There were no real changes in Luke or Lori’s life until the spring of their junior year. Luke was thriving in California. Good grades, good friends, and good weather helped Luke to live the good life.

Luke's grades were as high as the waves he loved to ride. His being in the top 20 of his class was going to get him into Stanford. The Harvard of the West Coast was his dream school. The university had one of the best, if not the best, computer engineering programs in the world.

Luke’s relationship with Mary grew stronger. He made sure he cherished their time together. He knew soon their journey together would end. Each of them had their own dreams which they had to chase. Neither of them could expect or would accept the other putting their dream on hold.

The sunny days with clear blue skies helped make everything a little better. Being able to go and enjoy the outdoors always brightened one’s days. They had options and did not feel trapped. There was also the added benefit of the sun helping the body make vitamin D.

Lori might not have had the good weather to help but she did have the good grades and good friends to assist in her living the good life. The winter might be cold and dreary but Lori was able to use that to her advantage. She used those cold months as a way to help warm other’s hearts at the David Project. She made sure to schedule special events. That was her way of brightening up overcast days.

Lori was also in the top 10 of her class. Her good grades were going to get her into Carnegie Mellon University. It was her dream school. Lori wanted to work with kids and the school would give her the best tools to do so. Their child psychology program was in the top 5 of the world.

Lori's relationship with Blake was as volatile as a prima donna chef’s attitude. They broke up and got back together more than repeats of Friends were on television. Lori kept on taking Blake back because of two beliefs. One that he could change. The second one was a worse belief, that she could change him.

Blake accepting Lori’s terms for reconciliation after the second breakup was what gave her the false hope to believe that boy of hers wanted to become a man. He was willing to quit picking on Luke. She did not want to give up on Blake. He was making an effort to change. Her dad did not give up on her. If her dad could have faith in her she had to do the same for Blake.

The sunk cost fallacy was why Blake kept repeating the cycle of breaking up and getting back together. The more time and effort put into this endeavor had the goal closer to becoming achieved. Lori’s on again off again boyfriend wanted the reward of all the hard effort. He gave up so much to move closer to his goal. Blake was more concerned about proving he was a man by having sex than being a man.

The goal of trying to get Luke at least reading the same book as Matt and Renee was still being worked on. The reason was not the time and effort that Lori put into it. Reuniting the friends was the right thing to do and was very doable. She knew those three would soon find the same page once they were sharing the same book. Their friendship was still intact. The space between them was artificially made. The friendship only needed them to see was still there.

Lori changing her standard operating procedure was as a result of her reformation. Before, she got what she wanted by whatever it took. The ends justified the means. Secrecy was used so people could not ruin her plans. Lying and being deceitful were some of the tools she used. Having those tools at her disposal made it easier for Lori to get what she wanted.

Trying to get those three together was a maze. There were so many barriers to overcome. Any path Lori took was a dead end. Lori felt like Theseus without a ball of thread until she saw Renee give a victory speech. Renee heartfeltly thanked Luke by name. She mentioned how she would not have been here without the founder of the Saturday Morning Bike Club faith in her.

Renee’s sincerity became the thread that would lead Lori to her goal. All Luke’s sister had to do was have her brother hear that. The solution would have seemed too hard for most people. How could anyone have someone who was physically and emotionally thousands of miles away witness something that had already happened? Luke being told about the mention would not be good enough. He would not take anyone’s word on Renee being nice to him. Renee would not admit this to Luke. Telling Luke about the thanks would lessen those words. They would become about her making amends instead of giving credit.

Lori would have scoffed at those people bringing up what she saw as a minor inconvenience. Being able to manipulate people came from having high emotional intelligence. Lori knew people. Even with this being the first time Lori heard Renee’s speech the girl knew that the speech was always the same. Renee was the type of person who had to show her gratitude. Renee wanted to give credit to those who helped. This was not for her nor the person getting thanks. The thanks was for the crowd praising her achievement. Those people should know about everyone who made it happen.

Knowing what she just witnessed would happen again, Renee was one of the best riders in the country, Lori had a simple plan. The girl was going to video the next victory speech and send it to Luke. The hardest part of the plan was the waiting. This track of reuniting the Saturday Morning Bike Club didn’t come to Lori until the last race of the year. Lori only needed to wait until she witnessed Renee win another event. Waiting was the hardest part of the plan.

