Keep It Kasual

*Dec. 27, 2013*

Two days after Christmas we were back at home and the guys were going to play the Canes tonight. While Kris and Alex were napping I was working on our attendant gifts. I had spent some time this morning while Kris was at morning skate setting up my computer and printer for the job I was going to start tomorrow, namely our save the dates.

There was a knock at the door. "Aunt Jayne, Uncle Denis. Please come in." Needless to say I hadn't been expecting company, let alone my favorite aunt and uncle.

"Oh dear. Did your father not tell you we were coming?" Jayne said as they came in. I laughed in relief, now this made sense.

"Papa said I had a surprise coming, he didn't say it was you two." I showed them into the living room and sat. "Kris and Alex are napping and I am putting together part of our gifts for the wedding." I showed off the placemat/utensil holders I was getting together. I was doing 2 per attendant. None of the sets would match either, though Marc-Andre and Vero's would be the closest.

Uncle Denis leaned forward and smiled at my handiwork. "T'ey look good, the colors are good." Yep, my uncle did the sewing not my aunt. "Did your papa tell you _why_ we were coming?" He inquired as he fussed with a combo I was trying to make work.

I shook my head and my aunt sighed. "Dearest, we have something from your mother that belongs to you now." She the dug into her bag and pulled out a box. "This has been in your mother and I's family for generations. We don't have girls so it comes to you." She handed me the very worn velvet box.

Taking it I carefully opened the lid and gasped. Inside lay the very thing I had been bugging my dad about, my mother's wedding comb. I carefully traced the delicate scroll work as Aunt Jayne spoke again. "This came over with my great-grandmother from England in 1894. It was her parents gift to her on her wedding day. All the women in our family wear it as a good luck charm." I smiled, everyone in the family knew that great-gran and gramp has lasted 76 years of marriage and died within days of each other.

"Everyone who's worn this has lasted through everything but death." I gazed at the fan on the comb. "It'll easily give me something old and something blue. My dress is something new so I need something borrowed and a penny for my shoe." I giggled, yeah it was an old superstition but in my family it worked.

Aunt Jayne smiled as I heard a creak on the stairs. "It sounds like we're about to meet our new nephew or even our grand-nephew." I chuckled as Kris came down the stairs. Aunt Jayne gasped as she got a look at him.

I stood and then fixed his tie. I swear he did it on purpose. "You never get this straight." I chuckled. "Oh, the surprise my dad said was coming turned out to be my Aunt and Uncle. He smiled at me as if he knew.

"I know, who do you think planned this?" He turned to them. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I hope you're ready to watch the game tonight. I asked Borts and Pyes if they knew you, they both laughed which I hope is good." He held me close to his side.

Denis laughed. "I would 'ope so. We live close to the Bortuzzos and Taylor used to work on our farm in the summers. Then there are the Staal boys..."

A crackle then came over the baby monitor, Kris and I looked at the sound. "I'll go retrieve him." He then bounded back up the stairs.

A few hours later we were waiting in the family room for the game to start. The girls had loved to hear what my Aunt and Uncle had brought for me. I had left the comb at home for safety but Vero made sure to make it known she wanted to see it as soon as possible, Carole-Lynn wasn't far behind her.

The game wasn't quite a rout but it wasn't even by any stretch of the imagination. Soon we were happily making our way to the locker room to gather our men and head home. We waited a little bit and then the guys began filtering out. Aunt Jayne was cuddling Alex, who had taken to her quickly, while we waited for Kris. The plan, apparently, was to have a Thunder Bay get together and go to dinner.

Beau and Robert came tumbling out of the room laughing. "Kallie!" they both exclaimed as they noticed me. "You coming to dinner with us?"

"Well that _is_ the plan." They both grinned. They couldn't keep their hands off each other with the joy they had. After all winning the game was important. "Of course if you two don't stop I'm not going to introduce you to who's here." I said annoyed at them for horseplaying so close to my tired child.

Borts snorted. "I know who they are. Mr and Mrs. Henri from down the road back home." His tone told me that he didn't know just who they were to me.

