“That’s what made us strong, Tabitha. And together, there’s no stopping us.”
~
To say it had been an eventful day would be an understatement. With the Gala Exhibition about to begin, Tabitha made one final check of her make-up and costume. The slinky black dress edged in scarlet lace was the sexiest thing she’d ever skated in. Her hair was down, not pinned up, and tumbled in loose waves around her shoulders. Her red lips and lined eyes were smoky and seductive.
Exactly what she had in mind for her figure skating swan song.
At the next mirror, Mia Lang glanced over. “Do you have any hair spray? I seem to have used all of mine.”
“Sure.” Tabitha dug through her bag and brought out a can. It took a lot of glue to keep everything in place. Mia misted her slicked down hair and bun, then handed the can back. Tabitha shook her head. “Keep it.”
“Thanks.” Mia dropped it into her skate bag and then slicked her lips in a strawberry shade. “Congratulations, on your engagement.”
“Thanks.” Tabitha’s gaze lingering on the ring that glittered on the third finger of her left hand. As beautiful as it was, Daniil’s words of love, and his faith in her, outshone everything else. “And congratulations to you on your move to LA. You’ll love working with Peter next season.”
That had been another of today’s surprises. At practice this afternoon, Peter, and Claudia had announced they planned to launch a power-house training group out of the Beverly Ice Arena. Its students would include Mia, Brett Stafford, and Antoinette Curtis.
“Your success and Brett’s gave me the second-wind I needed to stick around for a few more years,” he’d said.
Not only that, but he and Claudia had been planning this since St. Petersburg. He’d also confided that the “friend” he’d spent Christmas with had been Claudia. Tabitha was happy for Peter, but at the same time, bittersweet. He was moving onto a new life that wouldn’t include her.
“Working with him will be amazing,” Mia said. “I really admire what he helped you achieve, and you’re exactly the skater I want to be.”
Tabitha glanced at Mia’s blond hair, but took the comment in the sincere spirit in which it was given. “I think you’re on your way. But don’t be afraid to be who you are, either.”
The dressing room door opened, and Fiona and Samara came in. They had arrived late last week for the ladies’ event, a surprise arranged by Peter and Olga. It had meant the world to Tabitha that her mom and sister had watched her final competition, and that Fiona could meet Daniil. The ex-groupie had heartily approved.
“Honey, you look like a million bucks,” Fiona said, wrapping her arms around Tabitha. “I’m so proud of you; I might lose it right here and now. My little girl, all grown up, a gold medalist, and an engaged lady to boot.”
“That dress is pretty hot,” Samara said, then turned to Mia. “Hey, Peter tells me you’re moving to LA. You’re gonna love it. Best city in the world. Once you’re there, you’ll never want to leave.”
Mia furrowed her brow. “You’re not moving to Missouri with your mother?”
“Nope.” Samara rolled her eyes. “Thank God.”
“Hey, Missy. Don’t knock Missouri ‘til you’ve tried it.”
“No knocking. But while you’re off growing organic cilantro, I’ll be staying right where I am, learning to make movies. Who knows? I might make a documentary about figure skating. ‘True Confessions of an Ice Queen.’” She turned to Tabitha. “What do you think?”
“Does the Ice Queen wear a blue wig?”
“Will you be staying too, Tabitha?” Mia said.
It hurt to admit that Peter hadn’t invited her to be part of the training center though it shouldn’t have been a surprise. She’d been so adamant about wanting to leave LA and figure skating behind. True, she wouldn’t miss LA. She’d never loved the city the way Samara did. But figure skating was a different story. She’d been a skater most of her life. Now at the pinnacle of success, she was about to walk away. Going out on top was much harder than she thought. She forced a smile. “We’ll see.”
They left the dressing room and went to join the pre-show reception for the skaters, their families and some of the Games’ key corporate sponsors. Peter, Claudia, and Brett were being interviewed on the opposite side of the room. The president of Brinkman Breakfast Cereal was posing for a photo with his new athlete endorsers, newlywed ice dancers Mike and Jenny Palmer. The moment Mia walked in she was whisked away for photos by representatives of the Games’ official cell phone company. Tabitha was left behind with Fiona and Samara.
