Chapter 6 - A Friend Returns

Marie and Connie were sitting out in the lobby waiting for the guys to come out of the locker room. It was a month since practices started for the team and since that time, both girls have seen a lot of changes within the group. Rob and Jack have been friendlier toward one another. The other day when Marie got home from work, some of the guys were over and Jack was actually in the apartment. There was no animosity between them. They aren't exactly best friends, but to Marie that's a good sign.

Another change was how the team was starting to play like a team. In the beginning, Jimmy Craig hadn't been in the best of form, not really strong, but now his appearance between the pipes is getting better. The week before, Rizzo had a bad day in practice where Coach Brooks got feed up with him. The girls know he isn't the best player on the team, but they've seen him off the ice and to them they think he'd make a great captain. Then today, at practice, they watched as Mark Pavelich, John Harrington, and Buzz coordinate a play that knocked not just their socks off, but Coach Brooks' socks as well.

Marie liked what she was seeing on and off the ice. She was even becoming really good friends with the guys. Her friendship with Dave Silk has really taken form. They get along really well. As for Simon and her, they've grown closer since their first date three weeks before. They just click really well.

Connie looked over at the lobby doors and gasped out loud. "Oh my…"

"What?" Marie asked confused. She looked over to the doors and her eyes widened in surprise. "Regan!"

The girl named Regan smiled and walked up to them. She gave each of her friend's a hug.

"When did you get back?" Marie asked.

"This afternoon. I decided to come over and watch practice, but I guess it's over," Regan replied. "I wanted to see what the fuss was about."

"You said you were having fun in New York. Wouldn't think you'd come back to school yet," Connie said.

"New York got old." Regan tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Marie smiled. "Welcome home then."

Regan smiled back at Marie and asked. "So… Marie when do I get to meet this guy, Simon?"

"He went to Michigan this week to work on that store. He's supposed to be back in a couple of days," Marie told her.

"Regan, when did you get back?" Rob asked coming up. Rizzo was walking with him, but slowed down when he saw Regan. He was captivated by her, and it didn't go unnoticed by Marie.

"Regan, this is Mike Eruzione or Rizzo, soon to be captain of the U.S. team," Marie introduced. "Rizzo this is Regan."

Rizzo looked over at Marie, but then back to Regan. "She's lying."

Regan asked smiling. "What is she lying about?"

"I won't be captain," Rizzo said.

Marie rolled her eyes. "Rizzo, you're a great leader."

"Doesn't mean I'll be captain," Rizzo brushed off.

"Listen to Marie," Silk said coming up. "During those first few days, she said that she had a feeling that everybody was going to get along. She was right."

Regan said, "She always gets those gut feelings about everybody."

Silk turned toward Regan and nodded. "Dave Silk," he said while holding out his hand.

Regan shook his hand. "Regan Smith." She turned to Rizzo and held her hand out. "It's nice to meet you both," she said when she shook Rizzo's hand.

"It's nice to meet you," Rizzo said back.

The group stayed there for a few more minutes before dispersing and decided that night they would go to the bar.

vvv

That night when Marie was working, the guys, Connie, and Regan were there hanging out. Regan was mostly sitting at the bar, talking to Marie about her stay in New York with her parents who moved there a couple months before, what she did there, what Marie was up to other than hanging out with the team, dating Simon, and working. After a while, she headed back to the group. An hour later, Regan saw a guy walk up to Marie and enclose his arms around her. She asked Connie who the guy was, but realized it when the two kissed.

"You must be Simon," she said when she walked up to them.

Simon and Marie turned toward Regan and Simon nodded. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Regan smiled. "No… but we do know the same person." She turned toward Marie. "I see that you got quite a guy, Marie."

Marie turned to Simon and smiled. "Simon, this is one of my great friends, Regan. She went to New York to visit her parents over the summer."

"It's nice to meet you. Marie did mention a couple of her friends," Simon said while they shook hands. "I remember her telling me that your parents moved to New York and that this was your first time in the big city."

"Oh yeah. I had a blast, but it got really boring after a while. It was basically the same things over and over. It was a culture shock going there, because when you get there you're like wow. Then after about two weeks, it wears off."

"Now that you're back here, are you in another culture shock?"

Marie nodded. "I'm so use to lights. Outside it's really dark."

Marie left them alone for a few minutes because there were a couple orders she had to make. During that time, Simon and Regan got to know one another. She really thought he was a great guy. When Marie came back, Regan left them alone and went back to the group.

"So what do you think?" Rob asked her.

Regan took a sip of her drink before saying, "He seems nice. I just meet him, but I think they're good for another." Rob nodded and went over to talk to Mark.

Connie tucked a piece of her dark brown hair behind her ear. "Rob thinks he's hiding something, like he's not being completely honest with Marie."

Regan chuckled. "Same feelings he had with Will."

Connie replied, "Yes. I'm just glad he hasn't asked me about Jessica."

"He still doesn't know?"

"No."

Regan said, "In truth, they didn't hang out a lot. She was more of an outsider. She didn't really hang out with us, only with Frankie."

"Have you heard from Frankie?" Connie asked.

"I heard Rick and her got engaged."

"I did, too."

They kept on talking about their small group of friends that had gone home for the summer. They talked about Regan's stay in New York, Connie's job, and whatever else that they had to catch up on. During their talk, Regan looked over at Rizzo, Silk, Jack, and Ralph. She had caught Jack's eye as well, and she thought he was really hot. But the guy that caught her eye at this moment was Silk. He was listening to the guys, but also watching Marie behind the bar. She made a mental note to ask about him later.