Chapter 23 - Laundry and Collectibles

Marie was sitting in the lobby of the arena by herself. She was reading her text book because she has a test in two days. She was by herself because Connie had class and Regan had to work. The reason Marie was there was because she thought a nice study break had been in order, but since the wait for the guys after practice was long she'd study during that time. She knew the material really well and didn't doubt that she didn't know anything.

"Marie, how are you doing?" a voice asked coming up.

Marie looked up and was surprised to see Herb Brooks in front of her. "Hey, Mr. Brooks, I'm fine."

"I heard about what happened. Are you ok?" he asked concerned. "I know it's been five days…"

Marie nodded. "Yeah. The bruise is fading slowly. Doesn't look like it because it looks bad, but it is. My hand… I hope it's healing. Other than that, I'm fine."

Herb smiled. "Any news on the deer?"

Marie shook her head. "No. She hasn't called or written. She must be hiding in fear."

Herb chuckled. "Well… I was leaving and I saw you. Take care all right. Oh… and thank you for being there in the stands at practice. I think it helped the guys." He got up and started to leave.

"No problem, Mr. Brooks," Marie called out. She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and went back to reading. A few minutes later, she felt a set of lips on her cheek. When she looked up at Silk, she didn't even get to say hi before he was already kissing her.

"What's the plan tonight?" he asked when he sat down next to her.

Closing her text book, she said, "I'm planning on doing my laundry."

"Care for some company?"

Marie smirked and tilted her head. "You just want to see some of my underwear."

Silk nodded, but laughed. "Actually… I need to do laundry, too."

Marie got up and pointed with her head that they should go then. She entwined her fingers with his and they headed out. About an hour later they got to her apartment after going by the dorms to get his clothes. When they entered the laundry room, they set their baskets on the table and started to sort through them.

"The news last night said nothing new has happened in Iran with the hostages," Marie started to say.

"Anything new with Afghanistan?" he asked.

Marie shook her head. "I just wish it all would end."

Silk nodded. "Me, too."

"I'm still thinking about the security of the Olympics," Marie said. "I know there's a slim chance of anything bad happening, but you know."

Silk threw a pair of his boxers into the washer before turning to her and taking her into her his arms. "And like I said two weeks ago, my parents, sister, you, and everybody else will be on the next bus out of there."

Marie nodded and wrapped her arms around him. She went back to sorting her clothes after a few minutes. Once the washers were turned on, they took a seat at the table. She had asked him to help her study for the test. About an hour later, their clothes were about to be dry. They were now talking about the Russia game that the team was going to play in six days in New York.

"We were thinking about doing some of the tourist attractions. Since we come in on Thursday, that night go down to Little Italy and eat at one of the restaurants," Marie told him. "Then do whatever after the next day. You know, like go to the Empire State Building."

Silk said, "Saturday we're going to be practicing. Depends on how Friday will go if we can do that stuff."

The door opened and one of Marie's neighbors came in carrying her laundry. "Marie… I would think you'd have enough sense to leave him."

Marie asked confused. "Why would I leave him, Mrs. Winters?"

Mrs. Winters placed her basket on another table. "Look at you."

Marie sighed. "Mrs. Winters, I got into a car accident. Trust me, if he had done this to me, he'd be six feet under."

Silk smiled. "Trust me, I believe that she would do it, too."

Mrs. Winters nodded. "If she comes in one day crying I'll…"

Silk interrupted her. "You won't be the only one who'll hunt me down and kill me. Or make sure my testicles are cut off."

Marie's eyes widened. "Whoa, who said that?"

"Guess?"

Marie shrugged. "Connie?"

Silk nodded. "After our little fight, she came to me and it was the last thing that came out of her mouth."

Marie smiled. "Connie's protective."

Mrs. Winters asked, "If you got into a car accident then how come your…"

Marie told her, "My car is in the shop. That is just a rental. I swear to God, Mrs. Winters that I am not lying. I ran into a pole after swerving to miss a deer. Why would I take Dave back if he had seriously abused me? I'm not that dumb!"

