Page 123 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

Annette:

That wasn't the answer I was hoping for. 😉

A laugh escapes before I can stop it.

I shake my head.

Me:

Yes, ma'am.

A thumbs-up arrives a second later.

Simple.

Nothing more.

I set the phone beside the notebook. Then, almost without thinking, I open the notebook one last time. At the bottom of the page, beneath everything else, I add one final line.

Looking forward to Monday.

I read the words twice.

Then close it.

And for the first time in a long time, Monday doesn't feel so far away.

Chapter fifteen

Jamie

An Ordinary Morning

Thursday mornings have developed a rhythm.

I don't notice it until I realize I'm humming along with the radio as I button my flannel shirt.

Not well. I've never been accused of carrying a tune. Fortunately, the cabin doesn't complain.

The coffee maker finishes brewing with its familiar gurgle as pale winter sunlight begins creeping across the frozen lake beyond the kitchen window.

The cabin is still, peacefully still.

A few months ago, the silence bothered me. Now it feels earned.

I pour a mug of coffee and carry it to the front window.

Fresh snow blankets the shoreline. The lake stretches across the morning like polished glass, interrupted only by the distant tracks of a pair of deer that wandered through sometime during the night. I stand there for a moment. Just breathing. Three months ago, every morning began with the same question.

How much is this going to hurt today?

Now I mostly wonder how much farther my shoulder will reach. It's a better way to wake up.

The notebook lies open on the kitchen table where I left it last night. I glance down at the page.

Today's Win Another eight degrees.

Someone I Encouraged Each other.