It was a day before Lake Placid.
We had played the Soviets.
We had lost 10-3.
Jack had gotten hurt.
Doc had taken him to the hospital to get a picture but it wasn't looking too good.
I sat on the bed in the room we were staying in until we moved to the dorms that would house all the competitors. The boys were bummed and they should be. They had lost badly and lost a player. I didn't say a word to them because I didn't feel like getting chewed out again. Mac had already done that, blaming me on Jack's injury. I hadn't said anything, just followed the boys to the bus so we could go back to the hotel. I didn't even let Silky or Buzz sit with me.
This had been a long and tedious process for them. Many days had been spent having two a days and once there was even a three a days because Herb thought they weren't taking it seriously. I had seen Buzz puke after a practice and bandaged all his wounds. One had been bad. He had taken a puck to the face.
These guys had worked so hard and all that had crumbled in front of them. Herb hadn't been happy. He was thinking of pulling Jimmy out of the goal but after a long discussion with him, he had made up his mind to leave him be. He had called me to do some therapy with Jack after they found out if he could play. He wanted the defenseman to be in top shape.
Buzz sat beside me on the bed and looked at my suitcase. It was packed and ready to be moved. All the clothes I was going to wear the next day were hanging in the doorway to the bathroom. He knew I was upset about everything that had happened here in New York.
"It wasn't your fault he showed up." He said.
"I know." I wiped at my nose. I had been crying. Luckily, Silky had gone with Jimmy and Rizzo to get food. I didn't want him to see me like that.
"Has Silky said anything about it?" I shook my head. "That's good. It means he takes your side." He threw his arm around me and rubbed my arm as my head naturally went to his shoulder. "I can tell how much you love him. Does he feel the same?" I shrugged. "It might be a good thing to find out."
"Buzz." I moved away from him.
"Minni, I know. I know what you've gone through. Life sucks because your life was turned upside down because of that jerk. You don't trust men, except a few. The whole team counts as a few. I want to know you're happy before I do anything else after this."
"You don't have to watch out for me anymore."
"Yeah, I do. I promised your dad I would and I intend to keep that promise until you're married."
"What will your wife say? You know she only puts up with so much."
"She understands the entire situation."
"She won't put up with it anymore. The only reason she did this long is because I was working on my graduate degree and I agreed to come with you during try-outs. She won't want me back in your house."
He knew I was telling the truth but his stubborn streak was making itself shown. Besides his wife, I was the most important person in Buzz's life. I had always been.
"I'll talk to her."
"There's nothing to talk about. If you make it to the medal round…No, if you win, every team will be looking at me to become their trainer. People pay big for an Olympic gold trainer. There's a big possibility I will have to move out of state for that job." He looked down at the floor. "Buzz, you can't protect me anymore. I'm a big girl. Let me take care of myself."
This entire conversation was so long in coming that it was hard to talk about it. We had been together our entire lives and now we were discussing separating for the first time. It was really hard. I didn't want to leave him, but he had his own family and I was intruding. I was always the oddball out but he had made it so I was family. We were our own family and then he had his on the side.
He looked up at me then. I could tell he was holding everything in as much as I was. "Min, you're my sister in every sense of the word."
I smiled as the tears started falling again. "And you're my brother. But we have to do this."
"I know." We met in the middle of the room in a tight hug. "I know, but I don't have to like it."
The fact that he still cared about what I did meant more to me than anything else. I squeezed him hard, my hand twisting in his hair.
"Hidey-ho!" The door flew open as Rizzo came in. "We have dinner!" He looked up and saw us as we stepped apart, one arm still around each other. "Is everything okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah, we're fine. What'd you get?"
They went on a rant about the food they got while in the middle of calling the rest of the boys. I excused myself to the little alcove to wash my face, staring at it as water dripped back into the sink. After this season, I was on my own. No matter how much Buzz argued with me.
I turned around and looked out into the room. The boys had all meandered in, especially with the call of food. They were sitting everywhere, on the table, the beds, the chairs, in the floor. This was my team for two more weeks. After that, who knew?
Silky appeared in front of me and held out his hand. I looked up at him and smiled, lacing my fingers with his. He pulled me to him and leaned down to kiss me. The whole room saw it and cheered. I smiled up at him, thankful he didn't ask any questions.
We joined the group and fought our way to the food, not letting the last few days get to us. We were on the road to glory. We had to make it real.