Page 107 of Good as Gold
Paul flies us in a slow circle, but Sean is already gone.
* * *
A few minutes later, we climb out of the bird on a favorite peak we’ve ridden dozens of times before.
I hand Jeffrey the shovel and ask him to do the snowpack check. It’s no surprise that he does a thorough job.
“Jeffrey gets first tracks in honor of his first day,” I announce.
Our new guide turns to us and grins. “Thank you all. It’s an honor to be up here with you today.”
“Have a good run,” Cara says, her smile bittersweet.
Jeffrey clips in, scans the slope to choose his descent, and then drops in with a whoop. We all watch as he makes a few expert turns, tracking the snow with a Z-shape as he goes.
“Ready, kid?” I ask Lissa.
“You know it,” she says, clipping on her helmet. Her tears are already dry.
“We’ll go together?” Cara asks her daughter.
“You know it,” she repeats.
“Hold still, ladies,” I say. “We always start the season with a photo.”
They turn to me, and Cara puts an arm around her daughter. They both don brave smiles.
I point my phone and take a picture of the two of them against the blue sky. “All right. Let’s see you fly.”
Lissa takes a deep breath, sets her shoulders, and drops in first. Her mother follows a moment later.
Tucking my phone away, I wait for them to clear the slope beneath me. I’ll be bringing up the rear today, in case of trouble.
There won’t be any, though. This is a very safe spot. Alone on the peak now, I watch Lissa slice her way down the slope like the little pro that she is.
“She’s so amazing, Sean.” I say it out loud, hoping he can hear me. “We miss the shit out of you. But I think we’re going to be okay. Cara is hanging in there. The business is stable again.”
The whistle of the wind is the only response I get.
“And me? Well…” The sky is so blue it almost hurts my eyes. “Funny story. I got Leila pregnant. Yeah,thatLeila. Before you blame me, you should know that she asked me to. So next year I might get to meet a future snowboarder of my own.”
Below me, Lissa pops a jump off a gentle rise, while the sun sparkles overhead.
“Never thought anyone should call medaddy. Still not sure that makes any sense. But it’s real now. I have to decide what to do. If you want to weigh in, you know where to find me.”
I clip in and hop to the edge. “This one’s for you, man.”
Looking down, I take a deep breath, and then I fly after my friends.
CHAPTER40
LEILA
JANUARY
It’s the deepest part of winter, and I’m struggling on several levels. I’m tired all the time. It’s frigid. The temperature is minus ten this morning. And it’s still gloomy outside as I stumble around my lonely apartment getting ready for work.
I miss coffee.Realcoffee, full of caffeine. I’m hungry all the time, too.
