Dad hugged me too in the quiet corner of the arena concourse. The women’s free skate had started, though there were still some people milling around and buying revolting-looking pizza. Arena food was uniformly disgusting and overpriced, and I wouldn’t touch it if I was starving.

None of us were particularly tall, but Obaachan was so short I had to stoop to embrace her. She pinched my waist with a familiar, sharp little twist, and whispered, “You’re in your own way.” She stood back. “Annabelle won’t like it.”

I winced and agreed. Annabelle, my choreographer, was visiting Toronto from Montreal next week to go over programs with multiple skaters in the area and make tweaks. She would not be pleased at my butchering of her work today. Since I hired her and could easily not work with her again, she would go about it delicately. But I deserved the criticism.

“How’s Ojiichan?” my father asked. “Is he wearing his hearing aids?”

I sighed. “No. He says he doesn’t need them.” Which we all knew wasn’t true. But I didn’t mind it too much. When I visited him at the retirement village, we often sat in peaceful silence for hours doing crosswords.

“He’s always been stubborn as hell,” Dad said. “Did I ever tell you about the time when I was five or six and—”

Sam groaned as he arrived with Etienne. “Yes. You’ve told us a million times.” He hugged me. “Don’t freak out. It’s better to bomb here than later in the season.”

Mom huffed. “He didn’t bomb.”

Obaachan made a noise that was decidedly dubious. As Sam spoke to her, Etienne quietly said to me, “Tough skate. You’ll bounce back at NHK.”

I nodded. Bouncing back was the only option. “How was the rhythm dance?”

His handsome face brightened. “Awesome. We moved up a slot and we’re in the final flight tomorrow.”

“Excellent.” I truly was happy for him and Brianna.

Sam kissed Etienne’s cheek. “So proud of you.”

I truly was happy for Sam and Etienne as well, though watching the easy way they kissed and linked hands made me… What? Wistful? It was ridiculous. Even more bizarre was that it made me wonder where Theo was. Probably off celebrating without a care in the world.

My phone buzzed with a text update from the cat-sitting service feeding Esmeralda. As expected, she was still hiding every time the woman went over to check on her. I hated leaving her alone, but I had to compete.

“All right, we’ll leave you and your friends to catch up,” Mom said, waving to someone down the concourse. “See you tomorrow after the gala. We’re cooking all your favorites for dinner.” She pulled me into a hug.

I glanced behind to see who Mom had waved at. There were a few Canadian skaters I’d trained with here in Vancouver before I’d moved back to Toronto. Hannah Kwan gave me a cheery smile, her dark ponytail swaying. Her pairs partner stood beside her.