Kris came up and slapped Borts on the back. "Maybe this summer after the wedding we will come over and say hi to you. After all we _do have family in the area." He grinned and winked at Jayne and Denis.

Borts looked between the 4 of us. "No..."

I laughed, throwing my head back. "Poor Borts, They're my Aunt and Uncle. My mom's sister. Dad introduced them which makes it easy to stay close with my mom's family. We're waiting on Pyes right?" I then heard a ruckus coming down the hall.

Kris moved toward it, extracting himself from between Beau and Borts. "Staalsy! So loud! Better not let Aleks hear you." He laughed as three of the Staal boys came into view. He grabbed one of them and ruffled his hair. "Jordy, I want to introduce you to someone." He pulled the man up to me. "This is my belle femme (beautiful wife) Kalista. Mon amour, these are 3 of the 4 Staal boys. Jordy used to play here but we got Suttsy for him a couple years ago. I nodded, I really _did pay attention to the League before we met but that never mattered to Kris.

Jordy smiled at me. "So you're the one that even Creature is enamored with. It's a pleasure to meet you. These are my brothers, Eric and Jared." We shook hands and I heard a throat being cleared loudly.

Looking around the 3 of them I saw Jeff. "Hi Jeff, how are you?" I moved to give the smaller man a hug. While he had tried to be extra courteous on our trip to move me to Montreal, he pulled me aside towards the end of loading and told me that he'd be happy just to be friends. I was more than happy for that.

He flushed. "I'm good. Wish the game had gone better but." He shrugged. "I wanted to say hi at least."

Eric, I think, spoke up then. "Skins, why don't you come with us? We're all going to dinner. It seems Kalista's Aunt and Uncle are neighbors of all of us in Thunder Bay." I smiled, happy that my favorite Aunt was here.

Jeff laughed in that childlike way he had. "You mean you weren't teasing Pricey? There really is an Aunt in Thunder Bay you used to ride horses with?" Kris chuckled as well.

The rest looked confused so I explained. "I met Jeff and a few others from around the League when Kris and I went to move me from Toronto to Montreal. Carey invited me to B.C. to go riding so I had to tell him about Aunt Jayne." Soon after we were all on our way to one of the local favorites of Jordan, who apparently missed Burgh food.

A couple days later I found that all of the sewing projects that had backed up on me, for the wedding and the projects I had promised the girls were done. My loving uncle demanded that he contribute in some way to our wedding and so had taken over my gifts. I did try to tell him he didn't need to do it, but arguing with him was never a good idea. Meanwhile Vero, Carole-Lynn and my Aunt had taken me in hand to help with some of the details I had no clue about, like a timeline for getting to the church on time and making sure even the smallest guests were happily entertained. It took us some time but we figured out a way to have an area especially for the kids to play games and watch movies. Which of course made Oncle Denis super happy, he insisted on making a comfy spot for when they drifted off.

*Dec. 31,2014*

New Year's Eve was tonight and there was a team party. I was torn though. I wanted to stay home and get more things done, not to mention spend more time with my aunt and oncle, but I also wanted to go have some fun. Most team parties were family friendly, Kris told me that New Year's was the only exception. This year the party was at The Omni. All the girls had gotten together and found good babysitting for all the kids as a group for the evening.

As I stood in my half of the closet Aunt Jayne knocked and came in. "Got a minute?"

I looked over my shoulder and smiled. "For you, definitely. What's up?" I was mulling over my options while we talked.

She came over and put her head on my shoulder. "I see what your dad sees in Kris now. He's dedicated to his job, Alex and most importantly you. When you're doing something for Alex and he can he stares lovingly at you both. Its the same way your dad looked at you and your mom when you were little. He doesn't treat you like you're anything but his queen. Even with the argument you think we didn't hear." I flushed. We had argued over what kind of guest book we were going to have. He wanted something more traditional and I wanted something more artsy. Of course we were looking for the perfect thing to satisfy both of us. Finally we figured out something to make us both happy. We would have people sign a calendar with their birthdays and anniversaries and also a print we found which was of Quebec with a heart on Montreal.

"We don't argue like that often Auntie. We actually discuss things more often, even by Skype." She rubbed my shoulders.

