“We did power pulls for warm-up, then started in on forward and backward twizzles. She said it was the move that gave her the most trouble.”
He nodded. “I’d say she tends to struggle more on the forward loops, but her twizzles do need work.”
Frankie leaned against the boards. “She’s a gifted skater, just a little rough around the edges.”
“Agreed. It’s hard to believe she’s only been skating a year and a half.”
Frankie’s jaw dropped. “And she’s working onnovicemoves already?”
Charlie didn’t respond. At that moment, Richelle spotted her coach and let out an ecstatic, “Mr. C!” The tiny skater raced over to them and wrapped her arms around his legs. “Miss Frankie said you might not make it today. It made me sad because seeing you is one of my favorite things about Mondays.” She released him. “Where did all the hair on your face go? I’m glad it’s gone. I didn’t like it.”
Frankie’s gaze traveled to Charlie. She hadn’t noticed that he’d shaved. He appeared much younger. She could make out a defined jawline and a set of high cheekbones.
“I’m glad you approve.” Charlie ran a hand across his jaw. “My big sister made me get rid of it.”
“My big sister is bossy too.” Richelle wrinkled her nose. “She’s always telling me what to do, but Mommy says I don’t always have to listen to her. Maybe you can tell your mommy to tell your sister to not be bossy to you.”
Frankie hid a smile.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Was this the same grump she’d encountered earlier? He seemed so relaxed and at ease with Richelle. They clearly had a strong student-coach bond.
“Your footwork looked better.”
Her large brown eyes danced. “Thank you, Mr. C. Miss Frankie told me to just bend my knees more. It’s hard.”
Charlie nodded solemnly. “Yes, it is, but Miss Frankie is right. If you bend your knees more, it’ll help you make the jump to the junior and senior levels quicker.”
His words, however, were lost on Richelle, who tugged on the edge of his jacket. “Mr. C?”
“Yes?”
She pointed to the fishing-pole harness. “Can we please, please, please try some double loops? McKenzie told me at school that she landed her double loop on Friday. I want to land mine too. I spent all weekend and my recess today practicing off-ice jumps, just like you told me to.”
“We only have five minutes left. I don’t think that’s enough time for the harness, but we have enough time for you to try one or two without it. Do you remember the drills I showed you?”
Richelle nodded and walked through the jump.
A part of Frankie wanted to stay and see how the rest of Richelle’s lesson went, but she also didn’t wish to spend any more time around Charlie than necessary. She weighed the pros and cons in her mind. Should she stay? Or should she go?
“Miss Frankie, did that look right?”
“Uh . . .” She hadn’t been paying attention. Charlie nodded behind Richelle. Frankie flashed Richelle a thumbs-up. “Yes, it was great.”
“Are you leaving?” A look of distress crossed the child’s face. “Mr. C, can you make Miss Frankie stay a few more minutes?”
Charlie blinked slowly. “Richelle, Miss Frankie might have places to be. We can ask her nicely, but we never make anyone stay.”
Frankie knew the girl only had four minutes left. “I’ll stay until your lesson’s over. Why don’t you show me this double loop?”
Richelle clapped her hands together. “Okay!”
Cheerfully, she took off and set up for the jump, taking a set of back crossovers around some skaters working on their spins in the center of the ice.
“Bend your knees more,” both Charlie and Frankie said at the same time. They glanced at one another, then quickly back to Richelle. Twin patches of pink appeared on his cheeks.
Richelle held a long entry edge and attempted the jump, but as she came down to land, it was a quarter turn short of the full rotation. She stepped out of the landing.
