The Three C's

“We’re here!” I squealed as we walked out of the airport with Pat’s hand in mine and looked around and enjoyed the feeling of the beautiful Hawaiian weather. It was finally time, over a month had gone by and we were two days away from the moment that Pat and I had been waiting for, for a very long time, the moment I become Mrs. Patrick Kane, the second.

Pat and I grabbed our things and then headed to the hotel that we booked. Apparently some others were already here, or were flying in today. Between Pat and I, our friends and family, there were going to be a little over two hundred people at our ‘small’ Hawaiian wedding. When Pat and my mothers came down months ago to reserve our sports, apparently small weddings to these people, were like less than fifty, yeah, that wasn’t even half of my family alone.

Over the past month, a lot has happened. The NHL Awards had passed, the NHL draft had passed and four new girls were added to the NHL, now there were nine of us. Of course there was myself, Dana, Anna Bradford for Vancouver, Kasey Lahey for Dallas, and then Amanda Kessel for Colorado. Our new girls were Jillian Lake for Tampa Bay, Nicole Bridgehouse for Buffalo, Nastia Kournikhova for Toronto, and then Allison Mizenko for Dallas. After the draft, Pat and I each went on our Bachelor and Bachelorette parties, Pat and his boys went to the classic, Las Vegas and the girls and I spent our days in the Big Apple.

Today and tomorrow were going to be spent preparing for this wedding, my dress was already her, my mother had brought it with her when she, my dad and Nick came two days ago, Pat’s parents and sisters were already here and they all were already making sure everything was set for the wedding.

When Pat and I got to the hotel, we didn’t really have a lot of time to relax, we just dropped our bags off and then we were off again to head to the reception area and see how it all looks. This was going to be the first time our wedding planner was going to meet Pat and I, all we’ve ever done is speak on the phone or through emails.

We arrived at the huge gathering hall, walked inside and met a older woman that looked very professional in her attire and then her briefcase close to her side and looked like she was studying paperwork in her hand. When the door closed behind us, she looked up and smiled towards us, “Hello,” she said excitedly, “Are you the happy couple? Maggie?”

“That would be me,” I smiled brightly and we shook hands, “And this would be my fiancé, Patrick.”

“Hello, nice to meet you,” she said and shook Pat’s hand, “Now I have everything all set up for you.”

“Awesome, I know our parents came down and took care of everything, with both of our schedules, we owe them a lot,” I said and she nodded her head.

“Understandable, now I have here that you’re having a hockey themed wedding?” she said and I was a little taken back, “It’s quite an unusual theme to have in Hawaii.”

“Um, no,” Pat said and we looked at each other worriedly, “It was Hawaiian.”

“Yeah, our color theme was coral,” I said and she looked at me, “There has to be a mistake, I thought we discussed this over the phone. We’re hockey players, but we wanted-“

“Well it must have been a miscommunication, I apologies, I’m the wedding is in two days, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get everything you asked for,” she said and my eyes widened and I was pretty sure that Pat was holding me up so that I didn’t fall, “But if I do say so, the hockey theme came out quite nicely-“

“We didn’t want a hockey themed wedding! We wanted a Hawaiian themed- That’s why we came to Hawaii!” I barked angrily.

“If you just want to see-“

“No, I don’t want to see it!”

“Mags, it’s ok,” Pat said and rubbed my arms, “Breathe, babe.”

“Shit, what are we going to do- Everyone’s on their way!” I panicked.

“If you just want to follow me, we’ll head to my office and work this all out,” she said and I wanted to fire her ass and find someone else, but I knew I would never find someone else.

“Fine,” I growled and she nodded her head and Pat and I followed her, she walked towards these large double doors opening them up and walking inside and then switching on the lights.

“SURPRISE!!!” Pat and I both jumped and held onto each other.

There in front of us, was the large room decorated and ready to go for the Hawaiian wedding in two days. I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding and just wanted to cry out of frustration because I had just been pranked.

“GOT YA!!” I looked up and saw Sharpie running over towards me and he pulled me in for a hug.

“Oh my god! I hate you so much!” I yelled and just started to slap Sharpie, who just laughed and hugged me again. I looked at our wedding planner and sighed, “I am so sorry, I was a bitch.”

