Page 43 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

Annette's eyebrows lift ever so slightly. The therapist smiles. "Good decision."

I shrug. "I'm teachable."

"Barely," Annette says.

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to."

Annette gives one small nod. Somehow, that tiny nod feels like winning.

We begin the slow walk back toward my room. For the first time since arriving, the silence doesn't feel necessary, it feels comfortable. I glance sideways. "Can I ask you something?"

She looks over. "Depends."

"On?"

"Whether you're about to negotiate."

"No negotiations."

"Hmm."

"I promise."

She studies me for another step. "I'll allow one question."

"Only one?"

"I'm protecting myself."

I laugh quietly. "Fair."

The question has been bouncing around my head since yesterday. Maybe longer. I finally ask it.

"Why rehabilitation?"

She doesn't answer immediately. Instead...she keeps walking. The hallway stretches ahead of us. Sunlight spills through the windows overlooking the courtyard.

Finally, she says..."When I was in nursing school..."

Her voice softens. "...everyone wanted emergency medicine."

"I can understand that. You save lives."

She nods. "Exactly."

A pause. "I loved emergency nursing."

Another few steps. "But I realized something."

I wait.

She glances toward an older gentleman practicing with a walker at the far end of the hall.

"The emergency department saves people." She smiles at the man as he completes another careful step. "Rehabilitation gives them their lives back."

The words settle somewhere deep inside me, not because they're dramatic, but because they're true.