Page 125 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

"You don't look like you're counting anymore."

I turn toward him. "What do you mean?"

"You used to measure everything.”

He keeps his eyes on the road. ‘Forty-three days since surgery. Nine weeks until evaluation. Sixteen degrees gained this month.’

I grimace. "I really talked like that?"

"You really did."

"And now?" He smiles. "Now you just say..." He taps the dashboard once. "...'It's Thursday.'"

I stare out the windshield. He's right. Somewhere along the way...recovery stopped being my entire identity.

It's still part of every day, it just isn't the whole day anymore.

The realization settles quietly inside me.

Maybe that's progress too.

***

The rehab center already buzzes with activity by the time we arrive. Down the hall Elise steps out of an exam room carrying a clipboard. She spots me and smiles. "Well, look who's early."

"I didn't want Annette to accuse me of skipping exercises."

"Oh..." She pretends to make a note on the clipboard. "...she'd absolutely do that."

"I know."

Elise glances toward the therapy gym. "She's with another patient."

I nod. Before I realize I've done it, my eyes drift toward the open treatment area.

Empty stations. Parallel bars. Resistance bands hanging neatly on the wall. And one familiar auburn ponytail near the far windows.

Elise catches the movement immediately. "I didn't say you had to look quite that fast."

Heat creeps into my face. “I was just..."

"Checking?" She smiles knowingly. "I figured."

Shaking my head, I continue into the gym.

At the far end of the room, Annette stands beside an older gentleman practicing reaching into a mock kitchen cabinet.

"Excellent," she says warmly. "Now one more."

He reaches a little higher.

Smiles. "I did it."

"You certainly did."

The pride on his face could rival a Stanley Cup celebration. Annette smiles right back, like his victory matters just as much. Maybe to her it does. She tells him how well he is doing and sends him off to the locker room.

When she turns and sees me, her whole expression brightens. "Good morning, Jamie."