"I'm not saying it's bad, sometimes it's good to argue. Especially over something like that. Years from now you'll both laugh about this one. Your compromise is a good one too. I haven't seen your guest list but it's a good way to keep in touch with friends all over. In his line of work it might be the smartest way too. Anyway I called Mom and Dad today and let them know that your dad was 100% right. Kris is a wonderful man and makes you so very happy." That's what this was about, my grandparents were concerned.

"Auntie we've worked hard to make sure our lives would be good. Alex started out as the most important person and while he's still up there, I can't imagine life without Kris. I don't want to either. The simplest thing he does for me makes my heart warm. I don't need a grand gestures from him, he tells me how he feels with the slightest touch." She smiled warmly and knowingly at me.

A throat was cleared and low and behold there he was. "We have some time if you two want to continue this over some shopping. We don't have to be at The Omni until 7:30" If that wasn't a good idea I didn't know what was.

Aunt Jayne thought so too as she answered him. "You keep making my favorite niece happy like this and you will never need to worry about what my half of the family thinks." She went over and hugged him. "Anytime you want to visit, just call." She then looked at me. "Get a move on girlie, we've got shopping to do!"

Both Kris and I laughed as she left. He pulled me into an embrace. "I love your family. Your oncle wants Alex and I to help him figure out the best nap mats for the younger kids for our reception. I think Alex is going to benefit the most."

I pulled on some clothes and grinned. "Now you see why they are my favorite. Well that and Aunt Jayne and my mom were really close so when she's near its like my mom is too." He kissed me and shooed me out of the house.

*Kris' POV*

Once Kallie and her aunt were away from the house Denis and I got to seriously talking. "Kristopher, Jayne and I worry you are not helping her with planning your wedding." I was surprised. I _had_ been working with Kallie's on our wedding.

"No! I am doing my part!" I pulled out my list from my travel bag. "Kallie's had asked me to find things for my groomsmen to add to what she has planned. I am finding a DJ for the reception. My plan is to find good games and movies for the kids too. Not to mention part of the reason I want to take Kallie and Alex to Hawaii for the Olympic break is so I can get a better idea of what she would like to do on our honeymoon." I showed him the list of DJs that I had heard things from or about. Between emails from Rachel and other friends I had a short list of people to talk to.

Denis nodded. "Good. You have already learned how to compromise as well we heard." I would have felt bad but it was a silly fight we had.

I shrugged. "Easier to find a good compromise then be angry at each other. I think Kallie wants the print for this house, but I haven't asked to be sure. Truth be told I am more at a loss for what I should get my friends. I wish there was a way to get my idiot cousin out of the party and have Etienne instead." Once again I cursed Jacques and his presumption.

Denis chuckled. "Yes Kallie wrote to us about your cousin. That is a hard spot. If your friend understands it is a good thing. You can not change family. Oh speaking of, have you thought who will be the ushers?"

We walked down to where Alex was playing. "We have. Kallie wants to ask her brothers. I think they will be good but I don't want a real seating plan. Most of our friends know each other already." We started looking at nap mat patterns as we talked. I made notes on things I wanted to discuss with Kallie.

As if conjured by magic both Flower and Duper showed up. We started comparing weddings. It turned out I was doing a lot more than either of them did. They didn't even chirp me about it, they both knew that Kallie was handling 90% of it and I was trying to do my part. I did get a better idea of what they might want as gifts for all their help which was good.

Denis then had an idea. "You know, my son William works for Hotel Vogue where you are having your reception. Hold on." He grabbed his computer, turned on Skype and soon the idea unfolded. "Wils, Kallie I don't think has thought of how she needs to seat people for her reception. Kris tells me they do not want a real seating plan but they should have an idea of how it needs to be laid out non?"

I could tell this wasn't the best time to be talking about this. William sighed. "Papa, we have 3 New Year's Eve parties in the hotel tonight. Is it possible to talk about this tomorrow? I know Kallie has not come to talk to anyone, I also know the reason why and cannot blame her. I can easily pull what little we have on file so far and discuss what needs to happen then."