*************

The last two years have been eventful for Renee and Matt. Renee got so good as a BMX rider. The experts and media covering this sport all agree she was the best in her age group of either gender. Matt was also seen as a wonderkid. Making Renee’s bike a great ride got him a free ride to CMU. Him being the pit crew of the best BMX rider was impressive to the school’s admission department.

Matt and Renee incorporated. The couple wanted to make the Pink Streak a brand. The decision to do so was easy. Renee going as fast as she could and Matt making Renee’s bike go as fast as it could, was their passion, but they knew it was also business. Treating it as a business made it so they would be able to make a living doing what they love. They would work to live, not live to work.

Another important reason to brand was so Team Pink Streak could better control their image and message. They did not want the public to see Renee as a female BMX racer. That was not who she was. Renee was a BMX racer who happened to be a female. The message they wanted to share was that people were only as good as who they surrounded themselves with.

Those two had a chance to finally realize all the hype behind them. Until her junior year, Renee never earned enough points on the racing circuit to be one of the riders invited to Orange County Invitationals. The seasons before Renee did not go to enough races to qualify. There was not enough money or time for her to do so.

That year Renee barely made enough races to qualify to be eligible. The hard part was over. Now all she had to do was win the last race, The Cleveland Indoor Grand Prix. As long as there were no wrecks or mechanical failures, Team Pink Streak was on its way to Cali.

The best spoil of victory was the accolades. Most victors loved receiving the praise. Renee loved having the well-earned privilege of giving out the praise. At first, her smile was small as she gave thanks to those who paid the bills AKA her sponsors. Then that smile on her face grew as she started to thank those close to her, her true sponsors. The ones who gave support and aid for the sole reason of making her better.

There was a little pause. The next part was the hardest to say yet also the most satisfying. Her entire circle of friends was there to support her by saying what needed to be said. Yet, to her the circle was broken. There was the minor arc of Luke missing. The arms of all of her friends raised up and holding their phones videoing this moment gave her strength. Renee was able to make those heartfelt words of thanks to Luke came out. That moment would be what will make Renee’s perfect circle complete.

*********************

The agony of defeat was what Renee was feeling as she stood on top of the victory podium. Having this reward of being the best was always bittersweet, yet this time the melancholy overpowered the joy of winning. The thought of her being so close yet so far away from Luke could not stop doing laps in her mind. The fact that Luke was enjoying his new life only 35 miles away from her hurt. He was close enough that he should have been having his moment also. He was a part of this victory as much or more than Fox Helmet or Gatorade. Yet those two company’s reps, who were standing next to her, and Matt, were going to get to be part of her victory lap. At least the company rep from Fox was nice, Renee swore that the lady was genuinely happy to help Renee in any way possible. The other rep treated Renee like she was not worth his time. In his mind she was not, this man was based on the West Coast so she was not one of his true clients. Doing anything extra would not help him.

The victory lap was a tradition at the Orange County Invitationals. The winner of each age group got to pick 3 other people to do a lap during the closing ceremony. The male and female winner’s group would be paired together. Renee was going to do the last lap of the day. She won the 18 and under female. Some nameless man and woman she met earlier today should not be part of this.

After having handed the ceremonial prizes of a bouquet of flowers, a decanter of orange juice, and an oversized check, the MC led Renee to the front of the stage. She was given an open mike to give her victory speech. The crowd was a blur. Her vision was unfocused from the endorphins firing off in her brian from winning and the tears in her eyes from missing Luke.

After giving the mandatory thanks, Renee did her clockwork pause. This time it was a little harder to wind the gears up and get back to giving thanks. She wanted the right words. Maybe there might be magic and what she said would be carried from her lips by the Santa Ana winds to Luke’s ears.

The winner who felt like a loser composed herself. If she wanted the impossible to happen, Renee was going to need her words strong enough to catch a ride. After breathing in and out one more time to compose herself as much as possible, Renee said “Sorry. This part is hard. The next person I am going to thank Luke Zahn, the founding member of the Saturday Morning Bike Club should be joining me in our victory lap.”

Then a voice in the crowd screamed out “Ask him and he will say yes.”

How those words were mocking her made her angry. The anger from those words got Renee’s vision back in focus. To her, those words were a taunt about not ever getting what she wanted. The girl needed to see who hurt her. As the mad girl was turning her gaze towards where those words came she heard another voice say “Yes, I will.”

The voice might have been a little deeper than the last time she heard it, but Renee knew who owned that voice, Luke. Her eyes confirmed what she already knew was true. Somehow Luke heard her words and he was brought there. How did not matter, the winner was not going to question the prize she had just been awarded.

