Let Go
The obnoxious ringing of her phone dragged Canadian Ice Dancer, and reigning World Champion, Allison Monroe out of her melancholy silence. It seemed to take more effort than usual to role over on the couch and grab the cordless from its home on the end table. �Hello?� She croaked, her voice sounding rusty and unused. �Ally! I called as soon as I heard! I can�t believe this. Thirteen years and now�� Jenny�s voice sounded unusually concerned. �Well, it will give me a chance to explore new things. Do you realize, that apart from Andrei, Dominic is the only man I�ve ever skated dance with? I mean, at least you had another pairs partner to compare Oliver to. I didn�t have anyone.� �You don�t seem very upset about this,� Jenny paused as she tried to fit the thoughts in her head together. With an almost audible click, the idea formed. �You didn�t let him go, did you? Please tell me you tried to convince him to stay!� �Well�� �Allison Calea Monroe! I can�t believe you! You know, he probably would have stayed if you�d asked him to. Dominic always does what you ask �im to! Why would you just let him go?� Jenny�s outburst was met with silence. Memories collided in Ally�s head: Dominic�s smile, his expression as they stood together on the podium at worlds, the Canadian flag rising to supremacy over the others. One thought was seemingly out of place however. A short quote that Ally had read only a couple of weeks ago. Something that hadn�t shown any relevance at first but now� Ally whispered it into the phone, �If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you then it�s your forever. If it doesn�t, then it was never meant to be.� * * * In another apartment in the same town, Dominic Reifen was sitting on the bed that he normally shared with his fianc�e, staring into space. He had been extremely surprised when Allison had agreed to the split without arguing. His partner was quiet, but she wasn�t usually that quiet. She hadn�t asked why, so he hadn�t told her. She hadn�t asked when, so he hadn�t told her. She hadn�t asked anything, so it had been a very brief conversation. One of the more important things he hadn�t told Allison was that he and Maija had split. Dominic wanted to be hidden in a dark place when that news came out, especially if Maija decided to explain to the press (or anyone else for that matter) why she�d called off the engagement. She had certainly explained it to him. She�d explained it so loudly that he felt certain that his hearing was permanently affected. He tried to recall exactly how she�d put it, that the words stung like knives. �Dominic, I thought I loved you, but I guess not. I�m certainly not willing to always take second place to her. You love Allison more than you do me and you always will. I was a fool to think that I could convince you, to think that I could make you love me. It�s impossible though, and I�m not going to waste any more time on you.� The thought of completely quitting the sport had never entered his mind. He just wanted to disappear for awhile and come back when the embarrassment died down. When he�d been sitting at home, trying to decide how to tell Ally that he wanted to take a year off, he�d come up with a brilliant strategy. He�d tell her that he wanted to stop skating. When she started yelling at him, he�d pretend to back down and agree to just take some time away from the arena. It hadn�t worked out at all. She�d actually let him go. Epilogue: Yours Forever January 24, 2005 Her family had come and gone. Andrei had come, they�d had yet another fight, and now he was gone as well. Allison Monroe was all alone on her 29th birthday and not at all happy about it. It had been a rather depressing day. The ominous thought of turning 30 in a year had overshadowed the festivities for her. For the last few months she had been skating in a few smaller shows and helping Andrei with the coaching aspect of his work. To be completely honest, she was doing nothing and going nowhere. She needed a partner and a boyfriend who cared about what she wanted. In her head, the ideal person to fulfill both these needs had a face, a face with a sweet smile and a habitually bewildered expression. The ringing of the phone interrupted her reverie and Ally rushed to answer hoping that this was the call she�d been waiting for, the call she�d been promised. �Hello?� �Allison?� The soft, slightly accented voice on the other end definitely didn�t belong to Jenny as she�d expected. In fact it was even more familiar. Her breath caught in her throat, at the memories that were suddenly triggered. They hadn�t spoken in over a year, but she hadn�t forgotten the way her name sounded on his tongue. She�d missed it desperately. �Dominic!� Ally gasped, �How are you?� �Happy Birthday Allison,� He replied, skillfully changing the subject. �Thank you. Now would you please answer the question?� �You know me too well,� he muttered disconsolately. �Answer,� was the gentle but firm response. Deciding it was pointless to continue his evasions, he let it all out, �To tell the truth, I�m absolutely miserable. I miss you.� When Ally remained silent, Dominic stumbled on, �I miss your smile and I miss your laugh. I miss having you critique everything I say, do, even wear. I miss hearing your cheerful voice every morning and I miss hearing you say goodnight. I miss you beautiful.� It was at this point Allison found her voice. �I miss you too,� she whispered, a tear tracing a path down her cheek, �I miss you so much.� �You know what else I miss?� He asked her, seemingly changing the subject. �Skating?� �Riverdance.�
