Morning, sweetheart. I’m consulting today for the upcoming standardized tests in the junior high after the break. Why don’t you call Zander and offer to show him around town?
Although Sue is retired from teaching, she still works occasionally on projects for the school board. Calling Zander sounds scary, though. What in the world am I going to talk to him about all day? He is pretty good at making conversation, but it’s still weird; we’ve never spent time alone before. I know that’s going to happen when we move, but still…I’m interrupted from my musing by my new phone ringing. Picking it up from under Sue’s note, I see it’s Zander. “Hello?”
“Hi Summer, it’s Zander. I hope I didn’t wake you?”
“Hi. No, I’m awake.”
“Sue told me she was working today, so I was wondering if you would go skating with me? There’s an ice rink next door to the hotel.”
“Oh, um, okay. I’ll have to root around to find my old skates. I believe they're in the front hall closet.” At least this way, I don’t have to come up with something to do.
“Great! Just to warn you, I’ll also be needing lessons from you. I’ve never skated before, so please go easy on me.”
He wants me to teach him? Oh man. “It’s been a while since I’ve skated, so I don’t know how much help I’ll be to you.”
“That’s okay. You’ll be better than me at least. Pick you up in an hour?”
“See you then.” Well, I guess I’m going skating. I take a shower and dress warmly. My skates are where I thought they were. Sue bought them for me shortly after I moved in. She wanted me to go skating with her on the weekends, and I went once, but I wasn’t mentally in a place to enjoy it. She eventually stopped asking me and just stored the skates in the closet in case I ever changed my mind. I try them on to make sure they still fit and, luckily, they do. There’s another note from Sue on the fridge letting me know she cooked a quiche, but I’m too nervous to eat that this morning. I grab some toast and mint tea instead. As I’m washing up the dishes, there’s a knock on the door. I open it up and let Zander in.
“Hi Summer,” he says with a big smile.
“Hi. I’m just finishing up my dishes. I’ll just be a minute.”
“No worries, take your time.” He waves me off, looking around the room.
I dry my plate and mug, then grab my hat, jacket, gloves, and skates. “I’m ready.” I lock the door, and we leave. Zander opens the passenger door for me with a flourish. “Your chariot, my lady.”
I grin as I hop into the seat. It takes about 15 minutes to get back to the hotel, where Zander parks in the guest parking lot. “It’s only a five minute walk to the rink from here. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” I don’t feel as awkward as I did yesterday, thank goodness. A little nervous, but nothing unmanageable.
As we walk towards the rink, Zander takes a wool hat out of his pocket and pulls it on over his head, then re-wraps the scarf around his neck and ties it in a knot. Then he puts gloves on and tucks the cuffs into his coat sleeves. He’s got thick jeans on too. From the cuffs he rolled up over his boots, they're flannel lined.Come on, Summer, talk to the man,I tell myself.“I’m surprised you asked me to go skating today,” I say.
“Why is that?” He questions.
I motion to his outfit. “Well, you’ve mentioned you don’t like the cold, and you’re bundled up like we’re heading to the Arctic Circle instead of just the outdoor rink.”
He laughs. “You got me there. Last night, I went out and got these cool jeans with flannel inside, ski gloves, and a wool cap. It should prevent frostbite for a few hours. I’ve got a fireplace in my room to warm up afterwards too. Besides, I’ve never skated before, and I enjoy trying new things when I have the opportunity.”
Zander pays for an hour skate for both of us, and I head for the benches while he goes to rent some skates. This rink has been here for as long as I can remember. It’s a bit worn now, with flaking red paint on the oval wall that surrounds the ice. You can still make out the local sponsors who contributed to its build, but they’re very faded now. Each long side of the rink has several benches available to sit and put on your skates, as well as rubber mats to walk across to get on the ice. The rink still offers skating, figure skating, and hockey lessons, though most now prefer the newer indoor rink. I’m lacing up when a pair of hockey skates drop to the ground beside me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Shit. Hockey skates. Jake.
“Hey Summer, are you okay?” Zander asks.
“Yup, just give me a minute.” I take a few slow, deep breaths. Of course there’s hockey skates here. I didn’t even think when Zander invited me. Sue and I both use figure skates, so I never thought about the fact that he’d need hockey skates. I open my eyesand look at Zander’s worried face. “Sorry. Never thought about the hockey skates. I’m fine now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jake played hockey. Your skates just shocked me for a minute. It’s fine.” I attempt an easygoing smile to ease his worries, but I don’t think it worked.
“I’m sorry, Summer. Mal mentioned he was a hockey player, but I didn’t think about the connection. We can leave and do something else?”
“No, I’m fine, really. I just wasn’t thinking. I’m around hockey players at school all the time. It just surprised me for a minute.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” I finish lacing up my skates and stand to wiggle my feet a bit, getting used to the feel of them again. I check on Zander, who’s already got his skates on and laced up. He quickly stands and wobbles forward.
“Ah, you might want to re-lace those.” I put my hand up to stop him. “They need to be tighter near the top, or you’ll roll your ankle. Notice how my laces are wrapped around the back of my skates and tied off? Try that.”
