Chapter 7 - Grocery Shopping and Star Wars

Marie brought two cups of coffee into the living room. Simon took one of the cups as Marie sat down next to him. Their date was winding down and they were just relaxing in her apartment. He looked over at Marie and started to play with her hair affectionately. Marie turned toward him and they both leaned in at the same time. They didn't part until the door opened and Connie and Regan walked in.

Connie stopped short when she saw them part. "I am so sorry. I wasn't thinking you guys were here. We'll head somewhere else."

Simon spoke up right when they turned toward the door. "That's ok. I had to leave anyway. Have to get up early tomorrow for work."

"You sure?" Connie asked. "Because…"

Marie stood up with Simon and nodded. "It's fine." She followed him to the door, but didn't go farther than that. They said goodbye with a kiss and she watched him walk to the stairs before closing the door. She didn't realize that she had this big smile on her face until Regan said something. "Do I?"

"I haven't seen a smile like that since you know who," Connie remarked. "Is someone in love?"

Marie shook her head. "Not yet, but I am falling for him."

Connie gave Marie a smile. Regan said, "You two seem so cute together."

"We can talk about anything. I told him about what happened with Will," Marie told them. "He felt terrible that it happened."

"Were you worried about what he would think?" Connie asked.

"I'm terrified to tell people what Will did. I am also scared that maybe they'd take his side because of what he said to me."

"Will was a jerk. I thought he wasn't good for you," Regan replied.

Marie looked over at her friend. "What? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't say anything because you were happy. I didn't want you to be mad at me. Besides… what Will said about you is so not true."

Connie nodded her head. "She's right. You know it, we all know it."

Marie smiled at both of her friends. "So what did you two do tonight?"

"We went to the movies."

vvv

A few days later, all three girl's were grocery shopping. They were walking around when they noticed a guy they knew.

"Rizzo, what are you doing here?" Marie asked coming up behind him.

Rizzo jumped a little and turned around. "I decided to cook dinner for all the guys," he explained to them after saying hi.

"What is on the special menu at Rizzo's restaurant?" Connie joked.

"Pasta," he simply replied. "I make a mean sauce. I'm making it tomorrow."

"We'll be able to have it, too, right?" Marie asked.

"Duh, I was expecting you guys," Rizzo said.

Marie rolled her eyes at him in fun banter before she gave him a hug. "Do you want me to make anything?"

"Well, I was just going to make this," Rizzo replied.

"I'll make dessert." She turned around after they said bye, but didn't miss the look Rizzo threw at Regan. She smiled at the thought of him having a crush. They would make a cute couple, she thought. "Regan… are you interested in any of the guys?" she asked when they were out of Rizzo's sight.

Regan looked up after putting a carton of milk in the basket. "Ah… there's OC."

"OC? Really?" Connie asked intrigued.

Regan shrugged. "That guy is just… so hot."

Marie grabbed a dozen eggs. "What do you think of Rizzo?"

"He's sweet," Regan simply answered, "but have you seen Jack?" Regan started fanning herself with her shirt. "I want to run into the locker room when they're showering and…"

"Ok… got a horny girl over here," Marie muttered. "Have you said anything to him?"

"No. We've flirted in passing," Regan replied. "I know what you're going to say. He's not worth it because all he probably wants is to get laid."

Marie looked at Connie. "I wasn't going to say that. In the beginning, Jack and I didn't get off on the right foot. Now I've only talked to him a couple of times and I'm starting to like him."

"So?"

Marie sighed. "Have you noticed Rizzo giving you looks?"

Regan put another item into the basket before answering. "Yeah, but I don't think of him like that."

"The poor guy can't get a break," Connie whispered.

Regan raised an eyebrow at the comment. "If he says anything… I'll tell him in a nice way that I don't think of him that way. I don't want his feelings hurt."

Marie nodded and realized that no matter what, Regan was going to do what she wanted to do. She couldn't force her friend to do something that she thought was the right thing to do.

vvv

The next night, everybody crowded into Rizzo's dorm room. They ate the pasta, played Atari, played cards, and they talked. Marie found herself in a conversation about Star Wars. The topic was basically theories of what was to come in Empire Strikes Back.

"Darth Vader is going to get his revenge on Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia, and the rebellion for what they did to the Death Star," Mark said to Mike Ramsey, Marie, Ken Morrow, and Silk. "He will capture them and of course torture them."

"I think Leia gets kidnapped again by Darth Vader. Luke and Han go get her, but Luke gets into a battle with Vader," she told the guys.

Silk looked over at her. "Then what?"

Without having a gut feeling, but just making a comment, she said, "Maybe… just maybe Darth Vader is Luke's father."

Mike replied, "That would be interesting."

Mark said, "That would make it totally different. Think about it. It puts a whole new spin on the series."

"So… Marie, who do you think Leia will end up with, Luke or Han?"

Marie took a bite of her pasta. 'Well…Harrison Ford is hot, so Han."

"What about that good luck kiss?" Morrow asked.

"It was just for luck," Marie replied. "Doesn't mean anything."

Silk said, "I read in a magazine that they're introducing a new character. It's a puppet, run by Frank Oz."

Marie chuckled. "It's Miss Piggy." The guys snickered at her comment.

"Marie, how's the pasta?" Rizzo asked coming up.

"Excellent. The meatballs are awesome," Marie told him. He asked the other guys before leaving, but when they told Rizzo they heckled him.

The guys decided to play their own card game, so Marie went and talked to Rob, Connie, Buzz, Regan, and Jimmy. Marie stayed with them for an hour, before leaving to use the bathroom. When she came back into the room, Rob and Connie had left, Regan was talking to Jack, Buzz and Jimmy had joined the card game. She saw another pack of cards, so she started to play solitaire.

"Are you winning?" Silk asked sitting down next to her.

Marie smirked at him. "Yeah, of course. Do you want to play war?"

Silk agreed and the two started to play the game. When it seemed like Silk was going to loose, Marie started getting more cards. During the game, they had actually a tie within the cards, and after flipping the tie breaker card over they laughed. It was another tie between their cards.

"That has never happened to me before," Marie said.

"Me, too," Silk said. "That's crazy."

They played for another twenty minutes before they decided to quit. They hung out with each other before everybody decided to call it a night.

vvv

A few nights later, Marie was sitting in her kitchen eating dinner when the phone rang. "Hello," she said into the receiver when she answered. "Hey mom… God forbid I didn't tell you… look who I date doesn't matter… I don't care that Mrs. Albertson told you… I don't know when you'll meet him…"

Connie came into the kitchen and was amused by Marie's half of the conversation. She has met the Harris' and to be honest she didn't see anything wrong with them. They did care for their daughter's well being. Marie just thinks it's annoying as hell. She wants her independence.

After Marie hung up, she told Connie about how her mom was mad at her for not telling her that she was dating one of the country club's popular wives sons. She couldn't eat her meal anymore so she left the apartment and headed over to Simon's place. He was surprised that she was there, and after letting her in, listened to her problem with her parents.

"Maybe they do care because they worry about you."

"If they cared about me… then why aren't they happy for me? I swear… what they want for me is to be married to someone from the club and be a housewife where I am not happy. I can't live like that. I want to have a career where I am making my own kind of money."

"That's one of the things that I like about you. Your independence."

Marie smiled at him and snuggled closer to him. They stayed like that for a while before she left. She seriously needed to sit down with her parents and ask them why they're like the way they are with her. Maybe that would help her better understand.