Chapter 38 - Late September 1980

Marie was sitting in her New York apartment, organizing pictures into the photo albums she had out in front of her. She picked up one photo of Silk and her. She was in her graduation gown with the cap still on her head and she was holding the folder that her diploma was going to reside in. She lightly touched the photo and smiled. That was such an incredible day. She wasn't sure if he was going to be able to make it, but to her surprise when she turned around after hugging her family, he was there. She practically ran into his arms and attacked him.

After the Olympics ended, the girls headed back to Minnesota. Marie felt lonely for the first time in a long time, but knew he was going to be there for her if she needed him. He had got called up to New York, but went straight to their minor league in New Haven. They talked twice week and when she made plans to go out to New Haven one weekend, he called her up and told he had different plans that weekend. The Rangers called him up to play. So instead of heading to New Haven, she went straight to Madison Square Gardens for his big game in the pro league.

She picked up the photo of him in his New York Rangers jersey. She had gotten permission to go the tunnel by the locker room, and when he came out for the pre-game warm-up, she took a quick photo of him before giving him a good luck kiss. She cheered him on like it was his 40th game, not his first. After the game, she went straight to the hotel where she had gotten a last minute reservation for and waited for him to come over. Since Marie had gotten her cast off a week before, he took her left hand and started to lightly tickle it and kiss it. They reveled in the fact that they were once again together, but for only a short amount of time.

He only played two games with the Rangers that season, but he did play in the playoffs for the Nighthawks that year. She couldn't be there for him, but she did support him telepathically. When he was done with the season, he flew into Minnesota for a week. They did all kinds of stuff. They went to the zoo, they went to this garden that had small town figurines, they went to a museum, and hung out with her family. The way her relatives accepted him was like a blessing in her mind. She was so delighted that they loved him.

With school coming to an end, Marie found that she was graduating at a high note in her life. She was at peace with herself. She was now getting along with her mom and dad perfectly, had a degree she was excited to go into, had great friends, and had a wonderful boyfriend. What more could she ask for? Absolutely nothing, but a great paying job, which she found in Manhattan.

The day before graduation, Silk called up and told her he wasn't sure if he was going to make it in time for the ceremony. He had everything packed and ready to go, but the plane ticket wasn't easy to get. She sighed and said that it was ok. It did bother her that he waited 'til the last minute to buy the ticket, but she wasn't going to start a petty fight over it. He was going to celebrate with them after. She was so happy when she saw him there that she started to cry a little. She told him that she had been a little mad at him, but all he said was that he at least made it time.

That night after they celebrated in the afternoon with only her parents, brothers, and grandparents, they hung out together. Actually it was more like she decided to take him to the lake that they went to on his birthday. When he saw her start undressing, he was shocked at first, but then realized they were going to skinny dip. Something both hadn't done before. It didn't really last long, because they ended up back in the car.

A week later, Marie headed to Boston for a two week stay. The Silks' opened their house up to her. Jill had finally started to date the boy she was crushing on in school, so Marie got to meet him. The whole thing with Rammer was just played out of proportion. They really were just friends. When she met his extended family, they greeted her with open arms, too. They treated her like she had been apart of the family for ages. His friends were the same way.

For those two weeks, Silk showed her around the town. They were about two hours away from Boston, so for about two days, they went to Boston and had a tour. They went by Paul Reveres house, they went to a bar called Cheers, they went to the dock where the Boston Tea Party happened, and they did a whole ton of other stuff. While staying back in his hometown, he showed her his high school, where he played hockey, and other hang outs. Tom even came up to visit her one day. By the end of those two weeks, she didn't want to go back home.

Regan had gone to visit her parents in Manhattan in early July. Marie had actually gotten an interview with an advertising company, and had gone a week. She could move to Boston, but if Silk was suppose to be playing for the Rangers in the future, she would rather be living near him, then being a plane ride away where she felt a little isolated. After the interview, she headed back home. It was like two weeks before she even got a call from them.

There was some good news, and some bad news. Bad news was that she didn't have a place to stay yet in Manhattan, and the fact that she was going to be leaving Connie with an apartment by herself. Good news, of course, was that she got the job. They wanted her to start working in two weeks. With the help of Regan, she found her an affordable apartment that wasn't too expensive in Greenwich Village. Silk helped her move her belongings to New York by road trip.

Marie picked up another photo of her at a party. Her parents threw her a going away party. She was totally surprised by it. All the guys had showed up, her friends were there, her family. It was one big going away shindig. Marie set that one down and picked one of her hugging Connie before they left. It was a sad day. They wouldn't be living with one another anymore. They knew it was going to come eventually when Connie and Rob got married, but still.

Marie looked up when she heard the door starting to unlock. Silk appeared in the doorway and when he saw her sitting on the couch, he smiled. He placed his hockey bag on the ground, and walked over to her. Looking down at the photos on the table, he actually looked through them before sitting down. "You're getting far."

"It was a lot of photos. That one…" she pointed to one that was underneath the table. "… has all the photos I took at the games."

Silk leaned down and picked up the book. He went through and smiled at each one. "How was work?" he asked.

"Great. How was practice?" she asked back before leaning in and giving him a kiss. "How does it feel to be a pro this year?"

"You ask me everyday, and I'll just keep answering awesome," he teased.

Marie smiled before leaning in again to kiss him. She placed her head on his shoulder and they sat there just enjoying being in each other's presence. Marie's eyes landed on a photo on the mantel on the wall. It was a photo of both of them. Marie had jumped up onto his back, and he was giving her a piggy back ride. He was looking up at her while she was laughing. Marie smiled at the memory, and deep down she knew they were going to be happy from then on.