Christmas with Nick Klaas

Part 12: On Thin Ice

Who are you? Noelle mentally asked herself, not recognizing her own willingness to agree to something so impulsive. Her rash decision to go ice skating with someone she barely knew—no matter how rich, nice, or handsome he may have been—was only compounded by the fact that it was ice skating.

She'd done spontaneous things before. Once, she snuck off her parent's sailboat in the middle of the night by taking the inflatable dinghy from St. John to Tortola just to see a boy. She'd also picked up the violin on a whim because she thought it had a pretty shape. But never had she voluntarily—and especially not without any forethought—chosen to do a physically exertive activity outside. In the snow. On a freaking frozen lake.

"All set?" Nick asked as he skated towards her.

After the races, he'd picked up a couple of rentals before driving out to the lake. The sun was already setting, as it tended to do during the early afternoon hours this close to the Arctic Circle in the wintertime. He'd been right that they'd be alone. Everyone was back on the canals, and the frozen surface between the surrounding mountains and forests was completely empty.

Noelle finished tying the laces on her skate and stood up from the log she'd been using as a bench. "All set."

He held out his hands and took hers. "Just relax and have fun. I've got you," he said while looking deep into her eyes.

Noelle's heart fluttered at his sincerity. Not literally of course, but that rare, yet powerful feeling she'd only experienced twice before was definitely awoken. And it made Noelle want to run. Because both those previous times after she'd opened herself up to a new person and new experiences, her heart was eventually crushed into a million pieces. The only things preventing her from bolting all the way back to the inn were the two, thin blades on the bottom of her boots.

"Is this safe? I feel like it's about to crack right under us," she asked as Nick led her further in. The ice sang under them with loud gloop with every few movements.

"That's just the air bubbles moving around between the frozen and liquid parts. No need to worry. The surface is at least ten centimeters thick. There's no risk of falling through, I promise," he said, squeezing her hands in reassurance.

Again, she believed him and did her best to ignore the sounds. Soon they were drowned out by the more immediate whoosh coming from their blades as they cut fresh lines into the ice.

Noelle had skated before, but that was on rollerblades and at least ten years earlier. So she was pleasantly surprised to find that her basic skills were quickly returning. She had no trouble with her balance, and once she figured out how to propel herself forward, she was actually making good progress. She almost regretted when Nick felt he could comfortably release her hands and let her try on her own. But it was also the first chance she took to also look around.

"Oh, wow," Noelle said as she scoured the night sky. There was no photo pollution to drown out the thousands of twinkling stars, and the snow clouds had also disappeared to reveal an unobstructed view. But best of all, she was getting a light show that was only possible this close to a pole. "I've heard of the aurora borealis, but I never imagined that it could be so vivid."

"It's quite spectacular, isn't it?" Nick asked with clear pride in his voice. "Did you know that the ionized particles that create the colorful rays are so heavily charged that they actually crackle?"

Noelle laughed. She liked his occasionally bursts of local trivia. "No, I didn't. But that is very cool."

"The colors you get also depend on the altitude the phenomenon is occurring at," he said before letting go of her hands. "But enough of science. We're here for skating."