Fairytales & Lullabies

"I told you, I'm only here until the morning. My boss gave me a few days off and I don't want to waste them sitting at home." Anne grabbed her soda from the vendor and we made our way back to the suite.

"And Sid just happened to know and get me the night off?" I looked at her skeptically. I had gotten to the arena for the game; only to find out I was being sent upstairs to sit with the wives and girlfriends. I was surprised to Anne sitting in the suite talking to Vero when I arrived.

"I mean, he knew I was coming here after the Wild game. I needed a place to stay and I didn't want to bother Kris again."

"You’re my best friend. I would have let you stay with us. And Kris wouldn't have minded anyways." We walked back into the suite and made our way to the seats to watch the game.

"It’s fine. Sid was actually excited when I told him about my plan." The second period started with a face-off win by the Pens. "Are you and Kris doing anything for Valentine’s Day?"

"I'm not sure yet. There's a game that day, so we'll see what happens." We sat down next to Vero and started chatting. She was telling us how Marc had been in a deep sleep during his pre game nap that he started talking about back home. We shared a good laugh before focusing back on the game.

The period started off slow. The game was tied at one and the Penguins were playing with a strong defense. When the clock ticked down with a minute left, I felt everything go into slow motion.

Sid stole the puck from the opposing team’s defenders and worked back to the offensive zone. He passed it back to Malkin. Malkin held it for a few moments before seeing a defensive lapse near Kris. He passed the puck to Kris, who moved it quickly to Sid at the front of the net.

As everyone stood to cheer with Sid and his goal, I stood in shock. Kris was looking at the net when the player tried to get back in his spot that was now occupied by Kris. The blindsided hit caused Kris to go down right as the horn sounded.

The arena went silent noticing the fallen player. My heart sped up; he wasn't moving. I grabbed Anne’s arm and kept my eyes on him. The training staff had moved out there and a stretcher was being called for. "I should get down there." I knew what I had said, but I couldn’t get my feet to move.

"Go, don't let me stop you." I left as soon as words came out of her mouth.

The walk to the locker room was nerve wrecking. When I got down, Dana stopped me. "I'm supposed to keep you back here."

"What’s wrong with him? Is going to be okay?" My vision became blurry with the tears in my eyes threatening to spill.

"All I know is an ambulance is on its way here." I started pacing back and forth.

"I need to call his parents. They need to know what’s happening." I pulled out my phone to call them until I realized "I don't have their number." My pacing continued. “Fuck.” I cursed to myself.

“What?”

“Even if I did have their number, I don’t know any French! I shouldn’t have listened to Max. I should have started learning French right away.”

"Go get Kris' phone and I can find someone who speaks French to explain to them. Just make sure you’re out of there before the team arrives." The medical staff came back into the hallway. "You’d better hurry if you want to get to the hospital soon."

I rushed into the locker room. I had to hurry before the team came in for intermission. I went straight to Kris' spot and started to look his suit. His phone wasn't in his jacket or pant pockets.

I pulled his small black duffel bag he brought to each game. There were two pockets on each end and the largest, main one in the middle. I opened one of the small ones, finding it empty. I opened the other small one to find his phone. I let out a sigh of relief.

I grabbed the zipper to close the pocket back up, when something caught my eye. It looked out of place in a hockey locker room, especially one that was mostly made up of bachelors. It was a small box.

I opened the black, velvet container with a small inkling of what might be inside. I still surprised to realize what it was. It was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. It had a classic look to it, almost like it was an antique. There was a large diamond in the middle with smaller diamonds surrounding it.

I had no idea when this ring was going to make an appearance. It might have been tonight or months from now, but I knew one thing about it. Kris was going to propose.