For two weeks they treated one another like polite strangers. To avoid the curious stares of Charity and Dennis, Anna took long daily walks along the beach. No longer did she play her flute on the verandah at night. L.J. was her companion and friend, often trailing behind her on a walk.

On the first night of the third week, Anna delivered Brian's lunch tray. He sat, his gaze centered on the ocean. Anna left it on the table outside.

"Can we talk?" He asked without looking at her.

Anna bit into the soft flesh at the side of her mouth. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Us."

"No," she answered.

"All right, we won't talk about us. We'll simply talk."

Anna walked to the railing, watching the rumbling sea. The scent of the ocean filled the early evening. A gentle breeze brought in a salty spray.

She turned and propped her elbow against the railing. "I just don't know if we have anything to say to one another."

"That's a negative thought. I've never known you to be pessimistic."

"Oh, I can be," she admitted with a sad smile.

"Yes, I noticed."

"If you don't eat, your dinner will get cold." Her mouth felt suddenly dry, yet her hands were moist to the point of being clammy. She should have packed her bags and walked out the next morning. But she couldn't, not before it was time. When he was walking, at least on crutches, then she'd go.

His gaze fell on the tray she'd brought with her. "Let it. I'm not hungry."

"Have you been busy?" She knew he met daily with his father now, and she had seen his light long into the night.

"Very."

"That's good."

He came closer to her side. "In some ways, it's helped me..." He let the rest trail away.

"Helped you how?"

His smile was wry. "You said the subject was taboo."

"Oh," she said, and swallowed tightly.

Dennis shouted from the far side of the yard and waved. Anna gave a guilty start. She'd told him she would join him for dinner at Mobey Jake's. They went there often now.

"I've got to go."

Brian's mouth thinned with impatience. "I understand."

Quickly she moved into her own quarters and grabbed a light sweater.

"Anna?" Brian had followed her and slid open the glass door. "Will you play tonight? I've missed that." His smile was slightly off-center, and her bones felt like liquid. "Almost as much as I've missed having you as my friend."

"I've missed it too," she murmured, refusing to look into his eyes.

"Hurry back, my Anna."

The words were issued so softly Anna was sure she'd misunderstood them.

Dennis brought her a double order of fish-and-chips and joined her at the umbrella-covered table in the sun. The large order was far bigger than Anna could manage, but she automatically bought the double fish so there would be enough for L.J.

"You and the boss getting on better?" Dennis questioned. Their camaraderie and mutual respect had grown over the weeks. They were a team, pressing toward one goal -- Brian. He would walk one day, and the credit would be do them all.

"I guess so." She wiped the corner of her mouth with her napkin and lifted one shoulder in a lopsided shrug.

"Sometimes I wonder how you two can work with one another, the ice is so thick."

"You have a good imagination," Anna answered easily.

Dennis lifted one thick brow. "If you say so."

Anna dunked a french fry in a small container of ketchup. "I do."

Later, she brought her flute onto the verandah. She hadn't played three notes when Brian joined her. She lowered her instrument and offered him a smile.

"Are you taking requests?"

"Sure, what would you like to hear?"

"Yesterday," he replied without hesitation.

Anna remembered the first time she'd played that song. Brian had angrily told her that yesterdays were gone forever, that they couldn't be brought back. Bitterness had coated his words. Now his voice was filled with hope.

The sweet melodic sounds of the Beatles' classic filled the night. Anna had always loved this tune. When she finished, there a poignant pause.

"Why did you request that song?" She asked in a whisper, not wanting conversation to ruin the mood.

"Because I wanted to share with you some of my yesterdays."

"How do you mean?"

"Follow me," he answered, and turned sharply, leading the way through his quarters. Once he was in the hallway he paused in front of the door that was opposite her room. "Haven't you ever wondered what was in here?"

"No," she answered honestly. "I assumed it was probably your parents' room."

"Go on, open it."

Anna turned the knob and stepped inside. Because his chair wouldn't fit through the narrow doorway, Brian remained in the hall.

The interior was dark, and she felt against the side of the wall for the light switch. Once she located it, she flipped it on. Immediately light sprayed across a room filled with awards, trophies, and sports equipment. Plaques lined one entire wall. On closer inspection, Anna noticed that each one had been received by Brian. There didn't seem to be anything he hadn't tried and mastered. Baseball, volleyball, basketball, bowling, hockey, and some she had never known existed and probably couldn't pronounce.

Confused, she turned around, her smooth brow marred in thick creases. "All these are yours?" She asked incredibly. "It's unbelievable."

"I was quite the jock."

She picked up and inspected one of the smaller baseball trophies. "You were just a boy." She lifted her gaze to his.

"My father is credited with mounting most of these things. The albums on the desk --" He pointed to a large flat-topped desk on the far side of the room. "--are filled with newspaper clippings from the time I could hold a tennis racket."

"My goodness, it's enough to take my breath away."

"I was good."

"I don't doubt that."

"I'll never be as good again."

She didn't mince words. "No, you won't. Does that bother you terribly?"

The look in his eyes seemed to peel away every defense barrier she'd carefully constructed these past two weeks.

"It did, but you changed that."

"Me?" The one word echoed across the room.

"I accepted the wheelchair as my fate -- until you came. It wasn't a conscious decision, but one I can see as clearly now as if I'd signed the contract in blood. I was a winner with remarkable skill and talent, if I was to believe everything that had been written about me. I had the world by the tail; I lived the good life. And then it all came tumbling down on top of me. After the accident I decided that if I had to be half a man the rest of my life, then I'd be no man at all."

Anna understood what he was saying. She came and knelt by his side.

"It wasn't the pain that bound me to the chair, but the fear." He took her hand and squeezed it tight. "I'm going to walk again, Anna Watson, because you had the foresight to understand what was happening to me on the inside. And just as you had your father, I have you." Very gently he lifter her hand his mouth and kissed it.

Her heart plummeted to her stomach. Gratitude was what Brian felt. Overwhelming gratitude, nothing more.