Worlds Collide, page 16
“You heard him.” Amaliya fell into step beside Tyler. They circled together and executed their jumps in unison.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Gordon bridged the space between them. “Much better.”
Energized by their success, Tyler asked, “Now what?”
“Show me the dance sequence in your short program through your death spiral.”
“Got it.” Again, Tyler and Amaliya followed Gordon’s instructions. A dance sequence, a double lutz, a separation followed by Tyler taking Amaliya’s hand and pivoting while Amaliya stretched her body out over the ice in a perfect death spiral. Tyler pulled her hand to bring her upright beside him, both of them moving as they had only two weeks ago in the Olympics.
“Much better.” Gordon moved onto lifts, followed by jumps again. When practice time ended, he nodded his approval. “Glad to have my skaters back.”
“Um, it looks like you have more than just the two of us vying for your attention.” Amaliya nodded toward the edge of the rink.
Mrs. Wagner was back. And she wasn’t alone. Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, stood at her side, both of them wearing workout clothes and ice skates.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Gordon said.
“Hey, you can’t blame her for trying,” Amaliya said. “You are the coach of the Olympic champions.”
“She’s right,” Tyler said. “The story about Amaliya not being able to do a double axel when we started with you only makes you more impressive.”
“We never should have broadcasted that.” Gordon shook his head.
“Maybe you should just give them a tryout,” Tyler suggested.
Gordon huffed out a breath. “I guess it’s either that or deal with them for the next few days while we’re trying to focus the most.”
Tyler caught the quick flash of panic that appeared on Amaliya’s face before she managed to control it. He put his hand on Amaliya’s back. “Come on. We can watch from the side.”
“Oh, no.” Gordon shook his head. “If Bruce can’t keep Mrs. Wagner out of here, the least he can do is give us some extra ice time. You two get to demonstrate for me.”
“What? Us?” Amaliya asked.
“Yes, you.” Gordon nodded firmly. “Get a drink of water and then meet me back on the ice.”
Tyler led the way to the water fountain and took a long swallow. He stepped back to make room for Amaliya, but she was still at the edge of the rink, watching Gordon talk to Mrs. Wagner.
“Hey, you should get something to drink before Gordon wants us back out there,” Tyler said.
“You don’t think he would really coach those two, do you?” Amaliya asked. “That mother is so overbearing.”
“If we retire from competition, it will be up to Gordon who he coaches next.” Tyler nudged her toward the drinking fountain.
She took a quick sip but then returned to her previous spot beside the rink opening.
Gordon spoke to the teenagers, and both of them stepped onto the ice and circled the rink twice. When they came to a stop beside Gordon in the center, Gordon motioned to Tyler and Amaliya.
“That’s our cue,” Tyler said.
“I don’t know what he expects us to do,” Amaliya said.
“We’re about to find out.” Tyler’s hand found hers, and they glided to a stop beside Gordon.
“Tyler and Amaliya, this is Mark and Michelle.”
The foursome exchanged greetings.
“Mark and Michelle, show me your side-by-side camels.”
The two nodded and pushed off, Mark on his left skate and Michelle on her right. They were halfway around the rink before they corrected their footwork.
“Not a promising beginning,” Gordon muttered.
They went into their side-by-side camels.
“Mark’s leg is too low,” Gordon said.
“Their rotation is off too,” Tyler added.
“Good eye.” Gordon waited for the young pair to complete the move before he approached and gave them their corrections. When they started again, this time, they both pushed off on their right foot. Mark’s leg wasn’t quite in the correct position in his spin, but it was better.
“The spin rate will take longer to correct,” Gordon said. “Let’s have the two of you show them how it’s done.” He waved at the younger skaters. “Mark, Michelle, come over here. I want you to watch Amaliya and Tyler.”
Tyler’s hand pressed against Amaliya’s waist, and the two of them skated to the center of the rink. They proceeded to perform their side-by-side camels, careful to rotate at the same speed.
“Excellent.” Gordon nodded his approval. “Now, let’s see your double axels.”
Again, Amaliya and Tyler executed the requested task. When Gordon shifted his attention back to Mark and Michelle, Amaliya looked skeptically across the rink at Mrs. Wagner. “Do you really think you’d be okay dealing with their mom?”
