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“Oh, Haley,” he said. “How are you? I’ve been waiting to hear from you about your recovery. Are you ready to start your official training?”
I took a deep breath. “Actually… I was wondering if there was any way to defer my qualification for the next winter Olympics.” There was a silence on the other end of the line, and I almost wondered if we’d been disconnected, so I continued. “You see,my leg is better, but, uh… I’m actually pregnant and won’t be able to train for another nine months, and that’s getting really close to the games.”
“Yeah,” he said. “That is cutting it really close, especially since you’ll need time to recover afterward.”
It wasn’t anything I didn’t already know, and I wasn’t hearing an answer, but the tone of his voice gave me a clue as to what it would be.
“So…” I said. “Is there any option to do it?”
I heard him sigh and could almost picture him running a hand down his face in exasperation.
“Unfortunately,” he said, and I felt my heart sink, “because there’s no guaranteeing you’d still be in shape by the time the next games roll around, you have to qualify again.”
I’d known it was a strong possibility—a probability even—but I’d still been slightly hopeful that there would be some good news.
“I understand,” I said, feeling my dreams of going to the Olympics slip away.
What was odd, though, was that I wasn’t nearly as upset as I thought I would be. It was like the dream was still there, but I was so happy that I knew, even if it never happened, that I would be totally fine.
I heard Paul Nelson sigh. “Look,” he said. “I can’t promise you a spot on the team next time around, but I can tell you that, if you’re serious, I’ll take you on personally to get you ready for the qualifiers as soon as you’re ready to go.”
“You mean it?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “It says here you’re living in Montana?”
“That’s correct,” I said.
“Perfect. I live pretty close to where you live, so it’ll work out well.”
“I… I really can’t thank you enough,” I gushed, sitting on the edge of my bed and brushing some stray hairs behind my ears.
“Just show up ready to really grind when the time comes, and that will be thanks enough. I like to win, and I only take on people I think can do that. I saw your qualifier, and your resilience after the avalanche was inspiring. Honestly, it’s Hallmark movie material, and I eat that kind of thing up, and so do audiences.”
“Okay,” I said, slightly overwhelmed by what he was saying. “Okay. Yeah. I’ll call you when I’m ready.”
“Perfect,” he said. “I’ll hear from you in about twelve to eighteen months, then?”
“Sounds good. Thank you so much.”
We both hung up and I reached down, placing my hands over my lower belly.
“I’m sorry,” I said to my baby, even though he or she couldn’t hear me. “I’m sorry for ever thinking you would be something that would derail my future. Youaremy future.”
I took another minute to enjoy the glow of the phone call, then changed into my gear before grabbing my skis and poles and heading outside.
I didn’t make it far. I got to the bottom of the ski lift and found James waiting for me, a single rose in his hand.
“I was hoping we could ski together,” he said.
It occurred to me we’d never done that, and I wondered how good he still was and if I could keep up with him. But I was willing to try, considering how sweet the gesture was.
We rode the lift up to the top, where he handed me the flower.
“Hold this for me?” he asked, and I obliged, just in time to see him drop to one knee.
“Haley,” he said, pulling a ring box from his pocket and opening it to present me with the most gorgeous diamond ring I’d ever seen. “I spent a long time with my heart so guarded thatI couldn’t even fathom the idea of being with anyone, and the few people I tried to open up to left me more closed off than I had been before.”
“James…” I said softly, my hand over my mouth.
