#7 A Twist of Fate

by Laurie Friedman

  I looked at Sophie, who was all quiet and back in her own little world. I wished I could take some of Mia’s and Harry’s enthusiasm and sprinkle it over Sophie.

  Carmen just said it’s time to hit the slopes. Wish me luck.

  Something tells me I’m going to need it.

  1:29 p.m.

  Finishing lunch

  In lots of ways, the day thus far has been a wipeout. I learned that word from Carmen when I fell on one of the green runs, and my skis and poles were scattered all over the place. She helped me retrieve my equipment and showed me what I needed to do to correct my form. But a wipeout on the slopes isn’t the only kind I’m talking about.

  Sophie was grumpy and quiet all morning. She hardly spoke to anyone in our group, and it was almost like she didn’t care if her skiing improved. Carmen kept trying to show her what to do, but she never took her advice.

  Finally, Carmen said to Sophie, “You know, whatever happened before you came on the mountain, it’s best to leave it off the mountain.”

  “Huh?” Sophie asked, but then she shrugged and skied away. I wasn’t sure if she didn’t understand what Carmen had meant or if she hadn’t even been paying attention.

  And it didn’t help me that Harry and Mia were acting like they were in a group by themselves. They were laughing and talking together like it was just the two of them and no one else was around.

  I wasn’t the only one bothered by it. “Hey, Harry, we’re supposed to be on a family vacation,” Amanda said to her brother. But he didn’t pick up on the fact (or didn’t care) that she wanted him to stop hanging out with Mia and start hanging with us.

  The problem with Mia was that she never stopped talking. She spent the whole morning telling Harry about the kids who go to her school in New Jersey. They pretty much sound like the kids in Faraway. As far as I can tell, the main difference seems to be that kids from Faraway have a southern accent, at least according to Mia, who actually tried talking with one. I can say with complete authority that the only thing worse than Mia talking is Mia talking like a southerner.

  But that didn’t seem to bother Harry either. Everything she said made him laugh, which really pissed off Amanda. “How do you think it makes me feel that my boyfriend just broke up with me, and now Harry found true love?” she asked me when we sat down to lunch.

  “I wouldn’t exactly classify what Harry and Mia have as true love,” I told her.

  Regardless, Amanda is still in a bad mood. Sophie still isn’t talking. Harry and Mia haven’t stopped. We just finished lunch, and now we’re going back for an afternoon of more skiing. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but wish me luck.

  I’m definitely going to need it.

  4:35 p.m.

  Après ski

  That’s a French term Carmen taught us, and it means after skiing.

  When we finished skiing for the day, our group split up. Amanda went shopping with Aunt Lilly, who promised her she could buy a new ski sweater. Harry and Mia got hot chocolate and went to sit by the fireplace with it. That left just Sophie and me.

  “Want to go look in the gift shop?” I asked.

  “Sure,” said Sophie.

  I was surprised when she said yes, and we stood side by side sniffing hand-cut soaps. I hadn’t planned to ask her anything, but when she picked up a purple bar of soap, inhaled, and got teary-eyed, I just decided to be direct. “Sophie, I know something’s bothering you,” I said.

  Sophie shook her head. “I just like the scent of lavender, that’s all.”

  I knew that wasn’t what was making her emotional. “You were in your mom’s room for a long time this morning. There’s been tension between the two of you for a while. I’m your best friend. I know something’s up. What is it?”

  Sophie was quiet. I could tell she was thinking about her answer. “Stuff,” she finally said.

  It wasn’t an answer, so I waited for more. But she just picked up a bar of soap and sniffed it. “Vanilla,” she said and handed it to me to smell.

  I inhaled the scent. “Nice.” I put the soap down and looked at Sophie like I was still waiting for her to answer my question.

  “April, I am . . .” But before she could say what she was, Aunt Lila came into the gift shop with Charlotte and Izzy.

  “April!” yelled Izzy.

  “Sophie!” screamed Charlotte.

  Both girls sprinted across the gift shop and flew into our arms like they hadn’t seen us for a long time. Charlotte bumped into the table with the soaps. It almost fell over, but I caught it in time.

