everyone was celebrating and finally- my breath had caught in my throat. Lord Stanley's cup sat in the middle of the locker room, directly above the indian head, gleaming in the light.
The young captain had the now full cup pressed to his mouth and he drank out of it, yelling in triumph after he lifted it from his lips. The cup was passed around and Antti was fourth to have the massive trophy. The champagne spilled all over his face as he drank it and he passed it to the nearest player and turned to me. His searing kiss tasted like dry champagne and the metal of the Stanley Cup. Cameras flashed away the rest of that night until Antti dragged me away to my apartment. That summer I met his parents for the first time.

The year after, only a few months prior to now, they lost. The semi-finals left them sullen and unable to defend the cup for a second year. That was the night Antti came to me and asked me a very important question. He had said to me, "You've been there for me when we've won, and you've been there for me when we've lost...Can you..Will you..? Can you always be there for me, and I can be there for you?" I had given him a tear-filled smile and nodded quickly, taking his face between my hands and kissing him the same way he had kissed me after he drank from Lord Stanley's cup.

Instead of a large production, we had gone to the Cook County courthouse in early July and were married legally in the United States in tee shirts and jeans for him, a skirt for me. Instead of going away for a honeymoon, we had left our friends and my family to fly to Finland, where I would meet his family and friends for the second time. It was there that we had a dress and a suit for him. We still came out of the Finnish courthouse, but this time I had a bouquet, and Antti was wearing his father's old suit. We made it legal in two countries, and his mother, Jonna, had taken pictures of our exit from the courthouse, white rose petals falling and his friends and family lifting hockey sticks as a canopy. We laughed as we ran through it. He had held my hand and on the other side, held the bible his father had given him before we went in. We slid into the car and I was laughing so hard I grabbed my sides through the tight fabric of the white bodice. Antti brushed his hair back and dropped the bible on the seat as his cousin started to drive the car.
"I love your family!" I had said between gasps for air.
He reached over and pulled the veil off, saying as he stared into my eyes. "That's good, because they're your family too, now."

It was surreal, to say the least. The wedding reception had gone quickly, even if I wanted it to last forever. There were stories passed around the large table in the basement of the Niemi family church. Most were in thick Finnish that I begged Antti to translate for me.
"You must learn Finnish one day." He professed, tired of translating the people of Vantaa's stories.
"I don't want to slaughter your native language, Antti." I said, straining to hear the English speakers tales. I was fascinated by how they told their folktales and just regular stories. I fell in love with the people of his hometown as easy as I fell in love with him.
His mother, Jonna, didn't understand her son when he had said that I was a doctor. Our wedding cake topper was him, in his pads and jersey, holding a blond nurse bridal-style. I appreciated the gesture though and accepted her cheerful hug before we cut the cake.

Our honeymoon was just as simple. His cousin drove us to his uncle's empty summer house in Vihti, a small town outside of Vantaa. His cousin called from the car that had just dropped us off, "Hauskaa, serkku!" his voice trailed as the car sped away.
"What did he say?" I asked Antti as we picked up the bags and put them on the front stoop of the brick summer home. He just shook his head and stretched out his arms.
I patted down the sides of my wedding dress and said, "There is no way you'll be able to lift me."
"I did once before."
Sighing, I allowed him to pick me up, while I chanted, "Don't drop me, don't drop me." and he moved quickly through the house. He placed me on the bed and held up a finger. Standing, I saw him bring in the bags and close the door. We were staying for a week before returning to Chicago. I needed to go back to work, and he needed to attend training camp.
"I said no moving!" He came back into the room, dropping the bags near the large fireplace.
"I need to shooower, Antti." I raised my hands to my stiff hair. "My bangs don't usually hang like this."
Antti chuckled and nodded his head, pointing to the hallway and said, "First door on the left."
Before leaving the room, I had him unzip the back of the dress and I slipped out of it, draping it on the foot-board of the bed before going into the bathroom, still in my wedding heels and white undergarments.

I thanked the higher powers that the water heater was still working in this old place, and massaged the hair spray out of my scalp. I was surprised at how easy it relaxed, and that Antti hadn't knocked on the door yet. I chuckled to myself, knowing that he was the type to wait patiently. I finished quickly, wrapping a towel around my body and stepped back into the bedroom, where Antti was crouched over the fireplace in pajamas and no shirt, trying desperately to fire it up.
Night was setting in and he cursed in Finnish at the fireplace that would not light. Cold was seeping into the house and I finally said, "Antti. Come here."
He stood, brushing his hair back and approaching me. I was standing next to the bed and chose that moment to drop the towel.
--

That night when we were laying there, huddled under the blankets for warmth in the cold Finnish twilight, I breathed him in deep.
"You smell like winter, Antti. It's July." I stated, cuddled against his chest.
"I smell like that because it's freezing in here. It should practically be snowing." He laughed, rubbing his hand up and down my arm, trying to create friction.
"Nope. You smelled like this in Chicago, too." I replied, wrapping my leg around his.
Antti scoffed playfully and said, "I need to get that fireplace started." and he jumped out of bed, grabbing at the pajamas that were laying on the floor. I sighed and covered my head with the blankets, curling into a ball while listening to the rhythmic 'swoosh' of the flint box and Antti's occasional curses. This was going to be the start of a long relationship with the crazy Fin, and I'm almost positive that I could handle it.