Breaking the Ice

by Mandy Baggot

  ‘The estate agent isn’t telling anyone who’s bought the hall,’ Felicity commented as she tore another set of tickets.

  ‘What? You spoke to them?’ Samantha asked, coming out of her dream world and looking at her colleague.

  ‘Yes, I phoned them. I didn’t think it would do any harm. I know you’re worrying about it and I thought if I could find out who’d bought it and what they were planning to do with it, it might not actually be as bad as you’re thinking,’ Felicity responded.

  ‘Oh Felicity that’s really sweet of you but I’m in no doubt it’ll be turned into flats. We just have to come to terms with it,’ Samantha replied with a sigh.

  ‘But someone might have…’ Felicity started.

  ‘Can you manage here?’ Samantha asked her head beginning to ache.

  ‘Yes of course,’ Felicity replied.

  Samantha hurried through to the main auditorium, visually checking that her staff were all occupied and performing their roles adequately. Her hall. It was finally her hall and it was being taken from her. The realisation of that made tears spring to her eyes. The ice looked nothing short of magnificent tonight. The coloured lights swirling all around it seemed to be brighter than ever and the arena was full of people chatting, laughing and purchasing programmes and souvenirs. The scene was a picture of how she had always wanted the hall to be, but now it had gone and slipped away from her - just like Jimmy.

  ‘Yoo hoo! Sam!’ Cleo’s voice called, standing up and waving elaborately.

  Cleo wasn’t alone. Jeremy and the pigeon-chested Connor were seated either side of her. Samantha silently cursed her sister for bringing him and then walked over to the group. If she made an appearance now hopefully she wouldn’t have to do it later.

  ‘Sam! You remember Connor don’t you?’ Cleo exclaimed, indicating the man next to her and winking at her sister.

  ‘Yes, hello, nice to see you again,’ Samantha replied politely not looking at him but watching as her colleague Jane fell over on the ice and a stack of programmes skidded across the rink.

  ‘And you. We were talking about going for something to eat after the show if you…’ Connor began, standing up to face Samantha.

  ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to rescue hundreds of pounds worth of merchandise,’ Samantha spoke hurriedly as she began rushing down the steps towards the ice.

  ‘Sam! Sam! Connor was…’ Cleo called after her.

  By the time she reached Jane some customers waiting to be served had helped her to her feet and had begun to bundle up the damp programmes.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Samantha asked her colleague.

  ‘Yes, yes I think so, I’m still not getting any better at staying up right I’m afraid. Still, it’s the last night,’ Jane responded with a heavy sigh.

  ‘Look, why don’t you go and help Aaron with the souvenirs. I’ll do this, just give me a second to get my skates on,’ Samantha offered kindly as she took the programmes and money belt from Jane.

  She had never seen Jane look so happy. She practically ran from the ice and tore the skates from her feet. She would miss her, Felicity and Milo. She hadn’t really thought of them as friends before but perhaps they were. I mean you had to be friends with someone when you heard all about chain-smoking mothers and the latest exotic illegal immigrant being romantically pursued.

  Samantha hurriedly laced up her boots and got onto the ice with the remaining programmes. She checked her watch. There was little more than fifteen minutes before the show started.

  ‘Programmes!’ she called, holding one of them aloft in the air as she started to skate along the edge of the ice.

  She could see Connor was looking at her and it made her feel uneasy. She wished Cleo hadn’t brought him, she never listened to her. She knew she meant well, but things would be a lot easier if she actually believed what she had been trying to tell her for the last fortnight. She didn’t want another man, she wanted Jimmy. And even if she had blown it and he wasn’t coming back, she just wasn’t ready to think about anyone else. Not yet and possibly not ever.

  Samantha could see someone motioning to her for a programme, so she turned and moved across the ice towards them. As she gained momentum suddenly all the lights on the ice went out and the rink was plunged into darkness. The crowd wooed and whooped as if the show was about to start and Samantha felt completely disorientated. She had to get off. What was going on? It was too early for the show to start. People wouldn’t be in their seats yet and she needed to sort this out. She moved slowly, trying to find her way to the edge of the rink when she heard the sound of another pair of skates, heading in her direction. She looked into the darkness trying to see what was going on. And then the skater appeared before her, took hold of her arm and turned her around.

