COMPETING (Chapter 89)

Skate Canada was Sophia and Warren's first event in the Grand Prix series. It was the last week in October, in Edmonton. They arrived on a Tuesday, and would compete Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

"HEY!" They heard from behind them as the walked into the hotel lobby. It was Liz Cushman.

"Hey, Liz, what's up?" Warren asked.

"Not much. You guys ready for the season?"

"No!" Sophia laughed. "We're still using last year's free dance, because the new one isn't ready yet!"

"Oh," Liz said. "Is there a problem with it?"

"Not difficult enough," Warren told her. "We're getting there, though. If we can get the difficulty, it's going to be a very special program. Might have to wait for Nationals to unveil it, though."

"So, how's Rich?" Sophia asked her with a smile.

"Rich is just fantastic," Liz said. "Unfortunately, he couldn't make it here, but things between us are wonderful."

"Glad to hear it," Warren said.

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Their main competitors at Skate Canada would be the home country favorites, Canadian dancers Renee Damphier and Christian Gaudler. Warren and Sophia were watching them practice Wednesday morning.

"I really, really like their free dance," Sophia said to Warren. Renee and Christian were dancing to a funky mix of various soul songs.

"Yeah, they got da funk, don't they?" Warren laughed. "Their OD isn't as good as ours is, though, I don't think."

"True, but that free is something else. I love dancers that dance. They're not just dancing, they're shaking that thing."

Just then Renee and Christian came off the ice. "Hey, Warren, Sophia! How you guys doing?"

"Great," Sophia told them. "That's some free."

"Glad you like it," Renee said. "What you guys got up your sleeves?"

"Well, the OD will rock your world," Warren told them with a grin, "but the free is Sinatra again. The new one's not ready."

"Will it be?" Christian asked.

"Oh yeah. Nationals, if not sooner."

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It was a fun competition. Warren and Sophia finished second in the compulsories, won the original dance, and finished second in the free. A silver medal, behind Renee and Christian, which was fine with them. They knew they were competing with an old free dance, which would hinder them.

They had decided to choreograph a number of exhibitions, and the one they did for the fall competitions was a number by Patti Scialfa called "As Long As I Can Be With You." It was poppy, with nice loud guitars, and a fine romantic sentiment in the lyrics.

Liz won the ladies' competition, and Warren and Sophia were impressed with her skating. She seemed much freer on the ice than in the past couple of years.

The new Canadian pairs team, Jennie Sellers and Denis Poulin, won the pairs competition.

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Three weeks later, they were in Moscow for Cup of Russia. This time, their main competition was the world champions, Olga Bradochkina and Nikolai Zhargov. Warren and Sophia finished second in all three phases of the competition, and won another silver medal. Two second-place finishes was enough to make them one of the five teams that qualified for the Grand Prix final, which was their goal.

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In between their two competitions, Warren had a less pleasant duty to take care of. The four guys that had beat him up went on trial. He was called to testify.

The prosecutor, John Komack, started the questioning about what he was doing that night.

"Well, Sophia and I had practiced, and then I had gone to study, so I hadn't gotten supper. I had walked to the deli on Curtis Ave to get a sandwich. I was walking back, past Thompson Hall, when it happened."

"What happened?"

"These four guys approached me, and asked if I was 'that figure skater' that went to school here."

"Can you identify the four men?"

"Yes, the defendants."

"OK, what happened next?"

"I confirmed I was a figure skater. They went on to ask me if all figure skaters were gay. I told them, no, some, but not all. They got more belligerent in insisting that all skaters were gay. I told them to believe what they liked, and asked if I could get by. They told me no, because I was a figure skater, which means I must be a fag, and Reverend Watson told them what to do about fags. That's when the first punch hit my face."

"Who threw the first punch?"

"I honestly don't know. It wasn't long before I was getting hit from all sides. Then they dragged me behind Thompson Hall and really went to town."

"Were all four of them involved?"

"Yes. I do know that I saw every one of them either punch or kick me at one point."

"OK, so they punched and kicked you. Did anything else happen?"

"Yes." Warren took a deep breath. "I was raped."

"Do you know who raped you?"

"It wasn't Gornich or Stevens, they were holding my arms. It was either Kohler or Jorgensen. The medical reports found Kohler's semen in my…..in my rectum, so…." He took another deep breath.

"Are you all right, Mr. Kelleher?" the judge asked him.

"Yeah," he said with a small smile. "Any way I can get a glass of water?" One was provided for him.

"Warren," Mr. Komack asked, "I know this is difficult, but we need to ask these. Did you know you were being raped?"

"I'm not sure. I felt something….back there…a pressure, and then a searing pain. I blacked out just after, so I wasn't conscious for the whole thing. "

"Do you think that was what made you black out?"

"I don't know, maybe a doctor who has studied these things would know. I was in pain like you wouldn't believe at that point, and had already lost blood. Probably a combination."

"Now, the first time you were sure you had been raped was when the doctor in the hospital told you, is that correct?"

"Yeah. I was just regaining consciousness, talking to my girlfriend and the cop. I probably would have figured it out, though, because my ass hurt. I mean, really hurt."

"But the doctor is the one that told you. How did you react?"

"I don't know. How do you react to something like that? It took me months of therapy to work that one out. At that moment, I think I just felt horrified. And, I must admit, considering the reasons they stated for beating me up, I did not miss the irony."

"What do you mean?"

"Beating up a straight guy because you think he's gay, and, to make your point clear, performing a gay sexual act on him" Warren managed to smile. "It would have been viciously hilarious if it hadn't happened to me." Even the judge chuckled at that one.

"Warren, how has what happened to you affected you?"

"Well, I needed therapy. I shut down for a while, wouldn't talk to my girlfriend, almost quit skating. It's better now, but it was rough for a while."

"Thank you."

The attorney for one of the goons, Kohler, stood up to cross examine.

"Mr. Kelleher, did you see my client rape you?"

"Like I said, no. It was either him or Jorgensen, because I could see the other two."

"In fact, you didn't actually see my client do anything to you, did you? It was all a blur, isn't that correct?"

"No, that is not correct. Your client was the one that broke my wrist. I saw that. He reached out and grabbed my hand and twisted it, all the while grinning at me. I saw that, plain as day."

The attorney was taken aback by that. "But you didn't see him rape you."

"No, but somebody raped me, and he was the one that deposited his semen in my ass."

"Yes, if you believe DNA testing," the attorney said.

One of the other attorneys asked Warren about Reverend Watson. "What do you think of him, Warren?"

"Objection!" shouted the prosecutor.

The judge overruled it, so Warren answered. "I think Watson's a despicable, evil hatemonger."

"Do you hold him responsible for your attack?"

"He's responsible for fomenting hate, but he's not the one that beat me up. We're responsible for our actions. Your client, and those other three, took an action--they beat me up, and raped me. Watson wasn't there."

"You don't think my client was under Watson's influence?"

"I wouldn't be able to answer that, counselor, I have a mind of my own." Chuckles were heard even from the jury box.

"What is that supposed to mean, Mr. Kelleher?"

"Just what it sounds like. I have a mind of my own. Most human beings do. Does your client?"

"My client was under the influence of a persuasive and powerful man."

"Well, then your client's an idiot, but stupidity is no excuse." The defense attorneys howled at that, and the judge ordered Warren's remarks stricken from the record.

Finally, after a full day on the stand, Warren's ordeal was over.