When Jack and Julia made their way inside, most of the boys were in the lobby mingling with the families. The boys turned to look at Jack and Julia, and a flood of relief washed over them when they saw them with their arms wrapped around each other.
"There she is," Rizzo grinned, taking Julia by the elbow and pulling her away from Jack and towards his family.
"Everyone, this is my friend, Julie Brooks," he introduced. "Jules, this is my mom, dad, my sister Maria, and my Nonna."
"Hi," Julia smiled. "It's so nice to meet all of you."
"It's so nice to meet you, dear," Mrs. Eruzione smiled.
"Oh, my God, I can't believe my loser brother knows you! I kind of thought they were all lying when they said they met you," Maria gushed. She must've been a little younger than Kathy. Julia laughed at her, much to Rizzo's dismay.
"Nope. He was telling the truth," Julia laughed.
"Have these boys been nice to you, Miss Brooks? Because if they haven't, I will beat them from here to Timbuktu," Mr. Eruzione threatened in a thick Boston accent. He looked just like his son, only older and heavier. Julia grinned at him.
"Yes, Mr. Eruzione. They've been very nice to me. Your son tends to keep us all in line," Julia told them with a smile to Rizzo.
"Why aren't you dating her? She's a very pretty girl," Rizzo's Nonna spoke up, looking at her grandson with annoyance. Everyone laughed loudly, but it was Silky that spoke up.
"Yeah, Rizzo, why don't you take Jules out sometime?" Silky suggested.
"Maybe when we get home," Rizzo said sarcastically.
"Looking forward to it," Julia joked with a wink to Rizzo.
"Okay, my turn. Jules, these are my parents," Silky spoke up, gesturing to the couple beside him.
"Nice to meet you," Julia said.
"And you, Julie. Dave speaks so highly of you," Mrs. Silk told her.
"Sounds like your uncle is doing a hell of a job with these boys," Mr. Silk said, nodding his head in approval.
"I know they don't always like him, that's for sure," Julia laughed. She talked with the Silks and the Eruziones for a few more minutes, discussing everything from hockey to music, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Mind if I borrow her for a second?" Jimmy asked behind her.
"Borrow her now, while OC is still letting us have her," Rizzo teased quietly, so only she and Jimmy could hear.
"Shut up, Rizzo," Julia rolled her eyes, following Jimmy to the edge of the group, where a dark-haired man stood.
"Pop, this is my friend, Julie Brooks," Jimmy introduced.
"Hi, Mr. Craig. It's so nice to meet you," Julia told him. "Jimmy talks about you a lot."
"I could say the same. Ya know, I'm glad he has someone like you around. Someone to relate to," Mr. Craig said quietly. Julia swallowed the lump in her throat, trying not to tear up. She hadn't considered how hard it would be to meet Jimmy's dad, knowing everything he had been through.
"Well, it's nice to have Jimmy around, too," Julia said, sharing a meaningful look with Jimmy. Jimmy gave her a half smile, before Mr. Craig changed the subject.
"I hear you bought a Corvette?"
"Oh, sure did!" Julia grinned. "The boys are teaching me to drive."
"Jimmy taught his brother and sister to drive. I think he's not a half-bad teacher," Mr. Craig said proudly.
"Better than Jack, that's for sure," Julia laughed.
"Hey, watch it, Brooks," Jack spoke up, suddenly behind Julia. "Hey, Mr. Craig. Good to see you again."
"Good to see you, Jack," Mr. Craig nodded. They all talked about hockey for a few minutes before Jack interrupted.
"If you don't mind, I'm gonna steal our rockstar for a minute," Jack grinned, placing a hand on Julia's back to lead her to his family. Julia immediately felt a pit of nerves growing in her stomach. She was even more nervous now after meeting Heather.
"Jack," she whined quietly as they approached his family.
"Hush, you're fine," he insisted as they joined his family.
"Hi, Julie!" Annie chirped, with a smile on her face.
"Hi, Annie," Julia tried her best to force a genuine smile, but she just felt awkward.
"Ma, Dad, Joe, this is Julie," Jack introduced with a proud smile.
"It is so cool to meet you, Julie! It's so weird that Jack even introduced you as Julie, because he always calls you Jules when he talks about you. But whenever I read your name in a magazine it's always Julie. I didn't totally believe Jack when he said he knew you," Joe rambled.
"Apparently neither did Rizzo's sister," Julia laughed. "Really my name is Julia, but that's mostly reserved for when someone is mad at me. The boys usually just call me Jules."
"Hey, if I was gonna lie about meeting a rockstar, it would be someone way cooler," Jack teased.
"John Joseph O'Callahan, you be nice!" His mother chided.
"Bernie, he's just teasing," his father defended. "That's what the kids do now when they have a crush."
Both Jack and Julia lit up red in the face, as Annie and Joe burst into laughter.
"Dad, come on," Jack rolled his eyes.
"What? I'm on your side here!" Mr. O'Callahan scoffed, before looking at Julia. "It's so good to meet you, Julie."
"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. O'Callahan. And you, Mrs. O'Callahan."
"I wish you all were staying in Boston longer," Mrs. O'Callahan sighed.
"They need a home cooked meal, they're all too skinny!" Nonna Eruzione yelled, making the boys crack up.
"Rizzo tries to keep them well-fed," Julia promised. "I've certainly invited myself to dinner more than once."
"Good," Nonna nodded, as everyone gathered around to enjoy a few more minutes of time with the team before they left.
"Julie, you need to come back and visit us again sometime," Annie insisted.
"I'm sure I'll be back in Boston next summer when we go on tour. You guys should come to the show," she said, looking at Joe and Annie, who shared a high five in excitement.
