Outside Edge (Knockout Girl Book 5)

by Natasja Eby

  Zara, not realizing that my parents aren’t exactly together, offers them the guest bedroom, saying she can sleep on the couch. Simon, Pops, and I hold our breaths and wait. Mom and Dad begrudgingly agree. I guess they don’t want to make a big deal out of it. Or maybe...they really don’t hate each other.

  “I’m not touching that with a ten-foot pole,” Simon mutters to me under his breath as Dad helps Mom take her suitcase to the bedroom. “When’s your show? I need a nap.”

  I grin at him. “I missed you, too, Simon.”

  “Nap first,” he says, when I try to hug him again. He climbs the ladder of the loft and I can hear him flop down onto one of the beds.

  Mom comes back out of the guest room, eyes me, and says, “I could use a walk.”

  “Me, too,” I say, taking the hint.

  We get our coats and boots on and as soon as we’re outside, Mom takes my elbow. I squeeze her hand with my other one as I lead her up the street.

  “Sorry about the...” I gesture back to the house.

  She waves me off. “It’s okay. I’ll survive. Your Pops could have mentioned it when I asked if it was okay, though.”

  I smile at her grumpiness. “If you want to get him back, I’ve been trying to get him to hang out with Marie.”

  “Oh, now, there’s a cute match,” she says in a lighter tone.

  I laugh and we fall silent after that. The only sounds are snow crunching under our feet and wind over our heads. Guilt weighs heavily on my mind as it seems to do a lot lately.

  “You’re not still mad at me, are you?” I ask quietly.

  The question rings out through the neighbourhood.

  “Mad at you?” Mom says, sounding surprised. “I was never mad, Adrian. Disappointed, sure. But mostly just worried.”

  “About what?” I ask. It’s probably a dumb question, but I still want to hear the answer from her.

  “You were becoming directionless,” she says. “Even though you had hockey and you were going to go to U of T, it felt like you were doing those things because you thought you had to. Not because you had any drive to. The only thing you really liked doing anymore was...”

  I know the end of that sentence. “Drinking?”

  She glances up at me. “Yes. No mother wants to watch her child lose his way.” She pats my arm with a smile. “But you seem like you’re finding it here.”

  I nod. “You were right. Everyone was right about me. Dad. Judge Alderson. Elli. Even Red...”

  “And what about that nice girl Pops told me about?” Mom asks. “What does she think?”

  I smile. “I hope she’s right about me.”

  “Well, I can’t wait to see you skate together,” she says, her eyes twinkling.

  “Oh, we should probably go back,” I say, turning us around. “Red and Zara and I have to get there early and help everyone get dressed and get dressed ourselves.”

  “It can’t be as bad as getting all that hockey gear on,” Mom says.

  “It’s ten times worse, actually,” I say, chuckling. “I think they even want me to wear makeup.”

  Mom laughs. “Then I guess we should get going.”

  We go back to Pops’s house and Red, Zara, and I leave for the Community Centre. It’s still an hour before the show starts, which Zara says is “almost enough time.” Red rolls his eyes behind her back and I stifle my laughter.

  At the Community Centre, Marie is anxiously waiting for me. “Ah, Adrian. There you are.” She motions for us to follow her. “Now that you three are here, you can help the kids get ready. Père Noël gets dressed last and all by himself.”

  “Why?” I ask with a frown.

  Marie’s eyes light up. “Because I love the look on the kids’ faces when they see Santa for the first time. Even though they know it’s you, they’ll still love it.”

  I smile at that. Marie’s enthusiasm is infectious. “Okay, I’ll be right there to help the boys. I just need to...do something first.”

  Red gives me a weird look but then he shrugs before heading down the hall with Zara and Marie. Across the lobby, there’s a set of toy vending machines. With all the coins in my possession, I empty out one of the machines so I can fill up Santa’s bag with gifts for my new little friends. But before I do that, I sift through them, looking for something for Brooke.

