Seasons in the Sun

Her eyes fluttering close as she felt her husband’s familiar hands brush against the bare skin of her back as he helped her with the zipper on her knee-length dress, Melinda let out a soft sigh as he moved her long, for the night curled, hair out of the way and over her shoulder, and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her neck.

“Je t'aime,” he whispered against her warm skin as his hand slipped around her waist and gently tugged her back against him, causing a soft smile to spread across her lips.
{I love you}

“I love you, too,” she said, enjoying the warmth of his solid body against her for a moment before turning around and facing him, her hands reaching up and straightening his already straight tie. “And you look very handsome tonight,” she complimented him, looking up and meeting his gaze again. Suits had always looked good on him, and the dark grey one he’d picked that night was no exception, perfectly tailored, and together with a crisp white shirt and dark tie he looked like he’d just stepped straight off a runway.

“You look as gorgeous as ever,” he said, hands lightly resting on the curve of her hip. And she really did, the fitted, knee-length sheath dress with cap sleeves and an asymmetrical neckline, skimmed her curves perfectly and he thanked his lucky stars she’d be by his side that evening. Moving one hand to gently cup her cheek, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

“Thank you,” she broke out in a wide smile that showed off her dimple before turning back to face the vanity again. Fastening a pair of small hoops in her ears, she slipped some thin sparkly bangles onto her right wrist. “How are you feeling?” she asked gently as slipped her engagement ring back onto her finger, these days she mostly just wore her wedding band except for special occasions. And this was certainly one of those.

Sitting on the padded bench as he slipped on his dress shoes, he sighed and met her gaze for a moment. “Torn,” he admitted, looking back down at his feet, carefully tying the thin laces with practiced ease. “I mean, it’s exciting, obviously, but it’s also…”

“What?” she pressed softly, “talk to me, mon chéri.”

“It makes it all feel so…” he trailed off, licking his lips slowly, “so official,” he admitted, shrugging sheepishly as he glanced up at her, sadness shining from his dark eyes.

“I know,” she said softly, slipping on a pair of high-heeled pumps before straightening back up and stepping over to where he was sitting, stopping between his feet, the outside of her knees brushing the insides of his. “We are all so proud of you,” she needlessly reminded him, her hands gently squeezing his shoulders.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely as he looked up at her, smiling softly when she leaned down and kissed him. One he eagerly returned.

“We have to leave soon,” she reminded him as she glanced down at the watch around her left wrist, the bright lights in the dressing room causing the diamond on her hand to sparkle. “I'm going to go round up the troops, make sure everyone’s ready…” she trailed off as she looked at him, smiling gently. During the years she’s grown into the role as the head of the house, considering how often he was away most of the responsibility of getting the family, their kids, somewhere fell onto her shoulders. And as annoying as it could be at times, it was something she’d accepted when she married him, but all that was changing now, and it was going to take time to get used to. For everyone.

“I’ll be down in a minute,” he promised, sending her a signature grin before she shook her head slightly and turned, walking out of the walk-in closet. Deep inside he was grateful that she could read him like a book, and not only noticed he needed a moment to himself, but also gave it to him.

Walking through the bedroom that had definitely changed during the years since they first moved into the house a number of years prior, Melinda continued down the hall, heels clicking against the bright oak floors that were a stark contrast to the dark maple in the apartment where they’d lived previously.

Knocking on the first door to the right after passing the stairs, she politely waited for a muffled “come in” before she turned the handle and poked her head into their daughter’s room which was the most recent battleground in the Toews household. Up till now, Melinda had had full control of the decorating in the house, but now that she was a teenager, Caroline wanted to have some say, and mother and daughter were…clashing when it came to which direction the room decor should go in.

But for the moment, they were in a tentative truce and so Melinda just checked in before making her way across the hall to their son’s room, knowing there would be help needed there.

Making sure that both kids were ready to go, she finally had them herded down the large grand staircase, urging them into boots and jackets, scarves and toques, as she reached for a black, knee-length coat. Pulling her long hair from beneath the collar as Jonathan finally joined them, looking more nervous than she’d seen them in years, she did a quick check of her bag as he found his own coat.

“Are we all good to go?” she asked over the general noise as the family got ready.

“Yeah!” her two kids agreed in unison, causing her to share a smile with her husband as he pulled open the front door and led them out as she grabbed her keys from the dresser.

Turning on the alarm as they disappeared out of sight, she shut and locked the front door behind them, she hurried down the familiar stone path to the driveway where her son and daughter were already strapped into the backseat of the black BMW, and her husband was just sliding in behind the wheel.

