Dance of a Lifetime

by Frank Downey

  The ten teams were split into two practice groups. Sophia and Warren had Nicholas/Coleman, Beauchamps/Anders, and Kingsley/Forberg in their group. Sophia and Warren had the second practice group, but showed up for the first, sitting in the stands, watching the other couples. They shouted greetings at Evan and Shawna.

  One of the things that was best about Nationals was seeing all their friends. Jack Garrison hadn't arrived yet, but Liz Cushman and Christine Arsenault quickly joined them in the stands.

  "You two dragged your asses out of bed at 7 am to watch dance practice?" Warren teased them.

  "What, and pass up the opportunity to see the First Couple of Ice Dance perform a tango? Perish the thought," Christine replied.

  This was an original dance practice, so Warren and Sophia would be practicing their Piazzola tango. They watched the first group, applauding their encouragement to Evan and Shawna, and then went below and put on their skates.

  They hadn't realized it yet, but their win at the Junior Grand Prix had created a bit of a buzz about them. Most of the judging panel plus a lot of the TV people were in the stands, and Sophia and Warren were one of the reasons why. The first thing these observers noticed was what they were wearing.

  This was not a good thing. The tradition of practices at major competitions held that, even though it was only a practice, you dressed almost as well as you did for the competition. You were being watched. However, as Warren and Sophia always joked, theirs was "a budget operation." Sophia had exactly one decent practice dress--and she was saving that for some of the later practices. She took the ice in her usual practice attire--a black leotard with black tights. Warren, for his part, was wearing blue sweatpants with a grey "St. Michael's' Prep Athletics" tee shirt. They knew this was going to happen, but they didn't much care, nor did they have the money to throw around on practice dresses. Leotards and tights were cheap. Their practice clothing etiquette faux pas did not go unnoticed by the people in the arena--especially their competition.

  Sharon Nicholas was pointing it out to her partner, Steve Coleman. "How wonderful. They must think that they're still taking a little cruise around the Oceanview Ice Rink."

  Steve agreed, as did Marie Beauchamps, but, Marie's partner, Victor Anders, protested. "I think it's great. I think they've got guts. It's practice, wear what's comfortable."

  "But what about how you look?" Marie asked him.

  "They look fine," Victor insisted. "She, especially, looks better than fine. Assets like those don't need accoutrements."

  "Oh, really?" Marie asked.

  "Really. That girl could show up in a burlap bag and still stop traffic. You ladies are jealous, face it." Victor was laughing. Marie skated away from him in a huff. Victor grinned at Steve, and then skated away to catch up to his partner.

  Sophia and Warren were the last in their group to run through their program. They watched all the rest, and agreed that Nicholas and Coleman were the class of the group, but as for the rest...

  "We can compete with that," Warren whispered to Sophia.

  "You're right."

  When they took their starting positions, there was still a bit of a buzz about what they were wearing. That stopped pretty quickly when they started skating.

  Victor turned to Marie halfway through Sophia and Warren's skate, and said to her, "We're in trouble."

  "Huh?" she replied.

  "You watching this? We're in trouble."

  "They're not that good."

  "What, exactly, are you watching? They are definitely that good. Look at the speed. And where in hell did two seventeen year olds that practice part time learn how to tango like that? We're in trouble, Marie, I'm telling you."

  Victor's foreboding only increased that night, after he had seen Sophia and Warren practice their Glenn Miller free dance.

  * * *

  The compulsory dances were the first part of the competition, held on Tuesday night. There were two different dances, but every couple did the same steps to the same music for each of the two dances. This was the hardest part to judge, because the differences between couples were often miniscule. Because of that, reputation counted for a lot. Sophia and Warren ended up the compulsories in fifth place, with Nicholas and Coleman first, Kingsley and Forberg second, Beauchamp and Anders third, and Vickers and Pogdar fourth.

  The next night was the original dance, the tango. They knew they skated it well, but were absolutely shocked when they ended up in third. They were third overall, too, behind Nicholas/Coleman and Kingsley/Forberg. Victor Anders' foreboding were being justified, he and Marie were fifth. But both they and Shawna and Evan, who were in fourth, were in shouting distance of the bronze medal.