Renee was joined by Matt as she started to run towards the barrier. They both were shouting “Oh My God” over and over again. As they came closer the welcoming smile on Luke's face got bigger and his arm became as wide open as the Pacific ocean behind them.

Matt and Renee tripped over each other trying to get into Luke’s embrace. The stumble didn’t slow them down. Nothing was going to delay the reunion of friends by even one second. Those two had waited too long to let anything even slow them down from hugging their friend. The hug was small compared to how those three were all embracing the resurrection of their friendship.

***************
The best victories in life are the unexpected ones. The friendship of Matt, Renee, and Luke today overcoming the odds was unforeseen by the digital onlookers. Lori and the rest of the gang were watching the unpredicted outcome via Skype. Renee’s mom made a video call to them so they could support Team Pink Streak by watching online.

After the call, Lori, Tracy, Amanda and Kat were misty-eyed. It was heartwarming and uplifting to see the Saturday Morning Bike Club reform. Seeing those three friends overcome the odds out of the blue gave them hope that their transgression could also be forgiven.

Blake and Tom were not impressed. The act of Luke welcoming those two back into his life was an act of weakness to them. Luke was acting like a simp. That boy went out of his way to find Matt and Renee. They should have been made to crawl back to him. The act of forgiveness only reaffirmed how they saw Luke. He was weak and deserved to be reminded of that.

Having to stay silent about their true feelings made the two boy’s anger at Luke grow. The unfairness that the truth of what occurred could not be said, got to them. Blake hated being barred from saying his true feelings. Blake’s nemesis was now being protected by Lori and the others. They needed to escape the oppressive shadow of censorship so they left. They gave the excuse of going to the local shop to get some Turner’s tea.

After Tom and Blake left so they could finally talk about how lame Luka was, Amanda spoke up. “How did this happen?”

This was a good question. People do not just randomly go to BMX races. There has been radio silence between those three since Luke left for California. Matt and Renee rejected his friend request on Facebook.

Lori said the bare minimum. She wanted to make sure to downplay any part she played in them reuniting. “I told Luke about Renee's race.”

That explanation was nothing more than spin to make Lori look better. Amanda was not going to let the girl who was responsible for the friendship fracturing get credit for doing nothing. “Lori, quit that. You caused this moment, it needed to happen. You did not help them get back together. I want to know how it happened.”

Amanda was making Lori the scapegoat for sins of the group. Once again, Lori was being made the sacrificial lamb. Having Lori take all the blame made it easier for Amanda to forgive herself.

Tracy was not going to let any more of this absolution by passing the guilt and spoke up. She was Lori’s best friend and knew the entire story. Lori might have had the lead in the outcasting of Luke, but they all played a huge part in it.

“Oh Amanda, you quit it. Lori did not say she made it happen. She should have, but did not. You know she has been trying to get Matt, Renee, and Luke to talk.

“Here is what you don’t know. Lori recorded Renee thanking Luke after a race and sent it to him.

“You need to quit blaming Lori for your actions. Lori did lead us in how we treated Luke, but we all willingly went along. We are part of the reason they needed to reconcile. Matt and Renee’s actions are the main reason they need to. They joined in with how we were treating Luke.

“You claim that you are mature and have changed. The only real changes you have made is your hairstyle and being called by your given name. You need to grow up. You want others to not judge you on your past. You need to do so also. Instead, you love to feel morally superior and look down on Lori.”

Admitting being wrong was one of the hardest acts a person can do. Instead of accepting the truth, Amanda was going for the easy course of action, defend herself. Looking at Kat for backup, made Amanda change her mind about what was the right thing to do. Kat said nothing but the look of agreement on Amanda’s best friend's face screamed to her Tracy was right. The look on Kat’s face made Amanda become open-minded to what Tracy just told her.

Lori said “Tracy, it is fine. Amanda is right. I did damage their friendship.”

Those words were finally heard by Amanda. A popular philosophical question is if a tree were to fall on an island where there were no human beings would there be any sound? There was supposed to be no right answer to this inquiry. Amanda finally hearing Lori take personal responsibility after many times of her doing so did provide an interesting comment to that question, a person cannot react to what they do not know. Until that moment, Amanda had treated Lori as if she still had no remorse for her actions. Amanda was going to rectify being wrong. “Lori, it is not fine. You changed for the better and I have not seen it.