  I slip the perfect gift into my pocket and then head to the boys’ change room. Red is in there trying to help each kid out. Half the boys are dressed, half of them have skates on but not their costumes. All of them are goofing off. I put my fingers in my mouth and let out a whistle.

  When everyone has stopped moving to look at me, I say, “Costumes first. Then skates. Move it.”

  That gets them into some sort of working rhythm. I can feel their nervous energy, but that’s okay. They’ll get that out once they start skating.

  When I see that they’re doing just fine getting their own skates on, I leave so I can become Santa. I spend a few minutes getting my gifts into the Santa bag. The costume isn’t complicated, but by the time I’m putting the big black belt on, Red comes in. He’s already dressed up and his makeup is done. I am nowhere close to being ready.

  “Figures,” he says. “Zara told me to help you out.”

  “Well, I’m already dressed,” I say.

  “Yeah, but...” He gestures to my face and puts a little case on the table. I lift an eyebrow as he opens the case and starts pulling makeup out. “This is mine, okay?” he says. “Zara’s not always around to help. Plus she says I move too much or something.”

  I shrug. “That’s fine. I appreciate the help.”

  “I’ll give you a black eye if you make fun of me, McDuff,” he says gruffly.

  “You gave me two last time,” I tease. “You going soft?”

  He sighs. “Yeah, I guess I am. Don’t move.”

  I hold still while Red starts putting stuff all over my face. Silently pledging to never make mention of this again, I say softly, “Thank you. You didn’t have to do all this for me.”

  “No, I didn’t,” he says plainly. “Don’t move.”

  I put my hand up to stop him. “I really mean it, Red. I know you don’t have to be here or cooperate at all or be a reindeer or do my makeup. And you certainly didn’t have to let me drive your car in a snowstorm to track down a girl you don’t even know. I don’t know why you’re being so nice to me, but I mean it when I say appreciate it.”

  He tilts his head and just looks at me for a moment, his face softening. “We’re not so different, you know,” he says. “It’s not hard to be a jerk. But it takes a strong man to be better than that.”

  I swallow hard as his words sink deeply into my heart. “Thank you.”

  “Seriously, though,” he says, picking up an eyeliner pencil. “Are we done talking? This part is hard.”

  “Yeah, I’m done,” I tell him.

  I keep my mouth shut instead of telling him how much his words mean to me. I don’t even open my mouth to yell at him when he accidentally jabs my eyes two or ten times. Once he’s done blinding me, he’s starts brushing sparkles all over me.

  “Um, I think that’s enough,” I say to him.

  “I dunno,” he says in a teasing voice. “Santa’s a pretty sparkly character... I think you need some more.”

  I barely have time to close my mouth before he swipes the brush across my face. My nose twitches with the urge to sneeze. I grab the brush and pull it out of his hand.

  “Yeah, I think his reindeer should be just as sparkly,” I say. I dab the brush all over his face and he pulls away quickly with a scowl.

  He turns to the mirror and glares at my reflection. “Hey, not the eyes. You’ll ruin my guyliner.”

  “Oh, I so want to make fun of you for saying that,” I say as he dabs at a corner of his right eye. “But I totally know what you mean.”

  For a minute we both look into the mirror admiring ourselves. Red’s eyes meet mine and he surprises me by smiling.

  “What?” I
say, wary.

  He shakes his head. “I’m having a lot of fun here. With you.”

  “Me, too,” I say, finding that I really mean it.

  “You’re not really gonna leave this place, are you?” he asks.

  I swallow hard. “I don’t want to. But I might have to.”

  He nods like he understands but isn’t sure what to say. He slaps me on the shoulder and says, “Alright, Santa, better get that beard on. If Brooke’s anything like Zara, then you’re already late if you’re five minutes early.”

  I smile and pick up the Santa beard. “That sounds about right.”

  Marie was right about one thing—seeing the kids’ faces when I go out to take my seat on Santa’s chair is totally worth the pain of having all that makeup put on me. Their smiles light up the rink brighter than the spotlights do and for a moment, I feel like the real Santa.