"You barely know them and you're offering them tickets, but you've never offered me tickets?" Jack complained.
"You're such a baby," Julia brushed him off.
"So, I have a question," Joe started.
"Joe, don't," Jack warned.
"Is Cyndi single?" Joe questioned hopefully. Jack groaned in embarrassment, while Julia just laughed.
"Well, I'm gonna trust you with some sensitive information," Julia smirked. "Cyndi is not single. She and Jim have been a thing for a while."
Joe and Annie both looked shocked, before Joe's face fell.
"I really woulda had a shot with her," Joe muttered.
"They're a couple? They don't seem like one," Annie pointed out.
"It's funny really. They think we don't know. They walk around acting like they're just friends, but everyone can see that they're totally crazy about each other," Julia told her. She turned around after hearing a cough behind her to see Rizzo and Robbie smirking. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing," Robbie shook his head, still smirking.
"Jack, I swear watching the game I couldn't stop thinking about how nice you would've looked in a Harvard hockey uniform," Mrs. O'Callahan sighed, shaking her head.
"Ma, not this again. It's been years," Jack groaned.
"It's been years that I've had to tell everyone that my son turned down Harvard. Honestly, I don't know what goes through that head of yours," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What do you mean he turned down Harvard?" Julia asked, suddenly curious.
"Oh, you never told her? Jack got accepted into Harvard, but he went to BU instead," Mrs. O'Callahan explained, with an angry look toward Jack.
"You got into Harvard?" Julia asked, looking at him in surprise.
"Don't act so surprised that I'm smart," Jack told her with a cocky grin. "But I went to BU instead because I thought it would give me a better shot at winning a national championship. And I was right."
"My boy could've gone to Harvard, but no. All about the hockey," Mrs. O'Callahan rolled her eyes.
"Ma, he's gonna play in the Olympics," Annie reminded her mother.
"Are you going to the games?" Julia asked, looking at the O'Callahans.
"Of course. My wife may give Jack his fair share of crap, but we're very proud of him," Mr. O'Callahan assured her.
"Sounds like I'll be seeing more of you in February then," Julia smiled. She really was excited to see the O'Callahans again.They were much more easy going than she had expected. She couldn't even remember why she had been so nervous to meet them.
"Are you still gonna be hanging around the boys in February?" Joe asked her.
"I don't know," Julia sighed. "But I'll be sure I make it to Lake Placid no matter what."
"We're holding you to that," Jack warned her. Before she could say anything else, Herb, Craig, and Doc walked into the lobby, surprised to see most of their team was still there.
"Hi, Uncle Herb," Julia greeted as her uncle joined them.
"Hi, Julie. Boys," Herb nodded to his team. Polite introductions were made between the coaches and parents before Craig told everyone it was time to load up the bus. The boys shared hugs with their families, promising to call on their scheduled days. The moms, plus Nonna, all hugged Julia, wishing her well.
"I'm sure we'll see you again, dear," Mrs. O'Callahan smiled, kissing Julia's cheek.
"Julie, we'll see you at the games right?" Annie questioned.
"Definitely," Julie promised. "I'll see you in Lake Placid."
"As long as Jack doesn't get cut," Joe smirked, earning a smack on the head from Jack.
"And I'm sorry about earlier with Heather," Annie said quietly.
"Don't worry about it," Julia assured her. "It all worked out fine."
"I like you more than her anyway," Annie whispered with a wink and a smile. Julia laughed awkwardly, trying not to think about what the O'Callahans thought of her relationship with Jack. After the final goodbyes were said, everyone made their way out to the bus.
"Julia, were you bugging everyone's parents?" Herb asked, turning around in his seat to look at Julia once they were all seated.
"Hey, just cause my mom finds me annoying doesn't mean everyone else's mom will, too," Julia joked, making the boys groan.
"Jules, you can't say stuff like that," Robbie sighed from the seat next to her.
"Plus, she invited you over for Thanksgiving, you can't be that annoying," Jack shrugged from across the aisle.
"She did what?" Herb asked, looking between Jack and Julia with an eyebrow raised. Jack looked surprised, while Julia just looked nervous.
"Did I mention I hadn't explained that to my uncle? Or anyone besides you and Cyndi?" Julia muttered, looking at Jack.
"You did not mention that," Jack replied, his eyes fixed on Herb to await his reaction.
"Are you going?" Herb asked, looking skeptically at his niece.
"Let's talk about this later," Julia insisted. Robbie's jaw dropped behind her. He hadn't been expecting any answer other than a straight 'no.'
"You're going to D.C. for Thanksgiving?" Robbie gasped.
"Robbie! No! That is not what I said," Julia pointed out.
"But you didn't say no," Robbie reminded her.
"I haven't made up my mind, okay?" Julia huffed. "Lets just drop it."
"You can go if you want," Herb said, although the frown on his face spoke differently.
"You were kinda supposed to say no so I didn't have to make the decision myself," Julia pouted.
"Let's talk to your aunt about it when we get home," Herb decided, turning back to face the front.
"Sorry, Jules," Jack said, guilt written all over his face.
"It's okay. He was gonna find out eventually," Julia shrugged. She stared at the seat in front of her, blank faced.
"You know, you can say no if you want," Robbie told her gently.
"How am I supposed to say no to Shelly?" Julia frowned, not looking at her friend.
"Shelly will understand," Robbie said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"No, she won't. She doesn't know the truth. She's too young to understand," Julia argued.
"Maybe she cant understand now, but she can when she's older," Robbie reasoned.
"Or she'll never talk to me again," Julia said sadly.
"Hey," Jack spoke up from across the aisle. "Don't beat yourself up over this. Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away. Talk to your aunt when you get home. For now, just relax. We're gonna have fun tonight."