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Which is a shame, because my friend’s husband doesn’t then hear me tell him to shove his flipping snowboard where the sun doesn’t shine.
Chapter Seventy-Three
Every time I come here, it always amazes me how cold it is. Dominic, I think, has gone into full-on shock. This is probably the first time he’s had experience of sub-zero temperatures and I bet he’s glad now that he’s wrapped up in salopettes and a thick jacket rather than his usual thin cotton shuka.
He stands shivering at the bottom of the slope, staring up awe-struck, clutching his snowboard. My heart goes out to him as I watch him. He seems so far away from home now and I wonder if that’s what he’s thinking too.
I put my arms around him and kiss him. ‘Fancy giving it a go?’
‘Oh, yes.’ He watches the skiers and the snowboarders intently.
The others head to the drag lift and Ty comes over. ‘Want a few tips, Dominic?’
‘Yes, please.’
Tyrone shows him how to fit his helmet so that it’s snug, clip on his bindings and how to stand on the board. Then he shows Dominic how to shift his weight from the front to the back of the board, lowering and raising his heels and toes. Dominic stands watching Ty’s every move and certainly looks as if he’s taking it all in.
‘Try it,’ Ty suggests. ‘Just take it easy.’
Dominic tries a few moves and does surprisingly well, considering that I spent most of my beginners’ lessons flat on my butt.
‘Cool,’ Ty says and then he shows Dominic how to shift his body weight to make the board turn left and right, and how to steer it.
‘Want to go a bit further up the slope?’ Ty asks and leads the way.
There’s a small nursery lift – a magic carpet – that carries them a fraction of the way up the main slope. I tag behind and we all get off at the same spot together.
‘OK,’ Ty says. ‘Let’s go for it.’
Dominic clips on the board as he’s been shown and stands, unsteadily, on his feet. ‘Woaw,’ he says as he starts to slither down the slope.
Out of the corner of my eye I can see the others have stopped boarding and are now watching him from the other side of the slope. Gerry is pointing and sniggering. He’s been doing this for years and has clearly forgotten what it’s like to start. But all credit to Dominic, he gets to the bottom in one piece, still smiling, and with a certain amount of style and a minimum amount of flailing. I slither down behind them feeling more than a bit rusty as I carve my turns. It’s months since we’ve all been to the Sno!Zone together.
‘Nice one, mate!’ Ty says and high-fives Dominic. ‘Let’s go again.’
So up we go and time after time, Dominic – with increasing grace – reaches the bottom intact.
‘You’ve nailed it,’ Ty says. ‘Let’s go for the drag lift.’
‘Oh, no, no.’ I stay Dominic’s arm. ‘I think it’s a bit too soon for that.’
‘I am enjoying this, Janie,’ Dominic says. His face is flushed, his eyes bright with excitement. ‘I want to go higher.’
‘Don’t feel that you have anything to prove to these guys.’ Particularly, that total prat Gerry, I want to add. ‘It’s not a competition.’
It might be all very well that Dominic is the best jumper in his Maasai village, but I’m not sure how that will translate to the slopes. He’s looking a bit over-confident to me, and pride, particularly on snow, always comes before a fall. Still, despite my misgivings, we follow Ty to the drag lift and he quickly shows Dominic how to unclip his rear leg and jump on. We watch other people for a few minutes and then Gerry pushes into the queue in front of us.
‘Last one to the top is a sissy,’ he jeers.
‘Wanker,’ I mutter under my breath.
‘Hook the button round your leg. Scoot the board along. Keep sideways.’ Ty keeps issuing instructions to Dominic as we inch closer. ‘Don’t try to go straight or you’ll catch an edge and go out of the front door. Ready?’
Dominic nods and, seconds later, we’re on the lift and following the rest of the group up the slope. Despite my own shaking knees, we’re carried higher and higher without incident. At the top we make our way along the summit of the slope. Dominic looks down.
‘You don’t have to do this,’ I say. ‘We can unclip and walk down part of it.’
Dominic turns to me, eyes bright. ‘This looks like fun,’ he says and before I can offer any more sage advice, he’s off. I watch, heart in my mouth, as he hurtles down the slope, twisting and turning. Ty and I turn to look at each other.
