Danica bought plum-colored pads because they were the only ones that fit her knees. She was forty-one and convinced it was too late for many things, including skating. A friend enrolled her in a class as a birthday gift. At the first lesson she held the rail and seriously considered requesting a refund of the friendship rather than the money.
Beside her stood Armin with new skates and the expression of a man unwilling to admit he was frightened too. He claimed he had ice-skated as a child. The instructor asked him to demonstrate stopping. He ended up sitting on a mat, unhurt but less confident. Danica offered her water bottle and said at least he had found somewhere to rest.
They began practicing together after class, always in the permitted part of the hall. Danica learned slowly and celebrated every successful stop aloud. Armin progressed quickly but grew angry at the smallest mistake. When she praised him, he said it was nothing yet. One evening she stopped encouraging him and said it was difficult to enjoy herself beside someone constantly taking an invisible examination.
He removed his helmet and stayed silent a long time. He had recently lost a job where he was known as the person who always had the answer. He enrolled to prove he could still master something. He had not noticed bringing the very strictness he wanted to escape into the hall. Danica offered no new way to win. She said he could simply come and spend an evening with her, if that was interesting enough.
Next time he was five minutes late and offered no elaborate excuse. He practiced, made mistakes, laughed, and continued. Afterward they went for pizza carrying skates over their shoulders like children returning from school. Danica discussed her divorce without making it her entire biography. Armin talked about music, his favorite aunt, and how he cooked too much rice every time.
At the final lesson they had to circle the hall without holding the rail. Danica started slowly, Armin a few feet ahead. He did not return to pull her along. He waited at the finish with a smile that did not judge her time. When she arrived she hugged him too hard, and both grabbed the rail. Later he asked whether she wanted to go out without skates too. She agreed but said she might bring the pads just in case. They laughed while sitting on the floor undoing their laces.