Perfect Symmetry

November was a good month for the Chicago Blackhawks. Apart from dropping a few games here and there, the team was solid and took a solid lead in the Western Conference. Hailey and Brent’s wedding was rapidly approaching, and Hailey was deeply conscious of the fact that her pregnancy was progressing as well, although she still wasn’t showing yet. She tried to enlist my help with a few things, mostly logistic things like venue and deejays. The flowers and colour schemes were entrusted to her mother, who was very fashionable and had an eye for those sorts of things.

Chicago was cooling even more, and as December approached, the first inklings of snow showed up. I didn’t go home for Thanksgiving, electing to host a small dinner for Pat, Jonathan, Hailey and Brent at my place. I made a large turkey, and the boys finished off most of it, as well as enjoying my potatoes and stuffing. Hailey brought bacon-wrapped asparagus, and Jonathan gamely bought the cranberry sauce and attempted to help me with the gravy, although I ended up just shooing him away.

After dinner Hailey suggested that the boys clean up, and they did so quite well, surprisingly enough. I had to re-arrange the dishwasher so all the plates would fit, but other than that, the place was pretty spotless. After a quick coffee, Brent and Hailey left and Pat retreated into his bedroom after giving us both a teasingly suggestive wink.

“I’m thankful for you, Jonathan,” I yawned, propping my legs up onto his lap and leaning onto the pillows behind me and closing my eyes.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he chuckled, gripping my ankles. “I’m thankful for you too. In fact, I want to share my thankfulness with my family. This Christmas.”

My eyes shot open immediately. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I let you get out of it this summer but my mum’s really getting a bit impatient. And you didn’t really have any plans for Christmas yet did you?” he queried.

“I was going to head home. That’s why I didn’t go back for Thanksgiving,” I frowned.

Jonathan looked apologetic, at least. “I’m sorry, Jazz. Couldn’t you head out there in the spring?”

I shrugged. “I don’t have too much vacation time left. But maybe they can come out here.”

“So you’ll come to Canada with me?” he asked hopefully.

“Winnipeg here I come,” I called out. “But we can’t leave until maybe the 23rd. I’m working up until then.”

Jonathan nodded, rubbing my feet gently. “Okay.”

There was silence and my eyes closed again.

“I’m excited,” he said after a while.

I smiled. “Me too.”
~

December first was the perfect day for a wedding. There was the slightest dusting of snow on the grass, but the sun was out and the sky was the clearest of blues. I woke up at a reasonable hour to find that Patrick was already awake, sipping his coffee and looking a little bit worried.

“Morning Pat,” I greeted, putting the kettle on for a cup of tea.

“Which of these two suits looks the best on me?” he asked concernedly, holding up two identically blue suits.

I furrowed my brow. “Is this for the wedding?”

Pat rolled his eyes. “Well what the hell else would it be for?”

“Well excuse me, Lord Patrick,” I huffed, plopping a teabag in my favourite mug.

He sighed. “Look, it’s an important occasion. And I always wear a suit for hockey games and press conferences so this one really has to stand out, you know?”

I shook my head. “No; suits are supposed to look snappy and not stand out, you ninny.”

Patrick growled impatiently. “What are you even saying right now?”

I poured the boiling water and watched the tea take its murky color thoughtfully. With a splash of milk into the mug, I gave it all a stir and then turned back to face Pat.

“What I’m saying is...neither of those suits, please. Black is always best when it comes to weddings,” I admitted with a yawn.

He grinned, kissed my cheek and thanked me profusely before running off to his bedroom to pick out one of the thousands of black suits he had.

“And a blue tie please!” I called out after him.

“To bring out my eyes?” he replied in a high pitched voice.

I laughed. “But of course, darling.”

I heard him chuckling too as the telephone rang loudly. I set my tea down and walked lazily over to the receiver before yawning again as I answered. “He..llo?”

“Good morning, beautiful,” Jonathan’s deep voice sounded amused.

“Greetings my dear,” I replied with a giggle. “How are you this fine morning?”

He hummed as he thought. “This might be a bit embarrassing but...I’m just deciding what to wear and…”

“Don’t worry about it, Jon. The fashion expert is here just for you,” I reassured him.

“BLACK SUIT, BRO!” Pat poked his head out of his room to yell.

“Did you get that?” I asked with a laugh.

Jon replied, “Loud and clear.”

“You have to wear a lilac tie because my dress is lilac, I’m afraid. I’m sure it’ll look nice on you, even if you don’t like it,” I remarked persuasively.

He sighed loudly and dramatically. “I don’t know why I put up with you.”

