Recap: Evie is alone with Aunt Ruthie and starts asking her questions about her father. She learns a little bit of information, but she hasn’t gotten to the main question, which is why he left when she was little. She is about to ask when she is interrupted.

“Let’s get going,” Mom called to me. “Mrs. Lister’s meeting us at the rink in a few minutes.”

“Why do I have to get a new coach? You’re the best one for me.”

“Evie, we went through all of this already. I have too many responsibilities now at the rink. We need to get you ready for the competition.”

I sighed and entered the shiny new Toyota that Mom rented for us.

Mom started the car. “Remember for your camel spin to keep your shoulders facing outside your skating leg. Step towards your right shoulder so you counterbalance your camel. Wind up, flatten back, torso facing outside your left leg.”

We sped down the highway. A rabbit bounded away from our car. “Look!” I said. “A cute bunny.”

We pulled up to the rink. My hands felt clammy. What would this new coach be like? Would she be very critical or nice?

Mr. Cohen greeted us at the door. “Mrs. Lister is waiting for you,” he said to me.

I trudged to a seat to put on my skates. A tall woman with red hair pulled back in a ponytail and a businesslike smile approached me.

“I’m Mrs. Lister. Ready to warm up, Miss Gold?”

Why was she calling me Miss Gold? So formal.

I headed onto the ice and began skating around, and then I did my forward and backward crossovers.

“Let me see your Triple Axel,” she said.

I was expecting to work on the camel spin. I wasn’t prepared for a triple jump. “Uh, I haven’t practiced that in a while.”

“No excuses. The USFSA competition is soon, and you need those jumps. Let’s go.”

I took a deep breath and began from a backward outside one-foot edge and stepped forward, letting my free leg march through to make an “h” position. I jumped into the air, visualizing a triple turn.

I missed my landing and slid onto the ice.

Mrs. Lister shook her head. “Let’s go back to a single first. You’re not getting enough height.”

My hip was sore from falling and I didn’t think it was fair to go back to a single. It was just my first attempt today, and I hadn’t popped it. I tried the jump.

The session went on with me doing boring single axels until I felt like my head was spinning. “Can we stop? I’m thirsty.”

“Two more,” Mrs. Lister said, “and then we move to doubles.”

I didn’t need to do all these singles. I was getting a headache.

Finally, practice ended. Mrs. Lister said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I didn’t want to see her tomorrow. I didn’t want her as my coach. I wanted my mother to change her mind and still be my coach. I really didn’t like Mrs. Lister.

I kept skating around because Rikki was coming soon, when the public session started, and I was going to give her her first skating lesson.

Just then, Mom strolled over to me with Mr. Cohen. “Evie, Mr. Cohen is joining us for dinner tomorrow night.”

Oh, did this mean that things were getting serious with my mother and Mr. Cohen? This was turning into a really bad day.

Well, I had one plan that would turn things around. I was going to find my father’s work number. Aunt Ruthie had told me he owned a sporting goods store in Salt Lake City, and I was going to call and tell him that I was in Utah and then…and then everything would be amazing.

To be continued…

 Susie Garber is the author of a newly released historical fiction novel, Captured (Menucha Publishers, 2025), as well as historical fiction novels Please Be Patient (Menucha, 2024), Flight of the Doves (Menucha, 2023), Please Be Polite (Menucha, 2022), A Bridge in Time (Menucha, 2021), Secrets in Disguise (Menucha, 2020), Denver Dreams, a novel (Jerusalem Publications, 2009), Memorable Characters…Magnificent Stories (Scholastic, 2002), Befriend (Menucha, 2013), The Road Less Traveled (Feldheim, 2015), fiction serials, and features in Binah Magazine and Binyan Magazine, and “Moon Song” in Binyan (2021–2022) and Alaskan Gold (2023–2024).