Julia pulled her bedroom door closed behind her, heading downstairs with her purse in hand. She bee-lined it to the kitchen, grateful to see her aunt preparing dinner alone.
"Hey, sweetie," Patti greeted when she saw Julia enter the kitchen. She looked down at the spaghetti she was cooking, before looking back up at Julia. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Me? Oh, I'm fine," Julia assured her aunt with a nod. Julia wasn't sure why she wasn't sharing the conversation with Jim with her aunt, but something inside of her wanted to keep it to herself for now.
"You look a little peaky," Patti said, one brow arched in suspicion.
"I'm cool," Julia promised, leaning up against the counter. "Where's Uncle Herb?"
"In his office. Where else?" Patti laughed, although Julia could tell she was less than amused with her husband's habit to bring work home with him. "Where are you headed?"
"I'm going over to have dinner with the boys," Julia said, before she sighed, plopping her purse down on the counter. "Ya know, Aunt Patti, your husband is really driving me nuts."
Patti gave a genuine laugh, turning her attention back to dinner.
"If I had a dollar for everytime I heard that," she giggled quietly. "What did he do?"
"He brought another boy onto the team today. He's not even down to the final twenty and he brought in Tim Harrer from the U," Julia huffed. If anyone had told Julia a year ago that she would be so disgruntled over a hockey team, she would've laughed in their face. Oh, how times changed.
"Ah," Patti said, nodding. "He mentioned something about that. I'm guessing the boys aren't too happy."
"No," Julia sighed. "And I feel bad. They're always there for me, ya know? And I don't know how to cheer them up. I'm not sure there's a way that I can."
"You just need to support them, and try to keep them calm. This is a really big deal to them, and I'm sure with the Olympics just around the corner, reality is starting to set in for a lot of them. And maybe try to keep them from beating up the new kid," Patti told her. Julia nodded, her mind racing. Patti waited for her to speak again, obviously noticing that there was more on Julia's mind.
"Robbie and Jack fought once at practice. Before I got here," Julia informed her aunt, staring down at the counter top with a blank face.
"Yeah, I heard. Your uncle was pretty pissed about that one," Patti remembered with a look of disdain. Julia looked up at her aunt, her forehead creased and a frown on her face.
"So everyone knew that they fought? I only found out like a month ago, and it was from Kathy. She just assumed I knew," Julia scowled.
"Well, I didn't think it was a secret that they weren't very fond of each other. Besides, it was months ago. Don't you think they've moved past it?" Patti said gently. Julia thought for a moment, before nodding. Patti peaked over at Julia, a small smile on her lips.
"And speaking of, what's going on with you and Jack?" Patti asked quietly. She looked away from Julia, keeping her body language casual. Julia looked down at the counter, her face turning a bright red.
"I thought you might have known something was up," Julia mumbled. Patti grinned, taking Julia's words as a confession.
"Herb was totally oblivious," Patti told her, setting her mind at ease. Julia hesitated for a second, not sure how to ask her next question. If she never asked if Herb cared about her dating Jack, she never had to face the possibility of him not allowing it. However, after everything her uncle had done for her, Julia felt terrible going behind his back.
"Is he going to be mad?" Julia asked quietly. Patti put garlic bread in the oven, before leaning on the counter to face Julia, giving her niece her full attention.
"I don't know," Patti told her honestly. "We've made jokes about it here and there, but we've never actually discussed it. You and Jack are both adults, and as long as it's not interfering with hockey, I can't see him having a problem with it. Although, if you're asking for my advice, I would wait until you and Jack are serious before telling Herb. No need to stress anyone out over a fling," Patti told her.
Julia swallowed hard at her aunt's words. She didn't even know what the deal was with Jack. Were they a fling? Were they going to get serious?
"Do they boys give him a lot of flack?" Patti asked before Julia could overthink herself into a stupor. Julia gave a sort of humorless laugh, rubbing her temples.
"Yes, and they don't even know for sure yet. The only people that know are Mac, Kathy, Mark Johnson, Jimmy Craig, and...well, apparently Craig Patrick found out," Julia explained. Patti couldn't hide her look of surprise.
"I'm not gonna bug you for all the details, but apparently whatever you and Jack are doing to keep things private isn't working," Patti told her quietly. Before either one of them could say anything, they heard footsteps coming down the hallway. They were too heavy to belong to either Danny or Kelly. Patti quickly turned back to the food in front of her, and Julia picked up her purse.
"I'll be back later," Julia said, walking toward the front door. She nearly bumped into Herb on his way into the kitchen.
"Are you going to see the boys?" He asked her. She simply nodded, not in the mood for conversation with Herb.
