“Read page, heck, page twelve I think. I have full permission with the support of the USFS to continue being coached under your tutelage.” I told her. “I’m not stepping back and I’m not getting a new coach. Internationals are in thirteen days. I’m not changing anything with that competition so close. It’s suicide to do so and you know that.”
“This is what was bothering you.” Hadley set the papers down. “This is what you didn’t want to talk about.”
I sighed and nodded. The puppy whimpered and Hadley scooped him and the blanket he was laying on up to her shoulder. She patted his back gently and the puppy gave a couple of what I would call comfortable burps. Hadley wrapped him up and set him in her lap.
“He’ll sleep now.”
“I can get up for the next feeding. We can switch back and forth if that will help. You got him this morning?”
“Last night, when I went out to help Glory feed the dogs. He’s a runt, the mother wasn’t trying to take care of him.”
“And Jack because?”
“You saw the patch?”
I nodded slowly.
“His registration says Captain Jack.”
“Captain…” Dawning hit me and I laughed. “As in Captain Jack Sparrow?”
Hadley nodded. “It suits him.”
“It does.” I reached out and touched her hand that still rested on the papers. “I’m sorry I kept this from you. I was afraid you’d pull away, ask me to leave. You know, you have to know I like being here, I like being with you.”
Hadley rubbed her tired eyes with her other hand. “I know. And I’m trying to understand you didn’t want me to be upset. I don’t like secrets North. The last secret that was kept from me was my mother’s death. I can’t live with secrets.”
I nodded. “No more secrets. I won’t keep anything from you again.”
Hadley seemed to think about it then nodded. “All right. We should get to bed. It’s going to be a long night of two hour increments.”
“Go ahead. I’ll get the lights.”
Funny, I thought as I did just that. I hadn’t taken anything for my head and I felt fine. I felt normal again. Just being home with Hadley had taken away the pain. It was…magical.
“I know you know how to do this,” Hadley was speaking to Wesley. “I mean I appreciate you volunteering and it keeps Glory from falling asleep in school, but…”
“Hadley, we’re going to miss the plane.” I repeated again. “Wesley knows how to take care of a puppy. He’s in safe hands. Do you want to go to Barcelona or not?”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Hadley gave Wesley and the puppy carrier one last glance and jumped into the Jeep.
Morgaine and Avala were driving us this time to the airport. Morgaine had already selected the radio station–a hard rock that I knew wasn’t in Avala’s style, but even as the driver, Avala didn’t complain.
“You don’t think Jack thinks I’m leaving him do you?” Hadley asked me completely serious. She was biting her lip and staring back at the house.
“He can’t fly, Hadley. And even if he could, do you really want that customs headache?” I reminded gently. “He’ll be fine. Just think when we get home he’ll be excited to see you. And Wesley knows tomorrow starts the gruel mix, and he’s got Glory’s numbers in case he forgets anything.”
Hadley continued to chew on her lip but nodded. “You’re right.” She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “You’re right. Well, bright side? Six whole days of not waking up in the middle of the night for feeding time.”
I laughed. “Yes. There’s that. Man, do I miss that. But you’ll sleep the entire plane ride over the Atlantic.”
I saw Avala and Morgaine exchange glances but I had no idea what it meant or what it was for. I didn’t overly worry about it. Since our confrontation, they’ve been more attentive to learn about Hadley and given me no grief.
“If God is merciful.” Hadley replied. “If not, I have the air pills. Not that they ever work, but I have them.”
Hadley seemed pretty okay when the plane landed in Spain. I had seen her take slow deep breaths and do the yoga meditation she had taught me after buckling her seat beat. Once the plane was in the air, she was promptly asleep. I should ask her how to turn on and off like that.
She didn’t seem okay when she frowned at the papers she pulled out of her bag and stared hard at the signs after we picked up our bags at the baggage check. She sighed, stared some more and finally I couldn’t take it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked looking over her shoulder and reading the papers then up at the signs. “Taxis are this way.” I pointed.
She glanced up at me surprised. “How do you know that?”
I resisted the urge to kiss the tip of her nose and smiled easily instead. “My junior year of high school for Spanish IV we got to spend all of July in Peru. The immersion was great and while my Spanish is probably very informal compared to here; it’s still Spanish.”
“Oh.” Hadley said simply and picked up her duffel bag. “Lead on.”
“I would think,” I said to her taking the bag off her arm and adding it to mine, “that you would speak Spanish with all the traveling you did.”
“French.” Hadley told me. “And German. Well, and I’m decent with Mandarin as long as the conversations aren’t complex. I never understood Spanish. I tried. The best I can do is ‘I’m lost’ and ‘I’m an American.’” She shrugged. “My father speaks eight languages so it wasn’t really a big deal if I didn’t.”
“Huh.” I replied. “Hola, Senor.” I said to the taxi driver and then asked if he could take us to the hotel on Hadley’s paperwork.
He seemed very impressed with my Spanish and nodded talking rapidly about the places we should visit if we were on our honeymoon. And the beaches that would be sort of busy but well worth the visit to the south. I didn’t correct his assumption. It was harmless and Hadley had no idea what he was saying. No chance she could be offended by it.