Joining them in the warm car, she dropped her handbag in the footwell and buckled her seatbelt as Jon slowly drove down the long driveway of their house in the suburbs of Chicago.


-x-

Activity picking up around them as they made their way deeper into the building, Melinda pulled her children to the side and made sure they were both still presentable, before reminding her daughter to hold her baby brother’s hand the whole way, not just part, but the whole way – even if it was embarrassing – and reminded her son that if he liked playing hockey he better not try to escape his sister’s grasp.

Giving them both another look, reminding them she was serious, she soon straightened back up and smoothed out her dress beneath her coat as she fell back to where Jonathan was standing.

“You okay?” she asked quietly, knowing he’d hear her despite the noise around them.

“I miss this,” he admitted softly as he slipped his arm around her waist beneath her coat and pulled her into a hug. Not necessarily unusual, it was unusual for their location, and her heart broke slightly as she reached up and returned the hug.

Not knowing what to say, knowing that feeling, and knowing that you never quite got over it, you never quite stopped missing that feeling, that rush, that high, she instead opted to keep her mouth shut and gave him a quick kiss.

The sounds around them familiar, yet foreign, grew fainter as the noise from above them grew louder.

“This is part of the dream,” she reminded him softly.

“Part of the dream,” he agreed with a short nod, kissing her once more before taking her hand. Intertwining their fingers, he gave her a short squeeze as they stepped up behind their children. “How are we doing?” he asked, clearing his throat slightly.

“This is kind of cool,” thirteen-year-old Caroling said with her recently acquired attitude as she glanced back over her shoulder, blonde curls like her mother’s bounding around her shoulders and dark brown eyes just like his own staring up at him, a reluctant smile across her face.

“Thank you, mignonette,” he smiled amused, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and once again noting she was already growing too tall for his liking, already growing used to the downsides of raising a teenage girl.

“How much longer is this going to take?” eight-year-old Samuel complained from next to his sister, bright blue eyes shining with boredom as he ran his small free hand through his unruly chocolate brown locks.

“A while,” Melinda told him knowingly, pushing his hand away and attempting to smooth down his hair again. “But hang in there buddy, et maman pourrait juste te laisser manger de la glace avant de te coucher],” she said, easily switching between the two languages they’d been teaching the kids since they were born. She was not above bribing, and she only smiled when Jon gave her a look and an arched brow.
{and mommy might just let you have ice cream before bed}

A woman they all recognized as the club’s PR rep urging the further down the hall, Melinda could feel Jon’s grip on her hand tighten and she squeezed back as she knew how big this night was for him, how nervous he was about it.

“…welcome the Toews family. Brian and Andrée,” the familiar voice of Tori Mitchell, the in-arena host trickled down the wide players’ tunnel beneath the United Center, along with the cheers from the fans in the stands. “Jonathan’s brother David, his sister-in-law Alyssa, and their two children Adam and Katie,” she continued, counting down the names of the most important people in Jon’s life, who were all standing between them and that familiar sheet of ice.

“Welcome his daughter Caroline, and his son Samuel,” Tori continued with a smile in her voice as Melinda nudged her children forwards, unable to keep a smile from her own lips at the way her daughter blushed as they stepped out onto the red carpet laid out on the ice under the bright lights and in full view of the cameras.

They’d shielded their kids the best they could from the attention that came with being the Captain’s children, but the decision to include them that night had been an easy one. Just like it had been when he’d celebrated a thousand games a few years prior. Only this time Caroline was a teenager with hormones, and Melinda knew there were quite a few innocent crushes on a few of the players her father had played with, and against.

Some of them currently seated with the rest of the Blackhawks roster just to the side of the carpet, a few even lingering on the visitors' bench.

“His wife Melinda,” Tori was used to rallying the crowds at the UC, and with a final squeeze, Melinda let go of Jon’s hand before following her children down the red carpet, awkwardly waving at the crowds that always felt like they were right on top of you down at ice-level.

She’d played herself, in front of hostile crowds even, but she still felt awkward when she had to be out there without her skates and pads.

Reaching the stage that was built for the occasion, she quickly motioned for her kids to join their grandparents as she greeted the, as Jon had once described them, men who signed his paychecks, the big wigs, at the club, all men she’d interacted with on many occasions during the years. Greeting a few old teammates of his who’d flown in for the evening, she was soon taking her seat, unable to keep from bouncing her foot nervously as she waited for Jon.

“Now give it up for the man of the evening!” Tori was in her element tonight. “Your former Captain, Jonathan Toews!”

She’d been coming to the United Center for years, but she’d never quite before experienced the kind of cheer that rose as Jon stepped out from the tunnel and began walking down the red carpet, smiling his charmingly sheepish smile and waving gracefully.