Mrs. Winters stopped putting her clothes in the washer and turned to Marie. "I never said you were."

"But you were implying it," Marie said.

"I'm just worried about you," Mrs. Winters told her.

Marie tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and leaned on her right hand. "I tried make-up. It didn't help cover the bruise much."

Silk leaned forward in his chair and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. He cupped her cheek and his thumb brushed softly against it. "Mrs. Winters… trust me when I say I would do anything for her. I love her to death."

Marie smiled. "I love him to death, too."

Mrs. Winters let it go and went back to her laundry. She saw what happened with Will. She heard what happened with Simon. She was just greatly concerned for her neighbor.

vvv

Marie was sitting on her room trying to pack for the flight to New York the next day. She had started thinking about her past relationships and her relationship with Silk. That was when she stopped what she was doing and collected all the things she had gotten with Silk or from him in the past month and a half. She tried to think about the stuff she had kept as keepsakes from Carter, Justin, Will, and Simon. The only thing she came up with was a shell she got after the weekend she had with Simon at his cabin.

"Are you almost done?" Connie asked from the doorway.

Marie looked up from her spot on the bed. "Almost."

Connie walked in and looked at the stuff lying on the bed. "What's all this?"

"Stuff I've ever gotten or collected in the past month and a half from Dave," Marie told her. "The cow though was a couple of months ago when we went to the carnival. He had played that baseball game."

Connie picked up some of the things that became precious to Marie. There was the Hobbit, photo booth pictures of the two posing, a flower from the New Year's date, ticket stubs from three movies they went to, the hospital wrist band, the card he gave her telling her he was sorry, and two mix tapes. One was of songs that were of love and the other was rock. "When did he do these?"

"He did them in Boston on Christmas break." Marie told her. "My boyfriend is a dork, but he's my dork."

Connie smiled. "So what does this have to do with anything?"

Marie picked up the shell. "I've collected so much in the past month and a half then I've ever collected in the past. This is the only thing I've collected. With Justin and Will nothing was special to keep."

Connie picked up and few of the things and sat down. "Justin and Will have the IQ of a fruit fly. They were morons who didn't have a single clue how to treat a lady."

Marie smirked. "Why was I so blind to see that?"

Connie said, "Love is blind sometimes. It can mess things up in our state of mind."

"This shell was from the weekend at Simon's cabin. I had a blast. He took me fishing."

Connie grabbed it and chucked it into the waste basket. "Forget about the past. You have a great guy now."

"I know that," Marie told her. "I love him more each day. I almost lost him, but that was my fault. I misunderstood him."

Connie smiled. "He told Rob how much he loves you. He felt like an idiot for what happened. When you stayed that extra day, he wasn't sure if you were going to be happy to see him. I know you wanted to see him…"

"Connie, don't worry about it. I'm not mad," she told her. "Everything worked out for the good."

"I'm glad," Connie told her.

Marie got up and started to put the collectibles away. She took the Hobbit and put it in her carry on bag. "I've been having a hard time deciding on something."

"What's that?"

Marie turned back to Connie. "Dave and I made this plan that we would wait to have sex."

"Really? You wouldn't think so with all the making out like two fourteen year olds…"

Marie rolled her eyes. "Well, I…" Marie stopped and blushed.

"You've never had a hard time talking about sex before," Connie pointed out. "What is this about?"

Marie smiled. "With the thought of Dave and I… going at it like two fourteen year olds… I end up blushing like a school girl."

"I thought you guys already did it?"

"We did."

Connie asked, "What's the problem?"

Marie bit her lip. "The talk about sex before… I wasn't doing it right. I never…"

"Will? You're letting Will in again."

Marie nodded. "What if he was right?"

Connie gave her a look. "He has an IQ of a fruit fly."

Marie laughed. "Ok… so lately I've been day dreaming about Dave and I between the sheets. I really want us…"

"Go for it. Next time, seduce him," Connie told her. "Rip his clothes off. Make those fantasies come to life."

Marie smiled and rolled her eyes again. "I'm glad I have your support." She went back to packing.