Page 119 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

I shrug, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "It probably sounds idealistic."

"It sounds necessary."

I study his face carefully. "You really think so?"

"I know what the last few months have felt like." His eyes drop briefly to his healing shoulder. "If somebody hadn't kept walking beside me..." A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. "...I think I'd still be standing in my kitchen arguing with a coffee scoop."

I laugh out loud.

"I'd forgotten about the coffee scoop."

"I haven't."

"It became famous."

"It deserved to."

The laughter fades into something quieter.

"Jamie, I've never told anyone about the program, the dream. Not even my parents."

His eyebrows lift. "Seriously?"

"I was waiting until it felt..." I search for the right word. "...possible."

"It is."

He doesn't hesitate. Not even for a heartbeat.

Our eyes meet across the table. "You really believe that."

"I do."

"Why?"

His smile is warm enough to chase away every doubt I've carried for years.

"Because..." he says softly, "...if anybody can help people believe in tomorrow, it's you."

Everything inside me goes still.

"Thank you."

The words barely rise above a whisper. They're not polite or automatic. They're grateful, spoken from somewhere much deeper than I intended to reveal.

Neither of us notices the empty bowls or the conversations drifting through the café. Snow continues falling beyond the window, but for a little while the rest of the world quietly slips away.

We simply sit together, two people who have started believing in each other's future.

***

We leave the cafeteria carrying empty trays, not in any hurry to return to the rest of the day. The corridor is quieter now. Afternoon sunlight spills through the tall windows, stretching long rectangles of light across the polished floor.

We ride the elevator down to the main lobby.

Neither of us speaks, knowing that the silence doesn't ask to be filled.

As the doors slide open, we step into the bustle of visitors, volunteers, and staff moving in every direction.