  The free dance was the next night, Thursday. Sophia and Warren would be the last team in the final five to skate. They knew the free dance was their strength, but they still didn't think they could hold on to a medal. They expected Shawna and Evan to overtake them.

  Shawna and Evan were the first team to take the ice for the free dance. Sophia and Warren watched their friends skate on a monitor backstage, and were impressed.

  "They just keep getting better," Warren said.

  "Yup. Hey, fourth isn't bad," Sophia quipped. "Not for our first senior nationals."

  "You never know," Warren replied.

  Beauchamps and Anders were rather lackluster, placing well behind Shawna and Evan. Nicholas and Coleman skated like what you'd expect from a team that was eighth in the world last year, and easily moved into the lead. Kingsley and Forberg, however, had lots of problems. They had a couple of untimely stumbles and were generally ragged. They placed behind Shawna and Evan in the free dance, although they were still ahead of them overall.

  Then, it was Sophia and Warren's turn. They took the ice in front of the almost-packed house. Their skating friends like Jack, Christine and Liz were there, but a lot of their internet friends were also there. Plus, since Providence was fairly close to Oceanview, a whole contingent had come down--all of their families, and a lot of friends, like Crash, Jessie, Nick, Meggan, Josh, and lots of others. Even John Vassar had come down, sporting a sign that said, "Go Sophia and Wimp-Man!"

  They took their starting positions, surprisingly relaxed and comfortable, waiting for their music to start. Warren was wearing a white tux, while Sophia had donned a deep burgundy dress, low-cut and slinky, her hair up in a bun, wearing the pearl necklace that had been her Christmas gift from Warren. Then the music started, and they took off.

  It was magic from the start. Every step was perfect, every movement precise, and the crowd realized it from the start. The applause grew, as they moved through their dance better than they ever had. Their smiles grew wider and wider as the program went on. By the time they hit the up-tempo Little Brown Jug section, the crowd was clapping along with the beat. They flew through the tricky circular footwork, and headed for the Big Finish. They banged their hips back and forth, as the crowd went nuts. After the final spin, as they did a few final movements headed into the final pose, Warren gave Sophia an unscripted kiss, causing her to hold the final pose eyes-wide with surprised laughter. Then, as the crowd erupted, they pumped their fists in triumph.

  They took their bows, and then skated off to the Kiss and Cry area, where they found June, their coach, almost delirious. "MY GOD! That was PERFECT! Jesus, I can not believe how good that was!"

  "I can't believe it either," an out of breath Warren agreed.

  Sophia and Warren sat down next to one another, smiling broadly. Then, the marks came up. The first marks, the technical marks, were mostly 5.8, with a couple of 5.7s and even one 5.9.

  "OH MY GOD!" screamed Sophia.

  "Look at that! Look at that!" said Warren, in wonder, pointing at the scoreboard. The second set of marks, for presentation, was similar.

  "That's got to keep you on the podium," June said, waiting for the ordinals to be posted.

  They were, and Warren screamed. Underneath the slots on the scoreboard for the nine judges, Warren and
Sophia saw the number 2 seven times.

  "Oh my God, we won the silver medal," Sophia almost whispered. Seven of the nine judges had placed them in second place in the free dance. Because Kingsley and Forberg had finished fourth in the free, that was enough to give Warren and Sophia the silver medal.

  They wrapped their arms around each other. Then they stepped out so that the crowd could see them, to acknowledge the cheers that were still going on. The crowd was delirious.

  They were quickly cornered by TV commentator Sandra Willis, the ice dance analyst. It was their very first TV interview.

  "That might have been the greatest upset in American Ice Dance. How does it feel?" Sandra asked.

  "We still can't believe it," Warren said.

  "That is the absolute best we've ever skated that program. We couldn't have done it any better," Sophia said.

