“Getting on is easy. It’s getting off where people usually eat it.”
My face fell as I took in her words. At that moment, as if on cue, the person getting off the lift on skis did a sharp turn to the left and fell on their side.
“Great,” I said, now nervous for when it was my turn.
“So, you and Giles seemed to be talking an awful lot at our house the other day,” Erin said out of the blue.
“Huh?” I tore my eyes away from the dreaded end of the lift. I wasn’t prepared for a personal conversation when I was so focused on not breaking a bone.
“He’s usually not very talkative, that one. I’ve known him just as long as I’ve known Johnny. We all grew up together, basically. I know he can come across as rough around the edges, but he really is a good guy.”
“Oh, um yeah.” I tried my best to give Erin my attention since the lift was now stopped. The attendant tried to help the skier who was still floundering to get up. “He’s given me the cold shoulder since I met him. It was nice to have an actual conversation for once,” I admitted.
She rolled her eyes. “Trust me, the cold shoulder is typical for him. He’s always been a little prickly with new people. You’d think he would have met tons of people while traveling the world. Instead, he used it as an excuse to keep everyone at an arms-length. I don’t think he made a single close friend all those years competing. Anyway, it’s just great to see him letting someone in.”
I snorted. “I would hardly say he’s letting me in. We had one civil conversation. I’m just happy he doesn’t seem to hate me anymore.”
“He definitely doesn’t hate you.”
“I hope not. He seems to be avoiding the lodge lately, though. I haven’t seen him since the party. Maybe he’s just busy, but…” I trailed off, feeling ridiculous for implying I could have a strong enough effect on Giles that it would keep him from visiting his family’s lodge.
“Well, I wouldn’t worry about that. I’m sure you’ll see him soon.” She winked at me, and before I could ask her what she meant by that, the lift started moving again.
“Oh god, we’re almost at the top.” Panic crept into my voice.
“You’ve got this. Just shift your body so that your front foot hits the ground first. Keep your tip up. Then you’ll stand up when we get to the top and glide out of the way.”
“That sounds like a lot of steps.” Shifting my body, I waited anxiously for the impact. There were only two chairs ahead of ours now.
The next thing I knew, it was our turn. My snowboard hit the ground and Erin shouted, “stand up.”
I stood on shaking legs. Before I could move, the lift hit the back of my knees, pushing me. My snowboard slid forward while my body flung around for balance. Eventually, my board flew too far forward, and the rest of me landed backward on top of it.
“Ouch.” I rubbed my butt and was thankful Erin had insisted I buy padded leggings.
“That was a great first effort.” Johnny was there now, too, helping me up.
“You must not have been watching me.”
“Hey, maybe you fell, but you got out of the way of the lift. Them not having to stop it for you on your first try is a win.”
I looked back to see that I had gotten out of the way of the lift exit, and the chairs were still moving.
“Alright, the first lesson of the day is falling leaf.”
* * *
An hour later,I had only made it down the hill three times. I had finally mastered falling leaf, which was leaning on my heels and rocking back and forth to get down the hill. It was not an impressive sight, but I had only fallen once on the last run.
“You’re doing great,” Erin exclaimed when I reached the bottom.
“Thanks for taking the time to show me. I know this must not be fun for you.”
Johnny had left us twenty minutes ago to hit the bigger hills, and I could tell Erin was dying to join him.
“I think I’m ready to take a break,” I said, even though I kind of wanted to try a couple more times now that I wasn’t falling constantly. “Maybe I’ll go inside and get a coffee. You should catch up with Johnny.”
“Nonsense. You need to learn how to carve now. You’ve got to try toe side.” She glanced at something behind me. “But I’m not a very good teacher. You know who is, though?”
