The Chosen Ones

by Lisa Luciano

  TJ shouted at the young man behind the ticket window.

  “Call a cab. He’s hurt.”

  He held him up near the open door. The cold air was easier to breathe, but now Dale’s mind focused on the pain.

  “Hang on, buddy,” TJ assured him. “I’ll take care of everything.”

  Robby sat with his sneakers jammed against the seat in front of him. He’d picked the twelfth row in the center section of the arena that was now empty and silent, just about where his parents would have been sitting. He didn’t hear the soft footsteps approaching, but soon became aware of the fact that a woman had crept up from behind. Her perfume preceded her. As he inhaled the scent of jasmine, his sensory memory sent a signal to his brain. Brigitta.

  “How did you know I’d be here?” he asked, choosing not to look at her as she entered the row.

  “Where else would you be?”

  “She knew him too well.”

  “So, did you tear me limb from limb on every TV in the world?”

  “I wanted to,” she said, now only inches away as she turned to face him. “I tried to picture it in my mind. But then I thought about how beautiful your body is.”

  She leaned her spongy buttocks against the back of the next row and stroked his leg with her hand. The feel of it was no longer enticing as it had once been.

  “Don’t,” he said, dropping his feet on the floor and sitting up straight.

  She slipped into the seat beside him.

  “Tell me you don’t want me. That you never did.”

  “Things have changed,” he said.

  She took that as a small victory. He hadn’t denied that he’d had feelings for her at some point. It was the opening she was hoping for. She sat back. Together, they stared at the frozen white oval before them. He couldn’t see her smiling, but he could feel it just as he used to. Her emotions radiated from her.

  “I still remember the first time I saw you,” she said. It was at a World Championship years ago in Budapest. I had never seen such determination on someone’s face before.”

  “I went there to win,” he said with the same intensity he’d shown back then.

  “I always wondered if you simply didn’t know you weren’t the chosen one, or if you were just too stubborn to give in and accept it.”

  She waited for a response. There was none. Afraid he would bolt, she continued, hoping to hold him there with the sound of her deep, velvety voice.

  “As you headed for the ice I thought, who is this little boy who thinks he can take on the world?”

  “I was eighteen,” Robby said, indignantly.

  “You were a child. Until you skated. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Suddenly, you were strong and so sure of yourself. And so I waited. Then finally, one day I looked up and you were a man. A man I could love. A man who made me laugh. A man who was not afraid to tell me the truth.”

  She took his hand in hers. He rubbed his thumb across her delicate white fingers, back and forth like a metronome, lulling her into a warm, safe place, if only in her mind.

  “Can you tell me the truth?” he asked.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “Juergen. What really happened?”

  She pouted. He’d always found the way her bottom lip jutted out irresistible, but at that moment he felt nothing.

  “I don’t understand why you care,” she said.

  “I don’t understand why you don’t.”

  “Fine,” she said, pulling her hand away. “You want to know? I slept with him. Once. I would have done anything that would have allowed us to be together.”

  “So you did the one thing that could tear us apart.”

  She sensed him slipping away. Again.

  “You once told me that your deepest fear was letting the world see that you are not perfect.”

  Robby felt a knife tearing into his guts. How could she use something so personal against him? He wouldn’t stop her. No one could.

  “If you want to torture yourself, go ahead. But you have no right to place such a burden on me or anyone else. Being human and making mistakes gives me the passion I show in my performances. You might want to try it sometime, Robert.”

  She hesitated and scanned his face. She had lost him.

  “I make no apologies. I did what I had to,” she said.

  His gaze slowly met hers.

  “So did I,” he said, not backing off an inch.

  Neither wanted to stay, but neither could make their bodies move. They were so deep in their own thoughts, they didn’t notice that someone had been watching from the back, but had left.

  “Why do you call me that?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Robert. No one else does.”

  “Because that’s how I see you. Robert is a man. Courageous. Confident. Robby is a frightened child who allows himself to be told what to do and who cares what everyone thinks.”

  Now he could never tell Brigitta that the reason he referred to her by her nickname was not out of affection, but because it was a way to take her down off the pedestal. Brigitta Besch was a champion. Brigitta was simply the woman who shared his bed.

  “You blame me for what happened,” she said.

  “Not anymore.”

  “Once we lost the tour, what was I to do? Hire myself out as entertainment for children’s birthday parties?”

  “You could’ve made plenty of money in professional competitions.”

  “Which ones? Only those controlled by WTL.”

  “You were still good enough to reinstate.”

  “To what end? I have nothing left to prove. I have my gold medal.”

  He knew she didn’t mean to hurt him. It was just her way of expressing herself. Always direct to the point of being brutal.

  “You didn’t have to go with WTL,” he insisted.

  “And Glenn,” she added. “Isn’t that what’s really bothering you? That I shared the ice with him on his tour.”

  “Not the way we did.”

  “No. It could never be that way with anyone else,” she admitted.

  “You were so strong.”

  “And facing reality makes me weak?”

  “No. It just means you’re someone I can’t trust.”

  Brigitta nodded, then stood slowly. She wouldn’t cry in front of him as she had many times before without fear.

