This chapter may be edited in the future also, but it's okay the way it is right now. Again, how they get together isn't exactly the biggest part of the story. It's the end of the story that will be the best.
Chapter 6: 45 Minutes Late
She was a ball of emotions. Her heart was pounding and she was wringing her hands as she waited for Portman to knock on her door. Connie had left to meet up with Charlie and Michele McKay to work on planning Gordon's surprise party for Friday, the night of his first game coaching in the NHL. So Julie was left alone in her hotel room to wait for Portman to pick her up for the group dinner at Mickey's. What should she say? How should she act? She smoothed out her kelly green khakis and the cute striped shirt she had borrowed from Connie before looking in the mirror to examine her hair. She had spent quite a while curling the ends of her long blonde hair. She tried to smile in the mirror, but her face felt frozen and tight. She was nervous beyond belief.
Portman's hands shook as he quietly shut the door to his hotel room, slowly making his way down the hall to the elevator. Julie's room was on the second floor this time, which allowed him more time to calm down before seeing her. He took deep breaths as he awaited the arrival of the elevator. Julie would look amazing, he knew, because she always did. She could be wearing a grocery sack, and she would look amazing. He looked down at his own clothes again, hoping that the t-shirt and jeans he was wearing weren't too casual. He knew all the other guys would be wearing the same, but those guys weren't trying to land the most beautiful girl in all of Minnesota.
The knock on the door was like an electric shock to Julie, who jumped straight up in the air. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she made her way to the door, unlocking the dead bolt and slowly pulling it open. In front of her stood the most handsome man in Minnesota, Dean Portman. He grinned at her nervously, his hands in his pockets. "Hi," she said softly. "Hey, Jules," he said, stepping inside. She shut the door and he turned around to look at her again. Her hair was curled and pulled back half way. He felt like he was going to puke. "Julie, you look…" he managed to say, but her lips on his stopped him.
He was kissing Julie Gaffney. Correction, Julie Gaffney was kissing him! The initial shock wore off, and he began kissing her right back, his arms around her and holding her close. Julie was trying not to be mortified by the fact that she had just jumped on him before he'd had the chance to say more than 5 words to her, but really, she didn't care. She had been thinking about him all night and all morning, and she was ashamed of herself for even thinking about not giving this relationship a chance. She was planning on telling him later in the night, after dinner, but her nerves had gotten the best of her, causing her to accelerate the process.
The kiss ended reluctantly, and she could feel Portman's smile on her cheek as she remained in his arms, trying to compose herself. "Well, good afternoon to you too," he chuckled, causing her to laugh also. The laughing continued, as both she and Portman released the nervous energy with which they had both been overflowing.
"Sorry about that… I just couldn't help myself," she said, giggling and covering her mouth.
"Any time you want to greet me that way, you go right on ahead. I'm not going to stop you," he said, pulling her back into his arms for a hug.
They were silent for a few seconds before Julie said, "Well, I was going to wait to talk to you about this until tonight, but I guess now is as good of a time as any."
She led him to the bed, where they both took a seat. "Okay," she began, steeling herself with a deep breath, "After much thought and conversations with Connie, I've decided that I to give us a try."
He wasn't sure he'd really heard her, but she smiled at him expectantly, so a smile spread across his face. "I promise, you won't regret this," he said, pulling her closer for another kiss.
"I know I won't," she whispered, her lips almost touching his.
They were 45 minutes late to dinner, but they didn't really care. Connie pointed at them from inside Mickey's as they made their way across the street and into the diner. "What do we tell them?" Julie whispered, walking up the steps.
Portman held the door open for her and whispered, "Eh, let them figure it out on their own. If they can." She smiled up at him as they made their way to the booths that the Ducks were sharing.
"About damn time you guys got here!" Goldberg said, throwing a wadded up napkin at them. Most of the team had eaten already with the exception of Goldberg and Fulton, who were still eating.
Julie realized that she was starving and grabbed a menu as Portman said, "Sorry… we got lost." Julie winked at Connie, who looked at her from across two tables.
Charlie's arm was on the back of the bench that they were sharing, and Connie excused herself for a second. "I gotta go to the ladies', wanna go, Jules?" Connie said, trying to make their disappearance appear legitimate.
"Sure, I'll be right back. Portman, order me a number 3 special, will ya?" Julie said, throwing her purse into the booth.