“I am happy that you were able to bring them together. Now I hope you do the same magic with us and your brother.”

Lori said “Thank you, Amanda. I did not work any magic. They did it. I helped them see the truth.

“Now that those three are back together. They will be the ones who do the magic.”

*****************

The backstage area of the race was hectic. So many people were running around doing their own thing. The faster the person was rushing the better chance they were working the event. The organizers of the event had to coordinate too many parts of it at once to do anything at a normal pace. The workers the organizers hired had too much work piled on them. The vendors wanted to hustle every single last sale they could get. The sales reps were doing the best so the riders they sponsored were happy.

In the middle of this contained chaos was a calm lady carrying a bag of free wag and wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a Fox Racing t-shirt. Today was one of the days she lived for and she was not going to race by it by being in a hurry. Fostering better relationships was her life goal and she was lucky to find a job where she did this. The eye of the backstage hurricane of action was Angie Perez, the Fox Racing Sales Rep working today’s race.

Angie’s next visit to one of her company's clients was going to be the best of the day. Checking in with Renee Walha was easy. Dealing with the victors always was. This time was made even easier for Renee got something even better than winning the race. Angie’s client got reunited with a friend.

Luke coming back into Renee’s life also made currying more favor with her easy for Angie. She was going to offer Luke her spot in Renee’s victory lap. This small gesture would reap huge rewards. Angie knew giving up that spot would mean so much to Renee. Making Renee happy would make the bond between Fox and the racer closer. Angie knew that girl had a bright future in racing and wanted her company to be a part of it.

Angie also did not care to be part of that ride. This was about the racers, not the sponsors. The kids would travel from out of state and almost never got to ride with those who they cared about. Seeing that east coast girl have someone dear next to her would make the day more memorable for Angie. After all, to her life was about helping others foster better relationships.

Angie made it to The Team Pink Streak’s trailer. There she saw Renee along with the rest of her support team consisting of her parents, Matt, Luke, and Mary. The body language was a sure sign this was a joyous occasion. Angie was going to be a little interruption, but what she was going to add was going to add to the moment. “Hey Renee, you had a great day.”

Renee did not want to come off as a diva. Sharing pleasantries with someone who she will never deal with again was just not high up on her priority list. “Thanks. Can we talk when we meet at the starting line for the victory lap.”

Angie said “I want to talk to you about the victory lap.”

Renee jumped in saying “I am happy with you being in any line you want. We deal with that there.”

Angie knew Renee was trying to tell her to buzz off in the nicest way possible. “I think that your friend Luke should be in the victory lap instead of me.”

Renee was now invested in the conversation. The rep somehow knew Luke’s name and she also did not care about getting some free advertisement from riding that lap. “How did you know his name?”

“You said it before you hugged him. It made my day seeing you three greeting each other.”

Luke asked Renee the rep’s name. He wanted to thank her. Renee was pissed at herself for not knowing it. That she just assumed that the name was not important. Before she could get embarrassed Angie saved the young girl. Pulling out a Van’s racing jersey she handed and handing it to Luke she said “I am Angie Perez. Here is a nice shirt for you to wear during the lap. It matches your shoes.”

Ben Seder, a friend of Angie’s, and a rep for Vans, was more than happy to give Angie the shirt. It was free swag, so giving it away cost him nothing. Plus, finding out someone was going to wear it for a victory lap meant his company’s logo was going to be seen. In the future, Ben was going to remember this and make sure he paid her back when she asked for some help.

Renee said “I want you to ride. That Gatorade rep is not going to ride it. I don’t want him to ride. He was on his phone when he was talking with me. I’ll tell him when I see him.”

Angie had a better idea. “How about this I go talk with Neal for you. I will get him to give his lane to Mary. That lap is for the racers and their friends anyways.”

Renee had one demand. “Thank you Angie. I only want one more thing. Give Mary a Fox Racing jersey to wear for the lap.”

Meeting Renee’s reasonable stipulation was as easy as reaching in a bag of free swag. Angie gave the shirt and went to handle the hard part, dealing with the Gatorade rep. Neal Cain was a petty man, more worried about his shirt being seen on that victory lap than making his temporary client happy. Angie knew she would get pushback, but at the end there was nothing Neal could do. Renee had final say. Also none of the reps were involved with the ride so he could not cry about unfair treatment.