  CHAPTER twenty-five

  Brooke

  Adrian is even more enchanting than Santa himself. I grew up watching professionals doing all kinds of moves that Adrian says he can’t do. But all of that fades in comparison to how he ice dances with those kids. And I think he’s really become Santa for them tonight.

  The magic works on me, too, and I manage to do my part without once wondering what my score will be afterwards. The whole pageant goes off without a hitch. Until we get to the end, that is.

  Instead of ending our Santa and Mrs. Claus routine by pulling me into his arms like he’s supposed to, Adrian slides down onto one knee. My heartbeat quickens and my eyes widen as he pulls something out of his pocket. It’s the cheapest, silliest-looking ring I’ve ever seen. I love it.

  “What are you doing?” I whisper.

  He grins boyishly, the Santa beard moving awkwardly on his face. “It’s just for show.”

  I glance around at the silent audience. “Is that a vending machine ring?”

  “Yes,” he says. “Come on, everyone’s waiting for you to say yes.”

  “They know we’re already married, right?” I ask, with laughter in my voice.

  “Brooke...”

  “Alright,” I say, offering him my left hand.

  It’s silly. I know this isn’t real, like he said. But I still love the way it feels when he puts the ring on my finger. The crowd applauds for us and I roll my eyes. Adrian stands and bows.

  He starts to skate away, but I tug on his elbow. “We still have to sing the song.”

  “Oh, right,” he groans.

  He goes over to Santa’s chair, where there’s a mic hidden in a pocket on one of the arms. He switches it on, points it towards me, and gives me a nervous look. We never practiced this. Everyone knows “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” so it never occurred to us how to actually play this.

  I turn the mic slightly in his direction, take his hand, and open my mouth to just start. Thankfully, he sings with me in a wobbly voice. And...we’re not terrible, but it’s definitely not what we’ll be known for tonight. Still, the audience immediately joins in, as is tradition. When Adrian realizes they’re all singing with us, he relaxes and his voice evens out.

  Even before the song is over, the crowd claps and cheers for us. With big smiles, we bow, turn, and bow again. Then we motion to the sidelines to have all the rest of our performers join us. The kids skate out, turning in slow circles and bowing to acknowledge the whole audience. Red and Zara join us, too, but they just hang out and clap for the kids who are showing off now.

  We manage to get the kids to file out in order off the ice. Marie meets us off to the side, a huge smile on her face. She tries to hug every kid so she can show them how much she appreciates them.

  “That was parfait, mes amis,” she coos. “Oh, I’m so glad you all worked so hard. And you two.”

  She comes over to me and Adrian and takes our hands, pointedly looking down at the ring he gave me. “That was not the ending I remember. But it was still lovely.”

  Adrian chuckles, his cheeks going pink. “I’m going to take this beard off.”

  We start corralling the kids towards the change rooms. I turn around to ask Marie something but stop in my tracks. I grab Adrian’s hand and whisper, “Adrian, look.”

  He turns in time to see his Pops approach Marie with a huge bouquet of red roses. She puts her hands up to her chest as her mouth drops open. Henri gives her a slow, easy smile that reminds me of Adrian’s as she takes the flowers from him. She gives him a hug and I decide my question probably isn’t that important.

  ***

  The next night, we’re surprised when the stadium is even more full than the first night. Normally, it’s the other way around. But apparently, word spread of our great show and we managed to attract a larger crowd.

  It gives me hope that we can save this program for next year. I can tell Marie is thrilled and maybe a little relieved, too. When I see Adrian in his Santa suit again, I wonder if maybe there is a little Christmas magic in it.

  Marie asks him if he’ll recreate his “proposal” to me again tonight, which he’s more than happy to do. And even though I’m expecting it this time, I still feel those same flutters when he pulls the ring out. The crowd is even more enthusiastic in their applause tonight.

  After our performance, the kids pull Marie out onto the ice to acknowledge all the hard work she put into the pageant.

  I head back into the change room with the other girls. Zara never once hesitates to help anyone else and I feel like I never properly thanked her for that. With such a young group this year, her presence was both welcome and necessary.

