Geez, I can’t believe this is actually the thirteenth one of these things that I’m writing! When I started this, I thought it was such a simple, foolproof plan... now I know better. It’s been a lot more complicated than I thought it would be, what with all the twists and turns and unexpected surprises along the way. I think it’s gonna be worth it, though. I really do think it’s all gonna be worth it.
“Julie, why do I have to be at the rink right now?”
Ross precariously balanced his cordless phone between his shoulder and his ear as he held the letter in one hand and his cereal bowl in the other. He’d just barely finished eating breakfast when the call from his partner had arrived, telling him he had to get his butt down to the rink immediately.
“Costume fitting?” he groaned, sticking his bowl in the kitchen sink and catching the phone as is slipped out from its wedged position. “On a Saturday morning? Can’t it wait? Yeah, Julie, I know that we have practice in an hour anyhow, and I know Four Continents is in a week, but I hate costume fi....”
He trailed off as his partner interrupted him from the other end of the line, and listened to what she had to say before replying.
“Okay, okay, I’ll get there as fast as I can,” he relented with a sigh. “Tell Marina and all I’ll be there and they don’t have to throw a fit. Yeah... yeah... okay, I’ll see ya.”
“I hate costume fittings!” he grumbled the instant he’d set the phone down.
Ah, but you’re such a sucker, a voice in his mind replied. All she has to do is say the word and you’re there.
Well, maybe, he admitted. But maybe there was only one day left until he
got his reward...
At first, I thought that writing these notes was just about me being too scared to tell you
all this to your face. Maybe it was, at first, but now that I look back, I’m glad I did it. I
discovered so many things... about me, about you, about everything... that I wouldn’t have realized
myself if I’d just blurted this all out. These things take time, and patience, and getting through
all those complications that happened to fall into our way.
Complications.
He thought back, now able to smile at the silliness of it all. Grocery store
stakeouts and music room confessions, identical red envelopes and singing in the car...
funny, crazy little stories they’d be able to laugh at together some day. How had he been
so stupid? How had he been so blind?
Love is blind, he reminded himself. I guess there’s some truth in those
silly old sayings, after all.
With any other girl, he would’ve felt utterly stupid at not figuring out something so
obvious. But somehow, it was different with Julie. Even remembering how he’d gone to
her for help didn’t make him feel that foolish, although he had to admit that he still
turned slightly red when he thought about it. With Julie, being a little foolish didn’t matter
so much. He knew she understood. She always did.
It’s a nice feeling... knowing you’ve found a soulmate. Someone who understands you.
Someone who knows what you’re thinking before you’ve said a word. I know now why this was
inevitable. It’s because you’re the only person in this world who knows me better than I know
myself.
Oh, Julie, he thought to himself. What took us so long? If this was
really inevitable, why didn’t we realize it long ago?
Because the timing wasn’t right then, something deep inside him informed.
You didn’t know each other well enough then. This isn’t about the past, it’s about the
present. The important thing is that you realize it now.
“One more day,” he whispered, setting the note aside.
One more day...
“Do you think the lace at the sleeves is all right, or does it need another ruffle?”
Costume designer Leslie Fowler was hard at work in Dressing Room 2 at the rink, busily pinning the sleeves on Julie’s old-fashioned puffed sleeved dress. Their waltz, skated to music from the Anne of Green Gables soundtrack, had been revamped since Canadians, and she’d decided they needed new costumes to go along with the new steps.
“I like it the way it is,” Julie told the designer, turning around so Leslie could take a look at the fit of the skirt. “It think it’s just a little loose, though...”
“Yup, it’s wrinkling in the back,” Leslie replied. “I’ll take it in a little. Maria, how are you doing with Ross?”
“I think his is fine,” her assistant replied, critically standing back and taking a look at Ross, who looked extremely handsome and yet extremely bored in his grey tailored vest and white shirt.
“Okay, stand up and show yourself off.” Leslie finished pinning Julie’s dress and pulled her up from where she’d been sitting on a stool. “Let me see the whole effect.”
Julie stood up and twirled around, letting the full skirt of the dress twirl with her.
“How do I look?”
“Gorgeous,” Leslie replied. “As usual.”
Twisting slightly from where Maria was taking his measurements, Ross turned to glance at his partner in full costume. Gorgeous as usual pretty much summed it up, he agreed inwardly.
“You look beautiful,” he said out loud as Julie returned to the stool for some last-minute pinning.
Looking up in surprise, Julie smiled.
“Thanks,” she said softly, and then looked away.
Ross noticed the change in her voice and the way the colour rose in her cheeks as she pretended to smooth out her skirt. As he thought back, he realized that the little clues had been there from the beginning... the sudden changes of tone, the little voice inflections, and blushing and the soft smiles. He’d just been too caught up in his own worries to notice.
She’s smiling like that for me. The thought alone was enough to make him smile. She’s blushing because of me. She’s doing all this for me.
Now the question was, what was he going to do for her in return?
“...and the last lift, you must correct the timing, it is off the music,” Marina finished, critiquing their latest runthrough of their freedance. “The expression, it is excellent, beautiful work.”
“Thanks,” Ross replied. “Julie, you want to try the middle bit again?”
“Uh huh.” She nodded. “C’mon, let’s go.”
They went through the centre portion of the dance again, then again until they’d mastered the difficult step sequence, staying on ice after the other skaters on the Team Dance session had left. When they were finally satisfied with themselves, they began to circle the now empty rink idly, cooling off from their practice.
“So, tomorrow’s the fourteenth,” Julie said finally, falling into stroke beside her partner. “I guess you’ll finally know who your secret admirer is, huh?”
