Just Like Paradise

“Bye Daddy! I’m going to Sara’s!” Abby called from the entryway as she twirled her car keys around her finger, tucking her feet into a pair of sandals. Now that Abby was sixteen and had her own set of wheels, she was always jetting all over the place.

“Wait, wait!” TJ called, hurrying down the stairs with some rather precious cargo in one hand and a twenty in the other. “Bring home some diapers? You know what kind.” He said, handing her over the money as Jake Alexander Oshie giggled up at his big sister with his big brown eyes and gummy smile.

“No prob.” She smiled, kissing her Dad on the cheek before leaning down to do the same to her adorable baby brother.

The Oshies had finally gotten their wish a year and half ago when their adoption agent called with a baby ready for them to take in. When TJ and Brianna went to pick him up from the hospital, born to an unwed teenage mother who wanted nothing to do with her new child, they instantly fell in love. Brianna assured the fifteen-year-old girl that while it was hard to depart from a child she had carried for nine months, they would give the little boy a loving and nurturing home.

Brianna and TJ gave Jake his name and he was certainly one of the most beautiful children they had ever seen. His hair was a shocking white blonde and had enormous brown eyes lined by long, translucent lashes.

Abby had a hard time disliking the little boy and the Oshie brothers thought he was an absolute riot the way he liked to tug on their clothes, ears and hair. They still liked to dress him up in little warm-ups and all the tiny Bauer gear they could get their hands on. They had even received a pair of four-inch-long skates from Bergie and Kara shortly after they had brought Jake home.

“Will do.” Abby smiled before flouncing out of the house. TJ watched on warily as she got into her new little Jetta before pulling out of the driveway. His worst nightmare had come true, his baby girl was sixteen. She could drive, date, and stay out until ten-thirty.

“Babby!” Jake giggled after his sister as TJ bounced his boy on his hip, bringing him downstairs to the man cave to watch a little bit of the playoffs. It was the first time in a long time that the Blues had made it into the first round and TJ couldn’t be happier, even if he had an inkling their run would be short-lived.

It wasn’t long into Tyler found himself in the basement as well, sighing heavily as he flopped down onto the couch, Jake crawling from TJ’s lap into his older brother’s.

“How’s it going, kid?” TJ asked of his first born who had a lot of pressure on him lately.

“Pretty fine.” Tyler nodded, adjusting his maroon and gold cap on his head. It had been two weeks since he had committed to play hockey at the University of Minnesota. Sure, TJ was happy that his son had gotten a full D1 scholarship to a great school nonetheless, but he was hoping that maybe Tyler would be the next Oshie at UND. He would still cheer wholeheartedly for his son in the Gopher jersey, but now he held the same hopes for Nate. “I need to finish packing.” He sighed. This Friday was the second NHL draft TJ Oshie would be attending thus far in his lifetime, there to support his son along with the rest of the Oshie clan.

There were big talks of the Canucks and Kings scouting Tyler, hard, but they wanted to see how he’d fair in the WCHA for a year or two first. Tyler promised his mother that he would graduate college, a promise that both the Oshie boys made.

“Buh.” Jake happily played with Tyler’s hands before Tyler could flip him down onto his back, laying on his thighs before attacking his baby brother’s tummy with gentle fingers. Jake burst into wild giggles, thrashing his tiny limbs about as his high-pitched laugh filled the basement, making the two older men laugh.

“You’re funny.” Tyler shook his head as he picked the little boy up again, resting him against his chest and rubbing his big hand up and down his back. “Where’s Nay?” He asked his Dad who channel surfed between periods, the Blues already losing one to zero against the Sharks.

“He is with Ana.” TJ commented. The middle Oshie boy and the only Berglund girl had been in an ongoing relationship for almost two years now, and now that Nate was going to be a senior next year, he had seriously started looking at different schools. Brianna and TJ approved of their relationship after a while, but they didn’t know how they felt about either him following her to school or vice versa. “They’re both going to be over for dinner.” He added.

