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Chandler smiled and said, “Maybe later.”
“You know that if you can land a quad in competition, you’d make the team as an individual, right?”
“That’s not necessarily true,” she replied.
“You’d have to put things together around it, but a quad was only landed for the first time in competition in 2022. It’s still, like, this mythical beast most skaters can’t conquer.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve only conquered it in practice and not consistently yet. I can land it once every four or so times when I focus on it every day. If you can land one consistently, and we could land them at the same time on the ice, that would really be something.”
Belle squinted her eyes at her.
“What?” Chandler asked.
“Why don’t you like to skate on your own anymore?”
“Because I prefer pairs.”
“No, that’s not it. You loved being a soloist. I’d know; I was there. I saw you skate.”
“I never loved it how you loved it.”
“Maybe not. But what happened?”
“I thought you followed my career.”
“I never said that.”
“You said you watch competitions.”
“Sometimes, not all the time. And not all of them had you in them. Besides, for a while there, I wanted nothing to do with figure skating. I’m sure you can imagine why that might be. I didn’t want anything having to do with ice. My mom was sick, and then, she was gone, and my dad needed me, so my life became about that for a while, too. He bought the Ice Park, and I got back out there then, but I didn’t start watching things again until I was maybe around twenty or so. Enough time had passed that I felt like I could watch someone else doing what I’d wanted to do.”
Chandler nodded and said, “Well, since it was at least partially my fault that it wasn’t you out there, I guess I owe you a story.” She skated over to the wall and leaned back against it, giving Belle a second to skate over and join her. “It was a regional, leading up to nationals,” she began. “I was still skating on my own. Cat was my coach, but just barely. My parents were in Europe and announced that they were planning to stay there permanently this time. I was hoping to make the team, as per usual. When I went out on the ice, for some reason, even though I’d skated a million times before and that routine specifically, I was more nervous than usual. Maybe ‘anxious’ is the right word here. The crowd really got to me. Normally, I could block them out and just focus on my music, but that night, I couldn’t. Someone whistled, and I heard that instead of my song. I mistimed my jump. That caused me to miss my landing, and my blade caught my leg.” Chandler bent down and lifted her leggings. “I cut into the muscle here. You can still see the scar a little.”
“Jesus,” Belle said before she got down on her knees, held herself in place, and dragged her fingers along the three-inch scar, making Chandler tremble a bit. “I didn’t know.”
“Yeah, well, I was on the ice, bleeding, and when I looked up, I saw Cat there just looking at me like I was this massive disappointment. It was clear that I couldn’t continue. This wasn’t a fall I was getting up from to finish the performance. There was actual blood on the ice. The medical team wasn’t exactly ready for that kind of fall, and I felt so alone out there. I was sitting on the ice in my red-white-and-blue costume, holding my leg to try to keep the blood inside my body. My sister didn’t rush out onto the ice to help me. My parents were gone. I didn’t have anyone. So, I stood up and skated on one leg mainly, leaving a blood trail on the ice, and when I got to the door, the med team was there and helped me the rest of the way. I went to the hospital. You can probably guess from there. Cat came with me, but she was on the phone with my parents instead of in the hospital room supporting me.”
Belle stood back up and said, “I’m sorry, Chandler.”
“Yeah, me too. I recovered physically, obviously. It took time, and for a while, I didn’t think I’d ever get back on the ice. When I did, I didn’t like it anymore. Not being by myself, anyway. The idea of pairs came up, and I tried it. It was better. I had someone else out here with me, so I stuck with it. It’s not what I initially planned, and I know it’s not what my mom wanted for me, either, but it’s the best I can do.”
“Chandler, do you really want this?”
“What? You here?”
“No, in general. Do you really want this in general? Skating?”
“Yes. Of course, I do. Skating is my whole life. I have no idea what I’m going to do when it’s time for me to retire. I guess I could join the Ice Capades or something and still skate. I wouldn’t be alone on the ice that way. I don’t know. I could coach. I think I might be a decent coach with all of my experience.”
“I’m sure you would be,” Belle said with a smile.
“You coach, don’t you?”
“Once a week. I had to put my classes on hold while I’m here, so I might have to start over with a new group when I get back since I referred the current kids to another coach, but it’s a lot of fun most weeks. I doubt any of them are ever going to make an Olympic Team, but they have a good time, and I get to watch them grow.”
“Do you want kids of your own someday?”
“Well, there’s a question.” Belle laughed.
