by Frank Downey
"Yeah," Warren smiled. "I still can't believe that the rhythm for the OD is Swing."
"I know. Glenn Miller?"
"No, they'll be expecting that from us. I decided to ratchet up the intensity a little." He skated over to the boombox, and popped in a CD. The music was by the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and it was called "If You Can't Rock Me."
"Warren, does that fit into the beat requirements?" June, their coach, who had been listening, asked.
"Just," he smiled. "Three beats a minute more and it would be too fast."
"So, if we can choreograph this correctly, we'll have the fastest OD in the world?" Sophia asked with a grin.
"That's the plan. Our rooting section will go berserk at Nationals."
"Our rooting section?" Sophia grinned at him. "What makes you so sure we'll have one?"
"Sophia, where are Nationals this year?"
"You know what? I don't know," she giggled.
Warren gave her a huge grin. "Milwaukee."
"You're kidding! Wow."
"Yup! And I plan to tell a whole bunch of college crazies to fill that arena wearing Wisconsin red!"
* * *
They were at Warren's house that night, just chatting and playing on the computer. Things were still a bit strained at Sophia's, so they were spending more time at Warren's. Sophia felt comfortable there, especially after Peg had pulled her aside the first time they were there that summer and thanked her for helping Warren through his hard time. "Without you, I don't know what would have happened." Sophia felt really good about that--much better than going home and being blamed by Dan for "corrupting Kate." Peg had put a lock on Warren's door and, with Warren's brother and sister older, had given them all the privacy they wanted. Still, in their efforts to reconnect with one another, they spent most of their time there doing things other than having sex.
This was one of those times. They had played some chess and watched a little TV, then decided to get on the computer. They had decided to create a little website for themselves--there were already a couple of fan ones, but they wanted to do an "official" one, and Sophia had taught herself HTML. They were working on the website, when Warren's IM beeped.
"Hi Liz. This is Sophia, but Warren's here, too." Sophia typed.
"Hi guys! How you?"
"Wonderful. How are you?"
"Fantastic. Unbelieveable. Totally great."
"Wow, are you a happy puppy!" Sophia typed. "Skating going that well?"
"
"
"You got it! We have gone out almost every night since I've been back in LA. He's like a dream."
"That's so cool! You go to bed with him yet?"
"LOL! Sophia, do you think of anything besides sex?"
"Sure. Sometimes. Well, once in a while
"
"And it was good?"
"Oh my God."
"Good for you, Liz," Sophia typed. "Warren is over here next to me, yelling, 'Hallelujah, I'm off the hook!'"
"ROFL! Tell Warren that he is, indeed, off the hook. Oh, and he was right. Not to disparage his abilities or anything, but it turns out I am, indeed, really orgasmic. Rich's jaw almost hit the floor the first night. He told me afterwards he thought he was going to have to sedate me.
"ROFL!"
"So, how are you guys' programs coming?"
"Well, we just decided--today--to switch our free, and we haven't even started our OD yet, so talk to us in a month
"Hee hee. OK, then."
"Warren wants to know if Dick Button has figured out yet that America's Skating Sweetheart is a sex maniac."
"Tell Warren if Dick ever asks, I'll be sure to tell him who my first was, and Dick can figure out that the male member of America's Ice Dance Love Team is a gigolo.
"Warren says, 'ouch'."
"
"Warren says, 'That's right, and don't you forget it!'"
"I won't. Ever. There are a lot of things that I'll never forget you two for. Hey, gotta run, OK? Love you!"
"Love you, too, Liz. Bye."
After Sophia had signed off, Warren looked at her and said, "True Love Conquers All, yet again. I'm so happy for Liz."
"Yeah, I am too. Hey, we could have a quadruple wedding. Us, Crash and Jessie, Paul and Cait, and Liz and Rich!"
"Yeah, riiiigggghhhtttttt!"