“If I agree to take them on, I’ll have a contract drawn up. I don’t allow spectators at practice.”
“You never objected to when our parents came to watch,” Tyler said.
“With your parents, I never had to. They let me do my job without interruption.”
“True.”
Gordon sent Mark and Michelle into the next skill while Tyler and Amaliya watched.
“I’m not sure I want to be here while Gordon evaluates our replacements,” Amaliya said.
Gordon gave Mark another suggestion, and an unexpected twinge of jealousy rose within Tyler. He watched Gordon interact with the younger skaters, and a sigh escaped him. “I’m not sure I do either.”
Katerina folded her purchases and laid them neatly in the new suitcases. The coats alone filled half of the available space. She tucked the boots, gloves, and scarves on the other side before layering several pairs of Levi’s and four wool sweaters on top of them.
Robert walked into the bedroom, his hair disheveled from the wind, a white shopping bag in his hand. “We don’t leave for three more days.”
“These aren’t my clothes. They’re for Viktor.”
Robert peered over her shoulder. “For someone who wasn’t sure she even wanted to see her brother, you look pretty optimistic that it’s going to happen.”
“I feel a lot better about the possibilities now that we know where the Soviet team is staying.”
“Are you sure you want to stay in the same place as the security forces?” Robert asked.
“I would prefer to avoid it, but my best chance of seeing Viktor is if I’m where he is.”
“That’s true, but we could try to set up a meeting place.”
Katerina fisted both hands on her hips. “Do you remember when we first started dating and you wanted to take me for a picnic?”
Robert slowly nodded. “I wanted to sneak you out of the hotel, but you were too afraid to go.”
“Yes, and you can’t assume Viktor will be able to get out of the hotel by himself, much less that he’ll be willing to try,” Katerina said. “The only two logical meeting places are at the rink and at the hotel. Staying at the hotel doubles our opportunities.”
Robert raked his fingers through his hair, combing it into submission. “If the Soviets lock down their floor, the hotel won’t be an option anyway.”
“But we’ll be able to see them coming and going.”
“You won’t, but the rest of us will,” Robert said. “I don’t want you anywhere near the Soviets.”
“Miles and Linda arrive the same day we do.” Katerina folded another sweater and set it in the suitcase. “I wish I could be sure Viktor would be able to take all of this home with him.”
“Maybe we should pick up a few extras in case he needs to share.”
“Share?” Katerina’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on bribing the KGB agents.”
“Not necessarily the agents, but I’d rather go in prepared.” Robert lifted the bag he held into view. “Speaking of being prepared, I picked this up today.”
Katerina’s eyes widened when Robert pulled out a box with the image of a Polaroid camera on the outside. “You bought me a new camera?”
“Your other one is fine for most things, but if you do see Viktor, you’d be able to take pictures and send some photos home with him.”
“That’s wonderful. Thank you.” Katerina gave him a hug.
“You’re welcome.” He drew her close for a moment before he motioned to the open suitcase. “Did you buy anything for Viktor’s children?”
“Only a coat for Sonya. I’m sure she is given what she needs by the athletic committee, and there should be enough here for Viktor to share with Josef.”
“What about for Ursula?”
“I didn’t even think about it.” Katerina focused on the folded coats. “I haven’t seen her in so long. I have no idea what size she is now.”
Robert crossed to the bedroom door. When he reached it, he called out, “Amaliya?”
A moment later, footsteps approached, and Amaliya entered the room. “What do you need?”
“We need your memory,” Robert said. “Any idea what size Ursula would be in clothing?”
“She’s a little taller than me.” Amaliya held her hand above her head to show her aunt’s height.
“And her size?” Katerina asked. “When I saw her last, she was a little bigger than me. Maybe a medium?”
“She’s about the size of Mrs. Hernandez down the street.”
Katerina and Robert looked at each other and spoke in unison. “Large.”
“Are you going shopping again?” Amaliya asked.
“I think I’ll need to.” Katerina looked at her watch. “Springfield Mall doesn’t close for a couple more hours. Maybe I’ll go over there.”
“Can I come?” Amaliya asked.
“Don’t you have packing of your own to do?”
“Yes, but I could use a break.”
“Grab your shoes. We’ll leave in five minutes.”
“Okay.” Amaliya headed for her room.
