Page 12 of Shining Through

For the ladies’ long program competition Saturday afternoon, he sat with the Lake Shosha group in the section reserved for skaters’ friends and family.

“Fishy!” Two-year-old Elijah Zaikov waved a yellow fish-shaped cracker in Daniil’s face. Misha’s young son was already fidgety, and the adults tried to keep him entertained. Daniil had no experience with kids, but he knew how not to treat one. His own mother would have complained about cracker crumbs on her silk dress and handed him off to the nanny. His father would have berated or ignored him, depending upon his mood. Daniil took the cracker and popped it in his mouth. “Thank you, Eli. Mmmm. Good.”

“Good!” Eli hiccupped a high-pitched laugh and climbed into Daniil’s lap. “Cowboy, ride!”

Unsure what this meant, Daniil gently bounced the little boy on his knee. Eli shrieked with delight. Amy Zaikova looked down the row of seats and smiled. “He likes you.”

“He’s just bored,” Daniil said, but the idea pleased him anyway.

Tabitha had called Daniil’s training group a happy family. Before he’d come to Lake Shosha, he hadn’t believed such things existed. But Anton and Carrie had recently celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary. Misha’s wife Amy and their son had flown out from Delaware to spend the weekend before Misha left for Vancouver. Right now, Misha, Amy and Ilya were huddled over the older man’s tablet, admiring photos Ilya’s other son, Alexei, had sent from Antarctica.

Living among happy couples had made Daniil realize he wanted the same thing for himself, something he’d never considered before, or even thought possible. But for that to happen, he needed to meet the right woman, and keep his act together.

Given his history, it was a tall order.

Restless, he rose from his seat. There were a few minutes before the ladies’ competition started. He could use a bottle of water and maybe, a giant pretzel. Eli might like a bite.

On his way to the concession counter, he passed the credit card sign-up booth, where the friendly blond worked. She fluttered her fingers in a wave. “Enjoying the show?”

It was a competition, not a show, but he didn’t correct her. The average American didn’t know shit about figure skating. He walked over. “Sure. Will you see any of it?”

“Just up there.” She tilted her head at the TV mounted above the corridor, then leaned forward, to give him a nice view down the deep V of her tight red t-shirt. “I’m CiCi.”

“Daniil.”

“Dah-neel. That’s a nice name. Different. I’m Deena.” The dark-haired girl had joined her friend at the counter. She glanced toward the blond who nodded, then turned back and smiled. “Hey if you’re not busy tonight, a bunch of us are going out to a bar to celebrate CiCi’s birthday. You should come.”

He smiled. “That sounds like fun. I think I will.”

Just what he needed to get his mind off Tabitha Turner.

But once he settled in to watch the ladies’ event, she was back on it. Only because he wanted her to skate well. He doubted that she liked sitting in second place behind Machiko Furakawa, who was making her International Series debut. A good skate today would put Tabitha atop the podium where she belonged. Even if the International Series didn’t directly impact whether a skater made it to the Winter Games, every win made the next one easier.

Likewise, a loss could shake a skater’s confidence and jeopardize the entire season.

The first four skaters were newer, lower-ranked competitors. American Antoinette Curtis was popular in Chicago and fed off the crowd’s energy. But poor fundamentals cost her points and made her overall presentation look sloppy. Ilya, who noticed if one of Daniil’s fingers wasn’t correctly positioned, shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Good coaching could correct that and Daniil hoped she had it. Antoinette had potential to be a great skater. Her time would come, but this season belonged to a woman who’d been working half her life for a chance at gold.

Daniil’s pulse quickened as the top four skaters took the ice. Tabitha, Katia, Machiko and Chinese skater Ping Tsao warmed up to pop music. Down in the reserved section’s first row, a middle-aged redhead and two women closer to college-age —a black-haired Goth and a pink-haired Anime fan— waved to Tabitha. She acknowledged them with a hint of a smile, but didn’t look Daniil’s way. He tried not to be disappointed.

Fourth place skater Peng Tsao fell during her opening combination jump, which all but assured she would finish off the podium. Katia’s Romeo and Juliet was not only clean, it was one of the strongest performances of her career. It put her in first place, at least until the final two skaters performed.

There was a ripple of excitement as Tabitha skated out. Fans were eager to see the reigning U.S. ladies’ champion rack up her first win on the way to gold in Grenoble. Her light blue dress, fastened at one shoulder to suggest a Grecian princess, fluttered. Her wild waves were subdued into a tight sleek bun. Reaching center ice, she skated slowly, hands on her hips and head lowered, preparing. She assumed her opening pose, head bowed.

As the dolorous music began, she lifted her hand to shield her eyes, searching in vain for a lost loved one. Woodwinds underscored the singer’s mournful aria, and Tabitha leaned in for her first jumping pass. Feather light, she floated through the air in a flawless triple Lutz, and after a surefooted landing on her left blade, she executed a perfect triple toe. Applause rippled through the arena. So far, so good.

The spins and footwork which followed were clean. Tabitha’s facial expressions as the grieving Antigone were somber, but the program was just as he’d heard Misha describe it, distant.

The first triple axel came about a third of the way into the four minute program. Traveling forward on her right foot, arms and left leg behind her, she swung them forward, to propel herself into the jump. But as she rose, Daniil could tell that her positioning was slightly off, and in the middle of her third rotation, she tilted too far over. As she came down her landing blade slid off the outside edge.

His stomach clenched as he willed her not to fall.Come on, baby. Hold the edge. Fight for it.

For a moment it looked like she would be okay. But a bad landing would have its way as he knew too well. Her balance failed, and her blade skidded. She tumbled onto the ice.

She was only down a moment before she was back on her feet and resumed her program as if nothing had happened. Daniil wiped his damp palms on his jeans. Tabitha was a pro, she’d be fine.

The rest of her elements were clean, and in the Kiss and Cry, she exuded confidence, just as she’d been coached to do.“Smile like you meant to do that!”Daniil could almost hear Anton talking him up after a much worse performance three years ago, in the Helsinki Cup. He’d come back and won, but only because Misha, who’d been in first place, had thrown the competition, in a bizarre circumstance not likely to happen here. Tabitha’s mistake hadn’t been fatal, and if her artistic scores were high enough, it shouldn’t matter. Still, it wasn’t the way any skater wanted to start a season as important as this.

Then came the scores. Daniil caught his breath. Tabitha remained in second place behind Katia.

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