*******************

The last Victory lap of the day was far from the conventional one. This was known from the start. The lane assignment was not normal. Instead of the boy winner being in the first lane, the girl winner being in the second lane, then the last 6 alternating from who the two winners picked, Renee and the rest of the Sunday Morning Bike Club took the first four lanes. Mary was nestled between Renee and Matt, as part of her induction ceremony. Matt and Renee nominated and voted her in without Luke having knowledge of it. Mary was going to be treated as a member no matter what. Even if there was an objection for going against club protocol or Mary declined membership to them she would be one of them. Those two saw how important and close Luke’s girlfriend was to him so her right place was in their inner circle.

Then Scott DeLeo and the rest of his team filled out the last four lanes. Having Renee and her friends take up the first four lanes was Scott’s idea. When talking about the lane assignments for their follower riders Renee said that she wanted the 5th lane and the rest of her friends in the 6th, 7th and 8th. Scott was not going to have that. He loved the unity Renee was showing. The girl was putting others first so she deserved to be in the first lane.

The unorthodox nature of the victory lap continued when the riders took off. Instead of forming a procession by each rider started on their own, they each started in unison. This was a sign that they were all going to cross the finish line together. They stayed even with each other until the last 20 yards. That was when Scott and his friends slowed down a little.

The agreement was that everyone was going to cross the line at the same time. Scott, the bastard, did not keep his word. He told his friends to give Renee her moment. This unexpected special moment would add to her and her friend’s day.

Renee said “Why did you do that Scott! We agreed everyone finished together. You already gave up so much just for me and my friends to ride together?”

Scott “Mi amiga, you deserved the spotlight. I had that moment before. Also putting your friends over the tradition made me think. I got sick that the boy always got to finish first. That is mierda.”

When saying goodbye, Scott pulled in Matt to give him a hug. “Mi amigo, you did a great job making sure Renee’s bike was at its best. She is going to be able to do her best with you taking care of her and her bike.”

After Scott and his friends left, Matt and Renee’s parents joined the reunited Saturday Morning Bike Club. Even with this moment looking like the original three members were never separated the loving parents knew those three needed some time alone to talk. Al said “Renee, why don’t you take Matt and Luke back to the trailer. Mary can you please take us to the rest of your crew. We want to invite them to our trailer.”

***************

Fred was outfront tending to the zinnias along the steps on the pathway to his home when Lori came in. He went from just putzing around to being at full attention when Lori greeted him. He detected a hint of hubris in her voice. Any good parent would be a little concern when their teenager sounded a little too proud of themselves for no good reason. Fred’s alarm starting to go off was warranted even more because of Lori’s past. She usually felt this way when she pulled one over on Luke.
Seeing the look on Lori’s face made Fred’s alarm setting raise a little more. The tone was being accompanied by a cocky smile on Lori’s face. His daughter would only get this happy with herself when she made Luke’s life a living hell. Even with wanting to know what was going on Fred knew better than to directly pry. Straight out questioning Lori would lead to her being defensive and he would gather no hints on what was going on. Fred’s greeting of ”Hey there Lori, what’s new?” contained a seemingly innocent question.

“Nothing other than Renee won that bike race today!”

Lori’s answer was a little baffling to Fred.The signs of her getting one over Luke actually got stronger. Either his daughter was getting better at acting, which would be bad, or she was actually that over the moon for Renee. Neither made sense to him. Lori was doing great at leaving her past behind. If she relapsed that meant the loving father was not doing a good job at catching the signs. To him Lori was no more self-centered than any other average teenager. Lori being happy for a friend would make sense. Renee was not much of a friend to Lori. Being this over the moon for someone you are not close to was not normal.

The next so-called innocent question of anything else was a tell to Lori. Fred did not do a great job at hiding his bemusement. Lori knew her dad did not buy what she was trying to sell him. She also did not want to tell him the truth. Luke deserved to be the one to tell them the great news of him reuniting with Matt and Renee. The announcement of the Saturday Morning Bike Club riding together again should be made by her brother and no one else.

“Dad, Renee got everything she wanted and worked for today. That is huge for her and Matt. He put in a lot of work. It is just nice to see all that effort paid off.”

Fred said “OK.” He had to take Lori at her word, but he was going to keep a watchful eye on her until this uneasy feeling passed or he found out the truth.

Lori went up to her dad and gave him a kiss on the cheek, said she loved him before going into the house. It was her way of thanking him for believing her and not pressing more. Lori did not feel bad about not telling the entire truth to her dad. What she was sharing was something private not a secret. Fred’s daughter was not hiding the good news but keeping it until the right person, Luke, was able to share it.

