"The Strong & the Sequined"--a skating serial, pt. 5
Jennifer Lyon
*The Strong & the Sequined*
A Skating Serial
Part 5: At the Pool Hall
Dmitra was homesick. For many skaters, living in a foreign country
was an adventure, a chance to explore an exciting new environment. But
Dmitra imagined she was more like the turn-of-the-century immigrants--
the ones who came to America because they had to. If there had been any
way for Dmitra to earn a living back home, she would have stayed. She
missed her friends and her sisters and her mother. She missed the sounds,
the smells, and the foods of her native land. Sure, it was nice to go
into these American stores and look at all the dazzling merchandise. But
the clerks all spoke English. Wherever Dmitra went, she only understood
bits and pieces of what was being said. Nothing was familiar, nothing
was Russian. It was hard to even follow a simple TV program!
Dmitra gazed out the window of this new house that she still couldn’t
get used to. It was dark outside. The street was quiet and lifeless.
After nearly a month in America, Dmitra still hadn’t met any of her
neighbors. They had their own jobs, families, and interests. Why would
they care about a lonely Russian ice skater?
At least the skating was improving. That brief session with Fraulein
Helga Von Dame had been extremely helpful. Pretending Igor was someone
else made skating with him bearable again. Every day, Dmitra imagined
her husband was a different person-- a French movie star she admired, a
Russian danseur she’d had a crush on as a child, the cute weatherman on
TV.
Although these fantasies worked well on the ice, they were useless in
the bedroom. Dmitra could not-- and would not-- let Igor touch her. Of
course, Igor didn’t understand. “It’s been such a long time. Why can’t
you forgive me?” he asked again and again.
Dmitra shut her eyes. Forgive Igor? Never! Out of sheer economic
necessity, she remained his wife and skating partner. But no matter how
many times Igor said he was sorry, he couldn’t make up for the past. He
couldn’t bring back the child they had lost, the innocent baby that was
never even given the chance to live.
It would have been comforting for Dmitra to have a friend to confide
in. But here in America, she had no friends. Most of the other skaters
at the rink were young girls. What did Dmitra have in common with them?
Cassandra Rathbone was cordial toward Dmitra in her arrogant,
condescending manner. Dmitra doubted if any sort of friendship would
blossom between the two of them. Cassandra was so taken with herself
that she couldn’t be bothered with anyone else’s concerns. Besides,
Dmitra didn’t like Cassandra. Hardly anyone did.
Mitzi McGuire was a kindhearted soul, but Dmitra couldn’t relate to
her, either. She wasn’t interested in playing bridge or going on mammoth
shopping sprees. And then there was the way Mitzi kept referring to her
pet poodle as her “baby.” Dmitra couldn’t bear to hear such nonsense.
Astrid and Bjorn, the Swedish choreographers, were out of town half
the time. When they weren’t away on business, they were still too busy
to socialize. Fraulein Helga Von Dame was another busy soul. She was
also a busybody, which was why Dmitra didn’t want to get too close to her.
Fraulein’s assistant, Elsa, was a strange little being. Dmitra
couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about the woman disturbed
her. Anyhow, Elsa and Fraulein were inseparable. If Dmitra were to make
friends with Elsa, everything she said would inevitably get back to
Fraulein.
Tammy Sue Winchester was a nice kid, but Igor liked her too much.
Dmitra wasn’t jealous, at least not in the way a wife was supposed to be
jealous. But still, Dmitra didn’t want to become close friends with
Tammy Sue. She didn’t want to put the young skater in a position where
she’d be coming to the house and seeing Igor all the time. That would be
asking for trouble.
Ah yes, trouble. Now that Dmitra and Igor had a car of their own,
Igor was seldom home. He usually went out at night. Dmitra never asked
where he was going. Wherever it was, Dmitra was sure it had something to
do with women. She didn’t need to know anything more.
Buster’s Billiards was Tammy Sue’s favorite hangout. The small,
slightly seedy pool hall was a nice change from the Zug Island Skating
Center. Here, there weren’t dozens of people telling Tammy Sue what to
do. She could relax and spend time with everyday folks, instead of
always hanging around with skaters.
Most of the regulars at Buster’s were young adults, Tammy Sue’s age
and a little older. They lived in the neighborhood nearby-- some with
their parents and others in their own apartments and rented houses. Most
were students at local commuter colleges or trade schools. A few worked
full-time. None were rich or fancy. They were the kind of people Tammy
Sue had grown up with back home in Tennessee.
Fraulein wasn’t crazy about the pool hall. Buster’s Billiards
certainly didn’t fit the classy image of “Tamara” Winchester that
Fraulein was trying to cultivate. But the coach allowed Tammy Sue to go
there, as long as she refrained from unseemly public behavior and didn’t
stay out late.
