Strangexbutxtrue- I didn't know about the humming thing. Guess you really do learn something new everyday!
TheBlackSoul- Poor Jimmy? You ain't seen nothing yet! LOL
Darkdestiney2000- Thanks, here is the more you were looking for!
Miraclegirl- I enjoy writing Jimmy's brothers! LOL I always cry writing Coxie leaving.
Klinoa- Yeah, I always wanna hug Coxie when he gets cut. His brother isn't really perverted………just curious! LOL
BellaLou- I wish I could've seen those looks, just to see his reaction! Oh, yes, isn't Indiana Jones sexy! LOL I always hate saying goodbye to Coxie. I cry over everything too so don't feel bad. I love your reviews, keep them coming! (PS- My Georgia muse read your reviews about Casey; now she thinks he's cute and says for you to kiss him from her! LOL ;-))
Meadow567- He is emotional about his mom- not the time to have sex on a plane. Especially with her dad on the same plane! LOL You're worse than OC cheering for Jimmy to get laid.
Killerkeanegirl- Loved your review. It reminded me of one of my friends from college! LOL
Emador- So glad you liked the Playboy between the mattresses joke! I am fond of my 'Jimmy's Little Brother' muse!
Lia06- Well, I don't think Jimmy is a bad big brother…...just straight to the point. Yeah, but Coach Craig did have important news!
Moi- Well, Georgia certainly does help build his stamina! LOL
February 9, 1980Madison Square Gardens, NYC
Three Days Till Opening Ceremonies
This game was a disaster from the beginning. We were so intimidated by the Soviets; the Soviets capitalized on that. This game was a nightmare. Jim screaming at his teammates in frustration. Herb and Craig neither one knew what to say to pull the team together. And OC couldn't resist starting fights with the Soviets.
Even I was in awe of the Soviet team. They were so much older than us, and never showed any emotion. They did things on the ice I had never seen in all my years of watching hockey and working with the Gophers.
Just when things couldn't get much worse, OC was checked to the ice and was grabbing his knee. Dad went out onto the ice to check on OC. Looking down the bench, the boys were a mixture of frustrated, upset and in general confused. I knew this game was a bad idea. Dad was able to get OC over to the bench but OC was in great pain.
"We should take him to the back, get a more thorough exam." Dad said and I nodded.
Dad and I helped OC to the locker room. Once inside the locker room, we helped OC up on the table. I helped OC out of his gear. He wasn't saying much but was wincing in pain.
"I'll go get some ice." I said and left dad to examine OC's knee.
While getting the ice, I prayed that OC's knee injury wasn't bad. We had to face Sweden in just three days. The team couldn't afford an injured player. More than that, OC wanted to play in the Olympics more than anything. I didn't want to face it, but knew that Herb might have to send OC back to Charlestown.
Dad walked into the room with me. "How is he?" I asked.
"I don't know if the ligaments are stretched or torn." Dad said. "I am going to make the arrangements to take him to the hospital. He will need x-rays. I also need to update Herb."
"Okay, I'm going to ice up his knee." I said.
"Stay with him, Georgia. He needs a friend right now." Dad said.
I nodded and watched dad walk out of the locker room to make the arrangements. I carried the bag of ice and went back to where OC was lying on the table. I smiled at him and started wrapping the ice around his knee.
"Three damn days, and now I'm hurt." OC said.
I looked at him, not sure of what to say. I wanted to comfort but at the same time I had to be realistic about his injury.
"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't know anything for sure yet." I said and touched OC's hand.
OC squeezed my hand. "Herb will have to send me home. He needs a healthy team." OC said. I looked up and saw tears in his eyes.
"Jack, just try to relax. I know you're upset but staying calm will help matters more than anything." I said and held his hand.
OC started crying. I leaned down and hugged him. I wished so much that I could tell him that everything would be okay.
Suddenly OC pulled back from me and grabbed me by the shoulders.
"Georgy, promise me something!" OC said his voice stern.
"I'll do anything I can for you, OC. You know that." I said.
"If Herb sends me home, you tell him to bring back Coxie to replace me!" OC said. "You argue with him, do whatever you have to. Don't let him bring in someone from outside the family. If I can't go to Lake Placid, I don't want to be replaced by a stranger."
"I'll do what I can, Jack. I don't want anyone else from outside the family either. But I would much rather you go with us." I said. "Now, just stay calm until we know more."
"Georgia, if Jimmy doesn't marry you someday, I will kick him in the ass." OC said and kissed my cheek. "You're a good woman."
"Well, let's get your knee healed up before you go kicking anyone in the ass." I said with a laugh.
I left OC alone to go check on the other team members that were filing in after the carnage on the ice had ended. 10-3 heading into Lake Placid was not exactly the momentum I had hoped for. The boys all looked subdued.
A few of the boys asked me about OC but I really had nothing I could tell them other than he needed X-rays. Dad walked up to me.
"It's a media circus out there." He said. "Herb is going to talk to OC. Then we need to get him into an ambulance and off to the hospital."
"Herb say anything?" I asked.
"He isn't sure what to do, but talks like he wants to keep Jack if he can. Herb knows how hard those boys have worked to get here." Dad said.