“Same with Brian.” Tyler frowned, speaking of Abby’s main squeeze that spent more time at the Oshie house than any of the Oshie men were comfortable with.

“Fuck.” TJ exhaled. “Hasn’t she moved on from him yet?” He asked, looking at his son for an honest answer.

“He’s not a total dumbass, plays football and isn’t a complete eyesore either. Abby’s really into him.” Tyler informed.

“She’s sixteen, she shouldn’t be really into anyone.” TJ’s frown increased, not wanting to think about his daughter with a teenage boy.

If he didn’t like talking about Brian, he certainly wouldn’t like the position he was going to find his daughter in later.

TJ frowned as he watched his daughter and her boyfriend spooning on the couch. His eyes narrowed in on the young quarterback’s hands that were moving around just a little too much for his liking.

“Bad!” He scolded, spraying water in Brian’s face with a Windex-like bottle repeatedly until the boy pretended to wake up. Brian looked up at Mr. Oshie wide-eyed at the death stare he was getting before he turned and walked from the room. It wasn’t Brian’s first encounter with the spray bottle and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Jake giggled incessantly at the boy before waddling into the kitchen after his father.

“Buh!” He exclaimed at TJ, wriggling around his tiny hips signaling that he wanted to be picked up, that is, before the front door opened. “Mama!” He squealed, running as fast as his tiny legs would take him to Brianna who had just stepped into the house. Mama was Jake’s only real word, and he used it a lot.

“Hey pretty baby.” Brianna smiled, scooping up her son onto her hip with a bag of groceries in another hand. “Have you had fun with Daddy and the boys today?” She asked, kissing all over his face as he giggled cutely. Jake clung to her tightly as TJ wrapped his arms around her from behind as she unloaded the steaks for dinner from the brown grocery bag.

“We had lots of fun.” TJ informed, kissing the back of her neck softly. “We took a nap, and watched some playoffs… and took another nap.” He listed, making her laugh. “And then we ate some boneless wings!” TJ grinned as Brianna gave him a less than amused look. “Well, I ate some and then baby boy had some yummy mashed bananas.” TJ laughed at the way Jake’s face scrunched at the mention of mashed bananas.

“Did you finish the packing?” Brianna asked of her husband, the one thing he had been told to do all day while Brianna ran around town picking up last minute things for their trip. “Baby!” She scolded at his guilty face. “That’s all you had to do today!” She pouted.

“I know, I’m sorry.” TJ pouted. “Let me make it up to you?” He grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

“Sure baby, march your butt up there right now and fix it.” She kissed his cheek, making him frown but comply nonetheless. He figured the more he pleased her now, the more likely she was to kick Brian out early tonight.

Fucking Brian.

---

“You’re looking sharp, Jake.” Tyler commented as Brianna and TJ joined their son in his hotel room later that weekend in Minneapolis. Jake gurgled at his brother and Brianna caught the spittle with a soft towel before it could drive on his tiny blue blazer ove his white button up, complete with a tiny pair of khakis.

“Baby where are your cufflinks?” Brianna frowned at the absence of the Tiffany silver on his wrists.

“Shit, I knew I was forgetting something.” He sighed as he grabbed them, clipping them on carefully.

“Let me get this.” TJ insisted, straightening the Windsor knot of the navy blue tie around his son’s neck. “Can’t deny us Oshie men clean up good, huh Mama?” TJ asked as he brushed off the shoulder of Tyler’s suit jacket.

“This is very true.” Brianna laughed as Nate and Abby appeared in the doorway, hand in hand as they, too were dressed to the nines. Nate wore a dark suit with a maroon tie while Abby wore a flattering black dress and red heels. TJ couldn’t believe his luck when it came to his family. They were beautiful, talented, and unconditionally loved. He couldn’t ask for more. And when they walked into the open arena of the Xcel Energy Center, he couldn’t keep the beaming smile from his face.

