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She shook her head and gave me a half-hug as she reached the bottom of the stairs. I made my way up to their room and swung the door open.
“Cora?” I whispered. “Cora Lou?”
I tiptoed over to her bed and gently pulled the covers down. On the pillow where her head should have been were her tiny little feet with toenails painted purple.
“Cora, honey, it’s time to get up. There’s breakfast for you downstairs.”
“Food?” I heard her grumble from beneath the covers.
“Yes, lots of yummy food. Let’s get dressed and then you can go eat.”
I pulled the covers down a bit further so I could see her face. Her hair was pointing in every direction, but she had a big smile on her face.
“I’m hungry,” she said, her voice croaking with sleep.
“We better get you something to eat, then.”
I grabbed her underneath her arms and stood her on the floor, but she immediately flopped back down onto her bed. I walked across the room to her wardrobe where Beth had unpacked her things, and pulled out all the gear she needed for skiing.
Once I had her dressed, which was not an easy feat, she bounded down the stairs like she had all the energy in the world. I followed her into the kitchen and helped her dish up a plate of food.
“Beth, can you fix the girls’ hair while I go get dressed?”
She nodded as I left the room, and a short while later, we were finally ready to hit the slopes.
Beth had takenLaila and Cora to pick out their ski gear several weeks ago, and I still hadn’t seen what they had chosen. Of course, it was no surprise to me that Laila ended up in purple from head-to-toe, and Cora’s selections were all over the place. A yellow helmet, a pink and white polka dot coat, neon blue snow pants, and green boots. At least she wouldn’t be easy to lose.
I had been attempting for weeks to hype them up about learning to ski, and both of them seemed excited. Until we actually got out onto the mountain. We met up with the instructor I had hired, a young man who came highly recommended by tourists and locals alike.
“Hallo. Mein name ist Frederick,” the instructor said.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I started. “They don’t speak German.”
The look the instructor gave me would have sent a weaker man to his knees.
“Non? French?” he asked in a thick accent.
“I’m sorry, they just speak English.”
“I forgot. You’re Americans.”
His voice bit at the last word, and I already knew how this was going to end. But I put a smile on my face and tried once again to get the girls excited. I crouched down to their level and tried to find their eyes beneath their helmets and goggles.
“Girls, this is Fredrick. He’s going to teach you how to ski today. It’s going to be so much fun!”
“No,” interrupted Fredrick. “We do not have any fun until they learn good technique.”
I bit my tongue and tried to keep from saying what I wanted to say. I turned my attention back to the girls and plastered on another smile, which was much harder this time.
“I’m going to be right over there if you need anything. Listen to Fredrick and pay attention to what he tells you, okay?”
The girls nodded, but I could sense their hesitation. As they followed Fredrick to the starting point for their lesson, I wasn’t sure who was more nervous, me or them.
I founda bench to sit on where I was close enough to see and hear everything that was going on, but not close enough that Fredrick would think I was hovering. I honestly didn’t want him getting upset with me. I was going to have to do enough damage control with the girls as it was.
The lesson started uneventful as Fredrick showed them how to hook their boots into their skis, how to hold their poles, and how to slow down if they started going too fast. They paid attention as well as they could, but I could sense their focus waning. If they didn’t start actually skiing soon, he was going to lose both of them.
Laila kept glancing over at me, but I couldn’t quite tell what she needed. Perhaps she just wanted reassurance that I was still there. Or maybe she wanted me to take her away from this man she could hardly understand. Regardless, she continued to listen to him and follow his directions, and eventually, they started moving slowly down the hill.