  Samantha looked up, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was Jimmy!

  She blinked and blinked again and put her hands up to her eyes to rub them. She had to be imagining him, just like she had been constantly since he left.

  ‘Hey,’ he greeted a smile lighting up his face, his Minstrel eyes creasing at the corners.

  ‘Oh my goodness!’ Samantha exclaimed.

  Her legs wobbled with emotion as he spoke and she realised he really was standing in front of her.

  Her breathing became erratic, catching in her throat and tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn’t believe he was back. She just looked and looked at him, trying to take in everything about him. Then, finally, she threw herself into him, holding him tightly, squeezing him hard to make sure the whole moment was real.

  Jimmy held her and ran his hand through her hair, kissing the top of her head as she leaned on him and then, he held her away from him.

  ‘Come with me,’ Jimmy quickly urged her and he began to skate off towards the centre of the rink.

  ‘Wait! I need to say some things to you, lots of things I should have said before. I, I didn’t think you were coming back, after what I said, I - oh goodness - we have to get off of here, there’s a show about to start,’ Samantha reminded him, struggling to get out all the words she wanted to.

  ‘I know,’ Jimmy answered with a smile.

  ‘But, we need to - oh!’ Samantha exclaimed in horror as a bright white spotlight shined down onto her.

  As the spotlights on the ice went up the capacity audience all gasped and exclaimed at the sight of the two of them in the middle of the ice rink, Jimmy in blue Lycra, Samantha in her Civic Hall uniform.

  She felt sick. Everyone was looking at her and she was still wearing the money belt and holding a batch of programmes. Her face began to redden and her heart went into overdrive.

  ‘OH MY GOD! OH - MY - GOOD - GOD!’ Cleo shrieked from her seat four rows back from the ice.

  She clamped her hands over her mouth as she saw her sister standing on the ice holding Jimmy Lloyd’s hand.

  ‘Gimme those, and I’ll take that,’ Jimmy spoke as he swiftly undid her money belt and relieved Samantha of the programmes.

  As Jimmy skated to the side of the rink to ditch the money and the souvenir brochures she was left stranded with thousands of eyes on her and her alone. People were talking amongst themselves, wondering what was going on, pointing and looking slightly confused. Samantha empathised because she felt exactly the same way.

  Jimmy came back to join her, still smiling. He took hold of one of Samantha’s hands and used the other one to take something out of his pocket. It was a blindfold.

  ‘What are you doing? Are you back in the show? What happened with your counsellor? There’s so much I want to know - can we go?’ Samantha started, moving uneasily on her skates.

  ‘Put this on,’ Jimmy told her, handing her the blindfold.

  Samantha looked at what he had placed in her hand. She let out a scream and dropped it onto the ice.

  ‘Are you insane?! I can’t skate in front of anyone! And certainly not blindfolded! We did that once and it was CRAZY! I can barely skate with you watching wit
hout feeling like I’m going to vomit. Let’s just go and get some blackberry tea or something and we can talk and I can…’ Samantha started her body beginning to shake.

  The crowd began a slow hand clap as they waited for something to happen. A few people shouted ‘Come on Jimmy’ and others nudged each other and stared at the scene being played out before them.

  ‘Sam, do you trust me?’ Jimmy asked her seriously.

  He was looking at her intently, his brown eyes fixed on her face, his expression intense.

  ‘I can’t do this, in front of everyone,’ Samantha responded with a gulp of fear.

  ‘Do you trust me?’ Jimmy repeated, holding onto her hand.

  Samantha looked away from him to the audience, the thousands of people all waiting for something to happen, waiting for her to do something. Her heart was hammering and her legs were turning to jelly. She looked back at Jimmy.

  She replied with a definite nod.

  Jimmy smiled, picked her blindfold off the floor and put it over her eyes. He then got a second blindfold out of his pocket and put it over his face. The sound from the audience was a combination of delight, horror and surprise. Some gasped, a few actually screamed.