Even if she wasn’t ready to move on from skating, the skating world was ready to move on from its scandal-kissed gold medalist. She glanced around, hoping to spot Daniil in the crowd, but she knew he would be attending a similar reception for the Russian team. Then from across the room, she heard Misha’s voice. “There you are!”
Her soon-to-be-former choreographer approached. With him, was Olga. She gave Tabitha’s costume a critical eye and fingered a piece of lace that didn’t seem to want to lie properly. She stepped back and gave an approving nod. “Very nice,” she said.
Misha hugged Tabitha and congratulated her on her engagement. “Thank you,” she said, as the melancholy feeling returned. “I only wish he were here right now.”
Misha tilted his head and gave her a curious look. “Not having fun?”
“Oh sure. It’s been one of the most amazing days of my life. But it’s a little sad too. After so many years and so much work, it’s hard to believe this is over.”
Olga offered a rare smile. “You have every reason to be proud. Not just in your skating life, but for your honor and courage. We know that doing the right thing came with a steep cost.”
Tabitha shrugged. “Coming forward was the right thing to do, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. If Brinkman’s Breakfast Cereal doesn’t consider me wholesome enough to endorse their oat flakes, too bad for them.”
“But still you love skating, and aren’t ready to say goodbye,” said Misha.
“No,” Tabitha admitted.
“I see.” He and Olga exchanged glances, and she nodded. “Well, in that case, Olga and I want to make proposal.”
Samara nudged her. “Second one of the day, Sis. I’d say you’re doing pretty well for yourself.”
Misha smiled. “Actually, Daniil knows nothing about this yet, though I suspect he’ll like the idea. It’s this. Next season, would you like to come and work with me at the University of Delaware Training Center as my assistant choreographer?”
Tabitha gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. All this time that she’d been searching the far reaches of her mind for the perfect next step, the obvious one had been right in front of her. “Oh my gosh, Misha! Do you mean it?”
“Even if I can’t pay much, it will be a chance for you to explore this new passion of yours. But that’s just part of our idea.”
“Oh?” Tabitha couldn’t imagine how it could get any better.
Then Olga spoke. “Just as you are helping your sister, we want you to also have the chance to pursue an education. Even if it’s not pre-medicine at Harvard,” she said, with a subtle roll of her ice-blue eyes. “You will work near university. If you would like to enroll as student, I will be happy to cover the cost.”
Tabitha’s eyes flooded with tears. She’d always known Olga cared about her as a skater, but this was more than she’d ever expected. “Olga, I don’t know what to say. You’ve already done so much. Yes, yes. I want to learn to choreograph, and go school. Thank you both.” She turned to hug Misha, then Olga, too.
“You are most deserving, even if Brinkman’s Breakfast Cereal disagrees. Well done, my dear.”
An hour later, Tabitha’s thoughts and emotions were still reeling, as she waited rink side, watching her teammates and friends perform in the Games’ final skating exhibition. Brett’s tap-dance step sequences hadn’t put him on the podium, but they brought down the house. Mi
a gave a saucy performance to a Taylor Swift song. Daniil’s 1940s inspired program to “Zoot-Suit Riot” was also a crowd-pleaser. As he came off the ice, their eyes met, and he grinned, though he didn’t stop to talk. He only had a few minutes to change his costume.
When Tabitha took the ice as the Gala’s final skater, the audience applauded loudly, and chanted U-S-A. Out here, whatever tarnish she’d acquired made no difference. She skated to center ice, and struck a seductive pose, arms wrapped around her body.
Then came Jeff Beck’s bluesy guitar solo. As Joss Stone began to sing, Tabitha spun into her opening move.
There was something magical about skating under spotlights. It felt different from brightly lit competitive skating and for this dark, seductive program, it was perfect. She glided across the ice, casting a spell over the crowd, with bewitching moves and powerful jumps. The rush of cold air and the weightless feeling of a perfect take off were like nothing else. Her heart filled with joy, knowing that even if Grenoble was over, skating wasn’t.