"Drive carefully," Patti called after her as she grabbed her coat, going out to her car.
Julia couldn't deny how much she enjoyed the taste of freedom she was getting from owning a car and having a license. She turned her radio up loud as she drove towards campus, singing along to the songs she knew. Even when she was by herself, she turned the station whenever a Stonehead song came on. Not only did she feel awkward listening to her own music, but right now it brought too much to her mind. Jim's words rang through her head again and again. She could go back to California in a month. She knew she couldn't tell the boys about it. She didn't want to upset them any further. Once she arrived at their dorm, she parked and got out, walking quickly through the dark parking lot. She pushed the buzzer by the door and didn't have to wait long to see Buzzy coming to let her in. The two of them didn't say much as they joined the boys, the majority of whom were lounging around the kitchen and living room.
"Hi," Julia greeted quietly, noting that the mood hanging in the air was still sour. A couple of the boys greeted her half-heartedly. Julia walked over to where Rizzo was cooking in the kitchen.
"Hey, Riz," she said softly. He looked up at her, mustering up the best smile he could.
"Hi, Jules."
"Whatcha making?" Julia asked, hopping up onto an unused part of the counter and sitting with her legs dangling in the air.
"Spaghetti," he told her.
"Patti was making spaghetti, too," she replied, her words hanging awkwardly in the air. For the first time that she could remember, Julia wished she wasn't with the boys at that moment. It broke her heart to see them so discouraged.
"Will you help me set the table?" Rizzo asked her after a few moments of silence. Julia nodded, quickly jumped off the counter, and got to work setting the table. Robbie joined her almost as soon as she started.
"How's the band?" Robbie asked, trying to sound as interested as possible. Julia hesitated as she thought how to answer, and then she took a moment to make her voice sound as normal as possible.
"They're great!" She chirped, almost a little too enthusiastically. Robbie looked up at her, obviously suspicious.
"They're great?" He clarified, looking at his best friend, who was quickly getting nervous.
"I mean, not great. How could any of us be great? Stevie's got a kid, I'm here, and Tommy's in rehab. The band is damn near falling apart," Julia noted, once again overcompensating. Robbie's mouth parted in confusion, his eyebrows furrowed. Even Rizzo looked over at her from the stove.
"Are you okay?" Robbie finally asked her, sharing a worried glance with Rizzo.
"No, yeah, I'm fine. I don't mean we're like, falling apart. And I don't mean they're great. I guess everyone is good given the circumstances. That's what I meant," Julia nodded, sputtering through her words. "Cyndi's really tired. But Jim is good. And Tommy is getting out in thirty days. They said hi."
"Tell them I said hi when you talk to them next," Robbie nodded. The two of them finished setting the table in silence.
Julia ate dinner seated between Robbie and Rizzo. The boys tried to act like nothing was wrong. Bah and Coxy cracked jokes the whole time, but they were only rewarded with forced laughter. Julia was lost in thought, pushing food around her plate. Who knew how many of these nights she had left? She had always known that these times wouldn't last forever, but now she was being forced to face the fact that this wasn't her life. In a few months, these dorms would be empty and all the people sitting around the table would be in different places. Julia wondered when she would see Rizzo or Magic or Buzzy. She didn't even want to think about the complications it would bring with Jack. They avoided talking about post-Olympic life.
"Jules?" Bah snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked over at Bah, waiting to hear what he wanted.
"Koho asked if you met Harrer," Bah informed her. Julia sat back in her chair.
"Oh. Yeah, I did. I mean, he didn't even introduce himself. He basically just told me that rumor around the U is that I'm here. And that he had heard of me from Mac last year," Julia explained with a shrug. Jack sat across the table and a few chairs down, elbows leaning on the table and face hard and unreadable.
"What did you say?" Silky asked, glancing at Jack, who sat next to him.
"I told him the rumors are true, and I'm pretty much always with you guys. Then I said you're my only friends and had to clarify that I meant my only friends in Minnesota," Julia recalled. A few of the boys chuckled.
"Well, I for one am glad we're your only friends," Rizzo grinned.
"And I'm glad you're still here with us," Magic added on. "I'm always thinking that one day you're not gonna be at practice and Herb is gonna say you went back to Los Angeles."
Julia could've thrown up right there from how guilty she was feeling. She took a slow breath and smiled at Magic. Her strange behavior wasn't lost on anyone, especially not Robbie.
"I would never leave without saying goodbye. And that's a promise."
Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all the votes and comments. I really appreciate it. I just wanted to apologize, as I know this chapter is a little boring, but don't worry. There's plenty to come. Also if you're still here 64 chapters in, thank you! I know I'm writing an obnoxiously long story, but I'm too committed to change anything at this point.