Tonight was a typical night at Buster’s. Most of Tammy Sue’s pals
were there-- Katie, Jim, Lisa, Andy, Kris. Doug was missing-- he had an
exam. And Lori had to work. As usual, only Katie asked Tammy Sue about
her skating.
“Everything’s fine,” Tammy Sue replied. She didn’t mention the TV
interview she had filmed earlier that afternoon. It would have sounded
like bragging, and Tammy Sue never bragged.
“Do they have any cute boys at that rink?” Katie persisted.
Andy picked up his pool cue and snorted. “Those guys are a bunch of
queers.”
“That’s not true,” said Tammy Sue. Of course, there were some gay
skaters at the rink. And yes, Tammy Sue knew who they were. But she
wasn’t going to tell. Not now. Not ever. “A lot of male skaters are
married,” she added, thinking of Igor.
“Speaking of married, did I tell you my sister got engaged?” Lisa
went on and on about her sister’s upcoming wedding. Tammy Sue was
relieved. She didn’t want to answer any more questions about the other
skaters.
Tammy Sue was picking up the 8-ball she’d dropped when she heard Jim
say, “Who’s that guy? I’ve never seen him here before.”
Katie giggled. “Looks kinda like a vampire,” she said.
“Bet he’s come kind of foreigner,” muttered Andy.
Tammy Sue held her breath and stood up. Igor Ilyanovitch was standing
there, right in front of her, his dark eyes twinkling. “I know I find
you here,” he said with an air of satisfaction.
“H-h-how did you know?” Tammy Sue was sure she’d never told him about
Buster’s.
“I ask that little girl you live with,” Igor answered. “Keisha
Ballard, she tell me where I can find you.”
Everyone was staring at them. Tammy Sue knew she had to keep her cool.
“Great,” she said cheerfully. “We were just about to start a new game.
” She introduced Igor to Katie, Andy, Lisa, and the rest of the gang.
Andy was surprisingly friendly. When he found out Igor was from
Russia, the two of them started talking about the Detroit Red Wings. The
others joined in the conversation. Tammy Sue was able to relax. It was
OK here, she told herself. Nobody was going to tell her she couldn’t
talk to Igor. Everything was cool.
Or was it? An hour later, when Tammy Sue and Katie were in the
bathroom, Katie started grilling her. “So who is this Igor?” she said.
“Is he your boyfriend? He is kinda cute.”
“He’s just a friend,” Tammy Sue answered firmly. “He hasn’t been in
this country long, and he gets lonely sometimes.”
“But you like him, don’t you?”
“He’s married,” Tammy Sue told Katie.
“I didn’t ask you if he was married,” said Katie. “I asked you if
you liked him. And I think you do! Look in the mirror! You’re
blushing!”
“I am not!
“You are, too!”
“OK, OK,” Tammy Sue admitted. “I guess I do have a little crush on
Igor. But that’s all! I don’t mess around with married men.”
“I bet he’d mess around with you, though,” said Katie. “He likes you.
”
“Just as a friend,” Tammy Sue insisted.
“Yeah, sure,” Katie snorted. “That’s why he went through all that
trouble to track you down here. So he could shoot pool with his ol’
buddy, Tammy Sue. Uh-huh. And I’m the Queen of Denmark.”
Katie was beginning to sound exactly like Leroy.
Mitzi was ecstatic. After all this time, Dmitra and Igor were finally
starting to skate the way they used to. “What do you think?” she asked
Elsa and Zamboni Joe as the three of them watched the Russians run
through their new program. “Is the old magic back, or what?”
Zamboni Joe scratched his stubbly, gray chin. “They’re a heck of a
lot faster,” he said.
Mitzi giggled. “Oh, you! You’ve been watching too many hockey
games!” She turned to Elsa, who was munching on some candy Fraulein had
confiscated from one of the younger skaters. “What do you think?
They’re skating better, aren’t they? They seem to be getting along
better, aren’t they?”
Elsa nodded and swallowed her mouthful of chocolate. “The skating is
great,” she said. “Not the marriage.”
Mitzi didn’t believe her. Yes, she knew that Fraulein had yelled at
Tammy Sue this morning about being seen at the pool hall last night with
Igor. But what did that prove? Not a thing! And Dmitra obviously
didn’t care. She loved her husband. Mitzi could see it in the way she
gazed into his eyes as they glided across the ice.
Yes, Mitzi decided, Dmitra and Igor were back to their old selves.
They were going to surprise everyone at Landover this year. If only
Jacques could see them! Mitzi knew her ex-husband would no longer be
able to tell her she was a dumb bimbo who couldn’t coach. She wished
there was some way she could get Jacques to come to Zug Island and watch
these fabulous Russian pairs skaters.
She would get her wish much sooner than she expected.
TO BE CONTINUED