I think I remember reading somewhere that after the '80 team won the gold medal, there wasn't any place for friends and family to celebrate, so some hotel opened up a reception room and threw a big bash. Or, maybe I'm thinking of something not at all related to hockey, I'm not sure. In any case, that's the premise here...

The girls had made it through both games of the medal round in tact and with no heart problems. The boys had come through with flying colors, not only beating the vaunted Soviet team, but also erasing a one-goal deficit and beating Finland for the gold medal.

They were on the ice now, hugging each other, laughing, crying, yelling, and jumping around in celebration. Krista and Gail were doing much the same thing in the stands, celebrating not with teammates, but with people they'd never met, exchanging names and hugs at the same time. Finally the boys managed to gather themselves together long enough to shake hands with the Fins and carry the festivities into the locker room.

Gail and Krista worked their way down to the hallway where the locker rooms were located, but were stopped by a security guard.

"Are you family?" he asked.

"I'm Gail Schneider," she told him, "Buzz's wife."

"What about you?" he asked Krista.

"I'm Mike Eruzione's girlfriend," she replied hopefully.

"You can go," the guard told Gail, "but you have to stay here," he told Krista. "Family only."

"We'll get you in. I'll tell Rizzo you're here," Gail said to Krista, disappearing into the crush of people. She fought her way out again a few minutes later smiling.

"How are they?" Krista asked.

"Ecstatic," Gail replied. "But there's no room in there…that's why they have the family only rule."

Krista's face fell. She had hoped to share at least a little of this with Rizzo.

"But I have good news," Gail continued. "The Marriott Hotel has a reception room that isn't being used, and has offered to open it up for the boys and their guests." She grinned, "Every single one of those boys asked that you be there."

Krista couldn't find any words; instead she just smiled.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Gail said taking Krista's arm. "We can head back to our room and change. By the time we get to the Marriott, the boys should be there, too."

◊◊◊

The reception room was large, with a stage at one end and a banquet table laid out with hastily thrown together dishes at the other. There was even a band to provide music—they had been in town to play at a wedding reception the night before, and offered their services for the Olympic hockey team. Family and friends were milling around, laughing, talking, and getting to know each other. Krista and Gail arrived a few minutes before the boys did, so they wandered through the maze of people looking for someone they knew.

When the team arrived, the entire room broke into cheers and applause. The boys fanned out, looking for parents, siblings, girlfriends, and anyone else who had made the trip to Lake Placid. Buzzy found Gail, and the two of them went to look for his parents, leaving Krista alone, or so she thought. She felt a pair of arms reach around her waist from behind her and warm lips kiss her neck.

She smiled. Even blind and deaf she'd know his touch. "I didn't think I was going to get to see you tonight," she told him.

Rizzo turned her around and pulled her close. "Even if I had to go AWOL, I was going to see you tonight." He kissed her gently.

"It's not every day I get to kiss a gold medalist," she said smiling. "And in the middle of a crowd, too."

"You do now," he laughed. "But maybe not in front of this many people again. Come on, the boys want to say hi, and there's some people I want you to meet…"

He introduced her to his parents, and they talked for a while before his teammates began coming over with their parents and siblings, too. She made time for them all, talking, laughing, even squeezing in a few dances, and Rizzo stood beside her the entire time. He seemed to realize that his moment in the sun would last a while, but that hers wouldn't shine beyond this group of people.

After a while, Krista felt she needed to say a few things to entire room, so when the band took a break, she climbed up on stage with Bah's help and turned on the microphone.

"Hi everyone," she began a little hesitantly. "My name is Krista Collins, and I'm a waitress at the Brown Jug where the boys spent a large majority of their free time while they were in Minnesota. I won't take up too much of your time, but there are a couple of things I wanted to say.

"First, I wanted to thank the Marriott and their wonderful staff for allowing us to celebrate here, together. We have everything we need to have a good time on just a few minutes notice, and that is a major accomplishment.

"Secondly, the boys asked me to thank all of the parents, siblings, girlfriends—or wife in Buzzy's case," she smiled at Gail, "and all the other friends and family members that are here. Every one of them told me they wouldn't be where they are today without your love and support…but none of them wanted to get up on stage and sound that sappy."

The crowd chuckled.

"The last thing I want to say is thank you to the boys. Some of them I've known for a while, and some I only met last July, but they are all family now. You guys have made the last seven months the most enjoyable seven months I've ever had. You're good men, every one of you. Even you, OC," she smiled. "I watched you work hard, look after each other on and off the ice, look after me…" she paused, getting a little choked up. "And I'm so proud of you…" She couldn't finish. She switched off the microphone, placed it on the stool the band had been using, and made her way to the edge of the stage where Bah was waiting to help her down. The crowd applauded, and the boys all came forward and hugged her one by one, whispering their own thank-yous and words of encouragement.

Rizzo approached her last. The band had come back on stage and had begun playing "In the Still of the Night".

"May I?" he asked, offering his hand.

She smiled, taking it. "Of course."

He led her out to the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her, brushing the last tear from her cheek. "You okay?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah, but I'm going to be a wreck when you go back to Boston."

"Who says I'm going back to Boston?"

She looked up at him, confused. "You can't stay in Minnesota, the Olympics are over; there's no more training."

"So?"

"So I just figured you'd be going back home…"

"You could come with me," he told her.

"I don't have a job or a place to live out there," she replied. "The Brown Jug isn't much, but it pays the bills until I find something else."

He smiled down at her, turning a thought over in his mind. It had come to him earlier when a reporter had asked him what he was going to do with his life now that the Olympics were over. No, he decided, not yet.

"Then I'll stay in Minnesota…Buzzy and Gail have a spare room, and offered to let me stay with them for a while."

"Really?"

"Yeah…"

She pulled him closer to her and kissed him softly. He smiled shyly, and ran his fingers through her long hair.

"I can't leave you now," he told her, "this is the first time I've seen you in a dress…"

She laughed. "And what do you think?"

"I think," he said touching her cheek, "I want to be around for the second time."