Page 201 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

I look at her, puzzled. "You've been measuring the wrong thing."

"What do you mean?" "You thought your value depended on whether you could play." She gestures toward the arena behind us. "But everything I watched today had very little to do with your skating."

I wait.

"I watched Ethan smile the moment you stepped onto the ice."

She pauses. "I watched Coach relax."

Another pause. "I watched Liam pretend not to get emotional."

I laugh. "He'll deny that."

"Of course he will."

Her smile softens. "And I watched every person in that building stand a little taller simply because you were there." She lets the words settle before continuing. "Your shoulder brought you back onto the ice." She gently taps the captain's crest embroidered on my practice jacket. "But this..." Her hand rests there for only a second before falling away. "...never left."

For a moment I can't find an answer, because she's right. The captain was never something I wore.

It is something I try to be. "I think," I say quietly, "you've been fixing more than my shoulder."

A flicker of emotion crosses her face. "So have you, for me."

The answer surprises me. "Me?"

She nods. "You've reminded me why I want to do this." She looks back toward the arena. "Not because people recover." Her voice grows quieter. "But because sometimes they discover who they were all along."

Neither of us speaks for several seconds. The silence isn't awkward. It's simply full.

***

Finally, she smiles and takes a small step backward. "I should let you get home."

"I suppose you should."

"Stretch tonight."

"I know."

"I mean it."

"I know, I know. And ice right?"

I grin, and she counters with, "Captain Walker...are you attempting to negotiate with your rehabilitation plan?"

I laugh. "I've learned better."

"Fortunately for both of us," she says with a smile, "your shoulder didn't get a vote."

I shake my head. "I think you've been waiting weeks to use that line."

"I absolutely have."

We both laugh. Then she lifts one hand in a small wave and walks toward her car.

I watch her go for a moment before climbing into my truck.

As I pull out of the parking lot, I catch sight of the arena in my rearview mirror.