The Favoured, The Fair and Ms. Vérité Claire

14 The Finger Points

It was a man made rink trying to pass for a frozen pond, but spoiled by the natural beauty of Quebec as they were, no one thought of complaining. Fairy lights hung in the trees waiting to glow at nighttime and a band played cheerful music from a stand across from the skate rental booth and snack bar which were doing their best to keep up with happy demand.

The skates Julia rented fit snugly. Too snug around the ankles the way they always do at first, hurting the bone but softening as she worked them in on the sidelines. Unable and unwilling to ski, she had been anxious for a little exercise. She stepped onto the ice to get her bearings.

"No, that's okay, don't wait for me," Orson said, lacing up what amounted to heavy boots with blades on them. He had given nothing of the night before away so far.

"Do you want me to hold your hand so you don't fall down?" Julia teased, pouting.

"You do you actually skate, don't you? You're not gonna embarrass me out here in front of all my friends and loved ones?"

"Lessons for years," she said confidently.

"Show me something then."

"Don't think I won't."

Julia glided backwards into roomy space making overly dainty, articulated wrist movements while Orson folded his arms and waited.

"Yah, I can see you flapping your wings. What else you got?"

"It's too bad I'm wearing mittens," said Julia. "You should see what my fingers are doing."

"Quit stalling."

She pushed off, making a wide circle, picking up speed until she threw herself into a few graceful spirals on one leg and finished with a sit-spin. It was like riding a bike. She felt her parents with her as they once had been, as they always were with happy memories.

"Big whoop," Orson said. Julia acknowledged the challenge by leaping into a spin which made her look like a candle aflame, with so many rotations she was momentarily a blur.

Impressed, Orson bowed to her. Instantly by his side was Nina who called out, "You show me how to do that right now!"

"Me too!" Anita said, rushing the ice.

Julia giggled. "I'll try."

"I only ever laced up for boys and hot chocolate," Nina admitted, tapping Orson's shoulder with the back of her hand as she left him for the girls.

From across the rink, Brom charged them at full speed only to come to an ice-shredding break inches away from knocking them over like bowling pins. "Try doing that without busting a kneecap!" he boasted.

"Show off!" Nina said, linking arms with Anita protectively. It registered with Julia as a slightly strange move on Nina's part, but she was grateful for it on Anita's behalf.

"You mean like this?" Brom said, lunging and stretching athletically to make them laugh.

Julia hadn't noticed Orson step out onto the ice until he was carving out a few simple rings around them. Once he caught her eye, he excused himself with a head nod, skating to the far side of the rink to join Don and Hal, leaving Brom only too happy to be the sole focus of the threesome of ladies' attention.

"Check this out," Brom said. He backed up away from girls again in order to display some other trick feat which required a speedy start, but only a few fancy foot steps into his big move he had to stop short to avoid hitting a runaway child and pursuing parent. He chucked the ice with the toe of his skate and crashed to a sliding halt in front Julia.