A Crack in the Ice

Chapter 10

Sarah sighed as she finished packing her suitcase. "You know, I should probably go and say goodbye to Elyse..."
"Why's that?" I asked, making a quick final check of the room. We had to check out of the hotel by three, and it was currently quarter of three.
"It'll probably be a long time until I see her again," she mumbled.
I thought for a moment, and then got the perfect idea. "That is true, but the Cup of China doesn't happen for another two weeks. Why don't we spend some of that time here in America?" I suggested.
Sarah smiled, and gave me a nod. "Yeah. That sounds like a great idea. I actually have a few ideas in mind."
"Alright. What did you have in mind?" I asked, grabbing my suitcase.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it's about a five hour drive from here, but I was thinking we could do a day in New York, then maybe do a few days in Chicago, and then maybe a week or so back in my hometown."
I nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me. Of course, we'll have to check with Lilia and Yakov, but I don't think it'll be a problem with them. I mean, they plan on heading back to Russia tomorrow. I think we'll be able to work something out."
Sarah nodded, taking her suitcase off the bed. "Alright. Let's go."
I nodded, and we made our way to the lobby of the hotel.

When we got to the lobby, I wasn't too surprised to see that Lilia, Yakov, Yuri, and Yuri were already waiting for us.
"Took you long enough," Viktor teased.
"Sorry," I said with a sigh.
"Can the two of you come here for a minute?" Yakov said.
"Yeah, of course we can," I said as we walked over to him.
"First off, I want to say that your performance was great, Sarah. There's no need for you to be ashamed that your sister beat you."
"Thanks, Yakov," she said with a smile.
"Of course," he nodded. "Now, I'm sure that you're both aware that the Cup of China isn't for another month, correct?"
Sarah nodded. "Of course I know that, Yakov. Why do you ask?"
He slightly chuckled. "Just making sure you know. Anyways, here are your tickets," he said as he handed me an envelope.
I opened the envelope, and took out the tickets, and I had to stifle a gasp. They weren't for tomorrow, nor were they going to Saint Petersburg. They were tickets for November 9th, and they were departing from BWI, which I knew to be the airport down in Maryland, and landing in Beijing. "Yakov..."
He sighed. "I figured Sarah might want to spend some time here in America, so I took that into consideration."
Sarah then glanced at the tickets, and immediately hugged Yakov. "Th-thank you so much!"
Yakov smiled, but did push her away. "Of course, Sarah. Now, I expect you to keep up on your practice while your here, got it?" he told her.
Sarah nodded. "Of course, Yakov. I'll win gold for sure at the Cup of China."
Yakov nodded. "Well, we need to get going soon. I'll see both of you in China."
With that, we parted ways.

===

We ended up spending that night in a cheap hotel, as Sarah told me that we needed a lot of time for New York, and starting around eight at night wasn't the best time to start.

Sarah sighed as we walked down the sidewalk of the city. "So, we've hit Time Square, gone to a bunch of stores, and it's only two in the afternoon."
I looked at her. "What? Is it really that uncommon to get that much done in about four hours?"
"In New York City, yes," she said with a sigh.
"All right," I mumbled, trying to think of an idea. "Oh, doesn't New York have like, a really big park?"
Sarah nodded. "Yeah. Central Park. Is that where you want to go next?"
I nodded as we stopped at a corner, waiting to cross the street. "Yeah. I mean, there's this really nice park in Moscow, and I want to see how they compare to each other, which reminds me that I'll need to show you it when we're there for the Rostelecom Cup."
Sarah nodded. "Alright. Sounds like a plan. In that case, follow me."
With a nod, I followed her to Central Park.

I sighed as I sat down on a bench in the park.
"Feeling okay?" Sarah asked as she sat next to me.
I nodded. "Yeah...I'm just a bit tired, that's all."
Sarah sighed. "I guess yiu didn't quite catch up with all the jetlag, did you?"
I shook my head. "Nope...I tried my best, but my body still feels like it's midnight."
Sarah sighed, and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer to her. "In that case, do you want to head back to the hotel?"
"I kinda do," I mumbled as I leaned my head on her shoulder.
She nodded, gently rubbing my shoulder. "Alright. Sounds like a plan. In that case, why don't we go and get a taxi so we can get to the hotel?"
I nodded and sat up. "That sounds like a good idea."
Sarah then got up, and helped me up as well. "In that case, let's get going."

===

A few hours later, we were back in our hotel room. I was already in bed, and Sarah took a quick shower before joining me.
"You know, Yurio, I've been thinking," she said as she swept some hair out of my face.
"Hm? What is it?" I asked.
"Well," she sighed, "I was thinking that maybe after this season, we should shift our figure skating focus."
I was silent for a moment as I tried to understand what she had said, but I honestly had no clue what she meant. "...what exactly do you mean by that...?"
"Yurio, I was thinking that maybe starting next year, we don't do singles," she said with a sigh.
"Wait. Are you suggesting that this is the last year that we figure skate competitively?" I asked, knowing it wasn't a good idea.
"Of course not, silly!" Sarah giggled. "I was actually thinking that maybe we could do a pair skate, or something like that. Heck, maybe we'll compete in the Olympics for our final show on the ice."
"God, that went way over my head," I said, a bit embarrassed.
Sarah giggled, and gave me a quick kiss. "Don't worry about it, Yurio. So, what do you think? Is it a good idea?"
I nodded. "Of course it is, Sarah. Now...I don't know about you, but I need some sleep."
She giggled. "Of course. I love you, Yurio."
"I love you too..." I mumbled before I fell asleep in her embrace.