by Ann Alma
“Your mother and I want you to help us decide something,” Father said.
Mother reached out and took Father’s hand. “Your father would like to stay here. I often think about going back to Germany, now that the borders are open and East and West Germany will be one free country again. We want to stay together, but we can’t agree on where to live. What would you like?”
“Me?” She paused and weighed what she liked better about her new home: Trish was her best friend, school was easier now, Mr. Walters was friendly and easy going and she loved Uncle Fritz and Aunt Beth. Finally she asked, “Can I keep on skating?”
“Does it really mean that much to you?” Father asked.
“Yes, when I’m skating I like Canada, I can speak English, everything is better.”
“But do you have enough time for your studies?”
“Karl, she needs more than just school. She learns a lot at the arena. Her friends are there,” Mother said.
“I guess in that case you can keep going, this year anyway,” Father said, smiling at her.
“Then I want to stay,” she said, looking from one to the other.
“Then we’ll all stay,” Mother said.
“Are you sure, Eva?”
“Yes. You both want it.”
“Do you think Oma will move here?” Josie asked.
“We’ll start saving for her flight,” Father said.
On their way back from the outing Father dropped Josie off at the arena for her dry land session. She was late: the others were in the middle of practicing their jumps and stretches.
“Josie, I’m glad you’re here. Warm up,” Monica said.
Trish landed on the floor after a high twirl in the air. “Where were you?” she asked.
“I will tell you later,” Josie said, while she stretched. Then she practiced her loop jump.
“You must have worked on that a lot,” Monica said approvingly. “It looks great. I see you’re keeping your shoulders back and you’re getting high up off the floor.
It was time to watch a video: Katarina Witt at the Calgary Olympics with Elizabeth Manley, the Canadian silver medal winner.
“Keep a picture in your mind of yourself moving perfectly. Be positive,” Monica said.
“That’s us,” Trish whispered. “You’re Katarina Witt, from East Germany, and I am Elizabeth Manley.”
After dry land Monica drove Josie to her aunt’s house. When they got there, the coach met Father and Uncle Fritz, who were watching television. Mother, Aunt Beth, Monica and Josie went downstairs to the sewing machine.
“I thought this might look good on you.” Monica pulled a shiny purple outfit from a bag. “I wore this in an ice carnival one year.”
Both Josie and her mother gasped. They touched the soft material and pink flowers around the edge of the miniskirt that matched the band of flowers swirling down the front.
“See how it fits,” Aunt Beth said.
It was too big, so Mother pinned it in on the sides and sewed it on the machine.
“You do that so easily,” Monica said. “Maybe you can help some of the parents who have trouble.”
Mother beamed, “Yes, I can.”
“I also brought white tights, a white sweater and legwarmers for when you’re waiting on the bench.” Monica, like a magician, pulled the clothing out of the bag.
In her outfit, Josie looked at herself in the mirror.
“Wait untill you see Josie do her solo,” Monica said.
“I’m coming to watch too,” Aunt Beth smiled. “I can’t wait to see her.”
*
On Tuesday Aunt Beth and Mother picked Josie and Trish up after school and drove them to the arena. Since Ms. Green had wished all the school’s skaters good luck on the PA system, everyone knew about the event. Jake came to the arena and he brought several of their classmates.
A group of small children were lined up to skate the Dutch Waltz. After changing into her outfit and leg warmers, Josie huddled with the other skaters on the bench under the heater. She shivered, more with excitement then from the cold. Moving closer to Trish, she pulled the blanket tighter around her legs.
After twenty minutes a voice on the loudspeaker cracked, “Warm up for the free style, please.”
“This is it girls,” Monica said. “Give it your best.”
Josie’s legs stiffened. Moving onto the ice, she took some strokes to get her body going.
“Good luck,” her classmates called.
Josie practiced until the speaker announced the skaters’ names in order.
“Line up for the solos: Bobbie Callum, Josephine Grün, Trish McKenzie....”
Josie was second in line. After taking her sweater, leg warmers and gloves off, she waited at the gate, her heart racing, her legs numb. In just a few minutes she had to skate alone while the judges watched every move she made. Suddenly she was sure she couldn’t do it. She wasn’t ready!
“Josephine Grün,” the voice on the loudspeaker said. Josie skated slowly to center ice. She stood still and tried to relax as she waited for her music to begin, thinking only of the program that she had practiced for so long.
As the music came over the loudspeaker, Josie started her routine. She stroked to pick up speed, turned to skate backwards, turned again and crouched to a perfect “shoot the duck.” A picture of Oma applauding flashed through her mind. Now her confidence soared and she thought of Katarina. She stroked again and took off for her loop jump, high in the air, her shoulders back, her free leg making a wide circle. She landed in a smooth glide. She stroked to pick up speed and completed a second loop jump. Again her landing was right on.
The rest of her program went smoothly and when the music stopped she curtsied in front of the judging area. As she skated towards the exit, joy bubbled up inside her; she could do nothing to stop it. Everyone applauded. She stepped off the ice and right into a bouquet of flowers and her father’s arms.
“Vati!”
“Wunderbar,” Father said. “You were great! You deserve to skate as much as you do.”
“I didn’t know you were coming.”
“We weren’t busy, so I decided to ask for an hour off work. And I’m glad I did.”
While Josie’s classmates whistled and clapped, Monica hugged her. Mother beamed. Then all quieted down for Trish’s turn. With her heart still racing and her arms full of flowers, Josie watched as Trish skated around the ice. She made no mistakes. A few other skaters stumbled, two fell when they tried their loop jumps.
At the end Monica handed the judges’ scores to everyone. Josie’s sheets showed seven out of ten from two judges, eight from the third judge.
“Twenty-two! A great score,” Monica said.
“Did I pass?” Josie asked.
“You sure did, with flying colours.”
Josie turned to Trish. “What did you get?”
“Twenty,” her friend said putting her arm around Josie’s shoulder.
“Come on Trish, join us,” said Aunt Beth as they all walked out of the arena.
Father squeezed Josie’s shoulder, “Who wants to celebrate?”
A BIG THANK YOU GOES TO
my Highland Park Elementary School 1990/91 class of Tamara, Serina, Brent, Kristi, Jarrod, Jennifer, Kristy Lee, Daryl, Brody, Mike, Adam, March, Perry, Faye, Brett, Bern, Andy, Shelli, Angus, Andrew, Erin, Jonathon, Jake and especially Amy Cohen for their enthusiasm and help when we worked on the manuscript as a class.
Also to my year 3/4 class of 1991/92 for listening so well, to the Kalamalka Writers’ Collective for their never-ending encouragement, to Lorna Berndsen for teaching me about skating and to Ann Featherstone, Orca’s children’s book editor, for all her suggestions.
Ann Alma spent her first 23 years in Holland where she worked as a teacher before emigrating to Canada in 1970. She has more than two decades experience teaching in the Canadian school system and as an instructor of English as a Second Language, both abroad and in Canada.
She
is the author of Under Emily’s Sky (Beach Holme, 1997) and Something to Tell (Riverwood, 1998) and has published numerous travel articles in magazines in Canada, the United States and Japan. Alma is a co-founder of Kalamalka Press and has taught creative writing at Selkirk College.
She lives on a hobby farm in the West Kootenay mountains near Nelson, British Columbia.