It was his favorite picture of her. She didn’t like it because she wasn’t wearing anything "nice". But he loved the expression on her face. He loved her.

Today was the day. They had promised each other to keep the call schedule they had planned. Today was the first call. There was so much he wanted to tell her. So much to confess…

He looked at the picture again and smiled. "Don’t know if I can wait," he whispered to it. Placing the photo lovingly back on the nightstand he let his gaze linger on it a second more before he turned and left the room.

As he locked the front door of the house he thought of the picture and Ivy. "Just a few more hours" he said aloud as if declaring audibly would remove any doubt of it happening. Slipping his keys into his pocket, Jim Braddock headed towards the gym.