“I wonder what that’s about,” Robert said.
“What?”
“She wants to go shopping with you when she could stay home with Tyler.”
“Maybe she wants to help pick out clothes for Ursula.”
“Maybe.” Robert leaned down and kissed her cheek. “While you’re shopping, you should pick up something else for Sonya. If we do find a way to send all this stuff home with Viktor, you don’t want your niece to feel left out.”
Katerina nodded. “You’re absolutely right.”
Amaliya sat in the passenger seat as her mother navigated her way toward the nearest mall.
“Is everything okay?” her mom asked. “Have you and Tyler sorted out what you want to do next?”
“We know we want to get married. We’re thinking about September.”
“A fall wedding. That would be lovely.”
Amaliya smiled. “I think so too. Do you think Papa would be okay with us having the reception at our house?”
“I’m sure we can persuade him.” She looked at Amaliya. “I hope you aren’t planning on looking at wedding dresses tonight though. We’ll want to plan a lot more time than an evening out to shop for that.”
“No, I think we can save the wedding-dress shopping for when we get home from worlds.” Amaliya studied her mother for a moment. “Unless you still have your dress.”
Her mom pulled up to a red light and turned her head. “You want to wear my dress?”
“I’ve seen pictures. Your dress was beautiful.” Amaliya shrugged. “And we are about the same size.”
Her mom’s eyes misted, and she smiled. “You can try it on when we get home.”
“Really?”
“Unless you’d rather wait until we get back from Canada.”
“Maybe sooner would be better,” Amaliya said. “It might help Papa get used to the idea of me getting married if he sees us making plans.”
“What about your other plans?” Her mom made the turn into the mall parking lot near JCPenney.
“Tyler and I are still talking about what comes next, but we realized we need to focus on worlds first.”
“That’s wise.” She parked, and they both climbed out of the car. “Your papa and I had a lot of discussions on how to balance our careers.”
Surprise surfaced. “You did?”
“Oh, yes.” Her mom led the way into the department store. “When your papa got traded to the Washington Capitals, I had just been cast to dance the lead in Giselle. Losing that opportunity wasn’t something I let go of easily.”
“Did you step down?” Amaliya asked. “I thought you did dance the lead in Giselle.”
“We negotiated.”
“How?”
“Your papa agreed to keep our house in Canada for an extra six months, and I promised that I would audition for the Washington Ballet after the show ended.”
“You lived apart for six months?”
“Not exactly. Papa was traded in March. After his season ended in May, he moved back to Canada.” She stopped at a rack of women’s sweaters and began searching through them. “Papa came out and did some house hunting a couple times that summer. When he found out a piece of property overlooking the river was up for sale, he snatched it up. We broke ground on our house a month before we moved back to Washington.”
“Tyler and I don’t have the option of going separate ways when it comes to our careers.”
“That’s true. You are very much a team when it comes to that part of your life.” Her mom held up a blue sweater. “What do you think of this one?”
“I like it.”
Her mom draped it over her arm and led the way to the women’s department. “Have you and Tyler talked about what you want?”
“Yes. Tyler said the main reason he wants to go pro is because of the money.”
“And what’s your reason for not wanting to?”
“I want to make a home, not live out of a suitcase all the time.”
“If money is the only issue, you know you and Tyler could always live in the apartment over the garage.”
“Thanks, Mama, but I think Tyler wants us to get out on our own.” She shrugged. “We wouldn’t really have that living there since there’s not a real kitchen.”
“I suppose so, but it would be nice to still have you so close.”
“I’d like that too.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Tyler checked his watch. Amaliya should be back any minute. He hoped. Even though he had already convinced Gordon to let him call his parents tonight to share the news of his engagement, he didn’t want to make that phone call without Amaliya by his side. Despite the decisions that still lay ahead of them, he couldn’t help but smile. He and Amaliya were getting married. And now, finally, they could include all their family in their plans.
Looking for both a distraction and a snack, he crossed to the small refrigerator in his kitchenette and pulled it open. A jar of strawberry jam, a half a bag of celery, and some mayonnaise. He pulled out the celery and moved to the cupboard. The contents weren’t much more promising: three slices of bread, a can of tuna, a can of chicken noodle soup, but no peanut butter. How was he supposed to eat his celery without peanut butter? That was one thing he needed to get better about, especially once he and Amaliya got into their own place. They needed at least a three-month supply of the essentials.
