Perfect Symmetry

Monday seemed like a big pain in my ass. Thank God Thanksgiving was coming up next week or I think I would have punched a whole in a wall. Any wall. Liza was pleased with my work on the obesity campaign, and told me to start blocking a new campaign on AIDS awareness. I sat and doodled at my desk for two days. Finally, on Wednesday I figured out a rough sketch of what I wanted the ad to look like, and then I went to home to say hello to Hailey after her trip to New York. When I got to my apartment, it was quiet. I could see Hailey’s bag by the door, so I knew she was home.

“Hailey?” I walked into the kitchen with a bright smile on my face and a cupcake as a peace offering.

She was indeed in the kitchen, making coffee. “Hey, Jazz.”

“Welcome home! How was New York?” I asked her while presenting her with the cupcake.

Hailey grinned. “Thanks. It was a show, so it was so much fun! I got lots of sampler eye shadow palette if you want to have a browse.”

“I knew I liked you for a reason,” I joked before giving her a hug.

She squeezed me before letting go and suddenly looking rather indignant about something. “Ha! By the way, these were slipped under the door when I got home.”

Hailey held up two tickets to a certain Blackhawks game on Friday and my eyes widened. “When was this planned, hmm?”

“Oh. Right. Those...” I struggled to find the right words.

“It was the Captain, wasn’t it?” she guessed, her mouth was gaping at me and her eyes were bright with curiosity.

“No!” I retorted. “It was Patrick Kane.”

She smirked. “So now you’re two timing them? Nice.”

I rolled my eyes. “No, you twit. Patrick just asked if I wanted to go, and I said yes. May I please see them?”

Reluctantly, Hailey handed over the tickets and the envelope they had come in. There were visitor passes and a note at the bottom.

Bring a friend. Meet us in the family lounge after we win.

That cocky bastard! I shook my head in disbelief.

“So do you want to come with me?” I asked Hailey with a smile. “We’ll call it a trade off. You come with me to the game, and I get to raid your eye shadow collections.”

She sighed. “Deal.”
~
Thursday and Friday were unbearable at work. Friday was better, though, since it was casual. To show some support and team spirit, I wore the Blackhawks jersey that I had bought back in college. It didn’t have a name on the back or anything, since I was too poor to fork out the extra sixty dollars for a player’s name.

“Looking good, Jazz. You going to the game tonight?” Will asked as he passed by my desk on the way to the copy room.

“Actually, yes. This never happens,” I replied with a grin.

Will winked. “Got an extra ticket?”

I laughed heartily. “Yes, but Hailey’s already called it.”

“Can I bribe you?” he joked.

“Only if your eye shadow collection is more extensive that Hailey’s. Which I highly doubt,” I teased, poking his shoulder.

Will shook his head in mock anger. “Damn it. If only you’d said my lipstick collection. My eye shadows are very limited.”

I rolled my eyes. “Looks like you can stay at home and watch them play, then.”

“Which team are they playing?” he questioned.

“Colorado Avalanche,” I answered. “I think we’ve got a pretty good chance.”

He nodded brightly. “Have fun, then!”

I was pretty excited even as I drove home to pick up Hailey. It would be great to get to be in the Madhouse again for the first time in years. Nothing beats the atmosphere in there after a Blackhawks goal. Plus, there was the whole meeting the team thing. I shook my head. If I started to think about it too hard, I would hyperventilate and cause some sort of accident. I forced my head to remain clear as I parked my car on the street and hurried up to our apartment to get ready.

Hailey was ready, in jeans and her Blackhawks jersey, which Sharp’s name on the back. She looked great, with her hair blown out stick straight, and her eyes outlined in pencil.

Catching a glimpse of myself in our hallway mirror, I had to admit even I looked pretty nice. My hair was in light waves, which I had taken the time to do this morning and had somehow lasted until now. My make-up was subtle, just a bit of foundation and powder. I didn’t bother with blush – with Patrick and Jon both there, I would have enough of that naturally. I went for nice gel eyeliner instead. My lashes were already dark, so I skipped the mascara. I looked short, my usual 5 feet 4 inches, so I immediately put on ankle boots with a couple inches of heel.

“Ready?” Hailey smiled at me.