"I never knew that getting attached to the players was a bad thing." I said. "When one of the Gophers got hurt, it was part of the job. When one of these boys gets hurt, you hurt with them." I finished and dad nodded. Dad pulled me into a hug, I knew I must have looked drained.
"Let's go get the ambulance crew and have them load up OC." Dad said.
I followed him to the back of the arena. An ambulance was there waiting for us to signal them to load up an injured player. Dad spoke with the EMT for a moment and then they followed us, towing a stretcher behind.
We walked into the locker room, OC was still lying on the table. Tears still in his eyes.
"OC, I'm going to the hospital with you. We need some x-rays." Dad told him and OC nodded.
The medics raised the stretcher up to table level. Dad and I helped OC scoot over onto it. I smiled at him and took his hand.
"Everything is going to be okay, just relax." I said. "And if you're a good boy at the hospital, they'll give you a lollipop."
OC chuckled. Dad and I walked out of the locker room and down the hall with him. They loaded OC into the ambulance and my dad climbed in with him. I waved to them both as they pulled away.
I turned and walked back down the hall. I saw Jim standing at the bottom of a staircase, wearing half his gear. He looked angry about something.
"Jimmy, what the matter?" I asked him.
He looked at me, his blue eyes wide with anger. "Herb is sitting me on the bench." Jim said.
'This night is getting better all the time!' I thought sarcastically. I sighed and put an arm around Jim.
"It's been a long night. We got killed on the ice. You're upset, OC is on his way to the hospital, we're all exhausted. We should just go back to the hotel and relax." I said.
Jim nodded but didn't say anything. I could feel the tension in his shoulders. I steered him back to the locker room, hoping maybe a warm shower would calm him down a little.
Jim had been quiet the entire trip to our hotel through NYC. We walked inside the hotel and checked into our rooms. Now that we had an even number, Jimmy was rooming with Silk. I still had my own room, because I was the only female. Jim followed me to my room.
When we walked inside, Jim threw his stuff in the floor and flopped down on one bed. I looked at him wondering how to approach him.
"This is bullshit." Jim said. I was surprised, Jimmy was rarely this angry.
"Everything will work out. I am sure the team can pull together." I said.
"Herb has no right to bench me." Jim said sitting up. "That is my net!"
"You're name isn't on that net! It's just as much Janaszak's net as it is yours'. He our goalie too you know?" I said, aggravated. "So you sit out a game or two! Janny can handle things in the net. The team is what's important."
"Come on Georgia, you know better than that!" Jim snapped.
"I do? Tell me what am I getting wrong? Janny is our goalie! He just won a national championship before trying out for this team. He is every bit as good as you are." I snapped back.
"He hasn't played much in seven months; do you really think he is ready to be in goal in the opening game of the Olympics?" Jim snapped with more sarcasm than I liked.
"I don't know, but I don't think he could do worse than letting the opposing team score 10 goals!" I snapped. Janaszak was my friend and I felt as if Jim were betraying that somehow.
Jim's eyes flashed something I didn't recognize but he leaped to his feet. "If I was doing so horribly, why didn't Herb pull me out of the game tonight?" Jim yelled.
"I don't know! But I do know that if he benches you this team won't shrivel up and croak! Janny can lead this team too!" I yelled.
"That's fucking bullshit and you know it. Janny is a good player, but I have been in the net all this time…"
"RIGHT!" I yelled. "YOU have been in the net all this time. Imagine how Janny feels! YOU were the one getting all the extra help! YOU were the one playing in almost every minute of every game. YOU, YOU, YOU! Do you know how many times I have wanted to tell Herb that he does have 2 goalies on this team?"
"YOU WANT ME BENCHED?" Jim yelled.
"I WANT WHAT'S BEST FOR THIS TEAM!" I yelled back. "You're my boyfriend and I love you like no other. But Janny has been my friend a long time; and I won't let you make me choose between you two!"
"I am not asking you to choose, I am asking you to see my side!" Jim snapped.
"I do see your side. I just don't agree with it and wish you would see Janny's side in this." I snapped.
"I do see Janny's side and I am sorry that he hasn't played much. But I have worked and sacrificed for 7 months to get here and now three days before the Olympics Herb wants to pull me out of the net." Jim said.
"You think Janny hasn't made sacrifices to get here? You think he didn't miss his family? That he doesn't have his own Olympic dreams?" I said.
"Georgia, do you really think that pulling me out is good for this team?" Jim snapped.
"WILL YOU QUIT WORRYING ABOUT YOU?" I yelled. "This team right now has got bigger problems than whether or not you're on the bench! We were just massacred by the Soviets! More than that, OC is at the hospital right now with a knee injury. He might not even make it to Lake Placid. Why don't you show a little concern for OC?"
"I am concerned for OC! You don't know me at all!" Jim said.
Jim brushed past me, picked up his bags and walked out without another word. I stood feeling anger and misery take over me. Jim had walked out on me kept running through my head. My head was spinning. Jim had said I didn't know him and then walked out on me. Before I realized it, I was crying. Crying harder than I could ever remember.
TO BE CONTINUED………