Chapter 86 - Upheavals
Sophia and Warren, in between rejuvenating their relationship, still found time to spend time with their friends. In early August, they ended up in Sophia's room with Jessie, Crash, Kate, and Dave. They were the only people in the house.
"So, Jessie," Warren said, "I hear you're joining us at the University of Wisconsin."
"Yeah, Prep Stud, but the Milwaukee campus. Just about an hour away from Evanston, IL."
"Yeah, it's not quite going to the same school," Crash said, "but it's a hell of a lot closer than Amherst."
"Get your tickets now," Warren quipped, "the National Championships are in Milwaukee this year."
"Really? Cool!" Jessie said.
"So, Dave, being as your going to be a senior, you started thinking yet?"
"Yup. Got a nice little list."
"Northeastern, BU, etc. I'm going to be burning up Route One going to Boston," Kate giggled.
"All Boston schools?" Crash asked him.
"Well..." Dave stammered, "not exactly."
"Where else?" Warren asked.
"Yeah, where else, Dave?" Kate echoed in surprise.
"Um, guys, Kate and I have not talked about this..." Dave said.
"So talk," Kate told him.
"Fine. I'm planning on applying to Maine, Connecticut, and Rochester Tech. Possibly Seton Hall, too."
Kate looked at him. "I thought you weren't going to go any further than Boston?"
"I changed my mind."
Kate couldn't disguise the hurt in her eyes. "David... why?"
Just then, the slam of the front door could be heard. "KATE? WHERE ARE YOU?" Dan was bellowing.
Kate hit the intercom. "I'm down here, with Sophia and Warren."
"Kate," Dan said into the intercom, "I thought I told you that I didn't want that boyfriend of yours in this house when we're not here!"
"Dad, there's six people in this room. What do you think we're doing, having an orgy?"
"I wouldn't put it past you, especially if Sophia is involved."
"And now you know why I'm considering Maine, or Connecticut, or New York, and I might even consider Kazakhstan if they have a fucking university," Dave spat out.
"What?" Kate said. "You're leaving... because of my Dad?"
"I'm considering it," Dave said. "I can't take much more of this."
"How do you think I feel?" Kate cried.
The intercom sounded again. "Kate! I want you to get your ass up here right this minute! And tell that boyfriend of yours to go out the downstairs door."
"Dad," Kate started out reasonably, "We're just talking. Jessie and Jason are here, too. We're just chatting. We were going to play some cards."
"Kate, I said right now! And I meant it! I don't want you down there, especially with that boyfriend!"
Kate looked at Dave, and then at Sophia, and then at the intercom panel. She hit the intercom. "Dad? Go fuck yourself." Everyone in the room looked at her in complete shock, especially Dave. "Did you hear me, Dad? Let me repeat. Go fuck yourself." She sat down
"Jesus Christ, is that door locked?" Jessie asked with a giggle.
"Yup!" Warren confirmed. It was a good thing, as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and then poundi
ng on the door. "KATE! Open this door up RIGHT NOW!!"
"It ain't Kate's room," Sophia said, "It's mine. No admittance unless I invite you. I didn't invite you. Go away."
"Sophia, open this door," Dan said.
"What is going on down here?" they heard from the other side of the door. It was Ellen.
"My daughter just told me to go fuck myself, now your daughter won't open the door!"
"Dan. Go upstairs."
"Dammit, Ellen..."
"Go upstairs. I want to talk to them calmly before you go off in a huff. Now GO." There was a wait of a couple of minutes, while the six people in the room looked at each other in amazement. Then, "Sophia, it's just me. Please open up."
Sophia walked to the door and opened it. True to her word, only Ellen entered. "All right, what happened?"
"He... I... he said... oh shit..." Kate started, then began to cry.
"He went off again, what else is new?" Sophia said. "He saw Dave's car out front, found out we were down here and told Kate to get upstairs and to get Dave out of here, even though Kate told him that there were six people down here and we were just chatting."
"Yeah, and when Kate sarcastically asked him if he thought we were having an orgy or something, he made a disparaging remark about Sophia," Warren added.
