"I turned down the February start," Rowan said. Theo's breath snagged; she held up a hand. "Not because of you. Not entirely. I asked them if they'd consider August instead. They said yes. That gives me the rest of the season with my kids here, and time to decide whether building something in Minneapolis is a calling or an escape hatch with better benefits."
"August," Theo repeated.
"August," Rowan said. "Which means we have months that are not a movie montage. Months where you will miss things and I will get sharp, and we will have to practice the ugly honest sentences until they become less ugly and stay honest."
Theo looked at the photograph, then at her. "I can do months. I am newly enthusiastic about practice, despite my ankles' union grievances."
Rowan laughed, and the laugh loosened something in both of them. "I'm not fully forgiving April tonight."
"I'm not asking you to."
"Good. Because if you asked, I'd leave you on this bench with your childhood skates and a very clear lesson."
"Noted."
She tapped the print. "But I am willing to keep this. Not as proof we're destined. As proof we showed up and got caught mid-try."
Theo nodded. "Can I have a copy? Or is that greedy?"
"Ned said Lottie can make another from the contact sheet if we ask nicely and tip the cocoa fund." Rowan stood, offering her hand. "Come on. One slow skate before the lights come fully on. No flash this time. Just us, and the part where you lean without assuming I'll always be perfectly balanced enough to catch you."
"That sounds like a metaphor."
"It is a metaphor," Rowan said. "It's also ice. Dual citizenship."
They laced up at the boards while the afternoon tipped toward evening. Daytime skaters thinned; the string lights warmed from decoration into necessity. Theo's second public appearance on blades was still ungraceful, but he had learned, in one week, the difference between thrashing for balance and listening for it. Rowan skated beside him, close enough to help, far enough to let him earn each stride.
"You're less of a menace to yourself," she observed.