I grinned. “See you tonight Jon.”
~
I thought about calling Hailey throughout the day but I decide that she’s probably busy as hell being pampered and surrounded by her family so I opt not to. I do send her a quick text telling her how exciting all of this is and if I can do anything to help she must tell me immediately. When no call came by three o’clock, I told Pat I was taking a long bath and any bathroom needs should be taken care of now. He took a quick shower and grabbed his aftershave and deodorant and razor before graciously allowing me my half hour soak.

I was just perfecting my curled hair when Patrick banged on my door, sounding panicky.

“Jazz we gotta go now!” he shouted.

I glanced at the clock and frowned. “What are you talking about it’s only four; the ceremony isn’t until five-thirty.”

“We have a problem,” he said worriedly.

I unplugged the curling iron and grabbed a coat to wear over my dress and grabbed a pair of boots and heels to wear later.

“What’s the matter?” I growled as I opened the door.

Pat’s eyes were wide and he looked lost. “It’s Brent; he’s run off and we don’t know where he is.”

I snapped into action, grabbing my purse and throwing Patrick’s car keys at him.

“Did you call Duncan already?” I asked calmly, pulling on my boots and pulling a random scarf out of the coat closet.

“No…” Pat punched his leg. “I should have thought of that.”

“Does Hailey know what’s going on?” I continued to retain a sense of calm.

It looked like he had been slapped in the face. “I don’t know. It was a brief text from Tazer.”

I nodded. “Here’s the plan. You are going to drive us to Brent’s apartment and I will work the phone. Good?”

Pat looked comforted by the fact that I was keeping my head. He looked confident as he grabbed his jacket and his coat and gripped the keys firmly.

“Let’s go,” he said decidedly.

Patrick drove fast. It had been a while since I had driven with him and I had forgotten. I was hardly paying attention though. I was focused on a plan. After my two phone calls, my plan was over. I hadn’t thought past that. Jesus Christ, I hoped he was at his apartment.

“Duncan, it’s Jazz,” I greeted him briskly, and I think he noticed.

“Is everything okay, Jazz?” he asked immediately.

I explained to him what we knew about Brent and told him Pat and I were heading for his apartment.

“No, he won’t be there,” Duncan broke in. “Where’s Tazer at?”

I squeezed my eyelids. “I don’t know. Call him and rendezvous with him if you can. Do you think you know where he is?”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “He might be at Johnny’s Ice. He likes to go when it’s closed.”

“How would he get inside if it’s closed?” I demanded impatiently.

“He knows a guy,” Duncan answered simply.

I sighed. “We’ll make our way over there. Call Jonathan and meet up with him and then make get your asses there too, okay?”

“Yes ma’am. Hey, does Hailey know he’s gone?” he queried.

I paused. “I don’t know. I’ll find out. Leave her to me.”

“It’s going to be okay, Jazz. We’ll sort this out,” his voice was an extreme comfort to me. There was a hint of Scot that leaked into his words and soothed me.

“I know. Thanks Duncan,” I whispered before hanging up.

Pat looked at me worriedly. “You okay, Jazz?”

I blinked back tears and nodded firmly. “Change of plans; we need to get to Johnny’s Ice immediately.”

“Fuck,” Patrick swore angrily, cutting off three cars to get in the left hand lane and make the U-turn.

My next call was trickier. I couldn’t call Hailey directly, so I thought about calling her mother. I was apprehensive. I wasn’t sure whether to directly tell her what was going on or not. Then I thought about her bridesmaid Terry, one of her friends from growing up. I hoped to God I had her phone number.

Luck was on my side; it was logged in my phone and I called it immediately. It seemed to ring for agonizing amount of time before her voicemail kicked in. I swore under my breath and tried three more times before giving up and calling Hailey’s mother.

Naturally, she answered on the first ring. I could hear laughter and giggles in the background.

“Jazz how are you my dear?” she answered the phone cheerfully.

I tried in vain to swallow the lump in my throat. “Oh I’m fine; how is Hailey? Are things over there okay?”

“As far as I know,” she sounded suspicious, although I could have been reading too much into her tone.

“Good! Very good! I just wanted to check in. I feel bad not doing more to help, you know,” I lied, forcing a laugh.

“I don’t know why; you’re just a guest,” she retorted coolly.

It was time to hang up. “Tell her good luck for me,” I said weakly. “See you soon.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I hung up. Patrick was nearly at the rink now, and his eyes were fixed on the road as he weaved through city traffic expertly.

“I’m impressed with your driving, Pat,” I remarked as I glanced out the side mirror to see how many cars we had passed.

He offered me a small smile, but his eyes were determined and focused.

“So does Hailey not know?” he surmised.

I nodded. “We just have to find him, Pat. Jesus Christ he better not flake on her.”

“He wouldn’t,” Patrick declared staunchly. “Not with a baby.”

I closed my eyes. I really wanted to believe that was true.