  "You're young," Sandra said, "but you have a wonderful ability to communicate on the ice. You have a fantastic awareness of your own body, and your partner's. Your unison, and your ability to skate close together, is remarkable. How have you managed to achieve that at such a young age?"

  "Part of it is musical awareness," Sophia said. "Letting the music take you, instead of the other way around, tends to produce a program that's unified."

  "Yeah, and we do our own choreography, so there is just the two of us, figuring all that out," Warren added.

  "Also, being as close as we are definitely helps," Sophia smiled. "We've been a couple off the ice for almost three years--that's longer than we've been skating together. We can almost read each other's minds at this point. I think that shows up on the ice."

  "Right," agreed Warren. "It's not mandatory to be completely in love with your ice dance partner, but it doesn't hurt," he grinned.

  Sandra grinned back. "That it doesn't. Congratulations to both of you, that was truly a special performance."

  * * *

  Dance was the first discipline to finish, so Warren and Sophia got to watch the rest. Jack Garrison repeated as Men's champion. Liz Cushman did as ladies, but it was a very close thing, as both she and Christine Arsenault skated at their best, and Liz won on a 6-3 split.

  The competitor's party after the end of the competition was great, but the after-party party in Liz and Christine's room was even better. Christine and Warren conspired to get a couple of bottles with the help of Jack Garrison-who was old enough to buy them-and they proceeded to get sweet, innocent Liz rather drunk. It turned out that Liz was absolutely hilarious when she had one too many, going on and on about how "If Christine Arsenault ever beats me, I'll kill her"-with Christine in the room-and confessing unrequited love for men's competitor Mike Pallas, who-unfortunately for Liz-was gay.

  Finishing second got them their main goal. They got to take part in the exhibitions, doing "You'll Be In My Heart" in front of a packed house and a nationwide television audience. It was fantastic.

  Since they had finished second, and the US had earned two slots for ice dance at the World Championships, they were invited to go. However, they were also invited to go to the Junior world championships.

  "Let's see," Warren said to Sophia, "Junior Worlds are in Norway in February, and Senior Worlds are in Paris in March."

  "I'd like the exposure of going to senior words, but at Junior worlds we could win a medal, and some prize money," Sophia pointed out.

  "Let's do both."

  "Sure. It's a good thing we're seniors--senior slide has set in anyway," Sophia joked.

  "For you maybe. I still have a chance to be salutatorian. I'll be studying on the plane to Norway."

  Chapter 52 - Odds And Ends

  Warren and Sophia were clearly on a roll. They went to Junior Worlds, and won, with Evan and Shawna winning the silver medal again.

  After returning to Oceanview, Warren got a phone call.

  "Warren? This is Jim Golick, from the University of Wisconsin admissions office."

  "Good afternoon, Mr. Golick, what can I do for you?"

  "Actually, it's what I can do for you. I have been authorized to offer you a full academic scholarship, covering all tuition, fees, and room and board, to attend the University of Wisconsin."

  "Wow! Mr. Golick, this is great news!"

  "Is Wisconsin your first choice, Warren, or are you waiting to hear from someone else?"

  "Both, actually. Wisconsin is my first choice, but I need to see what other schools are offering."

  "If Wisconsin is your first choice, Warren, you're not going to do better than a full ride."

  Warren laughed. "True, but I'm only half of the equation."

  "I don't understand."

  "Mr. Golick, is there anyone in your office who is a figure skating fan?"

  "Yeah, Linda Allard."

  "Is she there? Call her over."

  "OK." There was a brief pause. "She's here. I'm putting you on speakerphone."

  "Hi, Ms. Allard," Warren said. "Mr. Golick tells me you're a figure skating fan. Do you know who Warren Kelleher is?"

  "Sure!" Linda said. "He's an ice dancer. Won the silver medal at nationals, and just won junior worlds."

  "That's me."

  "Really?" Linda said. "Wow! I'm a big fan!"

  "Thank you," Warren said.

  "OK, there's a point here, but I'm missing it," Mr. Golick said, bemused.