  Jimmy took hold of Samantha’s hands as they assumed their starting position and Samantha tried to swallow the pure terror that was threatening to consume her.

  ‘What’s she doing Jeremy? For Christ’s sake what is she doing?’ Cleo exclaimed hysterically as the music began.

  ‘I think she’s going to skate,’ Jeremy replied as he moved onto the edge of his seat to get a closer look.

  ‘Does Samantha skate professionally? Isn’t that Jimmy Lloyd on the ice with her?’ Connor enquired as he too moved to the edge of his seat and stared at the two people on the rink.

  ‘He’s holding her hand Jeremy, he’s holding her hand,’ Cleo stated unable to keep her eyes off her sister.

  The haunting introduction of the music began, filling the arena with sound and, both blind, Samantha and Jimmy began the routine they had practiced and perfected alone in the small hours of the morning. Now they were performing it in front of thousands.

  Samantha couldn’t see a thing, not even a glimmer from the spotlights. She was holding her breath so hard her chest was hurting, but despite that, she could sense Jimmy near her, feel his closeness. Her legs felt like lead and jelly all at the same time, yet somehow she was performing the steps he had taught her more accurately than she ever had before. She could feel the breeze they were creating as they moved around the ice and she could sense the expectation from the audience. They didn’t know what was coming next and they were probably still wondering what the manager of the Civic Hall was doing ice skating with Jimmy Lloyd. Then, as the song built to its first crescendo, Samantha knew what was coming. She felt Jimmy take hold of her and then in one swift move he rolled her up onto his shoulder into the crucifix hold. She could feel she was high in the air, being held by her underarms, almost flying, and the crowd were applauding and shouting their appreciation. Despite being blindfolded Samantha could almost see the faces of shock and surprise at someone un-sequinned, wearing a creased Civic Hall polo shirt and uniform trousers, being held aloft by Jimmy Lloyd.

  She span around, catching hold of Jimmy’s hand, stepped backwards and turned, just as she had learnt. Her breathing was more controlled now and although she still felt fear, it was mixed with excitement and complete exhilaration. She was caught up in the moment, intoxicated by the music, thinking of nothing but Jimmy and how it felt to have him back.

  She skated out backwards, balanced carefully and elegantly on one leg, stretching out the other behind her. She took a deep breath and waited. They had only done this move once before, not blindfolded, and Samantha had screamed the whole way through. But she knew this was what Jimmy wanted, this was the way to end the routine. And before she could think any more the waiting was over. She felt Jimmy take hold of her ankle, spin her sideways and she took her other leg off the ice as he began to flip her up and down in the move Dana would no longer perform with him. Her heart was banging against her chest and she could almost smell the ice. She felt air rush past her ear as she passed dangerously close to the rink and then she felt the coldness of the ice as Jimmy put her down onto it. She felt him slide down onto the floor next to her and then as the music ended he lifted her hand in the air with his.

  The crowd erupted. There was cheering, whistling, screaming and non-stop applause that had Samantha reaching for her ears. She was breathing heavily, still shaking and she felt exhausted. She could feel Jimmy’s body close to hers, his breathing also rapid and then he picked her up under her arms and lifted her back into a standing position.

  He took off her blindfold and then removed his own. The crowd were roaring their appreciation, people were stamping on the floor, banging anything they could to make the loudest noise possible. It was something Samantha had never experienced at the Civic Hall before and she had been part of it. She was smiling, she felt happier than she ever had, not caring she was standing in the middle of an arena being watched by thousands. She looked up at Jimmy. He was smiling down at her, looking at her like she was the most precious thing he had ever set eyes on.

  Neither of them knew what to say. The crowd continued to clap, but they were oblivious to them now. Jimmy ran his hand down the side of Samantha’s face and then drew her towards him, kissing her deeply. A loud cheer went up from the audience as Samantha put her arms around his neck and held him close to her.

  Tears were rolling down Cleo’s face, threatening to wash away every scrap of make-up she had applied earlier.

