“A love like ours could never die. As long as I have you near me, bright are the stars that shine… I know this love of mine will never die…”


A twenty-first birthday never goes forgotten. Sure Marco may have been on the road, and Sofia couldn’t be left alone, but that didn’t stop some of the wives and girlfriends for throwing a little party in Marie’s honor. Erin, despite being on the rocks with Charlie, managed to set things up with the group she was close with. Whether the get together was small or not, it didn’t really matter. It’s not like Marie could drink too much anyway. She’d have to drive home that night, and plus it wasn’t like she’d never had a drink before. In fact, she probably had more than her share.

Nonetheless, the girls were excited to share the day with her. It wasn’t anything too spectacular. Just a brunch at the Suter’s house, followed up by conversation until the evening. It was actually the perfect day, all things considered. It would’ve been nice to have Marco around, to have another prompted romantic night with him. But that was just an empty wish. In correlation with the NHL, her twenty-first birthday ranked rather low on the priority list.

She could never resent him for that though. It was a requirement of his job, not a blatant choice just to get away from her. As she laid in bed that night, she looked up at the ceiling. Sofia’s soft breathing was just barely audible through the monitor, and Marie began thinking about the way her life had turned out.

Starting college, she always believed the trap of living under her father’s watchful eye was something she was going to have to endure. Her mom had lived that way, and Lizzie did too. And the overwhelming thought that she’d have to live that way too was terrifying. When she and Jess had vacationed in Montreal, she never expected to meet anyone that actually mattered. Although she did cling to Marco, it was never the ultimate intention. Montreal was a chance to get one last fun moment in before she was forced back to the eastern seaboard and close to her dad again. A year and a half later, she never expected Marco to become a fixture in her life.

If anything, the fact that he was her first real boyfriend, made her believe they were ultimately doomed from the start. The fact that he was still around was mind-boggling, considering Marie felt she’d been winging the whole thing from the beginning. It never got easier, taking someone’s life and feelings into constant consideration. But somehow through the madness, they’d managed to sort of figure it out. And within that, had brought an entirely new human into the world.

December wore on and even though the passing of his father was still fresh, Marco didn’t miss a game. He forced himself to stay busy, if only to keep his mind off of it. He was on and off the road so frequently, that Marie barely even had the chance to ask him how he was handling it; if he needed help or comfort. And on the fifteenth of the month, Marco had scored his first goal since his father’s death. Marie had been at the game, and with her hands over her heart, Marco looked upwards, and reached out his hand. It wasn’t a secret to anyone in the arena that night. He had scored that goal for his father, and he wanted everyone to know it.

That night Marco came home fired up. He was energized from having played well. And the mix of emotions and passion led to a romantic night for them. And if Marie was perfectly honest, it was probably the best sex they’d ever had. Gone were the nerves and inhibitions that believed Marco wouldn’t like the way she looked.

Now it was the day before the last game before the Christmas break. Dallas had just doubled up Marco and the team, but yet when he walked through the door, he seemed as cheery as ever. On top of a small duffle bag, he had a white box in his hands. Marie was on the couch, dimly illuminated by the TV, and in the process of pumping milk.

“I bought donuts,” he grinned, dropping his bag on the floor. Once he was next to her, he flipped open the lid, revealing an array of frosted donuts. He seemed totally unphased by the fact that she was pumping. “When do your mom and sister get in?”

“Early morning. They’re staying at the Saint Paul Hotel.” She looked at the chocolate donut in her hand and took a bite out of it, “Jesus this is good.”

Marco leaned forward, wiping his thumb across her lip. In her haste to devour the treat, the chocolate frosting had mostly missed her mouth and covered everything else. He licked his finger clean and reached into the box for a donut of his own. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it,”

“What’s the reason for this anyway? Mid-season, and these are neither low-carb nor sugar free.”

“Can’t I get my lovely girlfriend a nice treat on a whim?”

She shook her head and took another bite of the donut, “what’s going on?”

“Here’s the thing… Tomorrow at the game, I need you to ditch your mom and sister.”

“You’re forgetting our daughter,”

“Leave her with your mom…”

He seemed persistent, but Marie laughed and finished the donut, beginning the process of packing up the pump. “Only if you have a good reason as to why,”

Marco silenced in thought. Meanwhile Marie put her shirt back on. “The guys will be out of there pretty quickly, and I want to satisfy an adolescent fantasy of locker room sex.” He peeked up at her, “good enough?”

“No,” she smiled and stood from the couch, passing by him and into the kitchen.

“Will you still meet me in the tunnel after the game?”