  Aunt Lila laughed. “Girls, be careful or you’ll knock down April and Sophie and that nice display too.” I looked from Charlotte and Izzy to Sophie. I knew by her expression that the moment had passed. She wasn’t going to confide in me. At least not right then.

  We all looked around the gift shop together. As we got on the bus to go back to our condo, I made a mental note to try to find the right time to talk to Sophie. Then I scratched it out. Maybe I shouldn’t try to talk to her again. Maybe Mom was right, and Sophie will tell me what’s bothering her when she’s ready.

  I thought of the fortune I’d gotten at the Chinese restaurant. There’s much rain before a rainbow. What if Gaga’s sickness isn’t the only rain in my forecast? What if whatever is happening to Sophie is another dark cloud on my horizon? Then an unnerving thought popped into my head. What if I’m stuck in a torrential downpour, and there are even more bad things to come?

  Dear God, please let this rainstorm be a short one.

  6:22 p.m.

  At the condo

  When everyone got back to the condo after skiing, Gaga said she had an announcement to make. Mom and Aunt Lilly exchanged a look.

  “Don’t worry,” said Gaga. “This one is good.” She paused while she waited until she had everyone’s attention, and then continued. “I’m proud to report that both Willy and I mastered the bunny hill today.”

  “That’s impressive for two octogenarians,” said June.

  “Nice vocabulary,” Gaga said to June.

  Aunt Lilly was clearly not as impressed. “Gaga and Willy are barely in their eighties,” she said.

  I don’t know if she was trying to make Gaga and Willy feel better by reminding them that they’re only in their low eighties or if she was trying to send a subtle message to Gaga that she’s not old enough to forgo treatment for her cancer.

  Either way, I think her comment was wasted on Gaga, who continued talking. “I also want to let you know that Willy and I accomplished what we set out to do, and we’re done skiing.”

  “But the trip is only half over,” said May. “If you’re not going to ski, what are you going to do all week?”

  Everyone looked at Willy and Gaga like they wanted to know too. Gaga smiled. “We’re planning to spend a lot of time in the hot tub.” She winked at Willy. I couldn’t tell if they were kidding or not.

  “That’s gross,” Harry whispered to Sophie and me. I kind of agreed. But Aunt Lilly heard what Harry said and pulled all three of us aside. “I don’t want you to say anything negative to Gaga,” she said.

  “I didn’t say it to Gaga. I said it to April and Sophie,” Harry told his mother.

  Aunt Lilly looked at us like we were all in trouble. “We came on this trip to be supportive. If Gaga wants to spend her time in the hot tub, that’s OK. I expect you to be positive and upbeat around her.”

  “Don’t you think you’re getting a little carried away with all this positive, upbeat stuff?” asked Harry.

  Aunt Lilly didn’t answer his question. “Can you do that?” she asked us.

  “Sure,” said Harry.

  “OK,” said Sophie, then she walked off like her participation in the discussion was over and she was excused. She went into our bedroom and shut the door.

  Aunt Lilly ignored her exit and looked at me. “April?”

  “No problem,” I said. I glanced at the door Sophie had just shut. Being positive and upbeat around
Gaga is easy. Other people can be more challenging.

  9:32 p.m.

  In bed

  When we got in bed, Amanda asked Sophie and me if we wanted to rank the ski instructors. “Rank them for what?” I asked. “Who’s the best at teaching skiing?”

  Amanda laughed. “No, silly. Rank them in order of who’s cutest.”

  “Sure,” I said. I thought it was kind of a dumb game, but I could tell Amanda really wanted to do it.

  “Are you in?” Amanda asked Sophie. When Sophie didn’t look up from her phone, Amanda threw a balled-up pair of ski socks at her. “Stop texting Billy and play the game with us.”

  Sophie looked up. “OK,” she said, even though I could tell she had no idea what she’d just agreed to do.

  “Me first,” said Amanda. “Wyatt is definitely the cutest instructor.” He taught June’s group, and June told me at lunch that some of the girls in her group said he looks like a male model.

  I had to agree with Amanda.