Flower was trying not to giggle, I elbowed him. "We are sorry for disturbing you on an important night. If tomorrow would be better we will call back then." I didn't want our reception screwed up due to poor planning. William seemed to notice me then.

"Oh I did not realize you were on the screen too. Is Kallie there too?"

I shook my head. "No, she is out with your mom finding a dress for tonight's party. I do know what we need though if that will help." William smiled, grabbed a pen and motioned for me to go on. "We have 4 attendants each plus ourselves and Alexander at the Head table." Flower shoved at my elbow and showed off the latest shot of Estelle. "Make that Alexander and another infant at Head Table."

William chuckled. "I know Kallie, how many kids or under 21 will be there too?

I sighed, he did know Kallie. "Uh, let me look." I scrolled through our guest list and counted. "22 all total, but 2 of those will be at the head table with their parents."

"So having a kids area will be a good thing. What do you think of having a table for kids and another for teens?" I thought about who we had coming. We had enough for full tables of both.

"I think we have enough for 1 of each. Most will know each other already being family or teammates kids. I think having a kids and teens area would be good. I think movies and maybe video games for them to add to the fun." I got thumbs up from Flower and Duper.

"It sounds like a good plan so far. We can go over things," He hummed as he looked at something on his screen. "Would the second be good?" I checked my phone and nodded. "Good, how about 2 pm?" I plugged it in and smiled.

"I'll make sure Kallie is here. Have a wonderful evening." We logged off and quickly found ourselves brainstorming ideas for what the kids might have fun playing. We compiled a pretty good list before I heard the garage door open. A few minutes later both Jayne and Kallie came in toting bags and laughing.

The guys said their goodbyes and soon enough it was time for us to get ready for the party. Kallie showed me the gold and black dress she got. "It fits so well and with this, your vest and our masks we'll look great!" She showed me the vest she had gotten for me. It was in an older style, but it looked good too.

I went into my closet and found my black shirt. If I was going to wear this I was going to look good doing it. Changing into all black underneath I then put on the vest. That's when I got the full effect of what Kalista was wearing. "Wow babe, you look good."

She flushed. "Thank you. You look better than I thought you would, which is saying something." I smiled. "I hope all the glitter I have on will stay. Ers swears by this type but I'm skeptical."

I took hold of her hand. "Trust your professional makeup artist bff. We'll have a blast and so will Alex. We need to get moving so we can drop him off and get to the party." There was no fuss as we dropped Alex at Duper's place.

*Kallie's POV*

The four of us walked into the room we had in The Omni and sighed happily. All of our hard work was not only intact it looked incredible. "Oncle, you're a genius. I'm going to have to steal the centerpiece idea for the wedding." Oncle Denis grinned.

"I would be more than happy to have my favorite niece steal this for her wedding. Gets out of buying more flowers which will only die." My practical oncle... "Your maman would be so proud of how you are handling things. Doing so much of it yourself. Your cousin William will talk to you more about your reception soon. Kris set up a Skype appointment this afternoon."

"Wils? I didn't know he was in Montreal. I'll have to see him the next time we go back. I have a trip in March but I don't think Kris will be able to go with me. I'm meeting with Rachel and going over menus then. I'll probably bring Julie and Christiane with me." We were strolling around looking at all the decorations we did during the game today.

Denis nodded. "Good choice. Maybe think about bringing a few of your girls too. To make it more fun."

Vero hooked her arm on mine. "Where are we going and when?" I laughed and filled her in. "Estelle and I are in! The boys can fend for themselves for a couple days while we perfect your reception." She looked like she was enjoying herself without Estelle to worry about for the night. "You should bring Ciera too so she can play with your hair." Trust Vero to have been talking to Ers.

Flower and Kris found us and handed us each a glass. "No gossiping. This is a time to celebrate." I playfully shoved Flower who went with it, overselling how hard I pushed him. "Oh ouch! Goalie abuse!"

I laughed. "I'm not abusing you and you know it." Marc-Andre grinned at me in a way that said 'you caught me'. "When I do, you'll know."

