My skates have stayed tucked away in my closet with the rest of my hockey gear since I got here, and I have a lot of mixed feelings about taking them out. The rest of it stays for now. We're just skating today. One step at a time.

Bits is right by my side as we walk into the facility, and it feels like any one of those times that we walked into Faber. But it's not. I know it's not. There are stakes riding on this skate and that should make it easier, but I don't know.

Thankfully, I'm distracted from my thoughts when we reach the counter. The girl looks me over in a way that I can't quite decipher. "Hello, Melissa. Yeah, I decided that it was time to come keep him company on the ice. Hopefully I'll get lucky and he'll show me some moves."