He carried the celery with him to the main house. The lack of vehicles in the garage told a story: Robert was still at his game at the Capital Centre, and Amaliya was still with her mother at the mall.
Even though only Eleanor and Gordon were home, Tyler gave his habitual courtesy knock before he walked into the kitchen. Empty.
Tyler crossed to the pantry and hunted for the peanut butter, which he found tucked behind a jar of spaghetti sauce.
The garage door rumbled open, and a moment later, Amaliya walked in with her arms full. Katerina followed, equally heavy laden.
Tyler set the celery and peanut butter on the counter. “I’m afraid to ask this, but is there anything else?”
“Just one more bag,” Amaliya said. “I dropped it on my way in.”
Tyler went into the garage and found the shopping bag on the concrete floor. He returned to the kitchen and closed the door behind him. “Is all of this for Viktor?”
“No.” Amaliya set the bags on the table. “Most of it is for Sonya and Ursula. We picked up a couple things for Josef too.”
“I hope they have a way to take it all home with them,” Tyler said.
“We can always return anything they don’t want or can’t use,” Katerina said. “Can you two help me carry this up to my room?”
“Sure, Mama.” Amaliya gathered the bags again.
“Here. Let me take some.” Tyler took two bags from Amaliya and three from Katerina.
Together the three of them carried everything upstairs and placed the bags by the new suitcases.
“Thank you.” Katerina settled the last bag on the floor.
“Amaliya, are you up for calling my parents?”
“Sure,” Amaliya said. “I’d say we could use the phone in my room, but Gordon still has it hidden.”
“Mine is still in my apartment.” Tyler lowered his voice. “He actually forgot to take it away after he let me have it back yesterday.”
“Maybe he trusts you.”
“Either that, or he’s figured out how to disconnect my phone line some other way.”
Katerina motioned to the latest purchases. “I can sort this on my own. You two make your call.”
“I’d actually like to call Uncle Miles and Aunt Linda too.”
Katerina motioned to the phone beside her bed. “Tyler, go ahead and take my phone there. It’s better if my husband doesn’t find out Amaliya was in your apartment.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Gordon bridged the space between them. “Much better.”
Energized by their success, Tyler asked, “Now what?”
“Show me the dance sequence in your short program through your death spiral.”
“Got it.” Again, Tyler and Amaliya followed Gordon’s instructions. A dance sequence, a double lutz, a separation followed by Tyler taking Amaliya’s hand and pivoting while Amaliya stretched her body out over the ice in a perfect death spiral. Tyler pulled her hand to bring her upright beside him, both of them moving as they had only two weeks ago in the Olympics.
“Much better.” Gordon moved onto lifts, followed by jumps again. When practice time ended, he nodded his approval. “Glad to have my skaters back.”
“Um, it looks like you have more than just the two of us vying for your attention.” Amaliya nodded toward the edge of the rink.
Mrs. Wagner was back. And she wasn’t alone. Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, stood at her side, both of them wearing workout clothes and ice skates.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Gordon said.
“Hey, you can’t blame her for trying,” Amaliya said. “You are the coach of the Olympic champions.”
“She’s right,” Tyler said. “The story about Amaliya not being able to do a double axel when we started with you only makes you more impressive.”
“We never should have broadcasted that.” Gordon shook his head.
“Maybe you should just give them a tryout,” Tyler suggested.
Gordon huffed out a breath. “I guess it’s either that or deal with them for the next few days while we’re trying to focus the most.”
Tyler caught the quick flash of panic that appeared on Amaliya’s face before she managed to control it. He put his hand on Amaliya’s back. “Come on. We can watch from the side.”
“Oh, no.” Gordon shook his head. “If Bruce can’t keep Mrs. Wagner out of here, the least he can do is give us some extra ice time. You two get to demonstrate for me.”
“What? Us?” Amaliya asked.
“Yes, you.” Gordon nodded firmly. “Get a drink of water and then meet me back on the ice.”
Tyler led the way to the water fountain and took a long swallow. He stepped back to make room for Amaliya, but she was still at the edge of the rink, watching Gordon talk to Mrs. Wagner.
“Hey, you should get something to drink before Gordon wants us back out there,” Tyler said.
