We’d all get bundled up in as much snow gear as we possibly could before heading out because outdoor skating was a different beast– you could easily get frostbite and not even realize it when you were having fun out there. However, the Callahan house was always prepped with a full box of nice hand-warmers– the kinds that moms usually bought from Costco. I never had those growing up. To make the set-up even better, Mr. Callahan spent one of his free days from work rigging up some construction lights outside to give us a spotlight, and he even bought a waterproof boombox so we could play some jams. It was honestly awesome.
After lacing up our skates while sitting on the snowbank at the edge of the rink, we’d all mess around and goofily dance on the ice. We’d score and then do over-the-top cellys to make each other laugh.
When we did finally start up a game, we usually had pretty even teams when it was me and Duke versus Nick and Sav.
Where Nick definitely treated Duke like a little brother– fake checking him and pushing him into the snowbank every once in a while– I treated him more like a teammate. He was actually pretty solid to play with and he had a hell of a lot of talent for only being a squirt player. What he was missing in speed compared to us– because again, he was still a little guy– he made up for in strategy. The two of us played well together, almost as well as Nick and I. Duke had that special sense that all talented guys had- like he knew where to be to grab an openpass.
On the other hand, Sav kind of killed her speed advantage with her stone hands. I couldn’t help but laugh every time she struggled to keep the puck on her stick when she “stickhandled” past us. You could tell all her energy on the ice was more focused on grace because she skated pretty even while holding a stick.
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After our last home game of the month, Nick and I both hopped in my truck to rush to Sav’s competition at the DeLux rink about forty-five minutes from us.
Figure skating was set up much differently than hockey. With hockey, we had games every single week and weekend through our season, so it wasn’t a big deal to miss a game– you could always make it to another. With figure skating, skaters usually only competed about once a month… but with Sav’s hate for competitions, she compromised with her coach to only hit about five or six competitions per year before Regionals, which was how skaters eventually went on to Sectionals and then Nationals if they kept placing in the top four. Unfortunately for Sav, she’d placed fifth at Regionals the past two years…
With all that being said, we did not want to be late and miss her program and possibly one of the only chances we’d get to see her compete. Come next fall, who knew where Nick and I would end up. Neither of us addressed this as we sped our way to the other rink, but we both knew it.
When we finally parked, both of us got out and ran into the rink. We bolted straight to the stands to see her on the ice with about five other girls warming up.
And lemme tell ya– figure skating was a completely different world than hockey.
Fans in the bleachers were not cheering. The vibe wasn’t like ‘woo, go team’. It was all serious and completely silent. Not one of the girls out there warming up was smiling. They practically looked like graceful robots.
My eyes darted around the bleachers trying to spot Sav’s family, and a waving Duke finally caught my attention.
When the warm-up ended, we silently shuffled down to sit by them. Duke gave both of us knuckle punches, and Mr. and Mrs. Callahan waved and smiled warmly at us.
When Sav stepped back onto the ice, she waited by Victoria who was leaning over the boards talking to her. Sav’s shoulders were scrunched up and it looked like she was slightly shaking. I kinda wished I could run down, throw her over my shoulder and run her away from this nerve-wracking situation… but I knew that was probably ridiculous.
She just looked so much smaller than usual. She normally wore leggings and multiple top layers on the ice, and then she’d shed them as she powered through practice. Today, she only wore tights and a small, sparkly, red dress. She must’ve been freezing. Another noticeable difference was that her hair, which was usually messy and practically falling out of its ponytail, was smoothed into a low, sleek bun. All in all, she looked like a delicate, ice princess.
She lifted her arms in the air when the announcer’s voice boomed, “Please welcome… Savannah Callahan, of the Ice League Figure Skating Club.”
This was the one and only time it seemed we were allowed to cheer for her, and both Nick and I jumped to our feet and hollered. A split second later, Duke joined us. I think he took us being all loud as permission to cheer obnoxiously for her as well.
She didn’t look at us, but I could see a small smile etched on her face as she glided across the ice to her starting position.
From the time she started her program to the time she stopped, I don’t think any of us breathed because we were all so nervous for her. Each time she set up to do a jump, I could feel Nick lifting off his seat an inch or two. But she was able to nail each spin and each jump perfectly.
When her music finally ended, she put her arms up in triumph with a bright smile aimed directly at us, and we went wild cheering for her.
Victoria cut us an angry look from where she stood by the board’s door, but we didn’t care. Our girl killed it.
After her skate, we waited in the rink lobby with her family. She was somewhere downstairs having a post-competition pow-wow with Victoria.
“She was tied for second with a girl from Michigan after the short program,” Mrs. Callahan explained. The short program result was totalled with the long programs to give the final placement. “But that might’ve just boosted her ahead,” she said excitedly with crossed fingers.
Mrs. Callahan was tiny, just like her daughter. She was definitely the kind of mom who would give birth to a figure skater. Looking at both Sav’s parents, it was obvious that Sav got most of her mom’s genes. She had the same color hair, kind eyes, and warmth as Sav. All in all, she was like a TV mom– the kind that people wished they had.
When Sav rushed toward us for hugs, we all applauded, and her face turned almost the same shade as her dress. Seeing her up close now, it was obvious that she had way heavier makeup on than usual, making her look… different. Her eyes looked way more dramatic… but I missed seeing her freckles. It didn’t make sense to me why girls covered those up.
We all slowly made our way to the downstairs of the rink where the results would be posted, and that was weird too.
With hockey, we knew the results of the game straight away. There was no third party– aka old geezer judges– making decisions. It was also different in the way the skaters reacted. With hockey, as soon as the final buzzer went off after a big victory, everyone usually tossed up their gloves and yelled out in celebration… But here, as soon as the results sheet was posted, all the girls, including Sav, swarmed around to see, and no one made a single peep.
It was so silent you could hear a pin drop, and no one showed even an iota of emotion. They walked up, looked, accepted, and left. No cheers, no tears.
We all had our eyes on Sav, trying to measure her face. As she walked toward Victoria– who was decked out in a fur coat for the occasion– she gave us a hint of a bubbly smile.
