Tom Alan did a good job of keeping himself centered most of the time—most, not all. The night of the pairs short program, as he and Erika stood behind the boards before warm-up, he touched the slightly painful spot the elastic of his jockstrap rubbed against. Trying to ignore it, he noticed there were more posters than ever in the stands for him and Erika, even here in Russia. Their contingent, it seemed, would follow them anywhere. He noticed one right off—a rainbow with cutouts of Tom Alan and Ani. No Erika. He wondered if it was a political statement, if the male fan holding it suspected something, was just hopeful, or if a rainbow was sometimes just a rainbow and not a protest against governmental intolerance.
Several posters were devoted to Nobuo Tsuchino and Kyoko-san, of course, an