Kris and I found places to sit for dinner and had a ball. Jayne and Denis were warmly welcomed which made me feel even better. Dinner was pub foods and delicious! After we ate, Kris took me for a spin on the dance floor. We lasted until Sid asked us to clear so he could do something. Kris smiled slyly and escorted me off the floor.

Sid soon had everyone's attention. "I'm not here to harp on anyone or anything. However I do want to single someone out." He crooked a finger at Aleks. "Come here babe."

She got up and joined him on the floor. "Through everything you have always amazed me by simply being you. Everyone knows what happened in New York a few weeks ago, but what they don't know is that we both have taken care of that problem again." He got down on one knee in front of her. "Aleksandra, I love you. You are the strongest woman I know and I am honored that you are my wife." Some of the girls were sniffling and Sunshine and Borts were whistling loudly. "What happened was horrible but I pray these make up for the loss." He pulled out the box and opened it towards her. The look o hope and joy on his face said that he hoped she would love them. "Would you do me the honor of wearing these rings as my wife?"

You could have heard a pin drop. She tried a few times to speak but couldn't get anything to come out. Finally she hauled him up and kissed him to the rousing cheer of the rest of us. I sighed and leaned against Kris. He kissed my temple and whispered in my ear. "Ours was better." I batted him lightly and went to get a look at her new rings.

Kris went over to congratulate Sid while I got a look at the quarry on Aleks' hand. I thought my ring was large, hers was easily twice the size of mine. "Those are gorgeous Aleks. You're really lucky."

She laughed at me and smiled. "I gave him his new one after the game, he one upped me. God these are going to take getting used to. I'm not used to having something so heavy." We all chuckled at that, they were large rings but she'd get used to it.

Sid found he was standing next to Kris as I came up to them. "Good job Sid. The perfect re-proposal if you ask me." He got arms around me pulled me close. "I still think ours was better though."

I had to laugh. "You used chocolate, he used a whole lot of diamonds." I had to thank Sid for his help. "Sid, thanks for taking Kris with you. We found our rings at Anthony's too." He smiled at me. "You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find rings that mean something and aren't just boring."

We soon excused ourselves and I got claimed to dance with Denis. It gave us a moment to just enjoy ourselves. Aunt Jayne wasn't a dancer, so I always danced with my oncle. "Your aunt and I will be leaving with lighter hearts. You have a wonderful family and people who fully support all of you. Your Maman would be very proud, her little girl is a strong, beautiful woman who has a wonderful life."

I choked back tears. "Did I tell you how we will be saving a seat for those we have lost? Mom, Kris' grandmere and his best friend Luc. We also want to display family wedding photos as far back as we can. I'll be sending out out email about it and calling Gran and Gramp. I would love to display as far back as my great-grandparents."

He smiled at me. "We will help however we can." We danced for a couple more songs until Kris claimed me.

Soon it was almost midnight. We had gone between dancing and not all night. The final minute approached and we accepted a glass of champagne each. Then the countdown began. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5." I got pulled close to Kris and we finished the count staring at each other. "4, 3, 2, 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Then a shower of black, white and gold balloons rumbled down from above us. "Bonne année mon amour. (Happy New Year my love.)" Kris said just before kissing me.

We all had a piece of cake and enjoyed the antics of the single guys. Then it was time for us to go collect Alex and slip into bed. When we got the the Dupuis home only the older kids were still awake. Kris went in and collected Alex while I gathered his things. Our son had so much excitement he didn't wake even when we slipped him into his bed.

Slipping into our own bed I sighed heavily. "There's so much to do and only 6 months."

Kris pulled me close. "We'll make it and everything will be beautiful. We need to trust each other and the team we have. I will take care of our honeymoon as soon as I figure out what you want to do during it. As for everything else, if we have to do things online due to my schedule, then we do it online. I am waiting on a call back from a few places about our transportation. I asked Etienne and Jacques to listen to the handful of DJs I've found that I've liked. If it makes you happy I will talk with Flower and Duper about what we will be wearing. We will look online on our next roadie." He pressed a kiss to my temple. "Relax beloved. Everything is under control. I'll prove it to you."

After a spectacular evening, including some very enthusiastic and satisfying sex, we wrapped each other up in our arms and slept. 2014 was going to be the best year yet!