Finally, with promises they would never lose touch with each other, Lou and Humphrey embraced and parted. Lou watched until the remarkable man and his wheelchair entered the freight elevator, and the doors glided shut behind him. Then he headed up to where Cap was waiting.

One last piece of business.

His stump wrapped up and bandaged, Cap still greeted Lou with a high-five. The operation was tragic in its timing, but it had clearly saved his life.

“Good timing, doc,” Cap said.

Cap’s steadily improving demeanor had done more for Lou’s state of mind than anything else could—except that moment when he would again get to hold Emily.

“Tell me,” Lou said, adding a bit to the water already in Cap’s plastic cup.

“A specialist in prosthetics just left my room. She came to talk with me about options for my new leg. Man, the technology today is really something spectacular. She even thinks I might be a candidate for this thing called targeted muscle reinnervation.”

“I think I know a little about that, but fill me in.”

“It’s like redirecting nerves to control the prosthetic using substitute healthy muscle from somewhere else in my body,” Cap said. “She has a friend at the rehab I want to go to in D.C. who does it.”

“Amazing. That would be so cool.”

“From what she told me, I might even be able to box again. Heck, I’d be a willing guinea pig for that alone.”

“I’m ready to take you on,” Lou said. “But you have to promise no kicking.”

“Okay, okay, no kicking. In the meantime, I’ll get fitted for a prosthetic leg when we get home. They say just a couple of more days.”

“That’s really great news!”

“The people from that fund they’re setting up have already come to visit me. When all is said and done, I’m gonna own Stick and Move clear, with enough left over for projects in the inner city that I’ve only dreamed about. I’m going to start working with the disabled, too. Not just amputees, but all disabilities.”

“I’d love to help. So would Emily.”

“Perfect. The more I get to see that gal, the better.”

Lou checked the time on the watch she had given him. “I think our friend should be here any minute,” he said. “You ready?”

“More than I was when I fought Rafael Marquez.”

“And how did you do in that one?”

“I knocked him out in the third.… Crunch!”

He cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

“Well, you don’t have to wait until the third round this time.”