Page 319 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

Retape one glove that doesn't actually need it.

Check the skate laces one more time.

The routine hasn't changed in years. Only the men moving through it have.

I finish tightening my right skate and glance around the room.

Nobody is watching me.

Toby is arguing with Liam about whether pineapple belongs on pizza.

"It absolutely does."

"It absolutely doesn't."

"It's fruit."

"Exactly."

Coach looks up from the game board. "If either of you brings fruit into this locker room, you're both skating extras."

Liam points triumphantly. "I've been saying Coach hates vitamins for years."

Coach doesn't even look up. "I heard that."

Caleb quietly chuckles while finishing the tape on his stick.

For the first time since the injury, I realize something unexpected. They’re treating me exactly the same. Not carefully. Not cautiously. Normally.

It's the greatest gift they could have given me.

***

Coach gathers us around the whiteboard. His pregame talks are legendary mostly because they're never very long. He believes preparation happens during the week. Games are simply where preparation gets tested.

He looks around the circle until every player meets his eyes.

"We know who we are."

Nobody speaks.

"We defend."

Another pause.

"We outwork people."

His gaze settles on me for just a heartbeat before moving around the room again.

"And we trust each other."

The words land differently today.

Months ago, I would have heard them as a challenge. Today they sound like permission.

Coach caps the marker. "Let's go play hockey."

No speeches. No dramatic finish. Just truth.