"So, Kate, after trying reasonableness, finally told him to go fuck himself," Jessie finished.
"You really said that?" Ellen asked. Kate just nodded.
"She was a little upset. I had just told her that I was considering out of state colleges," Dave informed her.
"Really?" Ellen asked. "I thought you were going to stay in Boston. I thought you and Kate had had this all worked out--that's what Kate told me, anyway."
"We did," Dave sighed, "but I don't know how much longer I can deal with my girlfriend's father thinking I'm the devil incarnate."
"Your girlfriend's father thinks that your girlfriend is the devil incarnate," Kate spat out through her tears.
"Really? Shit, I thought it was me," Sophia giggled.
"Only cause he doesn't know me well enough," Jessie supplied.
"It's the eeeeeee-vil room! Crash, you forgot to set up the pentagram!" Warren joked.
"I thought we were going to do that after the orgy," Crash deadpanned.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot."
"And before the virgin sacrifice," Crash continued.
"Where? Ain't no virgins in this room," Jessie pointed out. By this time, everyone in the room was chuckling, even Kate.
"You guys are too much," Ellen said. "I need to go talk to Dan." She left the room and went upstairs.
"So, is Kate coming up?" Dan asked when Ellen got upstairs.
"No. Look, everybody is clothed, there's six people in that room, there's nothing going on."
"I don't care. I told Kate not to have Dave in this house if we're not here."
"No you did not," Ellen said. "You told her not to have Dave in this house if she was alone. And I told her to ignore that rule, anyway, but I don't think she does. She wasn't alone in the house, she and Dave are down there with them. And she's not feeling particularly good right now, because Dave just told her he is considering out of state colleges. Because of you."
"Good. The further away the better."
Ellen just looked at him. "You know what? The minute that girl graduates from high school and can be on her own, she is never going to speak to you again. And I won't blame her."
"You know, I'm tired of not getting support from you on this," Dan said to her.
"You can just be tired of it, then. You treat your daughter like shit, and she's the nicest, most wonderful, most interesting kid in the world. You treat her boyfriend like shit, and he's just as nice and wonderful. And you're not particularly nice to my daughter, either. Dan, Kate's having sex with her boyfriend. You can either pout about it like a fucking child, or you can grow up. And until you decide to grow up, you can sleep on the couch."
"WHAT?"
"You heard me." She stood up. "I'm going back downstairs."
"So, what happened?' Kate asked her when she came back in the room.
"Oh, I told him that I was sick of him treating you like shit, and treating Dave like shit, and until he grows up, he has to sleep on the couch."
Sophia practically choked on her root beer. "You didn't!"
"I did," Ellen said with a smile.
"You are the coolest," Jessie said with admiration.
"Thanks, Ellen," Kate said
"Yes, thank you," Dave echoed.
"Ellen, could you come up here for a minute, please?" Dan asked into the intercom.
She went up. She was surprised to see Dan carrying a suitcase. "What?" she asked.
"I can't sleep on couches. I'm going to a hotel. I need time to think. I'll be in touch. I'm leaving Kate here, if that's all right."
"Of course that's all right," Ellen told him. "What do you mean, you'll be in touch? How long are you going to be gone?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "As long as it takes for me to decide whether or not I can live with you anymore, considering what you just said to me."
"Dan, I know I was harsh, but you are really out of control when it comes to Kate."
"Yeah, I know. Wanting to preserve my daughter's virtue is so out of control."
"No, what's out of control is thinking that you can retrieve your daughter's virtue as you define it, and not accepting the fact that it is gone, never to return, and still managing to love and respect your daughter for all the good things about her, which are many, by the way. Like I said, Kate is a delightful young lady. She's a delightful young lady who happens to be sexually active. And you can't see the delightful part because you're obsessed with the sexually active part. What a pity."
She turned away from him, and walked into the kitchen. He watched her go, and walked out the door. She went downstairs to break the news to Kate.