  Once the other girls have gone, I turn to Zara and say, “Thank you so much for all your help. You have no idea... It really means a lot to me.”

  Her face brightens up. “No way. I should be thanking you. It’s been my dream forever to perform on ice.”

  “Was it everything you hoped for?” I ask.

  “Absolutely!” she replies.

  I giggle. “It is pretty magical, eh? It’s like you’re flying and dancing at the same time.”

  “Exactly!” she says. “I’m definitely going to have to practice a lot before next year. If you’ll have us back, that is.”

  She’s so sweet and I don’t have the heart to tell her I’m not sure if there will be a next year. Instead, I say, “I would never say no to that.”

  ***

  Adrian’s family and friends leave the day after our second show. And yet he’s here, cuddled up on my couch with me, a roaring fire keeping us company. I’m happy to have him here, but I still feel uncertain about his future, and my future, and...our future.

  “Are you going home for Christmas?” I ask.

  “Nah,” he says softly. “Mom and Dad said they’d come back up. Pops is real lonely, you know?”

  I smile up into his eyes. “He didn’t look too lonely when he was giving Marie those flowers.”

  He laughs out loud, his dimples creasing his cheeks. “True. I’m not in a rush to leave, though. I don’t think he can take care of that house all by himself. And I...”

  “You?” I prompt when he doesn’t finish his sentence.

  “I love you,” he says softly, making my heart soar. “I don’t want to leave you.”

  “Oh, Adrian,” I say. “I love you, too. But you have to go back to real life eventually.”

  “Why?” he says with a shrug. “It’s not like I was ever good at real life.”

  He sounds sad, so I put my arms around him tightly. “You can’t exactly live off nothing for the rest of your life. You should go to university like you planned. Get a good job, go back to playing hockey.”

  He shrugs one more time and says, “I can do distance ed. Get a job around here. I mean it—I don’t want to leave you. Or my pops, for that matter.”

  “What about the judge back home?” I ask. “Eventually he’s going to see how much good you’ve done.”

  “Oh, yeah, I talked to him yesterday,” Adrian says with a shrug.

  I sit up and look at him. “You didn’t t
ell me that. What did he say?”

  “Well, there’s good news and bad news,” he says. “He told me my driving suspension was lifted, but he didn’t know that I was the one driving when we found you the other night. So I told him. He appreciated my honesty, and then gave me another one-month ban for violating my first suspension.”

  “How generous of him,” I say dryly.

  Adrian smiles. “He also told me I could go home anytime.”

  My heart hammers in my chest. A big part of me wants to change the subject and never look back. But that wouldn’t be fair. “Oh,” I say. “That’s...good. So, you’re...”

  “Already home. That’s what I told him, anyway.”

  My whole body warms from my heart outwards. I touch the plastic ring that’s been on my finger since he gave it to me. I don’t know how to tell him how much I love hearing him say that, so I just kiss him instead. He doesn’t seem to mind, if his enthusiastic response is any indication.

  He finally stops kissing me and asks, “And you?”

  “And me, what?” I answer.

  “Are you going to try for the Olympics again?” he asks gently.

  I pull away a little too quickly. I don’t want to think about that just yet. “I don’t know. It nearly ruined me. I’m not sure it’s such a good idea.”

  “I understand,” he says, nodding. “I get it. But also, you’re too talented for this little town. You know that, right?”

  “But, Adrian—”

  “So, don’t do the Olympics.” He takes my hands into his. “You could do anything you want. Disney on Ice. Or, um...I don’t really know what else figure skaters do, but there’s got to be something.”

  “Maybe,” I say. “For right now, I’m happy with this.”

  “This?” he says, running his thumb along my ring finger.

  “Yeah,” I breathe. “It’d be even better if we had hot chocolate.”

  Adrian takes the hint and stands up. We go to the kitchen together and I start the kettle.

  As we wait for the water to boil, I say, “You know, it’s been a long time since Christmastown had a hockey team. Maybe with the right coach...?”