“Um hm,” Ross replied, not giving anything away. “I guess I will. Do you think she’s as nervous as I am?”
“You’re nervous?” Julie stopped and looked up at him. “What are you nervous about? It’s she that should be nervous.”
She is nervous, she thought to herself. She’s more nervous than she’s ever been in her life. And yet, she can’t wait, because she knows... she thinks she knows...
“I’m nervous because I don’t know if I’m good enough for her,” he responded. “I mean, wouldn’t you be if someone wrote you letters like that?”
“You’re good enough for anyone,” she contradicted softly. “And don’t ever let anyone say otherwise.”
Her words could still make his heart do gymnastics in his chest. Hearing that, from her, made him want to forget restraint and just kiss her right then and there. But now wasn’t the time...
“I don’t know.” He gently pulled his hand from hers and slowly moved it up her arm, lightly stroking, stopping to rest on her shoulder. He looked down into her eyes and made sure she was looking back. “I think this secret admirer of mine is a pretty special girl... don’t you?”
Oh, dear God.
Her heart was doing flip-flops and her breathing was growing erratic. Oh, God, the way he was looking at her, the feeling of his hand on her arm, on her shoulder... his eyes... So close. Oh, so close...
He knew. With that one look, she knew he knew. And the strange thing was, she didn’t care anymore. She was even glad. But he hadn’t said anything... anything about... whether he... Well, if he wasn’t going to say anything, neither would she. Just one more complication. Stick to the plan.
“I’ve gotta go,” she said at last, pulling away. “Uh... to get dressed and... go. I’ll see ya?”
Without waiting for a response, she rushed off the ice and was gone.
Ross watched her leave and smiled. He’d wondered what Julie was like when she was in love... Well, this was it. Right in front of his eyes.
Still reeling from the realization that she’d been discovered, Julie walked into the dressing room so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice who else was there. She didn’t notice, that is, until she felt the strange sensation that she was being stared at and looked up to find The Five all looking at her as if she’d gone insane.
“What?” she asked, wondering what she’d done.
“Julie, Ross?” Kristy asked at once.
Julie feigned confusion, pretending to be extremely interested in wiping off her skates. “What about Ross?”
“Oh, come on.” Candice rolled her eyes. “Like you don’t know what we’re talking about.”
“I have no clue,” Julie replied calmly, slipping her guards on her skates and placing them on the bench beside her.
“The reason why you’ve been showing up early and all dressed up every day?” Laura said. “The reason why you spend so much time daydreaming with that little smile on your face and we have to say something three times before you snap out of it?”
“Don’t give us that innocent look, Julie.” Maddie shook her head. “We all know you’re madly in love with him.”
“Me, madly in love with Ross?” Julie laughed, trying to sound natural. “You guys have got to be kidding me.”
“We’re not kidding you,” Svetlana countered.
“C’mon, Julie, it’s written all over your face!” Maddie exclaimed, turning to face Julie from where she’d been fixing her hair in the mirror. “And it’s not like you’ve got anything to worry about. I mean, he’s wildly in love with you.”
Julie’s hairbrush suddenly fell from her hand to the floor with a clatter.
“He isn’t!” she protested.
The other five girls just stared.
“You mean you don’t know?!” Laura gasped in disbelief.
“There is no way!” Svetlana cried.
Candy just gaped. “Wake up and smell the coffee, girl!”
Maddie went over to Julie, sat down beside her, and patted her shoulder comfortingly. “Hon, open your eyes and see what’s in front of your face. He’s wildly in love with you. He’s always been wildly in love with you.”
Poor Julie had suddenly turned extremely pale. “He... he doesn’t... he couldn’t...”
“He can,” Laura corrected firmly. “And he does.”
“B-but... but I...” Julie stammered, unable to get the words out.
“Look at her!” Kristy laughed. “And she says she’s not in love with the guy!”
“Julie, get this through your thick skull,” Maddie urged. “Ross is in love with you. He doesn’t just like you, he doesn’t just have a crush on you, and it’s not even just a sex thing, although he does want you bad...”
“Maddie!” Laura gave her friend a warning look.
“What?” Maddie returned, unperturbed. “He does.”
The others giggled, and Julie flushed deeply, turning red to the roots of her hair.
“Anyhow, what I was trying to say is, you can see it every time he looks at you,” Madison continued. “Or at least everyone in the entire world except you can see it. It’s so obvious.”
“Really?” Julie whispered.
“Yes, Julie, really,” Candy assured her.
Julie buried her face in her hands in total disbelief.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered out loud. “Oh, my God, oh, my God...”
“Move quick,” Maddie advised. “You might get some action in time for Valentine’s Day.”
“Maddie!” the other four chorused in unison.
“Okay, okay, fine. I’ll shut up and quit embarassing her.” Madison turned to Julie and grinned mischeviously. “But I know what you’re thinking, Julie... don’t think I don’t.”
The truth was, Julie had been thinking just what Maddie suspected. Unable to stop herself from blushing, she looked up guiltily.
“Okay, so maybe I am thinking that,” she confessed. “So what?”
As the others laughed, Julie found herself joining in. Why not laugh? she thought to herself. If they’re right, they can laugh all they want.
“He’s wildly in love with you. He’s always been wildly in love with you...” She thrilled at the thought.
“He loves me,” she whispered out loud, knowing she wouldn’t be heard above the laughter of the other girls. “And I love him...”
All that was left was to complete her dream was to hear the words from him.
Tomorrow, she told herself, smiling dreamily. Tomorrow, it will all come true.
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Onto Day 14... OR Back to the story... |