FALLING FOR THE ICE KING

Chapter 18

My breath leaves my lungs on a whoosh as my feet hit the bottom. My body stings as the icy cold assaults my skin and I float up to the top, gasping for air. My teeth are chattering as I laugh again.

“Oh my God, this is freezing.”

She nods, sweeping the fallen strands of hair off her face. We both climb back out, wrapping ourselves in the bath robes.

“God, I don’t know how the boys sit in those ice baths,” she says, shaking her head.

“What do you mean?” I ask, bewildered.

“Oh, it’s part of their therapy. Cold water is actually really good for you. There are loads of benefits to it, like reducing muscle inflammation, pain, and quickening recovery time.”

“No way, I didn’t know that. Although, I’m not very sporty.”

“Yeah, me neither. I tried things as a kid, but really, I just wanted to be wherever Damien was. Watching and being a part of his journey was everything to me.”

“You must be very proud.”

“The proudest,” she says with a big smile. “My little brothers and cousins are all the same. Not only is Scott a firefighter, he’s also on their hockey team, and was Penn State's starting goalie for all four years. Knox, well, he plays for a hockey team in the lower league, but he’s bound for greatness. He’s about to hit it big. I can feel it, you know?”

I nod. I did know how she felt because I believed Alice was going to take over the world.

“My baby brother, Jason, he’s amazing, too. He’ll be playing in the NHL in a few months, no doubt about it, but he works harder than anyone I’ve ever met. He’s stricter with himself than Damien ever was, puts too much pressure on himself, far more focused than Knox, but he’s a lot of fun and so caring. From the outside, he seems standoffish, but if you’re in his circle, he’s got all the time in the world for you.”

Maybe Sia was right… They do seem like an amazing family. Just by the way Charlotte talks about them, you can tell how much she loves them. I’m also relieved we’ve made it into the humidity of the hot section. I pour a glass of water and pass it to her.

“Jack takes after a lot of them. So much like Damien but then he’ll do or say something and I’ll see one of the others. Luckily, he’s nothing like my ex.”

“I only met Jack for a few hours, but he is a credit to you.”

She smiles. “He’s something, isn’t he?”

“He is. Come on, let’s get in the jacuzzi.”

As the morning progresses, we slip into comfortable chatter. Charlotte doesn’t act like she is related to someone famous, but then again neither does Theo. She tells me all about Jack and working in a high school, explains what it’s like growing up in a family full of boys and being a twin.

I fill her in on the life I’ve shared with Sia and although not the same, how intuitive we have become with each other over the years. Soon it starts to feel like we’ve known each other for years instead of just an hour or so.

We make it to lunch and are served a very dainty and beautifully-presented three course meal of pesto and cucumber rolls, salmon with wild rice and veggies, and a mango and passionfruit mousse, washed down with a light sparkling wine and gallons of watermelon and rosemary-infused water. The flavors burst along my tongue. I would never have guessed those two ingredients work so well together and Charlotte vows to get Jack into it.

I’m grateful that not once does she ask about my family’s accident. They’re never far from my mind, but I don’t really want to end up a blubbering wreck with my new friend. She also hasn’t mentioned the fact that Damien has offered to take me out, but maybe she doesn’t know.

We get changed and head for the salon section of the spa. We walk down a white corridor, but the lights cast an ice-blue filter over everything. It’s subtle, but it makes you feel like you are walking through a very large, very warm igloo.

The girls in the hair and makeup section are really fun. We talk and giggle amongst ourselves, and once my nails have been shaped and buffed, I opt for OPI ‘Big Apple Red’ nail gel on both my hands and feet. Charlotte chooses to do the same.

Then we move onto different chairs and are both treated to luxurious hair and scalp treatments. Theresa, one of the stylists, offers to take a tiny bit off the length of mine and add in some layers, which I jump at.

On the way out, we grab Sia a few home-pampering treats as a thank you before we finally exit fresh-faced, bouncy-haired, and totally and utterly relaxed. Charlotte and I exchange numbers and she makes me promise to get Sia to agree to a girls’ night. I’m about to hail a taxi when she tells me to get into her waiting car.

It’s, well, super posh. She tells me to give the man, Enzo, my address and he insists we just sit back and relax. We both lay our heads back on the headrests, in content silence, and I can’t help the genuinely happy smile that graces my face all the way back to the apartment.

•••

Later, after Sia gushes over the gifts and I tell her all about how amazing the day was and how great Charlotte is, we snuggle up on the couch with the sub sandwiches I picked up from ‘our’ deli.

We continue with the new TV show we are becoming obsessed with, and by the time we get to the episode in which the mom stars in a fruit-wine commercial, we’re hooked.

After composing ourselves, Sia blurts out, “So, what is the plan for tomorrow?”

“How long have you been holding that in, Sia?”

“Oh, only from the minute I got home.”

She grins and then notices the cover on my phone.

“What are these?”

Holding up the back of the phone, she c***s her head. I have the largest iPhone available, so the feathers fit in the case.

“I, they’re…” I don’t know how to phrase it. “I keep finding them…”

“Really? Where were they?”

“Well one was on my bedroom floor the day I went to see the counsellor for the first time.”

She stays quiet so I continue, “And the second was on your windowsill the first time Damien texted me.”

“But they are almost identical, Vivi!” she gasps.

Slowly, I nod. “I know. Weird, huh?”

I take the clear case off my phone and show them to her. She strokes her fingertips over them.

“I can see why you kept them.”

I nod in agreement while pushing them against my phone and then fastening the case back on. My phone pings and we both jump.

“s**t!” Sia laughs. “Who is it?”

“It’s Damien,” I tell her and her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline.

Damien #11: Is 11:30 a good time to meet up tomorrow?