The Middle

I was rushing into the wing where Ryan was staying, trying to get there before the Blackhawks did. I didn’t want to miss the look on his face. I reached his room, but before I went in I made sure I had everything with me. Card, Jersey, Cupcakes, Camera…yepp, everything’s here. I thought to myself. I opened the door and greeted my little brother with a smile. He gladly returned it when he saw the gift bag in my hand. I had hinted to him that I might be getting him a Patrick Kane jersey, but I didn’t promise. I didn’t want him to get his hopes up just in case I couldn’t afford it. Luckily, I landed a sweet job at the United Center, so I got a slight discount at the memorabilia store.

“Happy Birthday, buddy!! Did you have any visitors yet?” I smiled at him, hoping he wouldn’t see through me. He was clever when it came to people hiding things from him.

“Just Nat, but she’s here every day, and now you. Is that bag for me?” He smirked at me.

“No, it’s for Nat.” I smirked, watching his jaw drop.

“No way! You’re not giving Nat a gift on my birthday! That’s not fair!” I smiled even bigger. He knew I was only joking, but he could play along.

“Oh fine, here you go, you big baby.” I handed him the bag.

I watched him open up the bag and pull out the Patrick Kane jersey. His eyes went wide.

“YOU GOT IT?!?” He tackled me with a huge hug. I chuckled lightly while I placed him back on his bed.

Ryan was about to say something to me when his eyes went wide again looking at something by the door. His jaw dropped and he was speechless. I first thought it was nothing, but I turned my head and there stood Jonathan Toews and Ryan’s idol, Patrick Kane.

I smiled and walked up to them.

“Hi, I’m Claire. This is Ryan. If he could speak right now, he’d probably say you guys have just made this his best birthday to date.” I shook all of their hands.

“Oh, so this is my biggest fan?” Patrick Kane asked. I nodded.

He walked over Ryan. Ryan had somewhat calmed down and Patrick took a seat beside him, where I was seated. I stayed back and watched my little brother interact with his idol. I was so happy for him at this moment, I felt tears well up in my eyes. Jonathan noticed.

“Hey, you alright?” I nodded.

“Yea, I just don’t want him to see me crying. Pat’s his idol. He’s looked up to him ever since he started watching hockey. This has to be the happiest I’ve seen Ryan in a really long time.”

Jon nodded. “Well, if you don’t mind me asking. What does he have?”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. He has leukemia. He got diagnosed about a year and a half ago. It’s been a hard road, but we’re making it work. I just hate to see him in pain.” I could feel the tears coming back up again. I saw Ryan look at me and his face fell.

“Claire? Are you crying?” I couldn’t lie to Ryan, but I had to.

“Yea, buddy. Jon here told a funny joke, but it’s a little inappropriate for your little ears.” He rolled his eyes and smiled at me. I looked over at Jon and he gave me a small smile.

I had to admit, I was shocked by Pat Kane. He was known as a party boy, so seeing him take time out of his day to spend with some sick kids was a little unexpected. You would expect him to be passed out in his bed or lounging around hung over as hell.

I saw that he turned to look at me. I smiled a genuine smile. I was thankful that he made Ryan’s birthday so special. After everything that Ryan has been through, he deserves to be happy; even if it was only for a day.

Jon had dug into the bag that he and Pat brought into Ryan’s room and pulled out a gift. Ryan’s eyes went wide. He wasn’t expecting a gift, just having the two of them there was enough for him.

“Hey Claire-bear, come here.”

I walked over to the opposite side of his bed than where Pat sat.

“Yes, mister. What can I do for you?” He chuckled and signaled for me to come closer, as if he wanted to tell me a secret. He put his hand up to my ear, and whispered.

“Thank you, but please stop crying.”

I pulled away from him and looked Ryan in the eyes. Sometimes, I swore that he was too intelligent for his age. He knew what I was crying about, and hated it whenever he saw my tears. He didn’t like the fact that his sickness was causing me heartache because there was nothing that either one of us could do. I gave him a big smile, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold the tears back. So, when Nat, Ryan’s nurse, came to the door, I was so thankful that I got to leave the room. Nat would let me cry in front of her. She knew how hard this was on me.

“Claire, sweetheart, you need to be strong. For Ryan and for yourself. Now, you asked me for the results of Ryan’s last tests.” My ears perked up when she said results and I wiped my eyes and gave her my full attention. “Claire, I’m sorry, but Ryan’s not getting any better. The cancer hasn’t progressed any, but it’s not going away. I’m sorry to have to tell you this on his birthday of all days, I just wanted to tell you as soon as I can.”

I nodded, but more tears threatened to fall. I thought back to when Ryan had his last tests and Nat gave me the results. I was devastated. She told me that my eight-year-old brother would be lucky to see his 10th birthday. I was heartbroken. I couldn’t lose him. He was my everything.

I composed myself and walked back into Ryan’s room. As I walked in, I noticed that Jon and Pat were saying goodbye to Ryan. Jon gave me a hug before leaving, Pat on the other hand, stayed behind. He signaled for me to step out of the room, so he could talk to me without Ryan overhearing.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to come back and visit with him. I might bring a couple video games. Tomorrow, if that’s cool?”

My smile couldn’t get any bigger.

“That would be wonderful. You didn’t tell him though, did you? I don’t want you to tell him something then not follow through. He’s been through enough.”

Patrick shook his head.

“No, I didn’t tell him. I want it to be a surprise. But I promise to you, that I will try my best to be here. It will probably be around early afternoon. In between lunch and dinner.”

“That’s fine with me. I might be here, if that’s okay.”

Pat nodded.

“Yea, that’s fine. I’d like to get to know you better, too. Ryan talked about you a lot today. I need to see if some of those things were true.” I smirked.

“Well I’ll tell you right now, that boy really likes to over exaggerate.”

It was now Pat’s chance to smirk. “I don’t believe that very much, but anyways, let me give you my number and you can text me if he’s up for visitors or not.”

I smiled a small smile. “Okay. I’m sure that if you showed up, he’d be up for the company. I really don’t think you understand how thankful I am that you came today. This was the happiest I have seen him in so long. Thank you.”

Pat and I exchanged numbers and then he looked at me.

“It was my pleasure. Ryan’s really quite intelligent for his age. I’ll see you tomorrow, maybe?”

I nodded and waved before walking back into Ryan’s room. When I walked in, Ryan was passed out on his bed. I smiled to myself as I walked over to his bedside. I tucked him into his blankets and kissed him on the forehead.

….happy birthday, little man…