Finally, the people from the team were gone, leaving Justin on his own.He skated over to where we were sitting.Justin waved me down.Arne followed.
“I’ve got permission for us to use the ice for a bit longer.This place rents skates for open skating nights.You guys up for it?”
The look on Arne’s face when I said yes made me feel like the best mom ever—while knowing I might soon have to be the worst.
We met Justin at the skate rental.He asked what size Arne took, and Arne almost vibrated as Justin pulled out a pair for him.I picked them up, ready to help Arne put them on, then Justin put a pair of women’s skates on the counter as well.“You’re a size seven, right?”
My mouth opened to say I wasn’t skating, but what came out was “You remember?”He nodded.“Actually, I’m an eight now.”His brows shot up.“Side effect of pregnancy.”He didn’t want to hear about ligaments loosening and not tightening up after delivery.He put the skates away and got out another pair.
I wanted to avoid skating, but was it fair for me to expect Justin to take care of my kid on the ice?Mentally shaking my head, I took the skates and followed Justin to the locker room.Arne had his skates clutched to his chest as he sat on a bench.I knelt in front of him and pulled off his runners.
“Your mom is going to have to tie those up really tight,” Justin said from behind me.Warning Arne or reminding me?
“How come?”
“It’s easier to skate if you don’t have to concentrate on keeping your ankles straight.”
Arne nodded.“Do them really tight, Mommy.”
At least after that he didn’t complain when I tied themverysecurely.
While I put on my own skates, Arne stood up in his, walking around cautiously.The skates felt strange on my feet.The last time I’d skated had been…back when I was with Justin.A long, long time ago.
Once I was ready, Justin led the way.He stepped onto the ice and turned to face us, holding out his good hand.He looked at me.“Okay if I take Arne for a lap?”
I nodded.It might take time for me to get my ice legs back.
Arne readily grabbed Justin’s hand and stepped on the ice.He wobbled and gripped Justin’s forearm with both of his hands.
“Are you okay?”I asked, worried now that Arne might injure Justin’s arm.
Justin grinned and nodded.“Now, Arne, slide forward with one foot.”
With a fearlessness I envied, my son did just that.He still had a death grip on Justin, but Justin didn’t waver, just waited till Arne felt comfortable and then told him to slide the next foot forward.
Once they were a couple of feet away from the gate, I stepped on the ice myself.I held my hands out for balance as I got used to skates again.I pushed off carefully with one foot, and with only a wobble, the other.
By the time I met up with Justin and Arne, circling the other way, I was comfortable.I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed skating.When was the last time I’d done something just for fun?
“You can skate, Mommy?
I smiled at him.“I used to skate a lot.How are you doing?”
He drew his brows together.“I keep slipping.”
“It’s your first time,” Justin said.“You have to practice if you want to learn something.”He raised his brows at me, checking if he was crossing any lines, and I shook my head.He wasn’t trying to convince Arne it was easy, and instead was making sure my son knew it would take a lot of work.
“I can do that.”My heart sank a bit, while I had to smile.Sometimes I could not believe this kid—despite everything in our lives, he was just a joy.“I want to be able to go fast, like you and Mr.Justin do.”
It didn’t look like Operation Make Arne Hate Skating was going to work, so I held out my right hand to him.“Maybe Mr.Justin and I can take you for a spin.”
Arne grabbed at my hand, his other still holding tightly to Justin’s.This was familiar: Justin and I had gone to free skates and done laps holding hands like this—only now we had a six-year-old as a buffer between us.Arne let us drag him around at first, but started to move his legs, trying to emulate us as we did more circuits around the rink.I finally called a halt to it when my ankles started to ache.I was out of condition.
Fortunately, Justin asked Arne if he wanted to shoot the puck.For once, my kid was speechless, just nodding frantically.I followed Justin to the corner to pull out a net.There was a small stick there and a bucket of pucks.I carried the stick and pucks to one of the face-off circles and kept out of the way.
Justin told him how to hold the stick, how to move it.When Arne was still struggling, he skated up behind him and leaned over, holding his hands and moving them till Arne got it.
My insides folded over on each other and my heart almost burst with gratitude for Justin doing this.Arne could use all the positive male role models he could find.