Blah Blah Blah

Levi cheered loudly, more or less screaming at the top of his lungs for his father. He could tell you the name of every player on the time, despite his miniscule vocabulary. You tell him a number, he’ll tell you the player, ask him the player, and he’ll tell you the number. He was an amazing little man, and he was all mine. Well, okay, I had to give Patrick a little bit of credit; he did do some of the work.

Watching Levi at games made my heart flutter. He adored watching his father player, more than anything in the world. He was a hero in his mind and to most of his friends too. He was a lucky little guy, having an NHL superstar for a father, he loved it. I didn’t mind sharing him with the public eye either, a little bit. I would rather not have my child’s face on magazines, or people hounding him for a picture, I’d rather him be sheltered from that. I wanted him to have as normal of a childhood as he possibly could. That being said, when he ran into Patrick’s locker room and was asked to be on film for Blackhawks TV, I never said no.

He prided himself on being a Blackhawk.

The game was over, and Blackhawks came out victorious. I was glad, because I hated seeing the disappointment in Levi’s face when his father lost. Worse yet, I hated seeing the disappointment in Patrick’s eyes, when he faced his son after a loss. It was torture.

“Mommy, can I see Unc’ Tazey?”

I sighed, brushing his baby blonde hair out of his eyes and putting his toque back on his head. Jonathan and Levi’s relationship was potentially better than me and Jonathan’s relationship. He could do no wrong in Uncle Tazer’s eyes, and when they were in the same room, they were attached at the hip. He bargained with me to let Levi stay up later than his bed time, or watch movies that he really shouldn’t be watching (Nothing over PG).

“Yes, baby,” I said, waiting for them to emerge from the locker room.

“Is he coming over after?” He asked eagerly.

I smiled and shook my head, “I don’t think so, Lev, he had plans.”

Levi gasped, pouting slightly, “Plans better than Levi?” he asked in disbelief, pointing to himself.

Rolling my eyes, I let out a breath, “You are your father’s son.”

The doors opened minutes afterward and Seabrook was the first out. Smiling lightly at the man who once owned my heart, Levi bolted for him. Dropping his things, Brent scooped up my son and threw him lightly in the air. My heart panged, knowing that at one point, we both thought that it would be our child he goofed around with, not his teammates.

“How’s it going?” Brent asked me, still tossing my son upside down and around his back.

I sighed, blowing a piece of blonde hair away from my eyes, “I’m aging by the minute.”

Chuckling, Brent threw Levi over his shoulders, wearing him like a scarf and I listened as my son giggled like never before, “He’s worth it, isn’t he?”

Laughing, I nodded, “I have to agree with you.”

Finally placing him back on his own two feet, Brent gave me a solid, hard look, “You’re doing well though, right?”

I smiled lightly, and once again nodded, though all I could feel was numbness from my past, “I’m doing great Brent, what about you?”

“I can’t complain,” he answered, picking up his stuff again and throwing his bag over his shoulder, “But I have to get home to the wife, I’ll see you later, alright?”

I could only nod as he walked past me and gently tapped my sons bum with his hockey stick, “See you later, little man!”

“BYE!” Levi shouted, latching onto my legs.

I couldn’t help but ponder on our old relationship. I wasn’t in love with him anymore, at all. Patrick was my heart, the love of my life; he had given me the most wonderful son in the world. Brent was also happily married now, to Lindsay. I knew she was going to be the one, even before he did. She was perfect for him, and they balanced each other out ridiculously well. I was happy for the pair of them.

“Daddy!”

His shriek made me cringe, and suddenly he wasn’t next to me anymore. I watched my husband pick him up one-handed, with ease. I smiled as threw Levi over his shoulder and walked toward me, kissing me lightly. I could see how tired he was, even though he was masking it for Levi’s sake.

“Good game,” I whispered.

He smiled and sent me a wink, before taking my hand and leading me out to our car. Levi was still over his shoulder, and his tiredness was now mirroring his fathers.

When we got home, I placed Levi down to sleep and walked into our bedroom. Patrick was in his boxers, searching for a channel to watch. I knew we were going to end up watching highlights. Stripping down and crawling in next to him, I curled up next to his side.

“I love you,” he whispered.

I smiled, kissing his jaw, “I love you too.”