Liv must hear the bite of pain under my wish for her, because she gives me a soft smile. An easy hug, and I’m not sure the thrill of winning any of my medals beats my reaction to seeing her land her single Axel so perfectly, my mouth drops open.
“Liv!” I jump up and down, giving her a high-five after another successful execution of the move. She shrieks with delight. “Yes, kiddo. Spectacular!”
“It’s never felt so easy before. Hang on. I need to do it again so I know it’s not a fluke.”
I know it’s not a fluke, but I nod. I quiet down and watch her nail it ten more times, so fucking proud I couldburst.
When we wrap up for the afternoon, she’s beaming. I am too, my adrenaline pumping like I’m at the World Championships.
“What a transformation. See what happens when you think about each step of the process?” I say, pushing my sleeve up my arm so she can see my goosebumps. “I got chills watching that.”
“Why do I want to cry?” Liv fans her face and laughs. “I just love skating so much, and it makes me happy when I do something that I’m proud of.”
“You deserve to be proud. You’re working so hard, and after the holidays, we can start talking about your choreography for the Potomac Memorial. And, if you’re up for it, we can take a look at some smaller local competitions you might want to enter.”
“I didn’t need motivation to work hard, but you just gave me some. Speaking of competitions, who do you think is going to win Skate America? IloveTierney Paige. She’s so majestic.”
“Tierney is my best friend!” I smile when Liv screeches. “I’ll see if she can stop by one of these days to say hi.”
“I woulddie.”
“I hope you’re not planning on dying anytime soon,” Brody says, and Liv and I turn our heads in his direction. He’s in gray sweatpants today, the material loose on his hips and paired with a plain long-sleeved white shirt with the word STARS across his chest. Another backward hat, the ends of his hair sticking out by his ears. “I’d miss you.”
“Hey, Dad. I’m just talking about figure skating royalty who Hannahknows. Like, in real life. Oh! My single Axel got so much better today. Do you want to see?” Liv asks.
“Of course I do.” He shuffles to the players’ bench and hops on the boards, legs dangling when he sits down. He blinks, looking our way, and I move so Liv can be the star. “The Olympics are on the horizon.”
“I have a long way to go before that.” She laughs and shakes out her arms and legs, getting loose. “Give me a second. I want to get this right.”
“She’s going to get it right,” I say to Brody, leaning against the boards next to him. “Your daughter is very talented.”
“Don’t know where she gets it from. Her mother isn’t coordinated, and the only skills I have on the ice are hitting a puck and ramming guys into the glass with my shoulders.”
“Weird. That’s what we spent this afternoon doing.”
He smirks. “Sorry she was late today. That’s on me. I had a meeting with a player that ran over. Liv is always my top priority, but it felt wrong to cut him off when he was talking to me about something personal.”
“No worries. We had a great lesson and?—”
“Okay, I’m ready.” Liv inhales a deep breath and takes off, skating into the jump with speed. From the forward outside edge of her foot, she bends her left knee, lifting her right knee up. A rotation and a half later, she lands backward on her right foot, arms raised in the air. “Badabing, motherfucker!”
“Olivia Elliot Saunders,” Brody hisses. “What have we talked about with the language?”
“I’m so proud of you, Liv,” I say, shutting Brody out. “Way to implement what we worked on today. That was exactly how it should look.”
“All thanks to you.” She smiles from ear to ear and skates toward us, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes. “This was a great day.”
“Agreed.” I grin. “Are you guys heading out?”
“Yup. Someone has an English test to study for, and it isn’t me. Shakespeare was never my friend.” Brody climbs over the boards, picking up Liv’s backpack from the bench. “Time to clear out, Mini-Me.”
“Before we go, can we do something fun?” There’s a conspiring look in Liv’s eyes, and she gives me an innocent smile. “I think you two should race.”
“No.” He frowns. “Not a good idea.”
“Is it because Hannah would obviously beat you?” She blows out a dramatic exhale. “I thought so too.”
“For the record, I didn’t pay her to say that,” I say.