“Yes,”

She couldn’t wipe the grin off of her face as she began bottling up the milk she’d just pumped. Before she knew it, arms were snaking around her waist and tugging her back, away from the counter and into Marco’s body. She succumbed to him and placed her hands on top of his, swaying side to side.

“I love you, pretty mama,” he bent over and kissed her neck teasingly.

“I know,”

“Are you gonna come to bed?” Now he was nipping at her neck, trying his very best to distract her from her previous task.

“Let me just finish up here first,”

“Do you need help?”

Marie spun around in his arms, “no you need sleep. Go on, I’ll be in, in a few minutes.” She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips. Thankfully he had decided to let his beard grow out again after shaving it completely a few months prior. It was like being with a completely different person when he was clean-shaven, and she didn’t necessarily like it.

---

The next morning started pretty early for Marco. He was out of the house as Marie began feeding Sofia, and Carol and Lizzie were on their way over. It’d be the first time Lizzie met Sofia, and she wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.

There wasn’t too much to do in St. Paul or the surrounding cities, let alone in the middle of winter. A recent storm had left things completely covered in snow, which in turn, made Marie hesitant to bring Sofia out of the house. So far, she’d managed to go four months without catching a cold, and Marie was determined to keep that streak alive.

But she also knew she couldn’t ask her mom and sister to hang around the house all day. They’d go crazy behind those four walls. Thankfully though, when they arrived, all Lizzie and Carol wanted to do for the moment was dote on Sof. And that was perfectly fine with Marie. For a solid two hours, they chatted back and forth, but mostly just invested all of their energy into the baby.

When they all got hungry and didn’t want to cook for themselves, Marie packed a bag for the baby and they all headed off for Scandy’s. It was the first time her family was really seeing it up and running other than in pictures. And almost immediately, they were struck by how popular the place and Marie had become on the street. Practically everyone that came in knew her by name, and she them. Customers spoke to Carol like they had known her youngest daughter for years.

Even some of the guys came in to pick up food for lunch. Jason and Charlie came in to grab chicken parmesan, Jared came in to take out some carbonara, and Darcy, like Marco, had grown fond of the waffles. With each of the men, both Lizzie and Carol were stunned at how comfortable she was around them. These were her boyfriend’s friends and coworkers and she spoke to them with astounding easiness.

“How has having Sof affected your relationship so far?” Carol asked, just after they’d left the café. Now, they were just walking through St. Paul. They had a couple hours before they had to head back to the house in order to prepare for the game.

“You know, to be honest I think the entire thing with Marco’s dad affected us more than Sof. With her we had months to sort things out. Everything happened so fast with Francesco, and they were so close… I saw our relationship… dying. But we went through that and we came out stronger,”

“So when’s the wedding?” Lizzie had always been the blunt one. But this question was unnerving because Marie still didn’t really believe her mom was on board the Marco train completely. She figured she still had some reservations about him. “You’ve got a ring on your finger already,”

Marie held up her sapphire clad hand. “He gave me this so I’d stop bugging him about marriage. I know he loves me, but I think a wedding, and even a proposal, is a long way off. He won’t even talk to me about it anymore. If I bring it up, he either just ignores me or shuts down completely.”

“You know he’d have to get your father’s permission,” Carol chimed in.

“No, that’s a stupid rule. Marco doesn’t need marriage permission from a man that was dating a hooker. And besides even if he did, I’d rather he get your permission. Your opinion matters more anyway.”

They all stared at each other, going back and forth between whether they should say something are not. Saying things out loud really put things in perspective. And for a moment, Marie truly believed it would be a long while until Marco proposed. He seemed so out of that mindset, especially since everything that had happened recently. But if being with Marco, and being happy, meant no white dress and no big party, she could live with that.

---

Up in the suite, all the women wanted to talk to Carol and Lizzie. The women were taken by how much Marie looked like them, and because they were the new ones for the night, they were entertainment for the girls.

The third period was underway. The Wild were holding onto a one-goal lead with just over five minutes to go. And now Marie’s head started spinning. Part of her still couldn’t believe that she’d be meeting Marco in the tunnel just so he could live out a teenage fantasy. She didn’t even know what to tell her mom. It’s not like she could just hand over Sofia and tell her what was really going to go down.

Time was winding down. The Canadiens were getting ready to pull their goalie. Marie took a sharp breath and held Sofia out to her mother. “Will you watch her? I have to meet Marco downstairs,”

Before Carol could even give her an answer, she was out of the suite. The fear about being asked a question was all too real, and Marie just wanted a quick escape. She zigzagged through the hallways, smiling coyly at the security guards so they’d give her access to the tunnel.

