"When was the last time you skated?" he asks as he glides past me.
"Over fifteen years ago, back in Minnesota," I call after him, my voice echoing across the ice. "You're about to find out how much I remember... which is absolutely nothing."
Andy's laughter rings out, bright and clear, and a smile tugs at my lips despite feeling like an idiot wobbling on the ice. He glides back to me, the blades carving clean lines in the frozen surface, and hands me a stick before dropping the puck nearby.
"You'll remember. It'll come back fast," he says, his confidence in me almost irritating, yet somehow reassuring.
"We only have the rink for two hours," Malia points out, gesturing toward Tina who's clinging to the railing like a lifeline. "She needs to figure this out, or we won't be able to play."
"I'm falling every five seconds, dude! How am I supposed to play?" Tina yells before plopping onto the ice with an exaggerated groan that makes the frozen surface vibrate. "This sucks! And shut up, Dad."
I can't help laughing, earning a death glare from her that would make any lesser man wither. In my distraction, I nearly wipe out myself on the other side of the rink, my arms flailing wildly until I regain my balance.
Andy, meanwhile, is skating like a pro, his movements fluid and confident as he sends the puck sliding toward Malia.
My heart stops for a second.
He hit it harder than I thought he should, but Malia takes the pass like a champ, awkwardly but successfully sending it back across the rink with a thwack of her stick.
"Malia, where the hell did you learn to do this?" I shout, my voice filled with awe.
Somewhere behind her helmet and curtain of hair, I think I see her smile, a rare treasure these days. My heart soars. I haven't seen her smile like that in months, not since before the divorce, not since she started pulling away from me.
Andy had been right. The muscle memory comes back to me faster than I expect, my body remembering what my mind had forgotten.
After about fifteen minutes of standing on the sidelines, pretending I'm not ready to join the game, I finally jump in.
Skating feels natural again, like no time has passed. I move freely, smoothly, just like I used to as a kid growing up on frozen ponds in Minnesota. For the first time in a long time, I feel... light. Like the years that have passed since I'd last skated don't matter. Like falling wouldn't break me after all.
I don't tell Andy he'd been right, but I'm sure he can tell. I'm not great at hiding how much I'm enjoying myself, and he always sees right through me.
I catch his gaze on me a few times, and every time I meet those big blue eyes, I melt. He doesn't look away, and it's like he has a spell over me, keeping me grinning like a fool as we skate, the cold air stinging my cheeks in the most exhilarating way.
We play for the full two hours. Even Tina gets involved for a bit, eventually abandoning the game to skate around with her phone blasting music that echoes across the empty rink. It wasn't her thing, but she enjoys herself without complaining, and I'm proud of her for that, for trying something new even if it didn't become her passion.
Toward the end, I skate with Tina, helping her stay upright as we spin in slow circles, her laughter echoing across the rink like music. For a moment, everything feels perfect, like all the pieces of my fractured life have somehow clicked into place.
Her hair is the shortest she's ever worn it, her sleek black strands ending just below her chin, with short bangs framing thepiercing blue eyes she'd inherited from her mom. Malia's eyes, dark and rich like mine, are a constant reminder of how much she takes after me.
I'd been just as much of a pain in the ass to my parents at her age... maybe worse. After all, I'd gone and gotten married to my high school girlfriend right after graduation, thinking I knew everything about life and love.
Malia hasn't done anything nearly as reckless as I had back then. Yet.
As Tina and I twirl together on the ice, I can't help but see traces of my baby girl beneath the thick layers of makeup she wears. She's sixteen now, and with Malia's antics always stealing the spotlight, the fear that Tina feels forgotten gnaws at me, a persistent ache in my chest.
I let Tina spin out from my grasp, then blow her a kiss across the cold air. She catches it dramatically, her cheeks flushing a deep pink when Andy lets out a sharp, appreciative whistle.
She nearly loses her balance, then exaggerates her movements like she's performing for an audience, making fun of herself. She eats up the attention, her eyes bright with mischief.
I glare at Andy, though I can't suppress the grin that tugs at my lips. "What the hell are you doing?"
Malia snickers from across the rink.
"Don't be jealous," Andy says with a smirk that dances in his eyes. "You're pretty too."
"Can you not be lewd around my kids?"
Malia bursts into laughter, the sound echoing across the ice.