“You don’t think he would really coach those two, do you?” Amaliya asked. “That mother is so overbearing.”
“If we retire from competition, it will be up to Gordon who he coaches next.” Tyler nudged her toward the drinking fountain.
She took a quick sip but then returned to her previous spot beside the rink opening.
Gordon spoke to the teenagers, and both of them stepped onto the ice and circled the rink twice. When they came to a stop beside Gordon in the center, Gordon motioned to Tyler and Amaliya.
“That’s our cue,” Tyler said.
“I don’t know what he expects us to do,” Amaliya said.
“We’re about to find out.” Tyler’s hand found hers, and they glided to a stop beside Gordon.
“Tyler and Amaliya, this is Mark and Michelle.”
The foursome exchanged greetings.
“Mark and Michelle, show me your side-by-side camels.”
The two nodded and pushed off, Mark on his left skate and Michelle on her right. They were halfway around the rink before they corrected their footwork.
“Not a promising beginning,” Gordon muttered.
They went into their side-by-side camels.
“Mark’s leg is too low,” Gordon said.
“Their rotation is off too,” Tyler added.
“Good eye.” Gordon waited for the young pair to complete the move before he approached and gave them their corrections. When they started again, this time, they both pushed off on their right foot. Mark’s leg wasn’t quite in the correct position in his spin, but it was better.
“The spin rate will take longer to correct,” Gordon said. “Let’s have the two of you show them how it’s done.” He waved at the younger skaters. “Mark, Michelle, come over here. I want you to watch Amaliya and Tyler.”
Tyler’s hand pressed against Amaliya’s waist, and the two of them skated to the center of the rink. They proceeded to perform their side-by-side camels, careful to rotate at the same speed.
“Excellent.” Gordon nodded his approval. “Now, let’s see your double axels.”
Again, Amaliya and Tyler executed the requested task. When Gordon shifted his attention back to Mark and Michelle, Amaliya looked skeptically across the rink at Mrs. Wagner. “Do you really think you’d be okay dealing with their mom?”
“If I agree to take them on, I’ll have a contract drawn up. I don’t allow spectators at practice.”
“You never objected to when our parents came to watch,” Tyler said.
“With your parents, I never had to. They let me do my job without interruption.”
“True.”
Gordon sent Mark and Michelle into the next skill while Tyler and Amaliya watched.
“I’m not sure I want to be here while Gordon evaluates our replacements,” Amaliya said.
Gordon gave Mark another suggestion, and an unexpected twinge of jealousy rose within Tyler. He watched Gordon interact with the younger skaters, and a sigh escaped him. “I’m not sure I do either.”
Katerina folded her purchases and laid them neatly in the new suitcases. The coats alone filled half of the available space. She tucked the boots, gloves, and scarves on the other side before layering several pairs of Levi’s and four wool sweaters on top of them.
Robert walked into the bedroom, his hair disheveled from the wind, a white shopping bag in his hand. “We don’t leave for three more days.”
“These aren’t my clothes. They’re for Viktor.”
Robert peered over her shoulder. “For someone who wasn’t sure she even wanted to see her brother, you look pretty optimistic that it’s going to happen.”
“I feel a lot better about the possibilities now that we know where the Soviet team is staying.”
“Are you sure you want to stay in the same place as the security forces?” Robert asked.
“I would prefer to avoid it, but my best chance of seeing Viktor is if I’m where he is.”
“That’s true, but we could try to set up a meeting place.”
Katerina fisted both hands on her hips. “Do you remember when we first started dating and you wanted to take me for a picnic?”
Robert slowly nodded. “I wanted to sneak you out of the hotel, but you were too afraid to go.”
“Yes, and you can’t assume Viktor will be able to get out of the hotel by himself, much less that he’ll be willing to try,” Katerina said. “The only two logical meeting places are at the rink and at the hotel. Staying at the hotel doubles our opportunities.”
Robert raked his fingers through his hair, combing it into submission. “If the Soviets lock down their floor, the hotel won’t be an option anyway.”
“But we’ll be able to see them coming and going.”
“You won’t, but the rest of us will,” Robert said. “I don’t want you anywhere near the Soviets.”
“Miles and Linda arrive the same day we do.” Katerina folded another sweater and set it in the suitcase. “I wish I could be sure Viktor would be able to take all of this home with him.”
