Page 62 of Jesse and the Ice Princess
"About what, dear?"
"You're eating carbs."
She clasped her hands together on the table, her back ramrod straight. Just once, Charlotte would like to see her mom relax.
"I'm hard on you, Charlotte. I know that. When I was your age, the only thing I ever wanted was figure skating. I wanted to go all the way. It was my sole focus. For a while, it was yours too."
"Mom..." She sucked in a breath. Now or never. "I love skating and I don't want to stop, but it can't be everything to me. I don't want to be a robot anymore."
"Robot? Honey, who would say that about you?"
"Everyone. I’ve had so much focus on one thing, I forgot everything else. I don't want to spend every free moment of my life training. I want to eat greasy burgers and cut my hair. Heck, Mom, I want to hang out with cute guys." Her cheeks flamed with that admission.
To her surprise, her mom laughed. "When I met your father, I was on my way to stardom. Still, I couldn't stay away from him. He was kind and handsome and funny."
"Do you ever regret shifting your focus?"
She shook her head. "Never."
The waitress set their food in front of them. Charlotte looked at her salad in distaste.
Her mom slid her plate forward. "I can't possibly eat all these fries myself." It was a peace offering, one Charlotte willingly took. She didn't want to be on opposite sides of a fight. She may be alone whenever she stepped onto the ice, but her mom was part of her team.
"I won't apologize for pushing you, Charlotte."
"I wouldn't expect you to." In truth, without her mom pushing her, she wouldn't be half the skater she was.
"I hear you're quite the hockey player." For her mom to acknowledge that was a big step, but Charlotte couldn't talk about hockey when all she wanted was to take the ice with the team.
"I'm quite the figure skater, Mom."
She nodded. "Yes, you are."
There was no way she could be both.
* * *
Charlotte couldn't sleep.She'd eaten a late dinner with her parents before doing an hour of stretches.
Now, she lay in bed cocooned in the warmth of her blanket, yet her mind wouldn’t stop turning.
Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it from the bedside table.
Hadley: Good luck tomorrow!
She typed out a response.
Charlotte: I'll need it.
Hadley: No, you won't. You're Ah-mazing!
She smiled as another text came in, this one from Cassie.
Cassie: I'm going to stream your competition online.
Charlotte: Oh good! You'll get to see me fall on my face.
Cassie: From what my brother says, you're like a goddess out there.