  “You can’t pick the same instructor I pick,” Amanda said.

  I didn’t object to the fact that she was making up rules as we went along. “I think Van is super cute.”

  When Amanda agreed that he’s cute, I told her she can’t pick the same instructor I picked. She said she wasn’t picking, just agreeing. We both looked at Sophie for her turn. She was busy texting again.

  “Sophie,” said Amanda.

  “I have to go talk to my mom. Sorry,” she said. But as she left the room, she didn’t seem sorry at all.

  “What’s her problem?” asked Amanda when she left.

  Good question.

  Nothing so needs reforming

  as other people’s habits.

  —Mark Twain

  Tuesday, March 24, 1:25 p.m.

  DAY 4

  From bad to worse

  As I ate my oatmeal this morning, I only had two goals.

  One: to pick all the raisins out of my oatmeal. I don’t know why Aunt Lila put them there to begin with. Shouldn’t raisins fall in the category of things that a cook should put on the side, like brown sugar, so people can put whatever they want in their oatmeal?

  Two: to make it down an easy blue run.

  When we left ski school yesterday, Carmen said she was confident my body would get the hang of it today. But so far, her confidence was misplaced. I worked hard on it this morning. But I think the problem was more in my head than my body.

  It started when we got to the lodge. I was putting on my boots when Sophie got her boots out of the locker next to mine, and instead of sitting down next to me, she went around the corner to another bench to put hers on. She might as well have been wearing a T-shirt that read I don’t want to be anywhere near you. The message was so clear.

  Even though I’d vowed to let things go, I had to find out why Sophie was making such a statement. I put my snow boots in my locker and then confronted Sophie. “Did I do something to offend you?” I asked.

  Sophie was adjusting the buckle on one of her boots. She stopped and looked up. “God, no.”

  “I wish you’d just tell me what’s going on with you,” I said.

  Sophie bent down and started fiddling with her other boot like it needed adjusting. “I can’t tell you. At least not yet.”

  I waited until she finished. “Why?” I asked. It seemed like a pretty benign question. Sophie stood and picked up her snow boots.

  “I’m going to put these in my locker,” she said.

  I followed her. “Can you at least answer my question?” I asked.

  “This isn’t a game, like ranking the instructors.” She looked annoyed.

  I felt the same way. “How would I know what it is? You haven’t told me a thing.”

  “Drop it!” she practically spat the words at me. Then she exhaled, louder than was necessary. “Let’s just ski.”

  So we did. Sophie, Harry, Mia, Amanda, and I spent the morning with Carmen again. I tried to focus on skiing, but I kept thinking about my conversation with Sophie.

  What’s going on that she can’t tell me . . . yet?

  That’s what I was thinking about when I almost ran into a tree. “April!” I heard Carmen yell my name, and I stopped just in time. “Keep your thoughts on the slopes!” Carmen said when she caught up to me.

  “Are you a ski instructor or a mind reader?” I asked.

  “Both,” she said. Then she smiled. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve found that when you let yourself think about what’s going on off the hill, you don’t do as well on the hill. Just focus,” she said.

  “I’ll try,” I promised.

  At the bottom of the run, Amanda told Carmen she was quitting because she had period cramps. Mia and Harry skied off together to try the run again. That just left Sophie and me. As we rode up in the chairlift, I thought about saying something about what happened, but she was so quiet, I didn’t feel like I could.

  When we broke for lunch, I decided I had to clear the air. If she wasn’t going to tell me her secret, I at least wanted to be able to focus on my skiing.

  “I’m sorry about this morning,” I said.

  “Me too,” said Sophie.

  While it’s not the resolution I wanted, a truce is at least an improvement.

  5:45 p.m.

  Back at the condo

  BREAKING NEWS: I got down a blue run! All afternoon, that’s what we skied with Carmen, and by the end of the afternoon, I did it. It was an easy blue run, and I can’t say that I looked good doing it. But it was great to accomplish my goal, and Carmen was so proud of me.

  “You did it. You did it. You did it, did it, did it!” Carmen chanted the words like a cheerleader. To their credit, Mia and Harry were just as happy for me.

