A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones)

by S. L. Baum

  chapter five

  SOMETHING NEW

  “Gotcha,” Link exclaimed as he reached out to grab me before I hit the ground.

  “Thanks, I so didn’t notice that ice patch,” I grimaced as I steadied myself. “When did you get back?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “I drove down into Mexico. I don’t do well with holidays. There’s no Thanksgiving there.”

  “Too many Memories?”

  “Yeah, I just didn’t want to smell roast turkey and mashed potatoes and then be reminded of family dinners,” he admitted.

  “You’ll have to start making new ones that’s all. You could have had dinner with us. Friends make good holiday partners too. We are still going to be friends, aren’t we?” I questioned. His sudden absence had caused me to wonder.

  “Yes we are. If you still want to be. On the other hand, I am kinda old to be hanging out with a little girl like you.”

  “Get over it. I’ll get you a cane so you don’t hurt yourself old man,” I kidded him. “In about two months I’ll officially be an adult. Will you feel better then? You could just avoid me until February.”

  “I’m not sure I could do that,” Link looked at me, his expression sober.

  “I don’t think I would like it much either,” I admitted.

  “What should we do?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “How about skiing? Friends ski. The trails will be open in a few days. Ski with me,” he brightened.

  “Can’t ski. Some kids from school are going this weekend, but I bowed out. I didn’t want to spoil their fun.”

  “You – can’t – ski?” he emphasized each word as he spoke.

  “Nope,” I said.

  “That’s a travesty.”

  “What should we do?”

  “I’m teaching you. You, me, base of lift four, Saturday, nine o’clock sharp,” he ordered.

  “We could wait until Meadows is open. Everyone keeps saying that’s the easiest green,” I offered.

  “Nonsense, Village Bypass is a green. So is Lower Boomerang,” he paused as I stared at him, completely lost in his ski trail name rattling.

  “I’ll show you a trail map later,” he responded to my confused look, and then teased, “I won’t let you tumble down the mountainside.” Link flashed his brilliant smile.

  “No, I can take care of that myself, I’m sure,” I grimaced at how easily I could picture myself tumbling head over heels down an embankment of snow. “But seriously, Link, I have no gear. I told Aunt Rachel I could be at the boutique with her on Saturday. I’m not prepared. Let’s wait.”

  “Ask her for a pass. And, gear is not a problem. I’ve seen how you live, remember. I’m sure you’ve got a credit card, with an enormously high limit. Believe it or not, despite my male status, I’m an excellent shopper – very patient. In fact, if there is one thing that Telluride is not lacking in, it’s ski shops. Let’s go,” he held out his arm and I reached out to lock elbows with him.

  We walked just a few yards, arm in arm, to the nearest ski shop. Both of us wore identical silly grins on our faces as we walked through the door.

  I tried on so many pairs of boots (I stopped counting after four), before I found a pair that was comfortable (if you can call ski boots that), pretty (blue – my favorite color), and had all the features that Link insisted were necessary. The skis were an easier find. Once I was shown the selection of skis that were suitable for my height? weight? or was it skiing ability (zero)? – I don’t remember what they were checking for. I chose the prettiest ones in the shop, blue again (with floral accents). Link rolled his eyes at me.

  Next we moved on to clothes. Link sat patiently while I tried on various ski pants and jacket combinations. His face was pretty transparent when he didn’t like an outfit. A slight frown would tug at the corners of his mouth, even while the words “it looks fine,” came out of his mouth. I got that brilliant smile when I emerged from the changing room in tight fitting, black ski pants and a light blue cropped jacket.

  “Nice threads huh,” I said to him.

  “Very nice threads,” he echoed my words.

  Link added hats, scarves, gloves, goggles, hand warmers, and socks to the pile. I marveled at the amount of gear required in this sport. Finally we brought the entire load up to the counter and I waited for the painful total.

  “My aunt and uncle are going to flip when they see that charge,” I cringed in shock as we headed back to the vehicles. A piece here and a thing there added up really fast.

  “You needed this for school too, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be fine. This stuff will last for years. You’ll get good use out of it. I’ll see to that,” his smile reached all the way to his eyes.

  “I’m glad you ski, everyone at school seems to snow board.”

  “Grandpa skied, he took me every winter. He taught my mom to ski when she was a little girl. We all skied together when I was very young - Grandpa, my parents, and me. Then after my parents died it was just the two of us. Grandma always said her legs were not built for skis. But she enjoyed the snow. So the three of us went to Mammoth Mountain two or three times every season,” Link smiled at the memory. It was a small sad smile.

  “Thank you for sharing this with me then. It’s good that you are still honoring his memory this way. If he loved it so much, he’d want you to continue doing it. Don’t you think?”

  “That’s why I’m a ‘ski bum’. It makes me feel closer to him when I’m racing down a mountain.”

  “Can we just meander down the mountain this weekend and save the racing for later?” I smirked at him.