She just laughed and shook her head, “He was very persistent on getting my help.”

“Sharpie usually is,” Pat said and I laughed and nodded my head.

“So what do you think of your real wedding theme,” she said and I looked around, smiled and nodded my head.

“I love it,” I said and she smiled and nodded her head, “Thank you.”

“It’s my job.”

-Kane-
“Son stop fidgeting, you’re fine, she’s fine, it’s about to start,” my dad whispered from behind me and I took a deep breath and nodded my head.

I looked at my best man, he just came over towards me, fixed my shirt and patted my shoulders, “How does she look?”

Jon looked at me and smiled, “Beautiful, you better take good care of her ass.”

“Ass, legs, head, breasts- All of her,” I smiled cheekily and Jon just scoffed, smirked and shook his head. One more pat to the shoulders and he was walking off of the stage and headed through the sand to the back, he was going to walk down the aisle with all of the bridesmaids.

Jon was going to be walking Emma down, my best friends from home, Matt, Mike and Tom, were here and walking, Sharpie’s wife, Abby, Fleury’s wife, Vero and then Maggie’s cousin, Dana down the aisle, with my oldest sister’s daughter, my niece, as the flower girl and Maggie’s nephew as the ring bearer. Soon after that, Maggie and her father will walk down the sandy aisle and I will be a happily man to see his soon to be wife. I was happy when Maggie said that it wasn’t going to be a formal wedding, the girls were in coral color strapless dresses, I was in a white dress shirt and khaki pants, while my grooms men were in khaki pants and coral shirts.

Soon the music slowly started and I watched as everyone walked down the aisle and stood in there spot. Maggie’s mother stood up from her chair and everyone stood in their seat and looked towards the back. The curtain that was in the back opened and I bit the inside of my lip and smiled brightly when I saw Maggie standing next to her father looking beautiful.

They walked up the aisle and my eyes never left hers and my smile never fell from my face. They reached the stage and I stood next to her father and we all looked at the minster, he looked at all of us, “Hello,” he said and we said it back, “Who here gives away the bride?”

“Well,” Maggie’s father said and I looked at him.

“Uh oh,” I said and a lot of people laughed, including him.

“Patrick,” I look at him and nod my head towards him.

“Yes sir.”

“Can you believe this moment has finally arrived?” he asked and I smiled, “This is the moment that my wife and I present to you our daughter, our princess, our baby girl. We have provided for her in every which way she needed to be provided for, we have done our best to raise her, we have cried with her through tough times, laughed with her through silly times, and cheered for her when her blades touched the ice, whether or not she played well that night. We have invested ourselves in her life,” he said and looked at Maggie, “And I’m happy to see you more like your old man,” he said and we all laughed, “We have provided a home for her, a place to feel safe, a hobby, which soon turned into her career. These last few years have certainly been quite a journey for all of us. In the beginning, we didn’t want you in our daughter’s life.

I looked surprised and nervously rubbed the back of my neck while people laughed in the seats, Maggie even giggled.

“You were an unwanted distraction in her future and hoped that you would eventually go away,” he said and smiled towards me, “But you didn’t go away and our daughter continued to talk about you every chance she got. Finally, we weakened and let you into our lives when my wife and I saw that you were seriously committed to our Maggie, when you were willing to drop everything and come to her aid at the passing of her best friend, her partner in crime, her brother,” the mood had gotten a little serious and I looked towards Maggie to see her biting her lip, probably telling herself not to cry, “As we got to know you, we started to see what Maggie saw in you and you won us over, and not only us, our whole family,” I smiled and saw Maggie wink towards me, “Patrick, you are an amazing young man and we are happy to say that you are the man that our daughter had been looking for, and I am proud to call you, son. Today, I give to you a gift, that is now non-returnable,” he said and we all laughed.

“I don’t want to return her,” I said and Maggie laughed and her dad smiled.

“Good, because she’s your problem now,” he laughed and we all smiled, “She is my daughter, Patrick, and now her mother and I looked to you to take care of her, financially, emotionally and physically. And now Patrick, I give you my daughter, Maggie.”

