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“Shit. Sorry.” She skated to her spot.
“Now, let’s run it,” Catalina ordered.
They looked at each other, and Chandler’s tired eyes had Belle questioning the trip to the doughnut place. They skated into their first combination, which was a Half Loop followed by a Salchow. Belle landed both of hers and reached out for Chandler’s hand, but it wasn’t where it was supposed to be, so she slowed a little and found it, grabbing her hand and holding on to her tightly as they ramped up their speed around the ice.
“Off! You’re off, Chandler!” Catalina yelled.
“We’re okay,” Belle muttered to her. “Ready?”
“Yeah,” Chandler said.
Belle pulled her around, and they faced each other now. She gave Chandler a little smile and moved her hands to Chandler’s waist. As Belle prepared to lift her, though, Chandler slowed too much, and they almost ran into one another instead of moving into a graceful lift that would have seen Belle holding her in the air for several seconds.
“Come on, Belle!” Catalina yelled.
Chandler pulled out of the move completely, leaving Belle to skate off until she could stop.
“What the hell was that?” Catalina continued, though. “The hands were off again, and you were moving too fast. Chandler couldn’t get there.”
“No, she was going at the right speed. I was too slow. I needed to slow down out of the turn,” Chandler argued.
“If you needed to slow down, Belle was going too fast. And your hands need to be on her hips quicker than that. You don’t have enough time to complete the lift and go into the spin if you–”
“Cat!” Chandler yelled this time.
Belle’s eyes widened at the sound reverberating around the open room, which was essentially an echo chamber.
“Enough! It was my fault. I wasn’t there when she needed my hand, and that made us off for the lift. Belle was going at the right speed. I should be able to keep up. She has the timing. I don’t. So, back off. She’s doing it right. I’m the fuckup.”
“Do we need to slow the routine down for you, Chandler? So that you can keep up with someone who hasn’t skated competitively in over a decade,” Catalina asked.
“Hey!” Belle said and moved to skate toward Catalina.
Chandler held out her arm, and Belle stopped in place.
“I think we’re done for the day,” Chandler stated.
“It’s still morning. We’re hardly done for the day.”
“Well, we’re taking a break, at least, then. I could use a stretch and maybe some bands in the gym or something,” Chandler said. “Belle?”
“Yeah, whatever you need,” Belle replied, glaring at Catalina.
“Great. I’m going to get a drink, change, and meet you in there. I need some fresh air first.”
Chandler skated to the edge, got off the ice, and changed out of her skates. Belle just stood there on her skates, staring at Catalina, who watched her sister head outside a minute later.
“Slow down for her.”
“Sorry?” Belle asked.
“Slow down. You’re faster than she is on the ice.”
“She’s fine,” Belle said.
“No, she’s not. I might change the music. I don’t know. Maybe we’ll remove one of the lifts. I think it’s too hard for her.”
“It’s not too hard for her, Cat. She’s fine. She’s having a bad day. So am I, for that matter. It happens to everyone. You need to give her a break.”
