Jump Then Fall: Chapter 2

The second floor was just as impressive as the first. Nina showed me around to the game room, which was filled with various arcade games like table hockey, a pinball machine, and a pool table, she showed me her bedroom, or the master bedroom, which was painted a light beige and had shinning wooden floors. It had the most comfortable looking bed I had ever seen which Nina said she had gotten specially made for her sensitive back. It was also equiped with two walk-in closets filled with more amounts of clothes than I thought possible. But I couldn't object, Nina was where I had gotten my fashion sense from and my passion for shopping. The both of us were know for taking day trips to the mall and coming back with completley new wardrobes. She also had an extremley large bathroom with not only a jacuzzi tub, but a glass shower and a small flat screen tv. The counter tops of the bathroom were made of the same gray marble that the island in the kitchen. The sink was large, but not as large as the mirror which was at least three times the size of my body. After Nina's room we visited what she called the "lounge room". This room was painted a dark blue and had low lights, two black leather couches like the ones downstairs, several stools and a long wooden bar filled with various alcohalic beverages.
"Don't even think about touching anything from behind there, unless it's a holiday party or something" she said in a serious tone.
"I won't" I promised. I had never really gotten into the whole drinking thing, unlike most of the teens who inhabited my sunny Florida town. Alcohal had taken something from me that I could never get back. My father. Late one September night when I was about nine years old I asked my father to go out to the store to the store to get me cough drops. I convinced him that I needed them, when really I just enjoyed their delicious cherry flavor. My father could never resist my pleas so he agreed to go out and get them for me. He never came back. He had been on his way home from the store when a drunk driver, going 50mph on a local road, swerved into his car and hit him dead on. He died on impact. I remember the police coming to our house and my mother screaming and crying. I didn't really understand what was happening until we buried him. I realized he was never coming home. From then on I had never had a good relationship with my mother. I knew she blamed me for everything that had happened, as did I. She had known that I didn't really need the cough drops and had tried to convince my father not to go. She was always cold to me, and I never felt like I was home. The rink had become my new home and Nina was like a mother. I could tell her anything, even about my mom, or my dad. She always listened and given me great advice. I don't think I would have gotten through it without her. I knew that moving in with her to Pittsburgh would only strengthen our mother-daughter bond. And I was glad to be rid of my mother and her stoney attitude towards me.
The last room we came to in the house was mine. She told me she had specifically designed it herself. The walls were a light yellow that made me think of the warm Florida sun. There were posters of all my favorite skaters hung on the walls. Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Carol Heiss, Nicole Bobek, and Oksana Baiul. I smiled at that, Nina knew me well. My bed was a large queen sized bed that looked extremley soft and welcoming. I had one walk-in closet that was already stocked with clothes from many of my favorite designers, Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch, Chanel, Burberry, Dior, just to name a few.
"Nina! You didn't have to buy me all this" I exclaimed as I looked though the contents of my closet.
"Consider it a house warming gift" she smiled.
My bathroom was large and spacious. It too had a jacuzzi tub and a glass shower with a small flat screen tv. The counters were the same as the kitchen island and Nina's bathroom and the sink and mirror were just as big.
"Thank-you for all this. For letting me live with you, for buying me all this new stuff. I really appreciate it" I told her sincerly.
"It's really no problem. Anything for you.", she said warmly, "But I'll leave you to unpack your things and call your mom if you want."
And with that she left the room shutting the door quietly behind her.