“Maybe we should pick up a few extras in case he needs to share.”
“Share?” Katerina’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on bribing the KGB agents.”
“Not necessarily the agents, but I’d rather go in prepared.” Robert lifted the bag he held into view. “Speaking of being prepared, I picked this up today.”
Katerina’s eyes widened when Robert pulled out a box with the image of a Polaroid camera on the outside. “You bought me a new camera?”
“Your other one is fine for most things, but if you do see Viktor, you’d be able to take pictures and send some photos home with him.”
“That’s wonderful. Thank you.” Katerina gave him a hug.
“You’re welcome.” He drew her close for a moment before he motioned to the open suitcase. “Did you buy anything for Viktor’s children?”
“Only a coat for Sonya. I’m sure she is given what she needs by the athletic committee, and there should be enough here for Viktor to share with Josef.”
“What about for Ursula?”
“I didn’t even think about it.” Katerina focused on the folded coats. “I haven’t seen her in so long. I have no idea what size she is now.”
Robert crossed to the bedroom door. When he reached it, he called out, “Amaliya?”
A moment later, footsteps approached, and Amaliya entered the room. “What do you need?”
“We need your memory,” Robert said. “Any idea what size Ursula would be in clothing?”
“She’s a little taller than me.” Amaliya held her hand above her head to show her aunt’s height.
“And her size?” Katerina asked. “When I saw her last, she was a little bigger than me. Maybe a medium?”
“She’s about the size of Mrs. Hernandez down the street.”
Katerina and Robert looked at each other and spoke in unison. “Large.”
“Are you going shopping again?” Amaliya asked.
“I think I’ll need to.” Katerina looked at her watch. “Springfield Mall doesn’t close for a couple more hours. Maybe I’ll go over there.”
“Can I come?” Amaliya asked.
“Don’t you have packing of your own to do?”
“Yes, but I could use a break.”
“Grab your shoes. We’ll leave in five minutes.”
“Okay.” Amaliya headed for her room.
“I wonder what that’s about,” Robert said.
“What?”
“She wants to go shopping with you when she could stay home with Tyler.”
“Maybe she wants to help pick out clothes for Ursula.”
“Maybe.” Robert leaned down and kissed her cheek. “While you’re shopping, you should pick up something else for Sonya. If we do find a way to send all this stuff home with Viktor, you don’t want your niece to feel left out.”
Katerina nodded. “You’re absolutely right.”
Amaliya sat in the passenger seat as her mother navigated her way toward the nearest mall.
“Is everything okay?” her mom asked. “Have you and Tyler sorted out what you want to do next?”
“We know we want to get married. We’re thinking about September.”
“A fall wedding. That would be lovely.”
Amaliya smiled. “I think so too. Do you think Papa would be okay with us having the reception at our house?”
“I’m sure we can persuade him.” She looked at Amaliya. “I hope you aren’t planning on looking at wedding dresses tonight though. We’ll want to plan a lot more time than an evening out to shop for that.”
“No, I think we can save the wedding-dress shopping for when we get home from worlds.” Amaliya studied her mother for a moment. “Unless you still have your dress.”
Her mom pulled up to a red light and turned her head. “You want to wear my dress?”
“I’ve seen pictures. Your dress was beautiful.” Amaliya shrugged. “And we are about the same size.”
Her mom’s eyes misted, and she smiled. “You can try it on when we get home.”
“Really?”
“Unless you’d rather wait until we get back from Canada.”
“Maybe sooner would be better,” Amaliya said. “It might help Papa get used to the idea of me getting married if he sees us making plans.”
“What about your other plans?” Her mom made the turn into the mall parking lot near JCPenney.
“Tyler and I are still talking about what comes next, but we realized we need to focus on worlds first.”
“That’s wise.” She parked, and they both climbed out of the car. “Your papa and I had a lot of discussions on how to balance our careers.”
Surprise surfaced. “You did?”
“Oh, yes.” Her mom led the way into the department store. “When your papa got traded to the Washington Capitals, I had just been cast to dance the lead in Giselle. Losing that opportunity wasn’t something I let go of easily.”
“Did you step down?” Amaliya asked. “I thought you did dance the lead in Giselle.”
