The Sailor and the Hawk

We arrived at the UC right on time, going through the player's entrance, thanks to Kylee. I had my working uniform in my backpack, along with lots of bobby pins to do my hair right. Kylee took me to the family lounge, which was empty for now. She said most wives and girlfriends don't show up for at least another hour. That gave me time to go into the bathroom and change into uniform. My Captain had told me to wear my working uniform, the blue digital camo, tonight. I was glad, I never really felt comfortable in my dress uniform. I looked in the mirror as I buttoned up my blouse and smoothed down my hair, straightening out and looking at myself. I rolled my shoulders back and made sure everything was straight, tightened, and tucked in before going back out to the lounge. Kylee heard my heavy boots and looked up, smiling at me.

“Wow....you look.....cool. I never get to see this...” she said, gesturing to the uniform.

“This is the normal uniform. You only saw my desert camo. Can't go running around in a blue uniform when there's no ocean for miles.” I said, tugging the sleeves down a little bit and buttoning them tighter.

“Well.....its....it looks good.” she said. I knew she didn't know what to say. She never really saw me in uniform or uniformed in person. I talked to her on the phone or occasionally, skype. I think she'd only seen me once in the past six years, when I graduated boot camp in my dress whites.

“I uh....PR people...” I said, pointing my thumb out the door. “Wanna come?” I asked. She nodded, standing up and following me out. We didn't have to go very far before they came to us. I was given a run down on what I had to do. Simple, really. We then hung out in the hallway and chit chatted.

“Sooo....how's the wedding planning?” I asked, looking over at Kylee.

“What planning? We haven't talked about a single damn thing. We've been engaged for a little over a year now.” she said, obviously frusterated.

“Yeah, I know. He proposed a week after I left.” I said. My deployment had been for about fifteen months. I came home on leave three times but didn't get to see Ky because she lives here and our parents live in Virginia.

“I'm just sick of him avoiding it....” she mumbled, playing with the zipper on her sweatshirt.

“He loves you, Ky, I can tell. Maybe you guys need to just sit down and talk.” I said, trying to offer some advice. It was probably weird, seeing as she was the older sibling and I've only ever known my military life. She just nodded at my words and then looked over at the locker room. I looked over and saw Jon and Patrick, talking quietly in the hall, in their warm up shorts. They were walking back from the gym room and Jon looked like he was angry about something. Patrick looked like he was trying to defend himself over something. Their expressions changed when they looked up and saw Ky and I.

“Ladies.....you look very uh....you look good, Katie.” Patrick said, stumbling over his words a little. Jon just nodded in agreement and smiled softly over at Ky.

“I get it, nobody knows what to say.” I said, rolling my eyes playfully at them all. Jon excused himself and Kylee and then went around the corner.

“I don't even wanna know what they're doing over there....” Patrick joked. I rolled my eyes and playfully shoved him. “Hey, if you get freaked out, I'll be on the ice if you need someone to escort you.” he said, a little more serious.

“I think I'll be alright, but thanks.” I said, giving him a smile. They called fifteen minutes to game time and I was whisked away.

I didn't see Kylee at all while I waited to drop the puck. I met the coaches and GM, as well as a few players from both teams. Then, they lead me to the walkway. You could already hear the crowd cheering as the boys warmed up on the ice. A PR woman stood by my side, a puck in her hand. I could see fans hanging over the railings to look at me, mostly children. I could also see the bench, a few players sitting and talking. I took a shaky breath and tried to jump in place to get my nerves out. Then I heard my name being announced over the speaker. Petty Officer Second Class Clarkeson. The PR woman nudged me slightly and I stepped up and onto the ice.

All the eyes on me made me more nervous than before. But I smiled nonetheless. The beauty queen smile and wave. Kylee and I learned that before we were even old enough to walk. Jon and Claude appeared at my sides, ready for me to drop the puck. The photographer kneeled in front, ready for me. I dropped the puck and the flash went off and then I got a picture with the Captains. Jon squeezed my shoulder as he skated away, his way of saying, good job, I suppose. As I walked back, Patrick locked eyes with me and smiled. I sent one his way and then went to change and find out where the hell I was sitting.