Chapter 20: Good Night
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"Unbelievably enough, Jamison and Rocmanov will be competing tonight. Despite their horrendous spill during warm-up, when defending champs Wyatt and Hamilton collided with them, they will be competing," Scott Hamilton announced, clearly amazed at their courageousness.
"That's right, Scott. The judges have allowed them to skate two slots later than originally planned, allowing them time to change into different costumes. Their original costumes, obviously ruined, during their collision with the defending champs," Verne added.
"Well, I for one, can't wait to see their performance. If nothing else, their courage to even attempt such a difficult program after such a spill should be an inspiration to us all!" Scott concluded.
The competition continued, but everyone's mind was on the performance yet to come, Jamison and Rocmanov's first official performance as a pair.
"Ready?" Aleksei softly asked Jordan, their eyes meeting and holding as he sent encouragement and confidence her way. Once again, the couple were standing beside the ice they had only moments before met disaster head on. Casting a last quick glance at the ice, she lifted her chin defiantly, daring the ice to challenge her, smiling as she nodded in agreement and squeezed his hand gently.
Aleksei looked at their hands, fingers laced together and his eyes darkened a fraction in anger when he again noticed her abraded palms. The gauze had been removed and her palms looked red and painful, he hoped she could stand the pressure on her palms during their numerous lifts. "How bad are they?" he questioned, holding her held palm up for inspection.
"I'll survive," She stated easily, running a finger between his eyes to erase the frown line forming. "Smile, it's our turn," she demanded, giving his hand a final squeeze and preparing to step on the ice.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen. Jordan Jamison and Aleksei Rocmanov," a voice out of the darkness announced.
Together, as one, Aleksei and Jordan stepped onto the ice. Holding hands, they skated confidently to the center of the ice, smiling confidently at each other and the crowd and assumed their starting positions. The crowd refused to stop applauding, showing the pair their appreciation of the courage and tenacity they had shown. After their collision on the ice with the defending champions, no one would have been surprised if they had been unable to compete and had withdrawn, and yet, here they were, center ice, awaiting their music. Jordan and Aleksei held their opening position for over a minute, absorbing the strength they felt flowing from the appreciative crowd, breathing deeply and calmly as they felt their own adrenaline begin to surge through their systems. Finally, a request to be seated was announced and the audience complied, but not before words of encouragement were called out from various corners of the arena and applause again broke out.
Aleksei and Jordan remained motionless, waiting for the silence to descend and their music to begin. Aleksei smiled into Jordan's upturned face and mouthed nobody leaves, causing her to smile secretly in return and nod in agreement. After what seemed hours, the soft beginning strains of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet were heard and Jordan and Aleksei took their first tentative strokes on the ice as an official pair.
Just as Whittaker and Dee had hoped, the audience was entranced. The only sounds to be heard were the rising and falling notes of the music. Jordan and Aleksei sped across the ice, their blades mere whispers as they performed all the required elements. The audience made not a sound, holding their breaths as the pair before them landed each jump, throw and lift without fault or hesitation, despite their earlier incident. Even the announcers were silent; each lost in the beauty of the performance being played before them.
When Aleksei lifted a seemingly dead Jordan into his arms and raised her up, the audience felt his pain, knew he was pleading with God to join her in death and everyone understood his plight, felt his loss for the love of his life. In the deafening silence, you could feel the audience's sympathy pouring onto the ice. When he raised her over his head and then collapsed with her in his arms on the last notes of the powerful music, the arena erupted into cheers that threatened to bring the ceiling down.
Aleksei and Jordan lay still on the ice, their chests laboring to take a full breath, absorbing the applause surrounding them and smiled to each other. With a gentle kiss, Aleksei lifted her to her knees, stood beside her and assisted her to her feet. Holding her hand, he bowed to her, then the audience, forgetting about the judges and embraced the magic they had been a part of. They accepted the applause, laughing as the power swept over them and carried them forward to accept the flowers that were being tossed onto the ice. Aleksei scooped up a single white rose and presented it to Jordan, kissing one hand softly and then leading her off the ice to the kiss and cry area where they would await their scores.
Flash bulbs went off furiously, despite the request there be none for safety purposes, as audience members tried to get pictures of the new pair as they waited patiently with their coaches in the chairs. When the scores for technical merit came up, the audience voiced their disapproval at the 5.8's and 5.9's that crossed the board. When the scores for presentation came across and read 6.0 straight across, the audience went wild and it wasn't until Jordan and Aleksei took to the ice for a final bow that the pandemonium subsided somewhat.
Jordan and Aleksei won the National's easily that night, despite their near-disastrous collision with the defending champions, and it would be a night neither of them would ever forget. It was a night that would remain in their memories forever.
And as Aleksei stood center ice, holding Jordan against his side, sharing their success, he understood what his coach had wanted for him all along. The fulfillment of being a part of something that made you truly happy, truly complete. As Aleksei looked down into Jordan's upturned smiling, radiant face, he knew this small slip of a girl was the woman he was meant to share his life with, to grow old with. The thought made him throw back his head and laugh with joy toward the sky. The surprised look on Jordan's face only made him laugh that much louder. Easily, he picked her up into his arms, spinning her in circles until she was laughing as hard as he was. The audience joined in their joy, clapping even louder and stamping their feet, the sound shaking the very foundation of the arena. Aleksei returned Jordan to her feet and with a final bow of gratitude, they left the ice, their fans still throwing roses and small trinkets onto the ice.
The announcers remained stunned. "I can't believe what we've just witnessed!" Verne said. "Never in all my years as an announcer, have I ever experienced such enthusiasm from an audience."
"You're right about that." Scott agreed, "The only other time I can remember the audience responding so passionately was when Katia Gordeeva took to the ice alone for the first time. You could feel the strength the audience was offering her then and you could sure feel them supporting Jamison and Rocmanov tonight."
"Ladies and Gentleman, tonight you witnessed magic at it's very best and, as far as I'm concerned, I can't wait to see their next competition!" Verne added enthusiastically.
"I can't imagine them beating this performance, because, as Verne said, this was definitely magic. Who knows, maybe we are witnessing the next Gordeeva and Grinkov," Scott finished, shaking his head in wonder as he listened to the still cheering crowd.
"From all of us up here in the booth, this is Verne Lunquist, Scott Hamilton and Rosalyn Sumners, bidding you good night."
Text Copyright © 2000 by Constance E. Moynihan
