Kiss and Cry Read Free Page B

couch when dad came home letting Tara in. He pecked me on the forehead before making his way over to the dinner table. Tara had the decency my father didn’t to hand me my crutches before passing me and pulling out my chair for me, before taking her own. She never ceased to surprise me, that’s why she was my best friend.
    Normally I helped my mother set the dinner table, but I was temporarily released from my duties. I was starting to find being injured did have some perks.
    The other perk was the pain medicine dad picked up for me after dinner. Not only did it take the edge off of my pain but it was starting to make me see little green aliens that looked like Kazoo from the Flintstones all over my house. Tara told me not to mention the aliens to my mother or she would make me stop taking them, and they dulled the pain.
    Mom served us before beginning the conversation, “Okay, tell us what happened.”
    “You already know,” I snipped.
    “Details,” dad insisted.
    I rolled my eyes and started playing with the food on my dish. The McDonald’s spoiled my appetite, “It was the end of the session so I was tired. I shouldn’t have the triple axel but I did anyway. I threw my leg forward and felt a sharp pain on take-off. It hurt so bad I lost my breath. I used the boards to get off the ice and even managed to get to school. In homeroom my leg became harder to move. Adam, a guy who sits next to me caught me just before it gave out from under me. He insisted on taking me to the hospital.”
    Mom said, “I know the nurse practitioner spoke to me, but tell your dad, what happened at the hospital.”
    “They took x-rays to determine if I had fracture. I was cleared, but not of torn ligaments or dislocations. The nurse practitioner said I’ll need an M.R.I to clear me from any bone or joint problems. She said if I skate before the M.R.I, I risk the chance of worsening my injury and permanently ending my skating career.”
    Mom gave dad a look, “You should tell Dalia what we decided.”
    “What YOU’VE decided,” he corrected. “Why do you always leave me with the dirty work?”
    Mom continued where dad didn’t want to go. She placed her elbows on the dinner table which in my household was a big no no and said, “Dalia, I’m sorry to be so harsh but you’re not getting any younger and you should already HAVE your triple axel. The girls in Europe are landing them at the ripe age of 14.”
    “Your mother is right,” dad agreed. “Even if you hadn’t injured yourself today, you can’t hold a candle to those other girls. Skating as a single skater in your case has become a waste of time,” dad finished. Wow there was no sparing feelings in this household.
    Very obviously rehearsed, mom continued where he left off, “So we’ve decided, that you’re only hope of winning an Olympic medal is if you go into pairs skating.”
    I was dumbfounded and angry at the cruel honesty of my parents. I hadn’t even began accepting the harsh reality that I was losing an entire skating season, and they had the audacity to tell me I’m not good enough to continue as a single skater injured or not, well that was just fucking great!
    I slammed my fork down on the table and looked to Tara for support. She gave me an ‘I’ve got this wink,’ and said to my parents, “Dalia needs a partner if she’s going to skate in pairs. That can’t be an easy find.” That was the best she could come up with?
    Mom grinned, “As a matter of fact, that’s been taken care of.”
    “How so?” I asked.
    “I heard from one of the other mothers at the arena that Ryan Kennedy has been looking for a partner for months now, so I called his mother.”
    “What happened to his last partner?” Tara injected.
    Mom shot her an irritated look, “Rumour has it that she got a concussion after hitting her head against the ice during a death spiral or something. All I really know is the last partner he had quit. I’m not sure how much truth is in