  “Wait,” Robby said.

  Her heart jumped as she dared to hope there was still a chance.

  “There’s something you should know about the people you work for… and what really happened to Juergen.”

  “I hate these freakin’ places,” TJ said as he helped Dale into the hospital emergency ward.

  They waited twenty minutes before a doctor finally led them to an empty examination table.

  “What’s going on with you people? This is the second emergency case today. Did you trade your costumes for hockey sticks?”

  “Just do your job and save the analysis. This is one of the best skaters in the world,” TJ said, pointing at Dale.

  “Should I alert the media?

  “Hey,” TJ warned. “Screw up, and you’ll need a doctor.”

  “I’ll let you know when I’m finished,” the stone-faced young man said as he pulled the curtain between them.

  TJ circled, looking for something to smash, then made a phone call instead. Thirty minutes later, Brody found TJ seated in the waiting room, gripping his head as if it would burst. He couldn’t tell if it was a hangover or just guilt.

  “Thanks for coming, man,” TJ said. “You didn’t tell anybody.”

  “No.”

  “I owe you one, bro.”

  “Why me?”

  “Our team doctor would break a leg running to tell our federation about this. Not to mention the papers. I heard that you can be trusted.”

  “Well?”

  TJ’s eyes searched the floor.

  “Dale had an… accident. He’s in with the doctor.”

  A
weary, white-coated intern emerged from the examination room.

  “Mr. McNally?” he asked, looking at the two of them.

  “You go, man,” said TJ, jerking his head, urging Brody to step forward.

  “Why?”

  “Just do it. Please.”

  Brody calmly listened to the doctor and then walked back over to TJ who looked like he would kill for a cigarette.

  “Is he gonna be okay?”

  “What the hell happened?” Brody demanded.

  “What difference does it make? How is he?”

  “He’s got a separated shoulder.”

  “But he’ll be all right,” TJ said, unable to stand still.

  “Is that all you can say?”

  “What do you want to hear?”

  “How about I’m sorry or are you too cool for that?”

  “What did I do?” TJ asked, defensively.

  “Looks like you pushed him over the edge.”

  “I’m the one who pulled him out of that hellhole.”

  “What a guy.”

  “He didn’t have to come with me.”

  Brody shook his head.

  “Everybody thinks you’re a real fun guy. If they only knew it’s a front for a stupid, egotistical…”

  He felt an irrational anger rising in him and stopped himself. Brody hated surrendering, but knew a lost cause when he saw it. He headed for the exit.

  “What the hell does he want from me?” TJ shouted to him. “You figure it out, hot shot.”

  Dimitri paced the floor of his room, trying to remember the last time he and Natalia were in the same place alone together. He also wondered why she agreed to meet him without requiring an explanation or a referee.

  “I’m taking her,” Dimitri said, not expecting an argument over what was obviously the only logical course of action.

  “You’d have to find her first,” Natalia countered, her swan-like arms tossed over her head as she lounged casually in a chair.

  “What have you done?”

  “What I had to in order to protect my position.”

  He rushed toward her.

  “Tell me where she is or I swear I’ll…”

  She sat up, ready to defend herself.

  “Kill me? You’d do better to worry about yourself. You know what will happen if you don’t win.”

  Dimitri backed off, trying to appear unconcerned.

  “The federation can’t afford to do without me,” he said.

  “But the criminals can. They’ve gambled large amounts of money on you. If they lose, do you think they’ll welcome us home with open arms?”

  He dropped onto one knee and gripped the arm of the chair with his hands. “Then come with me. It’s not too late. We’ll go to live in America. I can skate in a professional show or coach.”

  “You’re dreaming,” she said, wrinkling her forehead in amazement.

  “All you have to say is that you love me and want to be with me, and I promise to turn that dream into a reality.”

  She lowered her large, dark eyes. Of all the things she’d done, she had never lied. “If I give you Sasha, you’ll take good care of her?”

  Dimitri wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

  “Yes,” he said, standing over his wife, trying to remember if he ever loved her. “Make the arrangements. I’ll have her brought here. You can leave as soon as the Games are over.”

  Chapter 16

  Andre was eager to escape. The walls were closing in on him. He’d spent too much time with friends in hospitals, many of whom never left. But he couldn’t go without having the last word.

  “You pathetic little wimp,” he said to Dale who was trying to find a comfortable position for his arm as he lay in bed. “I can’t believe you were afraid of a few headlines when there was so much at stake.”

  “You want to be a martyr? The job’s open,” Dale said.

  “I’d kill to be able to do it, and you know it.”

  “I’m beginning to think you’d kill to make it happen.”

  “Oh, please. Donovan would’ve survived.”

  “What are you talking about?” Dale asked, wincing as he sat up.

  “The article. Isn’t that what you’re talking about?”

  “No.”

  “Oh, what the hell. What have I got to lose now? I talked to a reporter from a London paper about running a story outing Robby Donovan.”

  “But he’s not gay.”

  “No,” Andre whined. “More’s the pity.”

  “What were you trying to accomplish?”