  I have to admit, I was happy too.

  I wasn’t nearly as good as Harry or Mia, who both mastered blue runs and skied down a bunch of them all afternoon. But I got it done. Amanda and Sophie hadn’t even tried.

  As we left ski school, I was pretty pumped about how much I’d advanced since we started. So when we all got back to the condo, I announced my accomplishment to everyone in my family.

  “April, that’s great,” said Dad.

  Gaga clapped like she was proud too.

  “I went down a black run,” announced May. As everyone congratulated her, May said that Thomas told her she’s one of the best beginner skiers he has ever taught.

  The happiness drained right out of me. I was happy for May, but I didn’t like her sense of competitiveness.

  I don’t think Gaga liked it either. She didn’t directly acknowledge May’s accomplishment, and she even changed the subject.

  “I’m proud of all of you,” said Gaga. “And so is Willy.” Then she brought out a shopping bag. She made a joke about how she and Willy had forgone their time in the hot tub to go shopping instead. “We have gifts,” she said.

  She reached into the shopping bag and bought out stretchy bracelets for everyone. The bracelets had different sayings on them that related to skiing. As they gave everyone their bracelets, Gaga wanted us to go around the room and read what each of ours said.

  Mine said, Fall down seven times. Get up eight. It was very descriptive of my day, except that I fell down a whole lot more than seven times.

  There were lots of cool sayings, but June’s was the most compelling, at least in Aunt Lilly’s opinion. “My bracelet says, Believe you can, and you’re halfway there,” said June when Gaga got to her.

  “I love that!” said Aunt Lilly. “It’s such a positive way to think. A person should always have faith and believe that they can conquer anything.” Then she repeated the word anything like she wanted to make sure it was heard. It had been. By everyone in the room. But clearly, the person she was talking to was Gaga.

  Even though Aunt Lilly hadn’t used the word cancer, it was obvious that’s what she was talking about. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Mom and Aunt Lila exchanged a look like this line of conversati
on might not have a pleasant outcome.

  But Gaga laughed. “We came on this trip to ski, not to talk about cancer. We don’t have time to talk about it now anyway, because Willy and I have another surprise.”

  Charlotte clapped. “What’s the surprise?”

  “We love surprises!” said Izzy.

  Aunt Lilly’s shoulders slumped. I could tell she thought she’d found a perfect entry into a difficult conversation.

  Gaga wrapped one arm around Charlotte and the other around Izzy. “We’re going out for dinner tonight,” she said. “Who’s up for pizza?”

  Charlotte and Izzy cheered. Everyone looked happy.

  “Pizza sounds good,” said Uncle Dusty. Dad and Uncle Drew gave him a thumbs-up in agreement. So did I.

  When is pizza ever not good?

  9:15 p.m.

  Back from dinner

  The answer to my last question is: tonight.

  Correction: the pizza was delicious. But everything else pretty much sucked.

  The problems started when we got to the restaurant. Izzy and Charlotte complained that we were waiting too long for a table. May wouldn’t stop saying that she’s worked up a huge appetite with all the advanced skiing she’d done and that she was STARVING! June kept reading the menu items out loud and said she wanted to see if she could memorize the whole thing before we were seated. No one was doing anything terrible, but collectively, they were all getting on my nerves.

  We finally sat down at two tables, because we couldn’t get a table big enough for seventeen people, and Dad ordered pizzas for both tables. The pizzas he ordered sounded delicious, and when they arrived, I thought the worst was behind us. But it was just the beginning.

  “Look who’s here!” I heard from behind me, but I didn’t have to turn around to know who said it.

  “Mia!” said Harry.

  “What a coincidence!” said Mia.

  But I had a feeling it wasn’t all that coincidental. From the minute Gaga said we were going for pizza, Harry had been on his phone. I had a strong feeling he’d texted Mia and told her where we were eating, and then she got her parents to come here too.

  “We’re about to order,” Mia said, like she couldn’t stay. She looked right at Harry, even though there were lots of other people at the table. “Want to come to my hotel after dinner and hang out? There’s a game room.”