  "Ice dancers have partners," Warren said. "Mine's name is Sophia Daniels. As an added bonus, she's also my girlfriend. You'll find her application on your desk, somewhere. We know she got in to Wisconsin, but we haven't heard about her financial aid deal yet. Wherever we go, we go together."

  "Got it. Let me find Miss Daniels' file and see where we're at."

  "Great!"

  * * *

  Warren called Sophia and told her about the phone call. Thirty minutes later, Warren got called back.

  "Full scholarship!" Sophia crowed into the phone. "And, it had nothing to do with you, I was getting it anyway, I was just further down on the phone call list."

  "Great! I told you they'd ignore freshman year." Warren enthused. "Are we going to Wisconsin?"

  "We're going to Wisconsin."

  * * *

  But first, they had to go to Paris, for the Senior World Championships. They were on the same practice ice as the defending world champions, Olga Bradochkina and Nikolai Zhargov of Russia, and the defending world bronze medallists, Renee Damphier and Christian Gaudler of Canada. This was, at least at first, very intimidating.

  It turns out that Renee and Christian were great. They were ballroom-oriented in their dancing, also, and immediately took a liking to Sophia and Warren's style. After their first practice of their free dance, Christian skated by them, and said, "Glenn Miller? I like you guys already."

  As they stood by the boards, they saw Bradochkina and Zhargov approach. Olga Bradochkina had the reputation of being the Diva of Ice Dance, but Sophia and Warren's teammate Sharon Nicholas had told them, "Don't worry about her. Her bark is much worse than her bite."

  "So..." Olga began, "you are new American dancers. Varren and Sophia?"

  "That's us," Sophia smiled. They shook Olga and Nikolai's hands. "We know who you are," Sophia smiled at them.

  "Of course you do," Olga said in her thick Russian accent. "We are the best. But, you, you dance different. You smile and smile."

  "We do smile a lot," Sophia admitted. "We love this."

  "Ah. Is good. You dance like old times, but is very good dance. I like it."

  Sophia and Warren looked at each other, amazed. "Thank you very much. From Olga Bradochkina, that's high praise." Warren said.

  "Ah. Nothing. We see you next practice," and with that, Olga and Nikolai were gone.

  "Wow," said Sophia

  "I'm wondering if Nikolai is allowed to speak," Warren said with a giggle. Christian Gaudler, skating by, overheard him and said, "Generally, no!" Warren and Sophia collapsed in laughter.

  The competition was a hoot. Sophia and Warren finished tenth, far beyond their
expectations, as their teammates Nicholas and Coleman finished sixth, their highest Worlds placement ever. Jack Garrison, after winning the bronze last year, won the silver this year. Their friends Andrea and Brett, in their first world championship in pairs, finished seventh. And Liz Cushman had a few problems, and gave up her World Championship-to a stunned Christine Arsenault. "If I had to lose, at least it was to Christine," Liz said to Warren after it was all over.

  Most of the skaters left Worlds to immediately join the Tour of Champions, but Warren and Sophia had to get to school. They did join the tour for a few weeks later on, picking up some money for their troubles, and leaving audiences enraptured with "You'll Be In My Heart."

  Warren missed out on being salutatorian, but was OK with that. Both of their proms were great, and graduation was fine. Jessie threw a massive graduation party.

  They spent the summer working, back at the donut shop, and getting ready for the move to Wisconsin, and reworking their Frank Sinatra free dance for next year. They had already declined an invitation to participate in the Grand Prix series, wanting to leave the autumn for adjusting to college, but planned to go to Nationals again.

  Chapter 53 - Idle Talk

  Sophia was sitting in her bedroom at the beginning of August. With her were Jessie and Kate.

  "Last month, I asked Ellen to put me on the pill," Kate revealed. "She arranged it. I've been on it a little longer than a month, now."

  Sophia looked at her, surprised. "Have you and Dave done it, yet?"

  "No, but I am ready, ready, ready," Kate giggled. "You know that Dave and I have done everything but. Well, it's getting more and more frustrating to stop without finishing, you know? I'm sooo ready."