Hadley seemed content to let me take the lead and I chatted amicably with the driver the entire ride to the hotel. At the hotel, he insisted on helping unload the bags and I insisted on the tip I folded into his hand.
“Buenas noches, Senor!” he called as he climbed back into the taxi and rocketed off. Probably back to the airport.
“What did you say to him?” Hadley asked picking up her duffel bag.
I took the bag from her. “Nothing really. He says the beaches are really nice if we want a good place to relax. The food downtown may look a little different to us as Americans, but he assures it’s delicious. The hotel is a good hotel, and the restaurant here is very good for traditional food.”
“All that?” Hadley asked amused.
I shrugged. “He was talking pretty fast, to be honest, I didn’t catch all of it. Just the general idea. It’s a little different than Peruvian Spanish.”
“Still.” Hadley smiled. “It’s more than I could do.”
“Bienvenidos,” the woman behind the counter began.
I returned her welcome. “Gracias.” I looked at Hadley, “What name is the room in?”
“Yours.”
“Reserva para Graton.” I said to the receptionist.
“Si Senor. Un momento.” The efficient woman was already tapping on her keyboard when she spoke.
I took care of the details and in minutes, Hadley and I were standing in the suite. The room looked like any other hotel suite, with the subtle smells of Spain instead and a décor style that could only be accredited to the Spanish.
“It’s nice.” Hadley said and crossed the room to the balcony. “I didn’t know we get a balcony.”
“It’s nice.” I echoed and stepped up behind her to wrap my arms around her waist and nuzzle her hair. “You know what else would be nice?”
“North, really?” Hadley asked with wry amusement.
I nibbled lightly at her ear, “Gutter brain.” I whispered and she shivered. “You’ll be disappointed to find out I
was thinking of my stomach. Want to try that restaurant.”
She laughed, but it was out of breath and slightly strained. “Sure.”
Hadley
North obviously wasn’t overly worried if anyone from IFS saw us eating together. He was munching away on his fourth or fifth, I had lost count, empanada.
“Every country makes these I think.” He said after seeing my amusement at his food joy. “But only the Spanish know how to make ‘em irresistible.”
“If you say so.” I replied. “Just remember you have to skate tomorrow.”
“Right.” North sighed contentedly and sat back. “You’re right of course. I wonder if I could get these through customs.”
“Probably not.” I said to him. “But we are a week in Spain. If you eat them for a week, you may just get your fill in before we leave.”
“There is that.”
“Hadley? Hadley is that you?”
North and I both turned automatically to the voice that spoke. The trim brunette squealed and dashed over. Before I could protest, she threw her arms around me and began speaking in French gibberish.
Thankfully, she was someone I knew and liked. Once a upon, a time we had co-chaired a figure skating camp in France together. And another one in the US a few months after. She was a genuinely kind person.
“Roni.” I laughed and gently detached her. “North doesn’t speak French.”
“Oh,” she smiled at him. “I’m Veronica Smiter. Roni is fine.” She pulled up a chair and sat down. “You have to tell me what you’ve been up to. Why haven’t you called me back? I worried. I left messages with your father and he assured me he’d get them to you.”
I shook my head. “I had a falling out with my father. He’s not happy that I’ve stopped skating.”
“You have to live for you. He’ll either come around, or he’ll die lonely.” Roni shrugged. “I never did like the way he bossed you around. Like you were an employee not a child.”
I laughed. “You’re good for the soul. You are welcome to come visit me at home. I’m in Minnesota now. We have a private skating rink my mother built me.”
“Oh, I’d like that. I’ll give you my number and we can set it up.” Her eyes turned to North, “I saw you skate. You are good but Hadley doesn’t allow for average.”
“No,” North smiled. “She doesn’t.”
“There’s a party tonight, a pre-skate party if you will. I was about to go up to it.” Roni turned to North, “As a skater, you have an open invitation to it.”
“You should go,” I said to North. “If Roni’s going, it’s bound to be fun. Just remember you have to skate tomorrow.”
“I’ll be cutting out early for that reason so you can trust I’ll grab you and drag you out.” Roni smiled and stood. “Come on.” She hugged me tightly once again. “I’ll take care of him.”
“I know you will,” I replied hugging her back. I gestured to North. “Go, meet some skaters, and get some air. Have fun.”
He looked like he was about to protest but Roni solved it herself when she shouted across the restaurant something in Spanish and then looked down at North expectantly.
“She paid the check.” He said to me as he reluctantly stood. “Finish eating, and box up the rest of my food, I’ll eat it for breakfast.”
Roni linked her arm through North’s. “Stay with me, cutie, and we’ll get you integrated in no time.”
It hurt a little to watch him go but North needed this. He needed to get used to being social. As much as I loved his company being with me twenty-four/seven wasn’t helping him any.
I made charade gestures to the waiter to get North’s food boxed up and pulled out my cell phone. I calculated the time difference then called Wesley. I wanted to check in on Jack anyway, I knew North would laugh, so it was good I had a quiet moment to check in.
