October 1979, Thief River Falls
I followed Rizzo onto the plane that would take us home. We had just played an away game and I was anxious to relax on the flight home. Funny thing I had started calling Minneapolis home, even though I was from Detroit. I walked past dad who was seated with Doc. I sat down between Rizzo and Jimmy Craig. Buzz winked at us when he walked past.
Since Rizzo had told his teammates that he and I were dating, things were a lot less complicated. The guys were supportive, even helping us cover our tracks. It was almost as if helping Rizzo and I was another team bonding activity. Just last week Pavelich and Verchota told my dad that they wanted me to go shopping with them. Meanwhile, I had actually gone roller-skating with Rizzo. It was also a lot easier to hang out with the team because we could hold hands and kiss without shocking someone.
"Are you tired?" I asked Jimmy.
"Yeah, don't mind me if I sleep all the way back to Minnesota." Jimmy said while trying to get comfortable.
I reach over and took Rizzo's hand, "You played good tonight." I said; trying to encourage him as his game was still off.
He smiled at me, "You're a terrible liar, but it is good to know you care."
The plane began taxiing and I settled back to rest. I spread a blanket out over me, Jimmy and Rizzo. This way if dad, Herb or Doc saw us they would think we were just sharing a blanket. My hand found Rizzo's under the blanket. Then the plane stopped moving.
"Why did we stop?" Rizzo asked me. I shrugged.
The whole team looked around at each other. I saw Herb get out of his seat and head towards the cabin of the plane. A few minutes later Herb came back out.
"Boys, the plane hit a moose that was on the runway. The pilot wants to have the plane checked for damage before we take off. Everybody off the plane." Herb announced. We all groaned and laughed as we stood up to exit the plane.
"How the hell did we hit a moose?" Bah asked.
"Is the moose okay?" I asked.
"Moose is fine, Chev. It ran off." Herb said.
"Rizzo, Cox, OC, Mac and Johnson. I need you to push the plane back into the hangar." Herb said.
We stepped off the plane. The rain was fierce. I ran towards the airport lounge as Rizzo went with the others to push the plane. Inside the lounge, I sat with a few of the boys who were getting out a deck of cards.
"Buzz, I swear you Coneheads host more poker games than Vegas." I said.
"Hey, what can I say? It's easy money." Bah said and I grinned.
I settled back to watch the boys play poker. Janaszak joined the game. I was half watching the game and half watching the news. I saw the sports come on the news; I was interested as the Pittsburgh Pirates were on a roll in the play-offs. I had heard Eric Strobel say he looked for Pittsburgh to win the World Series.
Instead they showed clips of the NHL all-star team getting their asses handed to them by the Soviets. I couldn't hear everything that was being said but it looked as if the Soviets simply dominated the NHL all-stars. Soviets won 6-0. I caught a glimpse of Herb on the phone watching the news clip as well.
Cold hands wrapping around my neck brought me out of my thoughts as I yelped. I looked up and saw Rizzo soaking wet, standing behind me.
"You're going to get pneumonia from being out in this rain." I told him. "Come one lets get you out of those wet clothes." I said standing up.
"Wow, she doesn't beat around the bush, does she Rizzo?" Verchota asked with a smile.
"Shut up, Verchota. I don't want him getting sick." I said as Rizzo and I walked to the bathrooms.