The Hockey Life - A Patrick Kane Fanfic

Part Fifty-One - Thanksgiving

PART FIFTY-ONE: THANKSGIVING

I had a conversation with my parents and Brian about Thanksgiving as soon as I got back from the road trip. I actually decided to go to my parents’ house and stay with them on a day off since I wouldn’t really get to be home for the holiday. They seemed to be on board with the idea of going to the Kane’s house for Thanksgiving. They, like me, weren’t very sure about meeting the rest of the family, but they at least had Patrick Sr., Donna, Erica, Jacqueline, and Jessica to talk to. Plus, they never went anywhere, so they knew it would be a good chance to see what New York was like.

Once Thanksgiving arrived, I was excited and nervous. We were flying out to Buffalo and we took a morning flight so we’d be there plenty early, which meant it would be a few hours before Patrick’s family even arrived. Because of that, I was able to push my nervousness aside for a little while and focus mostly on the positives, like the fact that I’d be back in Buffalo, a place I had decided that I loved.

When our plane landed in New York, my parents, Brian, and I searched for Patrick in the airport. He had gone home the night before, so he was the one who offered to pick us up. We located him quickly and we went out to his car and piled into it. The drive was familiar, but my surroundings looked just a little different. This time the leaves on the trees were brilliant shades of yellow, scarlet and chestnut, and many littered the ground already. We drove by some houses and I noticed people raking their leaves, which I didn’t necessarily understand. I actually liked the look of leaves on the ground during fall. My mom felt the same way, so she never raked them or pressured my dad to.

When we arrived at Pat’s childhood home, we all received the usual warm welcome. My parents and Brian got a tour of the house while I stayed back with Patrick and his sisters.

“That’s your brother?” Erica asked.

“Unfortunately,” I laughed, although I didn’t mean that. I was glad I had him as a big brother.

“He’s very…” Erica began.

“Attractive?” Jacqueline suggested.

“Okay, that’s just weird. And I’m sure that’s awkward for Lena to hear,” Patrick told them.

“Believe it or not, I’ve heard it before,” I admitted.

“Yeah, and besides, it’s not like we’ve never had our friends say you’re attractive,” Jessica said.

“Whatever,” Patrick said. “Don’t you guys have to go do your hair or something?” he wondered, clearly trying to get rid of them.

“Oh crap, we do actually. You want me to do yours, Jess?” Erica asked.

“Yes please. I found a really cute idea on Pinterest that you can do, actually…” They all headed upstairs to perfect their looks and Patrick just laughed.

“I should have known that they actually had girly things to do,” he said. “Please don’t tell me you have to do your hair or anything. You look perfect already.”

“Well, I don’t need to do my hair, but do you think my outfit’s okay for dinner? Too casual? I didn’t really know what to wear,” I asked. I looked down at my simple burgundy sweater dress, gray infinity scarf, black leggings and gray distressed combat boots and wondered if it was okay.

“It’s perfectly fine, Lean. I love it, actually. I wish I could be as fashionable as you,” he joked.

“I can help you with that, if you want,” I smiled. I thought he dressed fine, but I would never turn down a chance to pick out new clothes for him.

The hours quickly slipped away as my mom and I helped Donna in the kitchen, my dad talked with Patrick Sr., Brian played video games with Patrick and his sisters came downstairs to watch. Before I even realized what time it was, the doorbell rang.