* * *
A couple of days later, Kate asked Ellen, "Do you know where Daddy's staying?"
"Yes. The Holiday Inn on Route One."
"I think it's time Dad and I had a little talk."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Kate sighed. "It's never going to get any better until we do. And your marriage shouldn't have to suffer over this."
She got in the car and drove to the hotel. Dan was surprised that there was a knock on the door.
"Kate?"
"Hi, Dad. Can I come in?"
"Sure." He stepped aside and let her in. She walked over to a chair and sat down.
"Dad, are you coming home?"
"I don't know." He looked at her. "I think you'd be glad I was out of your hair."
"Dad, if you think I'm glad to be causing problems between you and Ellen, you don't know me very well."
"I used to think I did," he said sadly.
"You do. And that's what drives me nuts, you know? One thing about me has changed--and it was an inevitable change, and a natural one--and you act as if your darling daughter was hauled off by aliens and replaced by an evil pod person." She sighed. "We used to get along so well. It kills me that falling in love and having sex has changed all that."
"Look, when I was growing up, girls your age did not have sex unless they were pressured into it."
"Oh, sure they did, they just had to play the game," Kate told him. "Ask Ellen. You acted like you were pressured into it so nobody called you a slut. Of course, some girls were pressured. That happens nowadays--Sophia being an example. But you can't assume that all girls think that way, or did. Did your girlfriends?"
"I didn't have that many. The first one, well, she had a reputation."
"But you did her anyway." Kate grinned at him.
Dan grinned back, sheepishly. "Well... I wouldn't want a daughter to have that kind of reputation, though."
"I don't, and you know it. Everybody at school thinks I'm an artsy-fartsy freak, not a sex goddess. And the ones that even know I have a boyfriend think that all we can t
hink to do with each other is draw and paint."
Dan smiled. "Well, you do do that." His smile faded. "In fact, I went in your room recently to put some of your stuff in it, and you had left your closet door open."
"Ooops."
"I got to admit, Dave has talent. And that picture was tastefully done. For a nude drawing of my daughter, that is." Kate giggled. "I don't suppose I have to ask if you posed for that, or if it was just his imagination?"
"No, you don't have to ask!"
Dan looked at his daughter. "Do you love Dave?"
"Yeah. I really do. We didn't jump into this, you know."
"I know."
There was a long pause. "Dad," Kate began, "if you can treat Dave civilly, and not have a nutty every time you find him in the house... I'd really like for you to come home."
"Let me call Ellen up and ask her to lunch tomorrow, and we'll talk. OK?"
"OK."
Dan moved back in the next evening.
Chapter 87 - Ice Is For Skating?
Author's Note: credit where credit is due: a co-worker gave me the "Turkeys" one-liner. You'll see what I mean. Don't worry if it takes you a second--it did me, too. As it does Sophia.
* * *
"These are really coming along well," June was telling Warren and Sophia.
"Yeah, they are. We still need help with Romeo and Juliet, though," Sophia said.
"I've got news that might help. An old friend of mine, Kathy Sleighter, she's a dance coach. We used to compete, back in the day. She's probably a better coach than I am, at least technically."
"Ah, June, you're the best," Warren smiled.
"Flatterer. Listen, I think I've helped you develop your choreographic and artistic sides, because that's my strength. But Kathy is better technically than I am. To build up 'Romeo and Juliet' technically, you need her. The good news is, you've got her. She just got hired to build up a dance program at the University of Wisconsin."
"Really?" Warren smiled.
"Really. This is the deal. One of you will have to change your club affiliation from the North Shore Figure Skating Club, to the U of Wisconsin club. You might also have to do some promotional stuff for the club. However, you get free ice time and free coaching from Kathy. One of you will be a member of each club and we will be your co-coaches. She wants to use the World Bronze Medallists as a calling card for the new club out there, and you guys get a good coach when you're away from me." June hoped they'd see what a great thing this was.
