Kelly transferred her microphone to her right hand so that she could see her watch. “And to make matters worse, we’re running out of time. I’m going to have to pick up my daughter. Her skating lesson’s over.”
“That’s cool,” Brian said. He lowered his camcorder from his shoulder and unplugged the power source. “I should get my daughter from day care.”
Kelly bent down and stowed her microphone in her sizable shoulder bag, then helped Brian break down the equipment. Like a couple of experienced pack rats, they hoisted everything over their shoulders and started walking toward the center of the mall.
“What’s becoming obvious,” Kelly said, “is that people don’t give a damn about AmeriCare’s merger of the Samaritan Hospital and the University Med Center unless they’ve had to go to the hospital during the last six months.”
“It’s not an easy subject to get people fired up about,” Brian said. “It’s not criminal, sexy, or scandalous, and there are no celebrities involved.”
“They ought to be concerned,” Kelly said with disgust.
“Hey, what people ought to do and what they actually do has never been related,” Brian said. “You know that.”
“All I know is that I shouldn’t have scheduled this piece for tonight’s eleven o’clock news,” Kelly said. “I’m desperate. Tell me how to make it sexy.”
“If I knew that, I’d be the talent rather than the cameraman,” Brian said with a laugh.
Emerging from one of the radiating corridors of the Sterling Place Mall, Kelly and Brian arrived at the spacious epicenter. In the middle of this vast area and beneath a three-story-high skylight was an oval skating rink. Its frosted surface glowed under the glare of klieg lights.
Dotted around the rink were a dozen or so children along with several adults. All were careening across the ice in various directions. The apparent chaos resulted from the recent conclusion of the intermediate lesson and the imminent commencement of the advanced lesson.
Seeing her daughter’s bright red outfit, Kelly waved and called out. Caroline Anderson waved back but took her time skating over. Caroline was very much her mother’s daughter. She was bright, athletic, and willful.
“Shake a leg, Chicken.” Kelly said when Caroline finally neared. “I gotta get you home. Mom’s got a deadline and a major problem.”
Caroline stepped out of the rink, and walking on the toes of her figure-skate blades, she moved to the bench and sat down, “I want to go to the Onion Ring for a burger. I’m starved.”
“That’s going to be up to your father, sweetie,” Kelly said. “Come on, chop, chop!”
Kelly bent down and got Caroline’s shoes out of her knapsack and put them on the bench next to her daughter.
“Now, there’s one hell of a skater,” Brian said.
Kelly straightened up and shielded her eyes with her hand from the bright lights. “Where?”
“In the center,” Brian said, pointing. “In the pink outfit.”
Kelly looked where Brian indicated, and it was immediately apparent whom he was referring to. A girl, around the same age as Caroline, was going through a warm-up exercise that had now caused some of the shoppers to pause and watch.
“Whoa,” Kelly said. “She is good. She looks almost professional.”
“She’s not that good,” Caroline said, as she gritted her teeth in an attempt to pull off one of her skates.
“She looks good to me,” Kelly said. “Who is she?”
“Her name is Becky Reggis.” Having given up trying to yank off her skate, Caroline was back to loosening the laces. “She was the junior state champion last year.”
As if sensing she was being watched, the girl then executed two double axels in a row before arcing around the end of the rink, heel to heel. A number of the shoppers broke out in spontaneous applause.
“She’s fantastic,” Kelly said.
“Yeah, well, she’s been invited to the Nationals this year,” Caroline reluctantly added.
“Hmmm,” Kelly murmured. She looked at Brian. “There could be a story there.”
Brian shrugged. “Maybe for the six o’clock. Certainly not for the eleven.”
Kelly redirected her attention to the skater. “Her last name is Reggis, huh?”
“Yup,” Caroline said. She had both skates off now and was looking in her knapsack for her shoes.