“Thank you,” I smiled and shook his hand and then hugged him, “I’ll take care of her now and always.”

“Glad to here,” he said and then walked away and sat down next to his wife.

I looked at Maggie and smiled towards her, her bright green eyes were staring into my blue ones and then we both looked towards the minister as he began to speak, he blessed us, said a few speeches, and then opened his book, “Let me charge you both to remember, that your future happiness is to be found in mutual consideration, patience, kindness, confidence, and affection. Patrick, it is your duty to love Margaret as yourself, provide tender leadership, and protect her from danger. Margaret, it is your duty to treat Patrick with respect, support him, and create a healthy, happy home. It is the duty of each of you to find the greatest joy in the company of the other; to remember that in both interest and affection, you are to be one and undivided.”

Maggie and I turned to each other and I held her hands in mine, “Repeat after me, Patrick,” the minster said and I nodded my head, “I, Patrick,” I repeated, “Take you, Margaret,” I repeated, “to be my lawfully wedded wife.”

“To be my waffely- Lawfully,” I said and then chuckled nervously and looked to hear a few laughs, but Maggie started to laughed, “And pancakely,” Maggie was laughing and then started to fan herself to calm herself down, she leaned against me and I squeezed her hand and chuckled, “Give her a sec.”

“I’m ok,” she laughed and then shook her head, “I’m ok.”

“Shall we start again?” the minster chuckled and we nodded our heads. Maggie and I both said our pledges and then the minster announced that we would both say our vows, “You may say the traditional or your original.”

“Original,” we said at the same time and smiled towards each other.

Maggie looked at me and smiled, she was going to go first, “Patrick,” I squeezed her hands, “I promise to be your lover, companion and friend, you partner in parenthood, your ally in conflict, your greatest fan and your toughest adversary, your comrade in adventure, your student and your teacher, your consolation in disappointment, your accomplice in mischief- Although, if Sharpie asks for help, I just wouldn’t be able to stop myself,” I said and everyone laughed.

“Thanks babe,” I said and she smiled and nodded her head.

“I promise to love you now and always, this is my vow to you, my equal in all things,” she said and I wanted to kiss her, but I knew it wasn’t time.

“Patrick,” the minster said and I nodded my head.

“Maggie,” I breathed and her eyes bore into mine, “You have been my best friend, mentor, playmate, confidant and my greatest challenge,” I said and she giggled and others laughed, “You are greater than winning gold, greater than winning the Stanley and greater than the sport that brought us together. You are the love of my life and you make me happier than I could ever imagine and more loved than I ever thought possible. You have made me a better person, as our love for one another is reflected in the way I love my life. I am truly happy to be a part of your life, which as of today, becomes our life together.”

Maggie’s eyes were watering, I pulled her in, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her head, she mumbled ‘I love you’ into my chest and I smiled and whispered it back to her. The minster called the ring bearer up, Emma helped her son walk over towards us and Maggie and I smiled and looked down at the boy. We knelt down and grabbed each other’s rings and then looked at each other and smiled. I held Maggie’s ring in my fingers, just itching to place it on her and officially make her mine.

“The wedding ring is a symbol of eternity. It is an outward sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two hearts in endless love. And now as a token of your love and of your deep desire to be forever united in heard and soul, you Patrick, may place a rind on the finger of your bride and repeat after me,” I smiled and took Maggie’s left hand and slide the ring on her finger and repeated after the minister.

“Maggie, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you.”

The minister looked at Maggie, “By the same token Margaret, you may place a ring on the finger of your groom and repeat after me.”

I smiled when Maggie placed the ring on my finger and bit her lip before repeating, “Patrick, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you.”

“Now that Patrick and Margaret have given themselves to each other by the promises they have exchanged, please stand as I pronounce them to be husband and wife,” the minister said and we turned towards our friends and family who stood and looked at us, “Mr and Mrs. Patrick Kane, Patrick you may now kiss your bride.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” I said and Maggie giggled as I wrapped an arm around her waist, cupped her neck and pressed my lips against hers, feeling her arms wrap around my neck and hold me tight.

“Keep it PG, Kaner!”