  “Despite everything they’ve done to prevent it, he’s probably going to win. Can you imagine? The first openly gay Olympic champion?”

  “My God,” Dale said, his eyes widening. “What have you done?”

  “Relax. The reporter chickened out. Seems to be a lot of that going around. But if he thinks I’ve giving back the money, he can go straight to—”

  TJ tenuously entered Dale’s room.

  “Perfect timing,” Andre said. “Enter the Terminator, stage right.” TJ chuckled as he approached, swaggering a bit for effect.

  “Andre, don’t make me hurt you.”

  “Ooh, beat me. Whip me. Come on, you big stud you. Do me good.”

  “I don’t give charity.”

  “Blow me,” Andre said.

  “Get in line.”

  “Stop it!” Dale shouted.

  Andre folded his arms, looking absolutely bored.

  “You’re right. This situation is getting old,” Andre agreed.

  “You would know,” TJ added.

  “All right. That’s enough,” said Dale.

  “Dale, will you tell the asshole to hit the road?” Andre asked, impatiently.

  “You took the words right out of my mouth,” he said, glaring at Andre.

  “What are you saying?”

  Dale took a moment to gather his thoughts. He knew Andre would appreciate the dramatic effect of the pause.

  “For months, you’ve been begging me to make a statement. Well, here it is. Get out.”

  “Excuse me?” Andre said, arching his eyebrows almost to his hairline.

  “Hasta la vista, baby,” TJ taunted, jerking his thumb toward the door.

  “You’ll be sorry when I’m gone.”

  “Only until we get the room fumigated,” TJ added.

  Andre withdrew, pausing at the door, then letting it close ever so slowly.

  “I’ll give him one thing,” said TJ He knows how to make an exit. Anybody ever tell him he has an ass like Marilyn Monroe?”

  Dale wasn’t in the mood to laugh. TJ gazed down at his friend. Despite being manacled by a sling, Dale looked as impeccably neat as he always did on the ice.

  “Jesus. You get stomped on by six guys three times your size and you let it stop you. You gotta get tough, dude.”

  “Well, if I hang around you long enough…”

  TJ dug his hands deeper into the pockets of his leather jacket.

  “Yell, punch me, do something. I can’t take the guilt.”

  “Well, that’s an improvement,” Dale said. “Six months ago you would’ve laughed and walked away saying ‘Better luck next year, dude’.”

  “Don’t tell me I’m growing up.”

  “It was inevitable.”

  “I always knew you were a bad influence.”

  TJ approached the bed cautiously.

  “Why didn’t you just say no? Why didn’t you tell me to jerk off? Why do you do everything I tell you to?” he asked.

  “Because I love you.”

  TJ was stunned by Dale’s smiling admission. Dale felt like he was floating. “Whoa,” TJ said, backing away and forming a T with his hands.

  “You heard me,” Dale said.

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying I love you. I have for a long time… dude,” Dale chuckled as he placed his good arm behind his head.

  “How long?”

  “I think it was when
you first skated to Scheherazade.”

  “That was two years ago.”

  “You showed a sensitivity I’d never seen in you before. And I knew that all the things you do are just a cover up.”

  “Look who’s talking.”

  TJ kept staring at Dale, but inched further away.

  “Don’t worry. It’s not contagious,” Dale said, offering an amused grin.

  TJ grabbed his head.

  “Oh God! Don’t do this to me.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s my problem, not yours.”

  “You’re a real piece of work,” TJ said.

  “Well, look who I had for a teacher.”

  Their eyes were locked until Brody entered the room.

  “Hey. How’s it goin’?” he asked Dale.

  “Not too bad. Just don’t ever get this guy angry at you,” he said, pointing to TJ. “I hear ya.”

  “Come on,” TJ begged, eager to force the conversation in another direction. “What’s the word? When do I get to make mince meat out of you again?”

  “I know that gives you a lot of pleasure, but there may not be a next time,” Dale explained.

  TJ’s eyes grew big at the realization. Without another word, he ran from the room.

  “Oh, God,” said Dale.

  “He’ll be alright,” Brody insisted with a wave of his hand.

  “No. He’s impulsive.”

  “He’s a jerk.”

  “Please. Go after him. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

  “Forget it. I’m no damn babysitter.”

  Brody mounted the fence of the wildlife preserve and dropped over the other side. His father had taught him how to track wild game. It was a skill he never thought he’d use. He penetrated the brush looking for signs of intelligent life, but he would settle for TJ. Eventually, he caught up to him. Though he was surprised by Brody’s appearance, TJ didn’t object to the company.

  As they prowled deeper into the woods, Brody was amused when TJ would jump at the snap of twigs beneath his feet. He pulled up the collar of his jacket. The damp night air was making him tremble. He hated being cold. TJ withdrew a nearly empty packet of white powder from his jacket and offered it to Brody.

  “This’ll warm you up.”

  “No thanks.”

  TJ began snorting the contents of the bag. As he stumbled on some rocks, residue clinging to the tip of his nose shook loose. When the bag was empty, he tossed it away and suddenly stopped walking. He heard something rustling only a few feet away.