She pressed her back against the wall, as though she were trying to disappear into it, and within moments, the final buzzer rang. From her vantage point, she could see the team circling around, congratulating each other on the win. As the three stars of the game were announced, the other players began filing off the ice and heading for the locker room.

With the last few stragglers coming through the tunnel, and not having seen Marco, Marie stepped out and intercepted Ryan. As she stopped him, Mikko’s voice sounded through the entire arena. He was addressing the fans, thanking them for their support.

“Is Marco coming in?” She asked, shifting focus between Ryan and the rink.

“Uh, yeah… Did you want me to wait with you until he gets back here?”

Marie smiled and shook her head, “no that’s alright.”

It went quiet out on the rink. Despite having said that she didn’t need him to stay, Ryan remained at her side. Then Marco’s voice started ringing out through the sound system. “I promise I won’t keep you long, I just want to add something… Can I get Marie Thatcher out here,”

Marie’s heart dropped into her stomach. And before she even had time to process what was going on, Ryan linked her arm around his and led her out onto the ice. They moved to center ice slowly, Marie’s eyes locked on Marco as he handed the microphone to one of the team’s staff, and took something else from him. When they made eye contact, Marco had a shit-eating grin on his face.

The arena had cleared out some, but was still pretty packed considering the game was over. She got to center ice, feet planted as firmly as possible, given she was in heels. Ryan skated backwards, and that’s when Marie noticed the rest of the team had come back out onto the ice.

“Marco…?” She whispered, feeling her breath catch in the back of her throat as she got more nervous.

“I love that you never get the answers right on Jeopardy,” he was still smiling, but now he looked more serious than before. Within his brief pause, Marco knelt to the ice, and Marie nearly lost it. He opened his hand, revealing a velvet box, and when he opened it to show the ring, Marie brought her hands to her mouth and started crying. “I love the way you held onto me for dear life when we first went to church together. I love that you tried to make a concussion-proof helmet. I love the way you stress-bake. I love that you use me as your taste test guinea pig. I love the crinkle above your nose that you get when you’re looking at me like I’m a nutcase. I love your undying confidence. I love the way you talk to yourself when you think no one’s around.”

Marie, in between sobs, let out a giggle that turned into a snort. Even though the crowd was cheering around them, it was so simple to drown them out and focus on Marco. She wiped beneath her eyes and stared down at him, trying not to cry anymore.

“I love that you gave me a daughter. I love the way you shower, so fluid and calm, I could watch you for the rest of my life…”

“That’s weird,” she choked. Her hands were now shaking, and she found it amazing she was still balancing on the ice.

“I know… But the thing I’d love most, is to put this ring on your finger.”

She couldn’t keep it in anymore. More tears poured from her eyes, and she nodded, watching as Marco took the ring from the box and slid it snugly onto her ring finger. The moment he finished, Marie fell into his arms. He was sweaty and disgusting, but she needed to hold onto him.

Marco wrapped his arms around her back and pressed his lips to her temple, rocking side to side with her. Marie pulled back, laughing at herself as she knew mascara was running down her face, and Marco ran his thumbs beneath her eyes. They simply looked at each other, taking in the moment, before they leaned in to kiss, earning louder cheers from the crowd.

They could only spend so much time on the ice before they needed to get going. Although they had just gotten engaged, rules prevailed, and Marie was summoned to wait in the hallway while the men cleaned up. She could hear the ruckus from in the room, guys hollering for Marco and such. But Marie was enamored with her ring. It was everything she ever imagined; somewhere around a two-carat diamond in the middle, two smaller diamonds on either side of it, and set diamonds around the band. Everything about it was perfect to her.

She was so lost in it that the only reason she lifted her head was because she heard the sharp whistle from down the hall. Marco was headed towards her, redressed in his game day suit. Marie jumped up and ran towards him, bounding into his arms. He caught her and smiled against her lips, stumbling forward until he was able to pin her up against a wall. The extra support was appreciated as Marie’s entire body felt weak. She needed him, and wanted him so badly, that every part of her body ached. And the ways she could touch him in this hallway, wasn’t the way she truly hoped to touch him.

“Please…” she breathed out, feeling her lower body shudder with anticipation. “I need you to fuck me until I can’t walk,”

He smirked and ran his thumb over her bottom lip, “challenge accepted.”

Notes

"And I Love Her" by The Beatles <3

I'm back and updating with a happy chapter... finally :)