Our Love Remains

With the music blaring in her ears, she wasn't paying too much attention to what was happening around her. She was aware of her surroundings, but she was thinking about the message her brother had left on her voicemail. He wanted to set her up once again with one of his co-workers or his wife's friend. That was the last thing she wanted. Sure it had been a year and a half since her last serious relationship and had more flings than her brother would approve of, but that was how she was getting over the one that broke her heart, the one she gave everything too. So after listening to the message, she put on a pair of jogging pants and a tank top and her favorite running shoes before grabbing her ipod and heading to Grant Park to do something to clear her mind.

Halfway through her run she was truly feeling better and knew what she would say to her brother about his meddling in her personal life. Speeding up her pace a bit, she slowed down to let person on bicycle pass her by before continuing down the path. She loved running in Grant Park. It was the park that she had many childhood memories at. But she didn't want to think about that at the moment, no she just wanted to finish her run and then go home and talk to her brother about butting out of her life when that part didn't concern him whatsoever.

Having a frisbee connect with her face was not something that she had planned on. She could feel the blood falling into her hand as she looked down at the offending object that had hit her hard, not only in the nose but in the top of her lip as well. Hearing at least two voices, she closed her eyes hoping the pain in her face would go away.

“Are you alright?” a voice asked from in front of her.

“Do I look alright to you?” she asked as she opened her eyes up. “Is that yours?”

“Yeah, we were just tossing it around. Burr was supposed to catch it, but he was looking at his damn phone.”

“Is that supposed to be an apology for hitting me in the face with a frisbee?”

“You're right, that apology really sucked. I really am sorry. And he's sorry to.” he said as his elbow connected with his friend.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Why don't you let me take you to the ER? You should have that looked at.”

“Sit for hours in a hospital waiting room over a bloody nose?” she said. “I don't think so.”

“Can I look at it?” he asked.

Looking into his eyes, she hesitated. “I'll be okay.”

“Please? I feel bad about all of this.”

With a sigh, she lowered her hand and looked into his eyes. He stepped closer and looked at her nose. “I'm no doctor, but you should have that looked at.”

“I'm not going to the hospital. I have to go to work today.”

“Let me take you to the UC,” he said. “The medical staff can take a look at you and make sure nothing is beyond repair.”

“That's really unnecessary. I'll just-”

“Can you two stop arguing over this and can we just go?”

Looking away from him and to his friend who was placing his phone into his pocket, she had the urge to roll her eyes at him, but she was able to control it.

“Burr, knock it off,” he told his friend before turning his attention back to the woman in front of him. “Will you please let me take you to the UC and have all that checked out?”

“Okay,” she agreed. “But if it takes more than two hours you have to take me back here so that I can get my car and go home.”

“Okay,” he laughed. “I don't think I caught your name.”

“That's because I didn't give it to you,” she smiled. “I'm Aubrey.”

“I'm Patrick and the guy attached to his phone is Adam.”

“Want a tissue?” Adam asked as he pulled a packet of tissues out of his pocket.

Aubrey and Patrick couldn't help but laugh.

Sitting at a park bench in Grant Park, Patrick didn't know how things were so amazing for the past three years and then all of a sudden things went so horribly. At least to him it was sudden. Things with Aubrey had been wonderful, she didn't complain about him being gone so much since she was working crazy hours with her job as a bartender and a waitress. He remembered when she used to talk about opening her own bar someday, but then her father passed away last year, leaving her to take care of everything. And after life went back to normal, that's when she realized the amount of money she had to spend on everything and her hopes of opening her own bar went down the drain. It had killed him when he saw the look in her eyes as she realized she wouldn't have that bar.

Standing up, he looked at the watch on his wrist. Being in Grant Park brought so many memories for him, all of them were good. It was the place they met, the place they had their first date and someday he wanted to ask her to marry him here, but that didn't look like it would be happening any longer.

Every day it seemed like she was slipping further and further away from him and he didn't know how to stop it from happening. He bought her things, spent as much time as he could with her, but nothing seemed to do it. Then when he went to his friend Duncan Keith about it, he seemed to get an idea of how to fix it, but was it so simple? Could he just tell her the words and everything would be fixed? Somehow, things didn't seem that simple.