Seconds later, the boys heard excited screams coming from the ladies' restroom, and Portman's face turned slightly red. Fulton punched him on the shoulder and whispered, "Tonight, you're coming over and you're going to tell me everything."
The girls made their way back to the table, noticing the amused stares of all of the guys. "What?" Connie said, sliding back into the booth with Charlie. Portman stood up so Julie could slide into the booth just as the waitress brought Julie's food.
This reunion consisted of the same types of activities as the last: barbeques at Fulton's, pool parties at Adam's, dinners at Mickey's, roller hockey, basketball, etc. School was often a topic of discussion due to the fact that the beginning of their junior year was fast approaching. Connie and Julie were excited to finally be doing something closely related to nursing, but moaned about the fact that they would have to be in school solid for the next 18 months or so. This was their last real summer due to the clinical rotations that they would be taking. The days flew by as Julie and Portman spent every waking hour with each other.
On Friday, the Ducks piled into a couple minivans that they had borrowed from their parents and set off to Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for the preseason game. Coach Bombay was now the head coach of the Minnesota Wild after several years heading up the youth hockey program for the Jr. Goodwill games. Gordon Bombay was a household name in hockey houses, so the Wild were thrilled to get The Minnesota Miracle Man when he expressed interest in filling their open coaching spot. The Wild would be playing the Stars in their first preseason game, and most of the Ducks were torn about their team loyalties. The Wild was now Gordon's team, but the Stars had been big Ducks supporters for years. Julie compromised by wearing a Wild shirt and a Stars hat that she borrowed from Charlie.
The game was close throughout all three periods and ended in a defeat for the Wild. Bombay seemed happy about his team's effort and congratulated them all on a great game as they left the bench. The Ducks all looked at each other. It was time for the surprise party.
All of the Wild players had been in on the party, which was spearheaded by Michele McKay, Bombay's long time girlfriend. After the game, they would all claim to be headed out to celebrate while Michele made an excuse to get Gordon back to the house. A few special people had been invited also including Jan, Don Tibbles, and Coach Orion. Pulling up to the Coach's moderately large house in a nice section of St. Paul, they turned off the lights on the van and parked in an area hidden by trees. The lights were on in Bombay's house and they could see him checking his watch. Ms. McKay was stalling until they arrived. The remaining Ducks arrived along with several of the Wild players and their girlfriends. The plan was to sneak in the unlocked back door and infiltrate the house, scaring the crap out of Bombay by jumping out of every door at Ms. McKay's signal. Portman and Fulton had brought their air horns from the game and were giving each other silent high fives as they and Julie hid in the downstairs pantry. They heard Ms. McKay come down the stairs and say, "Okay Gordon, are you ready to leave?"
Fulton and Portman looked at each other; that was the signal. "SURPRISE!" they all screamed, air horns honking loudly. Gordon screamed in surprise also, covering his head with his arms. Everyone laughed loudly as Bombay brought down his arms to check out the crowd. He looked over at Michele, who was smiling proudly; it was nearly impossible to trick Gordon after all of his years with the Ducks.
"You got me!" he said, laughing. He paused for a second and looked around at the crowd, his hand in his blazer pocket. "But," he began, looking back to Michele, "I got you at the same time." The large crowd gasped as he pulled a Tiffany box out of his pocket and dropped down on one knee slowly, his knees never having been the same after his injury.
"Michele, will you marry me?" he said to the now red-faced woman standing in front of him.
"Of course I will!" she said, tears falling down her face. Julie and Connie squealed again, crying happily at the romantic moment. Fulton, Portman, Charlie, and the rest of the guys rolled their eyes and laughed, but Portman squeezed Julie's hand to let her know he was just kidding.
The party went on until the late hours of the night, full of good food, drinks, happy friends, and conversation. Gordon did notice that Portman and Julie were sticking together very closely, and he pulled Portman to the side while they were refilling their drinks in the kitchen. "So, you and Julie, huh?" the coach said, smiling.
Portman smiled and said, "Yeah, what can I say?" Gordon laughed, patting Portman on the shoulder.
"You'll be good to her, I know you will. And if you're not, I know Connie will beat the crap out of you, so I'm not too concerned," Gordon laughed as Portman nodded.
"Did you hear… Connie and Charlie?" Portman asked as they returned to the party.
"I can't believe it took this long," Bombay said, rolling his eyes.
Portman nodded and said, "Yeah, it's about damn time."
To be continued…