“We negotiated.”
“How?”
“Your papa agreed to keep our house in Canada for an extra six months, and I promised that I would audition for the Washington Ballet after the show ended.”
“You lived apart for six months?”
“Not exactly. Papa was traded in March. After his season ended in May, he moved back to Canada.” She stopped at a rack of women’s sweaters and began searching through them. “Papa came out and did some house hunting a couple times that summer. When he found out a piece of property overlooking the river was up for sale, he snatched it up. We broke ground on our house a month before we moved back to Washington.”
“Tyler and I don’t have the option of going separate ways when it comes to our careers.”
“That’s true. You are very much a team when it comes to that part of your life.” Her mom held up a blue sweater. “What do you think of this one?”
“I like it.”
Her mom draped it over her arm and led the way to the women’s department. “Have you and Tyler talked about what you want?”
“Yes. Tyler said the main reason he wants to go pro is because of the money.”
“And what’s your reason for not wanting to?”
“I want to make a home, not live out of a suitcase all the time.”
“If money is the only issue, you know you and Tyler could always live in the apartment over the garage.”
“Thanks, Mama, but I think Tyler wants us to get out on our own.” She shrugged. “We wouldn’t really have that living there since there’s not a real kitchen.”
“I suppose so, but it would be nice to still have you so close.”
“I’d like that too.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Tyler checked his watch. Amaliya should be back any minute. He hoped. Even though he had already convinced Gordon to let him call his parents tonight to share the news of his engagement, he didn’t want to make that phone call without Amaliya by his side. Despite the decisions that still lay ahead of them, he couldn’t help but smile. He and Amaliya were getting married. And now, finally, they could include all their family in their plans.
Looking for both a distraction and a snack, he crossed to the small refrigerator in his kitchenette and pulled it open. A jar of strawberry jam, a half a bag of celery, and some mayonnaise. He pulled out the celery and moved to the cupboard. The contents weren’t much more promising: three slices of bread, a can of tuna, a can of chicken noodle soup, but no peanut butter. How was he supposed to eat his celery without peanut butter? That was one thing he needed to get better about, especially once he and Amaliya got into their own place. They needed at least a three-month supply of the essentials.
He carried the celery with him to the main house. The lack of vehicles in the garage told a story: Robert was still at his game at the Capital Centre, and Amaliya was still with her mother at the mall.
Even though only Eleanor and Gordon were home, Tyler gave his habitual courtesy knock before he walked into the kitchen. Empty.
Tyler crossed to the pantry and hunted for the peanut butter, which he found tucked behind a jar of spaghetti sauce.
The garage door rumbled open, and a moment later, Amaliya walked in with her arms full. Katerina followed, equally heavy laden.
Tyler set the celery and peanut butter on the counter. “I’m afraid to ask this, but is there anything else?”
“Just one more bag,” Amaliya said. “I dropped it on my way in.”
Tyler went into the garage and found the shopping bag on the concrete floor. He returned to the kitchen and closed the door behind him. “Is all of this for Viktor?”
“No.” Amaliya set the bags on the table. “Most of it is for Sonya and Ursula. We picked up a couple things for Josef too.”
“I hope they have a way to take it all home with them,” Tyler said.
“We can always return anything they don’t want or can’t use,” Katerina said. “Can you two help me carry this up to my room?”
“Sure, Mama.” Amaliya gathered the bags again.
“Here. Let me take some.” Tyler took two bags from Amaliya and three from Katerina.
Together the three of them carried everything upstairs and placed the bags by the new suitcases.
“Thank you.” Katerina settled the last bag on the floor.
“Amaliya, are you up for calling my parents?”
“Sure,” Amaliya said. “I’d say we could use the phone in my room, but Gordon still has it hidden.”
“Mine is still in my apartment.” Tyler lowered his voice. “He actually forgot to take it away after he let me have it back yesterday.”
“Maybe he trusts you.”
“Either that, or he’s figured out how to disconnect my phone line some other way.”
Katerina motioned to the latest purchases. “I can sort this on my own. You two make your call.”
“I’d actually like to call Uncle Miles and Aunt Linda too.”
Katerina motioned to the phone beside her bed. “Tyler, go ahead and take my phone there. It’s better if my husband doesn’t find out Amaliya was in your apartment.”