After leaving the park, he went home, he only had a day off before things really started to pick up before the playoffs would start. He wanted his attention on the game and not worrying over if he'd find Aubrey gone after a roadtrip. In his heart, he knew she would never leave that way, unless it was a last resort in her mind.

Walking through the door of the home they shared, he knelt down to give his dog Shooter a bit of attention. Standing back up, he turned to shut the door which is when he saw the envelope taped to the door. Taking if off the door, he walked into the living room as he read it.

Patrick,

There are million things I want to tell you, but sometimes I feel as if you don't want to hear them. So I guess this was my way of figuring out if we keep going in circles or move forward together. You know how much I love you, but I can't pretend that I'm happy when I'm not. Putting on a brave face for the past four months was a lot harder than it looked. But I am done pretending.

I love you so much that it hurts to be writing this while sitting on the bed we shared for so long. You were there for me for so many things, you even tried to pay for me to open the bar that I had been dreaming about. I want so much for us to stop pretending that things are going to be okay, when we don't know that they will be.

I have made the decision to move out for a while. I'll be staying with a friend and no I won't tell you where I am or who the friend is. I think it's time that you think about what it is you want from us and for our future. No matter what, my love for you will remain the same. Take your time. Call me when you are ready to talk about this.

Love Always,

Aubrey

He read the note once, then twice and then a third time before crumpling it into a ball and tossing it across the room. Putting his head in his hands, he wanted nothing more than to scream while he tugged on his hair, but he refrained, well from the yell at least. Knowing she wasn't coming home tonight, he just wanted her back in their home tonight, but he knew how when she put her mind to something it was hard to convince her otherwise of how it should be.

Time went by slowly, when the team had returned to Chicago Patrick knew what it was that he needed to do get Aubrey to come back to him. And knowing that he should have done it sooner, just made him feel like an idiot. He just hoped that he wasn't too late. He wanted her to be at the United Center watching him play against his former team, the Philadelphia Flyers. He had sent her a text and a voicemail asking her to meet him at Grant Park, he didn't say where, but she would know where he meant. He got there half an hour before when he asked Aubrey to meet him, he was too nervous to stay at home and watch the clock. To his surprise, she showed up ten minutes after he did.

Looking at her while she walked up to him, he had missed talking to her and seeing her. She was wearing a pair of flip flops along with a red blackhawks shirt that he suspected had his name and number on the back along with a jean skirt that hit her mid-thighs. Standing up he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her and held her body close to his. “Is Adam somewhere around waiting to throw a frisbee? If so, I'm so out of here.”

That was one thing that never changed, they both loved to joke about how if Adam hadn't been so lazy to catch the frisbee that day, they wouldn't have met. “He's at home, hopefully doing laundry.”

“So my nose and mouth are safe?” she smiled halfheartedly at him.

“Nose, yes. Mouth, probably not.” Patrick smiled.

“Alright, what was so important that we had to meet here today and now?”

“I've been doing a lot of thinking like you told me.” Patrick told her taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze.

“And what did you come up with?”

“That day when the frisbee hit you was the day I knew everything was about to change. I love you Aubrey and I am sorry for the way I treated you. But while I was thinking, I came to realize something.”

“What?” she asked, feeling the tears in her eyes.

“I can never stop loving you. I don't want to keep going in circles anymore,” he told her dropping to one knee and pulling out a ring box from his Chicago Blackhawks jacket. “Aubrey, will you marry me?”

Sucking in a breath, she was caught by surprise. She hadn't seen this coming at all. Looking down at him, she took in his appearance, his casual clothing, his messy hair, and his playoff beard, it was who he was. The hockey player that threw a frisbee one day in the park and hit her in the face with it.

Nodding her head, she smiled. “Yes.”

“I'm gonna give it all to you, Aubrey, you have all of me. My love has been yours for a long time.”

“I just want the happy ever after with you.”

“That will be a good start.” He said getting up and kissing her before they sat down on the bench.

Placing the ring on her finger, he gathered her into his arms and just held her. Maybe love was the answer after all.