The program was very much like the one she’d choreographed in Vancouver, but with one major difference. The first half of this program was all freestyle, with solo elements and jumps, but after the second guitar solo, a rise in the music ushered in something completely unexpected. Daniil, in black clothes and rock-star eyes, skated out to join her.
The crowd went wild.
They came together in hold and skated the dance sequence she’d taught him. He now led with confidence, their moves smooth and fluid as they leaned into deep and supremely sexy edges.
Skating with Daniil was as wonderful as she’d imagined it would be. Maybe it was because of how they’d come together as a couple, but every move he made affected her, and every move she made affected him. Exactly the way it was supposed to.
They separated for the twizzles, which could have been more in sync, but pleased the crowd anyway. They came out of the spins at center ice and circled one another; then came together in a passionate embrace. While in one way this was farewell, it was also a hint of marvelous things to come.
Over the thunder of applause, Tabitha heard the final lyric, and spoke it into Daniil’s ear.
“Because you’re mine.”
EPILOGUE
BZZZT! BZZZT!
At the sound of the doorbell, Tabitha looked up from the box of dishes she was unpacking. Daniil, Misha and Anton had left only a few minutes ago to fetch the bookcase and barstools the Zaikovs had offered for the new apartment. They couldn’t be back yet, but maybe Daniil forgot something. She buzzed them in.
“Oh my gosh, what a cute place!” said Carrie, as she and a young woman with curly dark brown hair, came through the open front door.
“Thank you!” Tabitha set aside a stack of plates and rushed forward to take the large potted plant from Carrie’s arms. One of the plant’s sharp pale green leaves poked her hand. “This is lovely, but really you shouldn’t have. I’m not too good with plants.”
“It’s a spider plant, they’ll live through anything,” Carrie said. “Mine has survived sunless Moscow winters and extended periods of neglect. Delaware’s nothin’.”
Tabitha placed the plant in the front window on the short wooden table she and Daniil had purchased yesterday. The flea market Amy and Misha suggested had led to a few choice finds—-this table and the 1960’s sunburst clock that Carrie’s friend was admiring.
The woman turned and smiled. “Hi, I’m Hannah. My husband and I are friends of Carrie and Anton’s, and we drove down from New York for the weekend. I hope you don’t mind us crashing your moving day.”
“Not at all,” Tabitha said. Hannah looked like a New Yorker, in chic, artsy clothes that made her stand out in this jeans-and-t-shirt college town. “Were you a skater?”
“No, I work in publishing, but my husband Vladimir was a long time ago.”
“I’m sure they’ve recruited him to help move furniture,” Tabitha said, then turned to Carrie. “Did Amy come with you?”
“I’m right here.” She came in carrying her infant daughter; three-year-old Eli was close behind. Misha’s wife worked as an athletic trainer at the figure skating training center and had been an enormous help as Tabitha and Daniil searched for their first apartment. “The guys have loaded up the furniture and stopped to pick up some pizzas.”
“Sounds good, I’m absolutely starved,” Tabitha said. “One thing I’m enjoying about no longer being a competitive figure skater is being able to eat what I want.” She pressed in on her thighs. “Then again, I’d better watch it, or else I won’t fit into my wedding dress.”
Hannah laughed. “You sound just like my mom. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Are you having a big wedding?”
“No, just my family and some close friends. Between starting school, and a new job, plus Daniil’s skating season, there wasn’t time to plan anything elaborate.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” said Carrie. “Still, I can’t believe you pulled it together so quickly.”
Tabitha couldn’t believe it either. The months that followed Grenoble had been a whirlwind that included a stint as a guest judge on a TV talent contest, and then a three month tour with Champions on Ice. Performing had turned out to be a lot more fun than she’d realized. Though when the tour came to a close, she was happy to get off the road, she was thrilled to be invited back for next year.
But it had meant most of the wedding plans fell to Fiona, who’d offered to hold the wedding in her barn. Several of Tabitha’s aunts were helping with food, and decorating, while Fiona’s new boyfriend’s bluegrass band would provide the music. Samara, though busy with school, had created a video invitation, and was the maid of honor. Ruslan was standing as Daniil’s best man.