“Yeah, I guess,” I tossed my hair one last time before turning to Hailey with a slightly pained smile.

“You look great, Jazz. Don’t stress,” Hailey insisted. “Do you have the tickets?”

I rifled through my bag for a few seconds before confirming that I did indeed have them, and then we left.

God, the rink was even bigger than I thought. And there were so many seats! I grip Hailey’s arm and we follow the rows down, down, down until we’re nearly at ice level. It was the best view I had ever gotten.

“Damn, Jazz. Are you screwing Patrick too? These are amazing seats!” Hailey whisper-yelled.

I slapped her arm in indignation. “Shut up. He’s just a nice guy. Besides, I think Christy is!”

Hailey gasped. “Seriously? That blonde bitch! She’s too sexy for her own good.”

“Their kids would be so blonde,” I giggled.

Hailey craned her neck and looked around. “Yeah, well it doesn’t look like she’s even here. I wouldn’t go hoping for kids or anything.”

I shrugged. “You know Christy. She loves a good romp, nothing too serious. Patrick is perfect for that sort of thing,”

We both turned our attention to the ice as both teams started to warm up, stretching and taking shots. Patrick seemed to know just where to look to find us. Which made sense, since he had given me the tickets, after all. He smiled at me, and offered me a raise of the glove, nonchalantly, so no one would really know who he was waving to. I grinned back and waved back, just like everybody in our area was.

I looked for Jon too, but he didn’t even glance into the crowd. His mind was on the puck and on his team. I could see him barking orders to all of his teammates as they skated and handled pucks. I turned to Hailey.

“Want some food before the game starts? My treat,” I offered.

“Yum, I could definitely go for some popcorn, and maybe a hotdog?” she flashed me a pleading smile.

I laughed. “ Yes, ma’am.”

When I returned with the food, some guy was singing the national anthem, and I joined in enthusiastically. As soon as we sat down for the opening face-off, Hailey grabbed the popcorn and shoved a generous handful into her mouth.

“Don’t be a hog!” I reminded her.

Hailey responded by sticking her tongue out at me, coated with half-chewed popcorn.

“Gross! You’re like a five-year-old,” I shrank away from her.

After that, we shut up for a while and watched the game. It was pretty close first period, with both teams having some great chances. It wasn’t until second period that the scoreboard was put into use, but it was for Colorado, on a power play.

A collective groan travelled across the entire arena, and I added some swearing to the audience’s frustration. The second period ended and the score was still 1-0 to the Avalanche.

Third period started off slow, but then Duchene was put into the penalty box for hooking, and the hawks went on their first power play. Jon won the face-off, and then I lost track of the puck. All of a sudden the horn went off and the entire crowd danced to “Chelsea Dagger” because the puck was in the net. I watched the jumbotron for the replay. Jon had swept the puck right to Kane, who had taken the shot before the keeper could get set up.

As the goal was announced, Hailey and I cheered along with the crowd, and then finished off whatever popcorn was left over. I glanced at the clock. There were five minutes left and I really did not want this thing to go to overtime. The teams obviously felt the same way, because in a span of three minutes there were scary good chances for both teams. I looked down at my popcorn and then looked up to see Viktor Stalberg on a breakaway down the middle of the ice. The entire crowd rose to their feet. With a bit of stick handling and a nice, hard slapshot, the puck found its way to the back of the net, with just ten seconds left in the game.

Hailey dropped her hotdog in celebrations as everyone cheered. There’s nothing better than a come-from-behind win.

When the horn sounded and the players raised their sticks to salute the crowd, it suddenly hit me. I was going to have to go meet some of them. Soon. I felt sick immediately, and sat down, holding my tummy and sweating.

“Jazz?” Hailey looked down worriedly.

“I’m fine. Just felt a bit nauseous there. I haven’t drunk enough water today,” I lied quickly.

She looked suspicious, but left me alone. Soon, most of the stadium had cleared out, and I pulled out the passes and gave one to Hailey.

“I guess we’d better go say hello,” I admitted.

I swear if my heart beats any faster, I’m going to have a heart attack in the middle of a hockey arena. I swallow my fears and grab Hailey’s arm as we push on the door that leads to the family lounge.