TJ Oshie had everything to be proud of. He made small talk with a few of the colleagues and friends from the league he had known for years and grinned as he saw one of his closest and dearest friends sitting down as well.

“Jonny Toews you son of a bitch.” TJ laughed as his friend stood to greet him, wrapping one another in a tight hug. “How’s it going JJ?” TJ asked, slapping Jonathan Toews Junior on the shoulder happily, knowing that they were here for similar reasons. The two caught up for as long as they could before it seemed that procedures to begin the event were seriously underway. The promised to talk soon and TJ’s nerves were getting the best of him as he sat back down in his row with his family, hands slightly shaky as he looked over at his son. He reached around and pulled Tyler’s head into him, kissing his temple lovingly, resting his arm around his son’s shoulders.

“Baby, whatever happens today, you know that your father and I, Nate, Abby, and Jake, could not be more proud of you. You are a smart, talented, handsome boy and any of these teams would be lucky to have you.” Brianna assured, her eyes watery as she smiled at her baby boy. She couldn’t believe it had been so many years since he was born. He didn’t run around the house stark naked anymore, he didn’t cuddle up to her bed when he was feeling sick, and he surely didn’t need her to make his every meal, fold his laundry, or make his bed. But that didn’t mean she would stop.

“Don’t cry, Mama.” Tyler smiled softly, placing a hand on her knee comfortingly as the draft began after all the formalities and traditions that started it each year.

“And with the first overall pick, the Buffalo Sabres select… Jonathan Toews Junior.” The crowd erupted into applause as JJ approached the stage after hugging his father and young sister before making his way to the stage. He shook hands with the coaching staff before pulling on his jersey and hat, posing for pictures before the draft could continue.

Player after player was selected and Tyler was growing visibly anxious. It was his lifelong dream to go in the first round, and there were only a few slots left to complete that dream. The whole Oshie family held their breath as the new head coach for the Vancouver Canucks took the stage. He had been heavily romancing the Oshie family for months now as well as the coaching staff for the Kings, trying to get a feel for Tyler Oshie and what set him apart from the other entrants.

“With the ninth pick of the two-thousand twenty-seven NHL draft, the Vancouver Canucks select Tyler Oshie.” Brianna’s lips wanted to erupt into as scream, but it came out as a strangled sob instead as Tyler nearly squeezed the life from her.

“Thank you so much.” He whispered before pressing a kiss to her head, moving on to hug TJ whose chest was swelling in utmost pride for his baby boy.

“Congratulations, Ty.” He choked out as they hugged tightly, fans from Vancouver screaming wildly and holding up homemade signs plastered with the Oshie name in the upper decks. Tyler went on to hug his baby brother to his chest, kissing him several times before handing him back to his father, moving on to Nate.

“One more year, bro.” Tyler assured, speaking of when Nate would hopefully in the same position, watching his dream come true.

“I love you, Abby.” He smiled, hugging his baby sister tightly as she cried lightly into his jacket, knowing that he would never forget this day.

“I love you too, Ty.” She smiled as he wiped her cheeks of stray tears before heading up to the stage, leaving his coat with his mother as he slid on his jersey after shaking hand upon hand upon hand. TJ and Nate shouted in reckless joy, hooting and hollering as he slipped the jersey over his head, pulling the cap down over his hair as well as they posed for several photos.

The Oshie family waited for a while as the first night of the draft finished up before heading back up to their rooms, knowing that Tyler would be caught up with interviews and press for the rest of the afternoon. It was to be expected with regular drafted players, but with the established name, Tyler was getting twice as much attention.

The rest of the night was spent in celebration. TJ ordered up champagne and food, the family cheering incessantly as Tyler finally entered the room later that night. Music was played and Brianna snapped photos as Tyler danced around the room with Jake who was smiling and gurgling at how happy and loud his family was being.

The Oshie family was ecstatic and yes, they’d have plenty more to celebrate in the coming years.