Olympic Conquest

Cory - Smiling Again

The next morning I wake up to the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen. There's a gentle knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door opens and Lainey comes in holding two cups of coffee. "Good morning," she whispers. She hands me a cup.

"Thank you." I take a sip. "You make good coffee too. You're a keeper."

She turns to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm cooking breakfast."

"How about you join me over here instead?" I throw the covers down for an invitation. "It's warm in here."

"As enticing as that looks, I am in your parents home and I have bacon on the stove."

"You're much tastier than bacon," I reach over to grab her but she's just out of reach.

"Glad to know I rate higher than bacon. That's a real compliment."

"It is!"

"If you have any hope of getting closer to this," she points at her amazing body, "you better come to the kitchen and help me make breakfast." And with that, she leaves and closes the door.

I get up and do some of the stretches Martin told me to do. I think about how fun it was to hang out with Lainey and my parents last night. We had a really great time. She got along with them so well. I've come to the conclusion that I can't stop destiny. If we're really meant to be, I shouldn't stand in the way even if my mind is telling me to not drag her down.

I finish stretching and take a quick shower. My injured knee is achy today. I can tell my body needs some exercise. This is probably the first time in my life that I haven't followed a strict exercise regime. And my mind and body can tell.

I follow the aroma of breakfast to find Lainey leaning on her crutches and getting ready to flip a batch of pancakes she's making on the stove. The pan of bacon sizzles next to it.

"Are those chocolate chip pancakes?" I ask.

"Shh. I think your mom and dad are still sleeping."

"What are you doing up at 7 am cooking a feast? Shouldn't you be resting your hip?" I whisper as I see her teetering against the stove.

"I'll be fine," she says as she flips the pancakes that look and smell delicious. "This isn't early for me. I'm usually up and at the rink by 4 am every morning."

I grab some more coffee. "I could get use to having you around."

"Good. Because I've been thinking, what if I move out here and do my rehab with you?"

"Wow, that's a big move. You know that will make me happy but what about your family? Won't they want you to be in LA for your recovery? And your coach?"

"I've given my life to skating. It's time I do what feels right. And it feels right that we're together. My parents can visit and I can go home every few weeks. My coach won't be happy but it's not like I'll be able to skate right away. All I know is that I want to be near you. We'll figure out the rest."

"What about all your sponsor obligations? I'm sure they want you to still do publicity even if you aren't skating."

"I know there's a million reasons we can come up with why I shouldn't move here, but I can also come up with a million reasons why I should. How can we ever know what our future can be if we're living in two different cities?"

"I wish I had your confidence."

"I have plenty to share. And I have the most incredible chocolate chip pancakes to share too. You will love me as soon as you try one."

"What if I already do?"

"You'll love me even more."

"Impossible. My heart overfloweth." I lean in and kiss her softly. "Do you normally make breakfast for your family?"

She shakes her head. "Not usually. My dad is the real chef in our family. He would always have breakfast ready for when I got back from my morning practice. He would make dinner too since my evening workouts would go until 7. I don't know how I would have survived without him or my mom. I certainly wouldn't have been able to get this far in my skating without them." And I don't know what I'm going to do when they separate, but I'm not going to think about that right now.

"I feel the same about my parents. I've actually been thinking of finding my own place. I'm too old to still be living at home."

"It's amazing how we can both be so good at a sport and so terrible at managing our personal lives. So what's on your agenda today? More therapy for your knee?"

"Actually, what do you say about taking a break from any therapies today and we just hang out, the two of us. I'll show you around Vail."

"I would love that! Do you think we could check out the mountain? It's so beautiful. I would love to take some pictures."

"Sure, we can take the snowmobile out to some good vantage points."

"Is that okay? I don't want to stir up any bad memories or anything."

"Being with you can only create good memories. I'm happy to take you."

"Good, now hurry up and eat. I want to start this day already."

After Lainey and I eat breakfast, Lainey creates two plates for my parents and keeps them warm in the oven. We write them a note about our plan to take out the snowmobile and where we plan to be. We then hop on the snowmobile and unlike yesterday, I take it easy and we enjoy ourselves checking out the scenery. I'm able to see the mountain and my home through fresh eyes. Lainey's positive outlook on life is starting to rub off on me. I find myself laughing and smiling again.