Despite being captain for well over ten years, he never quite learned to like the attention that could be aimed at him.

Meeting his gaze, she only smiled proudly as he took it all in. There was no exaggeration to say that the whole arena was on their feet, cheering on their beloved Captain who’d hung up his skates just the previous spring after the team missed the playoffs with the slimmest of margins.

Standing from her chair once more as he too greeted the men who’d been there for most of his career, she accepted the short hug he gave her and she pressed a kiss to his cheek before they sat down again, with Caroline at her side and Samuel next to her.

“You good?” she asked out of the corner of her mouth as the chairman of the Blackhawks began speaking, welcoming everyone to that special night when they would be sending the number 19 to the rafters.

“Still good,” he gave her a short nod, and a half smile as he took her hand in his before turning his attention back to the ceremony in his honor.

Neither of them fully aware, in detail, how the ceremony would play out, they shared a look when they along with everyone in the arena were asked to direct their attention to the large screens after several people had taken turns talking about how much Jonathan’s career had meant for them, as people and players, and for the Blackhawks as a whole.

Following the directions, Melinda could have sworn she saw a few tears collecting in his dark eyes. She’d known it would be an emotional night ever since they’d been told the organization had decided to retire his number.

Gently rubbing circles on his hand with her thumb, she smiled when she realized what was happening, knowing her husband wouldn’t be the only one with tears in his eyes when the evening was over.

“As you can all see, a lot of Jon’s friends, and old teammates are here tonight to celebrate this special evening, but there was one person who couldn’t be.”

A familiar set of blue eyes and blonde curls appeared on the jumbotron his voice was almost drowned out by the cheer from the crowd who despite him heading back east still loved him and still remembered that goal in that overtime, the one that ended a very, very long Stanley Cup drought almost 15 years ago.

“Sorry I couldn’t be there, I'm in Tampa with the Rangers at the moment, but I couldn’t miss this opportunity to congratulate Jonathan on his career. We started this crazy journey together, and we achieved more than I think we even dared to dream about…


-x-

The second Patrick Kane had appeared on the screen, Melinda had known that neither of them would escape the ice without at least a few tears and she hadn't been wrong.

When Jon took to the podium to thank everyone for being there, for him, through his life, through his career, through the highs and the lows, she’d gratefully taken a tissue from her mother-in-law and shared with Caroline who was old enough to understand how big of a deal her father actually was. How much he meant to the city they called home.

Finishing his speech, Jon found himself wiping away a stray tear or two himself and collecting his wife and children for the actual jersey retirement, he had to bite his lip to keep the rest in.

Telling Caroline and Samuel to walk first, he waved to the crowd as they made their way along the carpet, toward the goal crease where they’d watched a number of banners being raised to the rafters. Only this was different, it marked the very end of an illustrious career in which he’d achieved more than he’d ever thought possible. But it also marked the beginning of something else, a future unknown.

Watching the red banner bearing his name and number slowly rising towards the ceiling, he wasn’t ashamed to admit a few more tears escaped, and he gratefully leaned into his wife’s side when she slipped her arm around his waist.

Accepting the cheers from the crowds for one last time, he waved his hand with a smile on his face before he followed his kids off the ice, through the same door he’d gone after every match in that arena. Only this time it would be the last.

“Are you okay?”

Looking over at his wife once they were well and truly down the tunnel, he could only nod stiffly. “Yeah, I'm good.”

The decision to retire hadn't come lightly, it came after a run of injuries that were getting harder and harder to shake, with a team that was slowly selling off their assets in favor of rebuilding and he wasn’t sure he was willing to wait. Or move somewhere else.

Chicago was his home.

It’s where they’d spent their whole adult life, where their children when to school and it’s where they’d planned on living for the foreseeable future.

Paired with the injuries…. It had been a hard decision, but in some ways also easy.

But walking away is always hard. Even more so when it’s from something that had been the number one thing in his life for so many years, for most of his life.

Feeling Melinda’s hand on his arm, he was brought back to the moment, suddenly grounded by the bickering between his two children who’d played nice for the ceremony but were now clearly back to their usual ways.

“Oi! Be nice to your brother!”

“Papa!”
{Dad}

“And you, stop teasing your sister!”

“But…”

“Écoute ton père,” Melinda broke in, smiling when they received identical eye-rolls from the two children. “They get that from you, you know.”
{Listen to your father}

“I beg to differ,” he said with a dry laugh as he looked over at her. “They definitely got that from you.”

His hockey career was well and truly over.

But his life as a father was still only just beginning.