I had to, otherwise the big hopeful feelings threatened to take over. We’d been honoring our agreement to keep our distance, which wasn’t easy. I’d texted him a few photos of our accommodations right after we’d arrived and gotten a thumbs-up emoji in response, a terse reminder that I needed to stay focused.
“Right this way,” the tracksuit lady chirped at us.
Erica the rule follower flipped her hand at us and gave us a mom-glare as she speed-walked behind the woman.
And so our whirlwind day of gifting began. By the time we got to our final stop with Ralph Lauren it felt like we needed assistants to cart around the wheelie bags filled with merch.
Noor, the Ralph Lauren stylist assigned to me, led me to a dressing room that had all the elements of my opening and closing outfits displayed on a white table in front of a mirror with the words “Team Albright” projected onto it.
I paused as tears filled my eyes. I was embarrassed that something so simple could make me feel emotional. But it was a reminder that I was back, and Team Albright had a second chance to come in first.
“Let’s start with your opening-ceremony look,” Noor said as she pointed to the smart blazer. “Get suited up and I’ll help you with the tie.”
She left the dressing room, and I snapped a quick photo of my reflection next to my name and sent it to Mel. She’d been taking care of my social media accounts, and the image would be a great kickoff for my time in Milan.
The opening ceremony look was quintessentially Ralph Lauren. The fitted navy blazer had a red, white, and blue accent ribbon running down the top of both sleeves, the polo player logo embroidered on the left chest, and a round Olympics patch on the right. It went over a crisp white shirt, and was paired with dark-wash jeans. The coolest part of the outfit was the red tie that made it look like a private school uniform.
Noor came back into the dressing room and helped me with the tie, and when I turned around to look at myself in the mirror I teared up again.
“You look amazing,” Noor said as she fussed with the lapels. She moved in front of me and clasped my arms. “I watched your episode onThe Score. It was incredible. You’vegotthis.”
I’d been hearing the sentiment quite a bit since it aired. What a gift Ben had given me—a chance to set the stage for my triumph to come.
“Thank you,” I smiled at her.
I could hear Kayla and Erica squealing before I walked out of the dressing room.
“Ohmigah we looksogood,” Kayla exclaimed when she saw me.
“Selfie!” Erica held up her phone.
We clustered together while she took the photo as our three stylists watched us like proud parents.
A woman with an official-looking camera walked over to us. “Hi there, I’m with Getty Images. Can we get a couple of shots with you ladies by the logos?”
We followed her to the wall with the Olympic and Ralph Lauren logos and posed beside them. A few other people gathered to take photos as well.
The three of us leaned into the paparazzi vibes, because yeah, we’d earned this moment.
Chapter Thirty-Three
I’d only been on the ice for two minutes and I already had complaints. I skated over to where Mel was watching me and the rest of my competition practicing. She’d arrived late the night before and our reunion had been half tearful, half giddy.
It was my second Olympics, but I had to remember that Mel was a part of it for the first time. Being here was a big deal for both of us in different ways. If I medaled—no,whenI medaled—Mel’s star would rise as well. Her calendar would fill up with elite students, she’d be in the running for various coaching awards, and she could even attract her own sponsors.
So many people stood to benefit from my win. I needed to be perfect, but the current scenario under my skates wasn’t helping.
“This is hockey ice,” I frowned at her, tapping my toe pick against it for emphasis. “It’s too hard.”
The repurposed rink had been upgraded for all the Olympic figure skating and speed skating events. The ice was regulation-size but the seating area around it was bigger than most of the ones I competed in, and tricked out for the Games with new flagsof every country flying from the rafters. Hockey was in a different rink entirely, so I wasn’t sure why the ice was even an issue.
Mel nodded tersely, watching the other skaters. “Ingrid just told me. Pretty major oversight, but we’re a week early. Hiccups happen, even here. We’ve already escalated it and we were told it was being addressed. Just watch the timing of your jumps for today, okay? It’s not the first time we’ve had to compensate. Although Frank would never allow this kind of mistake.”
We both went quiet as we watched Ayumi do a perfect quad flip despite the shitty ice. As always, she was flawless.
“Fuck,” Mel said under her breath.
“Exactly,” I agreed.
