The last couple of days have been wonderful. Max has opened up to me more than ever before. I can’t describe it, but she seems happier than ever to be with me, almost grateful. She is behaving like I have given her a wonderful gift that she never expected.

It’s in everything she does, in her tone of voice when we talk on the phone, in her happiness when she walks in the door, and in the absolutely contented look in her eyes when we are just sitting and talking about nothing at all. I feel her looking at me sometimes, and when I return her gaze, she doesn’t lower her eyes or pretend she isn’t watching me. She just smiles wider, as if just having me there pleases her. I don’t know what it is specifically. I still behave the same way towards her. Yet it seems that she wants to spend every moment she can with me, that I am giving her something she can’t find anywhere else.

I really noticed the change yesterday. It was just another one of our longstanding Friday night dinner ‘dates’, but it didn’t feel typical at all. She didn’t even bother to hide the fact that she couldn’t wait to come over. When she arrived a couple of hours later, she was full of enthusiasm and humor, telling me with amusement about her day. She gave me one of her beaming smiles. Then she got right to work, digging with gusto into the pasta that I had prepped for dinner. She barely said a word as she ate. She just smiled at me periodically as a comfortable silence settled between us. Then as we began clearing the table, Max wrapped her arms around me in a spontaneous hug. I was completely surprised. But I’ve learned a lot this year. I didn’t let go or back off. I just wrapped my own arms around her and held on until she released her hold with a happy "Thanks Logan."

"It was just dinner," I responded, completely confused at the seemingly uncalled for display of gratitude. I hadn’t received a hug like that since I found Hannah for her.

"Whatever," she replied with a shrug as she continued clearing away the dishes, but the look in her eyes indicated that she was thanking me for more than just dinner or ‘whatever’.

This evening, she surprised me again. We were setting up the chessboard when, out of the blue, she blurted out "I like the poem."

"Cool," I responded, trying hard not to reveal my surprise. I had somehow managed to push it out of my mind these last two days.

"I hope you don’t mind that I took it." She grinned mischievously, daring me to tell her that I did. She took it? I couldn’t believe it! I was sitting right there and she ripped it out of my book without me noticing. But now that I think about it, I’m not all that surprised. I wasn’t exactly the most focused person on Thursday night.

"Whatever," I answered with a shrug. Logan Cale, the master of understatement.

Max smiled happily at my response, then proceeded to whip my ass at chess once again. We didn’t talk about the poem after that, but we could feel it there between us. It amazes me that those three simple lines have brought this on. It was just a stupid little poem. It barely described my feelings for her. It was little more than a hint. Yet, somehow, I think Max has managed to read between the lines, and what she has discovered there feeds and strengthens her. I have never seen her so contented and so centered. I have never seen her so open. It’s almost as if, for the first time in her life, she feels loved. And she is loved, more than she will ever know.