Amy spread a blanket down in an empty corner and set the baby on it. Little blond Eli wandered among the empty boxes in Tabitha’s living room, peeking into several. “Kitty?”
“No buddy, Miss Tabitha doesn’t have a kitty. At least not yet.”
“But I have a plant,” Tabitha said. “We’ll see how things go with that.”
The downstairs door opened, and the stairwell echoed with men’s laughter and the heavy bump of furniture being hauled up the stairs. Amy moved her son away from the door. “Eli stand back and make room for Daddy and his friends.”
Daniil was shouting. “Vlevo, vlevo zanosi! Net, vlevo!”
Then Anton. “Zastrialo! A, blyad, koleno!”
Carrie winced.
Tabitha dashed to open the door wider as Anton and Daniil came through with a large bookcase balanced between them. Misha and a handsome dark-haired man followed, each with a barstool. Ilya was last, carrying three boxes from the pizzeria down the street.
“Over there, against the wall.” Tabitha directed traffic from the center of the room. Daniil and Anton positioned the book case. Misha and Hannah’s husband Vladimir, set the barstools by the kitchen island, and then helped roll out the large rug. Chairs and a small sofa were pushed into place. Tabitha brought out napkins and a corkscrew to open the wine they’d brought.
They sat down to eat, and conversation jumped from Vladimir’s soon to release novel, to Hannah’s promotion, to the upcoming skating season, to Tabitha’s classes. Though she wouldn’t need to choose a major right away, she’d been thinking about sports psychology. It seemed like an excellent fit.
Things at the center were going well too. Their newest choreography client, Brett, would be here next week to put the final touches on his programs. Sergei would drop in to see him before he had to report for training camp with the Chicago Blackhawks. “Pretty cool that he signed with a pro team here,” Daniil said.
“I know Brett’s pretty happy about it. Even if they’re in different cities, at least they’re on the same continent.”
“That’s a very good thing,” Daniil said.
After everyone left, she and Daniil looked around at the still-messy, but promising apartment. It was larger than the last place she’d lived in
LA and she loved the sunny front room, and the little balcony with enough room for two chairs.
It was the perfect place to begin their life together.
Daniil put his arm around Tabitha. “I love it. This is our first home. Nothing luxurious, just a place to come back to and be with the woman I love.”
“I’ll miss you while you’re off competing.”
“You’ll be so busy once classes start, the time will go like that,” he snapped his fingers. “And with Anton and Carrie trying to do more coaching here, I’ll be home more in the off season too.”
They went into the bedroom which was the one room they’d completely finished unpacking. The clothes were in the closet, pictures, including Samara’s rink trash collage, were on the wall. The new mattress had plenty of bounce.
Tabitha dropped her head and rolled her neck to loosen the stiffness. Daniil gripped her shoulders and kneaded the aching muscles in her upper back. As her tightness relaxed, she groaned deep in her throat. “Mmmmm. That feels good.”
He pushed aside her pony tail and kissed the nape of her neck. “You feel good. Have I mentioned how much I like your curly dishwater hair?”
She chuckled. “That’s fortunate, because blond up-keep is beyond my college student budget.” She spread her hands and inspected her stubby, bare nails worn down from two days of cleaning and unpacking. “No manicures, either. Tabitha Turner is no more.”
“That’s not true. The real Tabitha, the one I can’t wait to marry is standing right here. And you’re the sexiest woman alive, no matter what color your hair is.”
She turned in his arms and looked up at his handsome face; his cheeks were shadowed with his beard as he hadn’t shaved today. The liner around his eyes was more smeary than usual. “And it drives me wild to hear you say it.” She kissed him, and as tired as she was, she felt a stir of desire. “Even if we’re both a mess.”
His hands rested on her waist. “That’s easy enough to solve.”
He looped one finger through hers and guided her into the bathroom which still smelled of cleaner. The black and white octagonal tile floor was cool on her feet. Daniil pulled off his t-shirt, and then hers. He turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature.
Shining Through Page 24