When I got up in the morning, the same time I always do, I noticed the bed beside me was empty. It worried me a little, but if North had been in any kind of state, Roni would have insisted on crashing with her so she could watch him vomit. Kindness was just her thing.
I left a note on the desk and went to the arena without him. He didn’t really need to be there so early anyway. I didn’t require him to practice before events as long as he warmed up well.
North didn’t show until the start of the pre-skate exhibitions.
“Where have you been?” Then I stepped back and studied him. He looked a little green and not altogether well. “What’s wrong?”
He grimaced. “Nerves I think. Couldn’t stop vomiting this morning. Probably the nerves and about half a dozen empanadas too many.”
I didn’t like his shade and when I raised a hand to touch his face he was clammy. “North, I don’t think this is a good idea.” I said quietly. “You don’t feel good and who knows what skating will do to that.”
His face folded into stubborn creases. “I’ll be okay. I’m not a quitter.”
I studied him a moment longer then nodded. I reached out and squeezed his hands. “Say the word, and it’s done. You don’t have to do this if you’re sick.”
“I’ll survive.” He muttered.
I wasn’t so sure of that. Especially when North excused himself three times before his first skate. He had to be vomiting again and that worried me. He shouldn’t be so sick if it was nerves and too much food. There wouldn’t be anything left to vomit by now.
He looked even worse when he stepped out onto the ice to skate. I very nearly held him back. I should have held him back.
North made it through his first Axel okay, and I relaxed. But when he fell on his Salchow I frowned. That was one of his strong skills and shouldn’t have been an issue. Two spins later and he was up for a triple-triple combination.
North fell and spun across the ice. He made no move to get up and before I could think twice about it I dashed out across the ice waving the paramedics in. I skidded down next to him.
“North, talk to me. North.”
He was curled up and breathing harder than he should have been with less than half of a routine completed. “Hurts.” He murmured. “Cramps. So much.”
I stepped back so the paramedics could get him on the stretcher and followed them out. I shot a hasty cut sign to the judges as we crossed their field of vision. He would not be skating anymore in Spain.
Waiting was the hardest part. I paced the hallway just outside the little room they had taken North to in the hospital. It had been hours since we arrived and all I got was “we’re running tests.” The doctor was in there now, which was why I was in the hall.
Roni had stopped by after her skate and brought North’s locker bag. She had convinced her coach to fetch it so she could bring it in. I had stowed North’s Aria skates in it when it arrived and now it sat on the chair I had been sitting in a few minutes ago in his room.
I hadn’t called home yet. I didn’t want to worry anyone without answers. I had told Wesley last night I would check in again today, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it yet. If I was lucky, North’s routine would have been cut from the feed and it wouldn’t air on US TV. I was never that lucky, but I hoped for it.
“Senorita,” the doctor came out of the room. Before he could continue I held up a hand.
“Parle vous Frances?” I asked.
He smiled and nodded. Then continued in French. “He is resting well. We’ve given him the antidote to the poison we found in his blood stream. We’ll watch him overnight to make sure he’s in no more pain. But otherwise he can leave tomorrow.”
I nodded relieved until all the words sank in. “Poison?”
The doctor nodded grimly. “It’s mostly harmless but can be extremely painful with some serious side effects.” The doctor patted my arm. “I’ll be back in the morning.” He walked passed me and down the hall.
Poison. My brain couldn’t seem to process that single word. North had been poisoned. By who? Why? I dismissed it and took a few calming breaths before letting myself back into th
e room and sitting down next to him to hold his hand.
His lips curved but his eyes didn’t open. “Hadley.”
I squeezed his hand. “Doctor says you’re going to be fine.”
“I think I’ve had my fill of Spain. I want to go home.” He said without moving.
I didn’t blame him, but… “North, if you go home, and don’t skate a make-up, there is no Olympics. You needed to at least get second here and in December to even get the attention to qualify.”
He squeezed my hand. “I suddenly don’t need it as bad as I thought I did. Hadley, I want to go home.”
“Then, as soon as you’re cleared, we’ll go home.” I told him.
It was his decision and I held my disappointment and regret in check. If North wasn’t going to skate here, there would be no point in continuing to skate. He would have no reason to continue to be with me. That was also something to file away for later.
I squeezed his hand again. “I promise.”
North
I don’t know how Hadley did it. All I knew was that she came through. When I was released from the hospital, I went from there to the airport and we flew home. In Minnesota, there was a car with a driver waiting to drive us the three and a half hours home.
At the rink, she paid the driver to carry the bags in and up the stairs and let me lean against her as I slowly made the climb myself. Besides being mostly asleep from the drive, I felt old and creaky and it wasn’t a good feeling.
By the time we were settled, the driver gone, and I was stretched out in bed it was a little after one in the morning. No one knew we were back six days early yet, and no one would until morning. I sighed and smiled when I smelled Hadley’s tea–or rather Avala’s tea–right before Hadley stepped into the room with the tea tray.
“It’s a soothing blend with a little something for achy tummy. I thought it would help.” Hadley said when she set the tea tray on the nightstand.
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