The Mender

Winter Activities

After a few weeks of doing the Sunday bar clean-up, the manager told Joe that the job would continue to be his as long as the quality of his work stayed the same. The next Sunday, the first weekend of the Christmas holidays, Joe arranged for Esri and Jilly to meet him at the Harbourfront skating rink after he finished work.

Esri and Jilly each got their first pair of used skates as soon as they were able to walk. Sundays in the winter the family often skated on one of Toronto's outdoor rinks. Before Sofie got sick, Joe cobbled together enough used equipment for Esri to play in the girls' hockey league at an arena near their apartment. Esri was good enough to play on select teams but there was no way they could afford the higher fees so she stayed with the house league. But once Sofie could not work, even the house league was no longer affordable.

Esri was glad that Joe's new Sunday job still allowed them to go skating. It was one of the few activities where Joe was all theirs. Joe grew up playing hockey in his small community on the Prairies and he enjoyed showing off for them, teaching them to move confidently across the ice.

When the girls arrived at the Harbourfront rink, Joe was finishing lacing up his skates in the change room. He helped Jilly with her skates. They put their boots in a locker and got on the ice. It was busy but not too crowded. The rink sat by Lake Ontario. A short distance across the lake they could see the snowy crescent of the low-lying Toronto Islands. It was sunny and cold but not biting. Piles of glistening snow edged the skating rink. Everyone on the ice was smiling.

Joe, Esri, and Jilly did several laps, holding hands, taking turns with Joe twirling them around. An attractive young woman at the side waved at them and Joe stopped and skated over to her. "Esri, Jills, come here. There's someone I want you to meet. This is my boss, Randi. And these are my daughters, Esri and Jilly".

"They're lovely, Joe. You three make quite the trio out there, the way you all can skate."

"You sure are pretty and you smell good too!" said Jilly.

"Jilly," Joe shushed her.

Randi laughed. She had a beautiful smile complimented by perfect make-up and stylish clothes. "That's very sweet of you, Jilly. I'm so impressed with how well you skate. I wish I could skate half as well."

"My Daddy can teach you. He's the best skater in the whole world."

"Well, he may be the best skater in the whole world, but I'm the worst skater. A few of my friends have tried to teach me before, but I'm hopeless."

"I'm happy to try, Randi. If you have time. Why don't you rent some skates?" said Joe.

"Oh, I don't want to interrupt your time with your daughters."

"Please, please, Randi. Let Daddy teach you." Jilly bounced up and down. "I know he can. I know he can." And she twirled around.

Joe smiled, "I think you'd better try. Once Jilly gets fixated on something, it's hard to change her mind."

"Ok, but I won't stay for long and you girls have to promise not to laugh at me." Randi rented some skates and brought them outside. Joe helped her lace them up. Jilly kept up a continuous flow of chatter. To her, Randi looked like someone out of a fashion magazine.

Jilly was smitten; Esri less so. As much as she encouraged Joe to get out and start dating again, the reality was something different. Seeing him bend over tying Randi's skates and helping her get on her feet was like a stab in the gut. What if he did bring a strange woman into their lives? She would hate it. It felt like such a betrayal to her mom.

Joe held onto to Randi's hands and began slowly skating backwards, gently pulling her along, his soothing voice encouraging to her to relax, bend her knees, and glide, just like he had taught Esri and Jilly.