That kiss made Fred’s Alarm system go down some. He knew his daughter well enough that she would have not done that close of an interaction with him if she was trying to hide something from him. As Lori was walking away Fred said “Love you to my Sweet Pickle.”

***************

Being fearless was why Renee was such a great racer. When she saw a chance she took it. Being fearless also led to her being able to show being vulnerable. She knew showing that being susceptible to being hurt was a sign of strength. Being open about your feelings without any defense showed your trust in others. That was the biggest reason why now almost alone with only Matt and Luke in the trailer she was in tears. She believed neither of them would do her harm.

The tears were from sadness, anger and disappointment. Sadness from missing almost 4 years of Luke’s life. Anger at Lori for pulling her into the War of the Twins and from her being too proud to admit she was wrong until she was too late and disappointment from not being strong enough to start making amends with Luke. Renee knew she had to share those emotions with Luke. Her sharing the pain she caused herself was part of her plea for total absolution.

Even with Matt believing in the statement that boys don’t cry, he was also crying. The reason was that to him, crying and being open with your emotions was what men did. Boys try to hide and deny anything which can make them look weak. Matt was in agreement with Renee about showing vulnerability was a sign of strength.

Luke became the pillar of support for his friends. Yes they did stumble but right now they were reaching out so he opened his arms out to them. They were there for him for years and he so wanted peace with them. He wanted the same as them, their bond and friendship to be as strong as ever and to keep on growing as time passed on.

Matt and Renee were already forgiven by Luke, that was why he showed up to support her at the race. Now they were forgiving themselves. Luke started to cry with them when the two other members of the Saturday Morning Bike Club gave themself grace. His tears were of joy and they joined him.

With the fellowship back together Matt and Renee wanted to know all about what Luke has been up to in California. The first question was about Mary. They wanted to know exactly what was something about her that brought out the best in their friend.

Being surrounded by two close loyal friends made Luke able to be vulnerable and answer the question truthfully. He would have done so for the Cove Crew, but those friends never asked. Shy, Dirt and the rest of them knew how it was going to play out. They did not want to dwell on what could be the inspiration of the sadness song ever written, having to let go of true love. Mary was going to fly high in the Air Force and Luke was going to excel, but not with each other.

The glimmer in Luke’s eye gave him the gaze of an ecstatic madman. It will shine as bright as the North Star on the darkest night. This was fitting for Luke, talking about Mary, the girl who gave him his true north.

“Mary is great, I love her. We are going to break up soon, but we will always be together. She is a part of me as I am a part of her. Even with the trust, love and bond between us, we are not going to be a couple much longer. We bring out the best in each other and that is why our relationship must end.

“Mary has her dreams to follow and so do I. She is going to be leaving Socal in a couple of months to go to the Air Force Academy. Us staying together would be holding each other back. We will not hold each other back from reaching what we want in life. Doing so would change who we are.

No matter what we did together, the best part of it was us doing it together. Spending a couple of minutes alone with her behind the sand dunes got me higher than riding the best waves I ever rode.

We will never forget each other. The feelings we gave each other and how we treated each other. That will make us even better people after we are so one no more. We will always know our own worth and make sure we are surrounded by people who see it also.

I might be alone for a while after we break up but I will not be lonely. That would disappoint Mary and I will never do that. That would disrespect what we meant to each other. Also the memories of the time at her side will be great company. My life will be great for I will know I will always be in Mary’s life. There will always be a bond from us both helping each other be the best we can be.”

The trailer got quiet after Luke shared what was in his heart about Mary. Luke being in the moment and looking towards the future, no matter what it gave him, was mistaken by Matt and Renee as nostalgia. They saw the sentimental sentiment of the speech of him yearning to keep what he already had. In truth, the speech was about how Luke was going to be able to keep what he has no matter what. That even with accepting that this to shall pass applied to even the good times, and that does not mean those times do not stay with a person.

To break the silence Luke made a joke “Renee, I see you got better taste in men.”

Matt defensively said “Quit bringing that up. Renee apologized about that.”

Luke stayed as cool as the Paul Newman character he shared his name with as he knocked down his friend's defensive barrier. “Matt, I’m sorry. I was joking around to try to lighten the mood.”

“Luke, I’m sorry. I should have known better.”

“Matt there is no need to be sorry. I went too far. That is a touchy subject and should not have treated it as a joke. Now tell me about you two.”