“Yeah.” My heart squeezes in my chest. I can’t stop my smile from bursting free. “I’m so in.”
FIFTEEN
HANNAH
“I’m late.I’m late, and I’m sorry!” Liv comes tumbling into the practice rink with her backpack on her shoulder and a duffle bag in her hand. “My dad had a meeting that ran long so I had to take the Metro. Going to school across town is a pain the ass.”
“Take a second to catch your breath.” I laugh and help her unload her stuff. “I just got here a few minutes ago. Traffic sucked.”
“The Metro wasn’t much better. The red line was delayed by ten minutes. I can’t wait until I learn to drive.” She groans and sits down. “I hate when people don’t show up to things on time. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Hey. Enough apologizing. It’s fine, Liv.” I smile to let her know I’m not mad. “Do you need to change? Your dad said there’s a women’s locker room in the building.”
“I’m good. I did that before I left school.” She unzips her coat, revealing black leggings and a white sweater. “Man. What a freaking day.”
“If you ever need a ride from school, and it’s okay with your parents, I don’t mind picking you up if they’re busy.”
“They’ll probably take you up on that. With the hockey season in full swing, sometimes I wonder when the heck my dadis sleeping. And my mom lives outside the city, so making her way in to pick me up or drop me off can take forever.”
“Have you ever had a nanny or babysitter?” I ask, and Liv shakes her head.
“Nope. Mom is all for it, but having someone unfamiliar in the condo makes Dad uncomfortable. He’s very private.” She follows it up with a laugh when she stretches out her leg, slipping on her left skate. “And, I get it. He’s, like, kind of important. But he’s not the freaking president. Not everyone wants his autograph.”
“I fully support you keeping him humble.” I grab my gloves and put them on. “When you’re ready, I thought we could try something different today.”
“Different how?”
“I know you’ve been anxious to get to your double Axel, so I figured we’ll start working up to it.” When Liv’s mouth opens in surprise, I hold up a hand. “Slowly. You’re not doing a 2A today, but we’re going to lay the foundation that will make it beautiful when we do get there.”
“Please, please, please,please!” She squeals and races to put on her other skate. “I’ve been waiting for this moment since I started skating!”
“We’ll spend today perfecting your single Axel, then I’ll give you some drills to practice off-ice so we can start gearing up for your double. Sound fair?”
“Sofair. The day I land a 2A will be the best day of my life!”
I spend the first thirty minutes watching Liv perform her single Axel multiple times. I stop and correct her form when necessary, giving her pointers to remember throughout the sequence:big movements.Deep knee bend.Speed, speed, speed. Satisfied with how the move looks, we rewind it back to an easier sequence, implementing a standstill waltz jump and single loop combo.
“Initiate the rotation,” I call out. “And hold your outside edge.” She responds well to the feedback, the next cycle smoother than the last. “Yup. Just like that, Liv.”
“That one felt really good.” She stops to yank off her gloves, and I nod in agreement. “Breaking it down into two moves helped my brain understand what it needed to do.”
“I’m so glad. That’s the point of the exercise. The double is hard. You’ll be in the air for almost half a second, so you need the height to clear the ice.”
“How old were you when you landed yours the first time?”
“Ten, maybe? All it took was one time, and I was hooked. I wanted to spend more time in the air.” I smile. “But we all learn at different paces. Getting comfortable with a move later in your career doesn’t mean you’re a bad skater. It’s better to spend more time on getting the fundamentals right instead of rushing to do a move incorrectly.”
“Dad always tells me to stay in my lane, but it’s hard to see girls younger than me doing more advanced moves.” Liv sighs. “I want that to be me.”
“When did you start skating?”
“I was skating by the time I was two. There are photos of me and Dad on the ice together. He’s holding me up under my arms. I barely come up to his shin. Doesn’t help that he’s a giant.” She giggles. “I started taking lessons and getting serious about learning when I was nine? Maybe?”
“Well, there you go. I bet those younger girls have been competing since they were eight on novice teams. You can’t compare yourself to them. Take it from me, Liv. Enjoy these moments of learning. The excitement you feel when you land a move for the first time? Gosh. That’s special. There’s nothing like it, and when it becomes part of your routine, it won’t mean as much to you. Soak it up now.”
“Wow.” Liv offers me a smile. “That’s a good way to look at it. Like, I won’t know it’s my last time practicing a move before I nail it until it’s over.”
“Don’t tell your dad I said this, but he’s right. The longer you stay in your lane, the more fun this is.” I remember how eager I was at her age. My determination to be the best junior skater in the world and the thousands of hours I put in just to end up here: dejected. Lost. Not in any lane at all. “And I want this to be fun for you for a very long time.”
