Page 106 of Good as Gold
Leila
Oh! You are sweet to warn me. I guess that was inevitable. I just hope she can be discreet.
Matteo
She can when she needs to be. I will make sure she knows this is one of those times.
Leila
No need to worry! And if eating two muffins is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Matteo
That’s my girl.
Although she isn’t really my girl. It’s just that I keep forgetting.
“Are you ready for this?” Jeffrey asks me, and I look up from my phone.
It’s eight a.m. on the day after Christmas, and we’re seated at the picnic table in our snowboarding gear. Coffee mugs steaming in the December cold. The pilot—Paul—is performing his preflight checks, and Cara is just inside the gear room, fitting Lissa with a transponder and protective airbag.
The four of us are going up together for our preseason ride. But it will be a solemn occasion. It’s our first time back on the mountain after Sean’s death.
“I’m ready,” I lie to Jeffrey.
The office door opens, and Cara emerges. She holds the door for Lissa, who carries a small packet of folded tissue paper against her chest.
I rise from the picnic table and prepare myself for Sean’s last big ride. We’re about to scatter his ashes on our flight.
Solemnly, we all approach the bird, where the pilot is waiting. Cara takes the front seat next to the pilot. Lissa gets the seat behind him, and Jeffrey and I climb in beside her.
“Got your gloves?” I ask, inspecting her gear as I clip her seatbelt into place.
“In my pockets,” she says, cradling her father’s ashes. She flashes me a quick smile.
“All right, girlie. Here you go.” I slide the headphones over her ears and put on my own.
It’s a beautiful day to fly. The sky is a deep blue, and the peaks around us are blanketed in white. They’re nearly blinding in the sun.
Usually, these moments are for predictions and smack talk. But nobody speaks as Paul turns to the west and climbs.
After all these years, the snow-covered wilderness below us should be a familiar sight. But as we glide through the blue, I’m mesmerized all over again.
I chose this life for a reason. It’s spellbinding. Most men my age are sitting at a computer in an office. But this is my day job. It’s humbling.
Sean chose this life, too. He didn’t plan on leaving so soon. But he wasn’t the kind of man to have regrets.
I’m sorry, buddy. I wish you were here with me. I’d give anything for it.
Paul says, “Vents are all set, Lissa. Go ahead when you’re ready.”
Cara turns in her seat to watch her daughter. Lissa carefully slots the wrapped packet of ashes into the air vent on her door—the only one that’s open right now. Then she nudges it all the way out of the helicopter.
Paul holds us steady, and we all watch the packet hover in midair for a split second. Then the wind unwraps the packet, and the ashes form a sudden cloud. It’s a quick whitepoofbefore our eyes.
Lissa gasps, and it comes out like a sob. “Daddy is…like afirework.”
Cara wipes her eyes, and mine prickle, too.Goodbye old friend.
