“Can I help you?” a worker in a blue vest asked.
She nodded. “Do you have any family ancestry tester kits?”
A few minutes later, Frankie shoved the brown bag with her purchase into her purse as her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Frankie, where are you? I thought you were just outside.”
“I’m coming right now.”
She heard Gemma sigh. “I have some bad news. I’m going to have to cut my trip short. DOI just called. Vivienne’s been injured and they need me to fly back to Phoenix in the morning.”
“I understand, Gem. There isn’t much you can do when someone gets hurt. I’ll be right there.”
* * *
Gemma enveloped Frankie in a tight hug the next day at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport. “Don’t let another six-plus months slip by without my seeing you.” They released one another, and Gemma picked up her tote and rolling bag. “Charlie, I’m counting on you to take care of my bestie.”
He nodded solemnly. “I will.”
Gemma waved one final farewell and joined the security line.
“Thanks for driving. It gave Gemma and me a little extra time together.”
“Sure.”
They walked side by side at a slow, even pace. She was tempted to take hold of his hand like they did when they skated together. It just seemed so natural.
They exited the airport and waited for the signal to change. A steady stream of cars drove by searching for an empty space by the curb. Car doors opened and closed as passengers were dropped off and picked up. The wheels of their luggage clattered against the sidewalk.
“You’re awfully quiet,” she finally said.
“Just thinking.”
“About?” Frankie prompted.
“About us.”
The hum of an airplane’s motor roared to life.
“Our skating? Or us off the ice?”
She’d expected him to smile or at least to elicit some type of reaction, but instead, he remained stoic.
“Skating.”
The signal changed from red to green. Frankie started to cross, but Charlie remained rooted in place.
“If you’ve changed your mind about skating with me, I’d be more than happy to take a back seat and become your coach instead.”
She froze in her tracks. The hairs on the back of her neck perked up. “Excuse me?” She stepped back onto the curb.
“I’m holding you back.” He looked at the ground. “I take a slow and cautious approach to skating. Skills don’t come back to me as quickly as they should. Sometimes I have flashbacks and it takes me time to process and push through them.”
She realized at that moment that he must have overheard her conversation with Gemma.
He kicked a stray pebble. The strained sound of his voice broke her. “I want to be fair to you. If you were to skate with your former show partner, you could take and pass your Senior Pairs Free Skate test tomorrow. Or if you want, I still have some connections. I could find you someone who’d be willing to—”
