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“What do you think you’re going to do?” Shelley asked after Valerie finished filling her in, and the other woman shook her head.
“I have no idea,” she answered honestly. “I mean, it’s crazy, right? Thinking of uprooting my entire life and moving to an entirely different state just because I met a guy. That’s the kind of stuff that only happens….”
“In movies?” Shelley asked, raising her eyebrow, and giving Valerie a pointed look.
The actress blushed. “Well, yeah. Who hears about this kind of stuff happening in real life?”
Shelley laughed, shaking her head. “It happens more often than you’d think. Just talk to everyone around town. Snowy Pine Ridge is magic, and it tends to bring people together in the strangest ways.”
“I really like him, Shelley,” she admitted, worry clouding her light brown eyes.
“I can tell that you do. And he likes you too. That’s clear enough. And the beautiful thing is that you don’t have to decide right now. You aren’t leaving tomorrow. There’s still time.”
Valerie nodded, her eyes turning pensive, and Shelley was sure she was turning over all her options in her mind. Movement at the far side of the rink caught her eye, and she spotted Rudolph coming out of his office.
He’d told her yesterday that he’d talked to Valerie the other night, but he hadn’t given her much detail. Shelley got the urge to ask Valerie about it, to see if anything happened that was actually worth mentioning. But she figured that if it had been noteworthy, she would have heard more about it by now.
Rudolph Hutchins tended to play things close to the chest, but she couldn’t imagine him not telling her the full story if he’d come clean about his past relationship to Valerie’s mother. He still hadn’t told her if he planned to give Valerie the full truth or not, despite the fact that Shelley had made it vehemently clear that she thought he should.
The door to the rink was pulled open, letting a blast of frigid air to blow through as the first kid that would be performing in the showcase arrived. It was an eight-year-old girl named Candace, and her eyes went wide the moment they landed on Valerie.
“Looks like we’re on,” Shelley said, giving the other woman a wink.
She noticed that Valerie still looked hesitant, her gaze distant and clouded, and her brows creased with worry for the woman Shelley now considered a friend.
“Hey,” she said gently, low enough so that Candace wouldn’t overhear as she snapped Valerie out of her own thoughts. “It’s all going to work out exactly like it’s intended to. And while I may not be able to tell you what to do, I can tell you that you can trust yourself to make the right decision for yourself. Take the time you need, weigh your options, and listen to your heart. That’s all you can do.”
Valerie’s eyes clouded over with something that resembled gratitude before shaking her head as if to clear her emotions away.
“Thank you,” she whispered, just as she turned to face Candace who was approaching shyly, plastering a beaming smile on her face. “And who might you be?”
Just like that, Shelley and Valerie were caught up in a whirlwind of kids showing up, parents asking questions, and final preparations for the showcase. Shelley wished that she had more time to talk to Valerie, but it would have to wait until after the showcase. She just hoped that nothing too crazy would happen before then.
* * *
Valerie stood at the edge of the rink, watching as the small bodies of the skaters zoomed around the ice in perfect succession. She was in awe of their grace, especially when all of them were still at such a young age. The oldest kid in the showcase that evening was fifteen, and she was finding it quite hard to believe that anyone could possess that much talent so young—let alone enough children to pull off an entire performance.
She glanced behind her, seeing Rudolph Hutchins standing only a few feet away, absorbed as he watched the kids perform. She’d tried talking to him earlier, asking if he was excited for the show and if he’d had any hand in training and choreographing the routines, but he’d barely grunted out a response, shifting awkwardly on his feet before all but running away to work the concession stand.
Valerie had wondered if somehow, in the brief interaction they’d had at the restaurant, she’d done something to offend him. But she didn’t see how that could be true. Not when she’d only spoken a handful of words to him at most.
She recalled Clark’s words about the man, telling her that he was often very grumpy and to not take anything too personally when it came to him. And, while Valerie might be used to some of the shadiness and cattiness that took place in Hollywood, for some reason what was happening with Rudolph felt a bit more personal. She just couldn’t put her finger on why.
The performance on the ice ended, and then Shelley skated out, holding a microphone high while she began the intermission. Valerie’s own heart was beating wildly as she waited for her cue to walk out, going over the short speech she had prepared over and over again. She didn’t know why, but she found herself more nervous for this than she ever had been for anything else, including award shows, talk shows, and huge auditions.
“…and with all of that in mind,” Shelley called out, her voice ringing out loud and clear through the speakers that were scattered around the space. “Please give a massive round of applause for none other than Valerie Bernard, star of the movieLove in Bloom, which our showcase tonight was inspired by!”
Valerie took one final, quick breath before walking out onto the ice. They’d talked briefly about having her skate out onto the ice, but she hadn’t been able to get the hang of it. So she walked delicately to the center as she heard Rudolph readying the Zamboni for when she was done.
“Thank you, Shelley,” Valerie said, taking the mic from her friend as she reached the center of the ice and then looking out at the crowd. “And thank you, Snowy Pine Ridge, for your huge welcome and your hospitality during my stay here!”
She scanned the seats as she talked, eyes almost immediately finding Clark who was sitting front and center. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him beaming at her from behind the protective glass, and she felt a swell of joy as she continued with her speech.
She had practiced for hours the night before, going over it again and again until she got it just right. It was no different than reciting lines, and all those years of honing her acting skills came into play now.
She talked about Snowy Pine Ridge, and why she chose here as her place of retreat, weaving in the story of her mother and how she used to tell her about the magic of the town, especially at Christmastime. Valerie talked about how, as she grew older and her mother grew sick and would still talk about this place, about the love she had for it and for the people here, she began to think that maybe time had caused her mother’s memory to make it too fantastical, because the way her mother described it was too perfect to be believed. But then, she got here, and it turned out, her mother had been right.
By the time she ended her speech, tears were pricking at the corners of her eyes as she thought of her mother and of the memories she made here. The crowd stood, giving her a standing ovation as she thanked them and then handed the microphone back to Shelley.