When we pulled into Johnny’s Ice, I scanned the mostly deserted parking lot for Seabrook’s blue SUV.

“I SEE IT,” Patrick shrieks, slamming on the brakes and turning the engine off. It didn’t matter that we were parked horizontally and took up three spaces. We were so damned relieved to know he was here.

“Thank God,” I whispered, closing my eyes for a second. I leapt out of the car and walked briskly to the entrance. Patrick kept in stride with me, even though I could tell he wanted to sprint off without me.

We pushed through the doors together, both of us looking for a figure. I saw one, sitting at the bench with a suit on, bowtie undone and hair a mess. Pat saw him at the same time and we looked at each other wordlessly and made our way over there. We had to cross the rink, and Pat went first. I was too eager and nearly fell over, but Pat wrapped an arm around my waist to steady me. We held hands and cautiously made our way over to him.

“Thought someone would show up eventually,” he croaked, raking through his hair and refusing to look at us.

“Hey Brent,” I smiled at him, taking a seat next to him, “do you want to talk about what’s happening right now?”

His eyes were wet and wide. “I’m supposed to get married today.”

“That’s what you want, right?” I asked calmly, “to marry Hailey and take care of your baby?”

Brent covered his eyes and stifled a cry. Patrick and I shared a worried look when the doors to the rink slammed close again and we both looked up. Thankfully, it was Jon and Duncan, who made it across the ice smoothly and efficiently. They hopped over the boards and Jon gave my hand a squeeze.

“How can I take care of a baby? I’m only going to fuck everything up,” Brent said hoarsely.

Duncan put his arm around his best friend. “Seabs, every dad feels like this. Did you think I felt good when Colton was born? I was fucking scared. But it’s going to be okay, man.”

“Hailey’s going to be a great mom,” I added soothingly, “and you’re going to be a great dad with her.”

Brent smiled at that. “Hailey is going to be a fantastic mom, isn’t she?”

“Marry that girl already you idiot,” Duncan urged, tussling his hair.

“You’re getting married, Seabs,” Jonathan clasped his shoulder. “You have an entire new family waiting for you.”

Patrick patted Brent’s back. “You love her a lot. And we all know she loves the hell out of you for some reason.”

We all had a small laugh at that, although it was brief.

“You can do this,” I told him warmly. “We’ll all be there. And most importantly, Hailey is going to be there.”

He looked up at us. “You’re going to have to clean me up a bit. I hope you brought make-up.”

The group of us laughed heartily at that, and Duncan engulfed Brent in a hug and the two of them walked onto the ice with their arms on each others shoulders, talking quietly. I kissed Pat’s cheek.

“We fixed it,” I grinned triumphantly.

“Well, you and Keith fixed it,” he corrected.

I shook my head. “We all fixed it.”

Jonathan and Patrick both smiled at that, and we both turned and watched the two men walk out of the rink and into the night air.

“Are you okay driving back on your own, Kaner?” Jon asked politely.

Pat smirked. “On my own? I thought Jazz was coming with me.”

I blushed and rolled my eyes at the same time. This tended to be my reaction to a lot of what Pat said.

“Yeah well she’s not. So we’ll see you at the church okay?” he pressed.

He waved us off and walked across the ice and exited the building too. I glanced at my phone and saw that it was already nearly five fifteen.

“You look really good,” I whispered to Jonathan, touching his biceps softly, "even with that lilac tie."

He put his hands on my hips. “You look gorgeous.”

I beamed as he bent down and kissed my lips gently.

“Come on; we’re going to be late to this hooplah,” I called out, grabbing his hand and pulling him out onto the ice.

Jonathan rolled his eyes and picked me up like I was a ragdoll and carried me over to the other side of the ice. I squealed the whole time.

“Don’t tell anyone I made that ridiculous noise,” I warned him.

He sniggered. “I thought it was cute.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “Liar.”
~
Seeing Brent and Hailey standing hand in hand as they said their vows looked so right to me, and Jonathan and Patrick both held my hands through the whole ceremony, as if we were waiting for Brent to bolt out of there. He looked pretty rooted, however. His eyes were shining with happiness and were locked on Hailey.

He gave the three of us an appreciative smile and nod of gratitude as he walked down the aisle with his bride and we all grinned back, while I wiped tears from my eyes.

The reception was lovely, and as we expected, most of the team was drunk by eight o’clock. Jon and I sat out the dancing for a while, both of us just watching the happy couple whisper things to each other and touch Hailey’s belly now and then.

“We saved this wedding,” I told Jonathan sincerely.

He kissed my forehead. “We guaranteed this wedding,” he clarified. “It didn’t need saving. Look at them; they’re perfect.”

I nodded in agreement and I stood there, his hands around my waist and my head on his chest, wondering if anyone would ever say that about us.