“Thanks, Doc.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled softly. “If you ever have questions for me, please, feel free to call or email.”
“Will do.”
The doctor excused herself. Frankie stood outside the exam room, taking a few deep breaths.I can do this. I just need to keep Dad on a routine, and everything will start to fall into place. Our new normal.
* * *
After dropping her dad at home, Frankie made her way to the rink.
The cashier in the booth at the entry door greeted her as she walked in. “Hiya, Frankie. Public session today?”
“Yeah. I’m running a little late. Is it busy today?”
“So-so. We have about thirty-five kids on a class field trip. Sixth and seventh graders.” Frankie grimaced. Eleven- and twelve-year-olds could be giant daredevils and risk takers always trying to one-up one another. She felt sorry for whoever had ice patrol duty. “Do you need any help fitting the kids with rental skates?”
“Nah. You enjoy your practice. Charlie took care of the skates. Max and Aaron are on ice patrol. They’ll handle any troublemakers.”
Her pulse picked up. “Charlie is here?” In the three weeks she’d been employed at the rink, she still had yet to meet her boss face-to-face.
“He’s up in his office now, up to his ears in paperwork. I told him not to put it off, but you know men. They think they always know better than us. Just like my ex.” The lobby doors opened. A mom and two young kids chatted excitedly, approaching to pay for the session. “If I see Charlie, I’ll let him know you’d like to say hello.”
“Thanks.”
She wondered whether she should say something to him about the grump too, but it could be awkward seeing as she’d never met the man. On second thought, she’d just talk to Leslie the next time she saw her.
Stepping onto the ice a scant ten minutes later, she wondered if it was even worth her time to bother skating. It was covered in deep ruts, making it bumpy as she glided toward the center. Loud pop music played. Some kids grabbed hold of the wall and used it to pull themselves along. Others had discovered the buckets used for the toddlers and dragged them across the ice, racing one another.
Wearing red jackets, Max and Aaron, two of the youngest staff and members of the community college hockey team, weaved in and out of the kids, keeping a watchful eye on all the action. As Leslie’s students, these two teenagers had learned from the best.
Frankie watched Max dart over to the kids with buckets to put an end to the antics. Aaron nodded to her and was already putting out a set of orange traffic cones in the center of the ice where she’d practice. They were like two scent hounds who could tell what was about to happen before it did.
“Thanks, Aaron!” she called out cheerily.
He held up his hand in acknowledgment and raced out of the center to address a set of boys who had started throwing loose shards of ice at one another.
Well, as crazy as it is, I’m here, so let’s make the most of my time. It’s a good excuse for me to work on some basics.
Her long-time coach Mr. Franks had been adamant that the best way to learn control and edge quality was through learning figures. Just as the name implied, a figure was a set shape a skater would trace with their skates. It was where the sport of figure skating had originally gotten its name from.
With one push, a skater had to know when to rise and fall with the edge and how much pressure to apply to the boot of the skate to make it all the way through the shape. It was much harder than it looked and really taught a skater control and proper body alignment. When figures were removed from competitive skating in 1991, most coaches stopped giving lessons on how to do them. But not Mr. Franks. He wanted his skaters to have the complete package.
Frankie had thought it was a colossal waste of time, but he promised it would give her the literal edge over her competition, and it did. She just didn’t have the right partner. Danny refused to work on figures. His fight with Mr. Franks cost her the best coach she ever had. That was another thing she’d always remain bitter about.
Frankie spent the next hour attempting three turns, brackets, and loops on a small patch of ice.
She remembered that there were eight shapes in total, but what was figure five? A counter? Or was it a rocker? Mr. Franks would have her head if he knew she couldn’t remember.
“Hey! What are you doing out here?”
She inwardly cringed. The grump’s voice! What did he want from her now? She slowly raised her head and heard the whisper of his blades skating across the ice. He stopped abruptly next to her.
The lines of his forehead were creased, his jaw clenched. He was in the same black clothing she’d seen him in the past two encounters. “I thought we already went over this. Didn’t you tell me just a few days ago that you wouldn’t practice out here alone?”
Frankie resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she stared into his jade-green ones. “I’mnotalone. This is the public session.”
He gestured to the empty rink. “Public ended half an hour ago.”
