Page 91 of Side By Side

“A sandwich? For me?”

“Fine,” he said. “Bologna with mustard.”

She smiled and patted his cheek.

“You’ve got it.”

Bologna with mustard was what her mom used to make her when Belle wasn’t feeling well. They’d take potato chips and add them to the bread, and they’d laugh when they took a bite, and it crunched. She went into the kitchen and pulled out the bread, mustard, and pack of bologna. She made sure he ate the whole thing and drank some water before he went to sleep. Then, she went back out to the living room, which was a mess, with newspapers and car magazines, along with empty beer bottles and soda cans. She cleaned it all up, loaded the dishwasher with the dirty dishes in the sink, and by the time she was done with that, it was dinnertime. She made herself a sandwich and checked on her dad, who needed help getting up to the bathroom. Then, she helped him get back into bed, gave him the next dose of his pills, and watched TV with him while he ate the macaroni and cheese she made for him until he fell back asleep.

Belle went to the living room, made up her bed for the night, and then called Sheryl, who she knew had a crush on her father, and asked if it really would be okay for her to check on him while Belle went to work the next day.

“Of course, honey. I don’t mind at all. I’ll even bring some cards, and we can play a game or two.”

“Thank you,” Belle replied gratefully. “I’ll stop by after I get everything started there tomorrow and again for lunch and everything.”

“No problem. You know you and your dad are like family.”

Belle smiled and said, “Thank you. And you know, he’s not the neatest guy in the world. I’m sure you saw the living room and kitchen.”

“I did.” Sheryl laughed.

“But he’s trainable,” she joked.

Sheryl laughed again and said, “Understood, honey. You get some rest, too, now.”

“I will. Thank you, again.”

Before she went to sleep, Belle read the paperwork that her dad had come from the hospital with to make sure he hadn’t tried to make everything sound better than it actually was. His ankle was a possible sprain, but no break. His leg appeared to need six to eight weeks in a cast, with likely several of those weeks on crutches. He already had those, but she’d add something like towels to them to soften them for his poor armpits. His shoulder would heal, like he’d said, and everything else was okay, too, so Belle got ready for bed since she’d need to be up early to take care of him before she had to get to the rink.

???

All she wanted to do was skate, but she hadn’t had the time all day. She’d made sure her dad had what he needed that morning. Then, she’d made her way to the Ice Park. She’d replaced the light outside and checked on the rest of them to make sure they all worked. The last thing they needed now was an employee slipping on the ice they couldn’t see. She also salted all around the building and on the paved part of the parking lot. That was all before eight in the morning, with it still being dark outside. Then, she’d grabbed a quick breakfast in the concession stand while she’d turned on everything in there that needed turning on. She made sure Steph had what she needed inventory-wise when she arrived. Then, she’d gone home to check on her dad, who was still asleep.

Sheryl would be by later for lunch, which meant that Belle didn’t need to go home mid-day how she’d planned, but she still needed to do payroll and check on any of the bookings they had coming in to make sure they had everything they needed for them. By the time it was five o’clock, she was even more exhausted than when Cat had worked them from sunup to well past sunset on their long program. They had a few birthday parties that night, so she stayed to make sure everything ran smoothly after Sheryl confirmed via text that her dad was okay and that she’d made him some dinner and would leave to let him sleep after he ate it. Sheryl and her whole family would skate at the Ice Park for free for the rest of their lives, if Belle had anything to say about it.

Normally, Belle wouldn’t skate with customers on the ice, but she knew she needed it. She needed the cool air on her face as she did a jump. It would help wake her up and give her enough energy to get through the end-of-night paperwork and to do it all over again tomorrow. When she got on the ice, she thought about Chandler and wished she was out there with her instead of some twelve-year-old girls trying to teach themselves to skate backward without falling over. She wasn’t mad at her dad for falling over, but she did already miss skating with Chandler. Belle did several laps before she attempted a jump, letting herself remember the triple Axels they’d hit just the other night, and did one for herself to the delight of the girls watching her. Then, she saw someone else watching from beyond the walls of the ice. She stopped and skated over to her.

“What are you doing here?”

“You sounded really tired when you called me this morning.”

“I did?” she asked.

“Yes, you did,” Chandler said. “I was worried about you.”

Belle smiled and asked, “So, you flew here?”

“Yes.”

“But you’re supposed to be skating at home and looking for another partner, Chandler.”

“That can wait,” she replied.

“No, it really can’t. Chandler, you–”

“Belle, I’m here. Your texts last night weren’t exactly reassuring, and I had to beg you to call me this morning so I could actually hear your voice, and what I heard, I didn’t like.”

“You don’t like my voice?”

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