  ‘God, what do you say to that? Did you know she could do that?’ Connor asked both Jeremy and Cleo as in front of them Samantha and Jimmy did a short lap round the ice to acknowledge their applause.

  ‘They were blindfolded. I mean, have you seen anyone do that before? Ever?’ Jeremy remarked to Cleo who was just staring at the ice, watching her sister.

  ‘I didn’t believe her,’ Cleo spoke quietly almost in a trance.

  ‘Did you know she could skate like that? I mean skating up and down selling programmes isn’t doing a professional routine with a blindfold on is it?’ Jeremy carried on, clapping along with the rest of the enthralled audience.

  ‘She told me about him. She told me she was in love with Jimmy Lloyd and I laughed at her. Laughed at her Jeremy, and got mad and told her not to tell lies and make up stories. Look at them! Look at them together!’ Cleo told him tears still rolling down her face.

  ‘You weren’t to know - I mean how could you? She keeps herself to herself doesn’t she,’ Jeremy said, breaking from clapping and putting an arm around his girlfriend.

  ‘She felt she couldn’t rely on me, she knew I wouldn’t believe her. That’s why she said it was stupid camp-sounding Darren Jacobs. I’ve got to go and see her, excuse me,’ Cleo announced and she got up and hurried past Connor and the other people who were standing up in their row.

  Samantha’s face was glowing as she and Jimmy left the ice, still holding hands.

  ‘You were amazing! You did the move Sam! I just sensed you were going to do it, I knew you trusted me!’ Jimmy exclaimed excitedly as the pair of them joyfully held on to each other.

  ‘This has been the craziest night of my life! I just performed in front of thousands of people! Me! Samantha Smith, the girl who’s scared of her own shadow,’ Samantha remarked, trying to control her laughter.

  ‘God, you don’t know how good it is to see you again,’ Jimmy responded, stopping her and just looking at her as he held her hand.

  ‘I didn’t think I would ever see you again, after what I said. I’m such an idiot and I’m so sorry,’ Samantha spoke, looking back at him.

  ‘I knew you didn’t mean it, you were just scared that’s all. I was scared too, but it didn’t take me long away to realise that it’s OK to be scared and admitting it just makes you even stronger,’ Jimmy said sincerely.

  ‘How did thin
gs go? In America, in - the place,’ Samantha asked him cautiously.

  ‘You can say “rehab” - it isn’t a dirty word you know,’ Jimmy replied.

  ‘I know, I’m sorry - I just…’ Samantha began.

  ‘It went really well, which is why I’m back. And I don’t want to waste another minute talking to you in this walkway. Let’s go somewhere where we can talk properly - on our own,’ Jimmy spoke, noticing that the skating entourage were preparing to begin the show and making their way back and forth along the corridor.

  ‘OK,’ Samantha agreed, smiling at him ‘but I have to find my shoes!’

  ‘Sam,’ Cleo called as she appeared from the door leading to the foyer.

  Samantha turned around to face her sister and immediately saw that Cleo’s face was awash with tears and her make up was almost all gone. She had never seen her look so upset. Not since Miles Jones.

  ‘Shall I go and find your shoes?’ Jimmy offered.

  ‘Yes, thanks, they’re under the spare seat at the end of row B,’ Samantha directed not taking her eyes from Cleo.

  ‘OK, I won’t be long,’ Jimmy replied and he kissed Samantha’s cheek before making his way back towards the auditorium.

  They were left alone in the corridor, just looking at each other, neither knowing what to do. Cleo’s expression was unreadable but Samantha could tell the cogs were whirring and her eyes were still full of tears. Samantha didn’t know what to say or do, she just stood still, her mouth dry, her stomach contracting. And then, suddenly, Cleo rushed towards her throwing her arms around her and enveloping her in a bear hug. The comforting smell of Joop! and hairspray filled Samantha’s nostrils as she hugged Cleo back.

  She could feel her sister shaking as she cried openly on her shoulder. And then Cleo pulled herself away to look at Samantha.

  ‘Sam, I don’t know what to say - I am so sorry,’ Cleo spoke tears running down her face.