  “I’ll do my best,” Link promised as we packed all my new gear into the back of the SUV.

  “See you Saturday, nine o’clock sharp,” I promised out the window after I climbed into the driver’s seat.

  “I’ll pick you up instead. I think you’ll need some help with all that stuff,” he said, altering his original plan.

  “I think you are right,” I agreed.

  A huge snowstorm blew in that night, dumping snow for two days straight. When I awoke Saturday morning, apprehension rolled around in my stomach. It created a ball of nervous knots. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. I imagined myself falling five, ten, fifteen times during my first run. I cleared my head, determined to control my silly fears. I could do this. My cell phone started buzzing around the bathroom counter, and I jumped. It was my habit to always keep it on vibrate mode.

  “Hello,” I answered it without checking the screen.

  “Hey, Emily. It’s Summer,” she sounded excited.

  “Oh, Hi, Summer. What’s up?”

  “Well I just found out that there was enough snow from this last storm to open Meadows. So now you can go with us,” she exclaimed.

  “Oh, well actually I can’t...” I started.

  “No really, you can. I already told Rusty I was calling you. Burke convinced Dee to let him teach her to board. So, we can all go together,” she burst through before I had a chance to complete my sentence.

  “Well what I was trying to say is - I already made plans to learn to ski. Lincoln Knight, who works at the hardware store, offered to teach me. I kinda wanted to ski instead of board anyway. I hope you’re okay with that.”

  “Lincoln Knight? From the hardware store? Oh my God! That’s the hot guy that just started working there a couple of months ago. How did you meet him?” she squealed into the phone.

  “Long story,” I said.

  “How old is he?”

  “Twenty-Two... We are just friends. He wants to teach me to ski. It’s no big deal,” I explained.

  “I can’t wait to tell Delilah. See you on the slopes,” Summer sang as she hung up the phone.

  I struggled to get all my new ski gear together. The tall socks, ski pants, and long sleeve shirt I put on in my room. I left my boots, skis, poles, jacket, gogg
les, and knit cap by the side door. I slipped my sheepskin boots on my feet and waited for Link. He arrived at nine o’clock sharp, just as promised.

  “Hello Mr. Knight,” I greeted him, opening the door before he knocked.

  “Well hello Miss Johnston. You’re looking a bit apprehensive this morning. Are you ready?”

  “I don’t think I have quite enough gear over there,” I replied, using sarcasm to cover my nerves.

  “Oh? Looks like the right amount to me,” he smiled that brilliant smile again and my heart skipped a beat, maybe two. “As soon as lift ten is open you can use Galloping Goose to ski right out of here and then you won’t have to lug this gear anywhere.”

  “That sounds perfect, let’s wait for that,” I suggested.

  “Come on little girl, let’s go,” he said as he picked up my skis and boots and headed to his SUV.

  I picked up the rest of my stuff and followed him to the back of the vehicle. “Keep me upright Big Daddy,” I ordered.

  “I’ll do my best,” he promised.

  Link said he knew a guy who worked at one of the resorts, walking distance to the lifts. The guy let him park in the resort’s underground garage. So that was our destination, instead of the public parking areas. We spent the short drive to the parking garage in relative silence. I was praying I would not break any more of my bones in front of Link. I was pretty covered up so cuts and scratches were not on my worry list.

  We parked, got out of the vehicle, and I put the goggles over the cap on my head. I slid my arms into my jacket, leaving it open in the front, and worked my hands into the gloves. Next came the hard part, the boots. I sat back down on the passenger seat and slipped my feet out of my comfy boots. I looked at the armor coated, hard plastic, ski boots with distaste as Link brought them over to me. He helped me work my feet into them and then loosely did all the clasps.

  Then it was his turn, and he was done in mere seconds it seemed. “Amateur,” I silently scolded myself. He grabbed his skis and poles and then reached for mine as well.

  “I can carry them,” I protested.

  “So can I, and we will get there faster if I do. So, let’s go. Follow me,” he ordered.

  I followed him, taking slow, awkward, heel-toe steps, which were all that was possible with these constraints on my feet. My self-consciousness was short lived, as I noticed everyone else was doing the same funny little dance of a walk. “Don’t fall,” I whispered.

  Our first stop was to get lift tickets. I bought a Junior Season Pass, pulling out my driver’s license to show that I was indeed, seventeen. The Adult Season Pass was more than triple the price – poor Link. Okay, maybe being a kid wasn’t so bad in this situation. We walked over to the cameras and posed for our pictures. As soon as the passes were printed they each went on a cord, and then around our necks.

  From there we had to walk up a small hill to the top of Meadows. The entrance to Meadows frightened me. I warily looked down at a small slope that immediately got quite narrow as it went under a bridge. How was I going to make it through that on skis?

  “We are going to walk down this part and put our skis on when we get through. Walk with your feet sideways. It will be easier, I promise,” Link explained and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Lead on,” I responded.

  As soon as we were out from under the little bridge the vast expanse of the Meadows came into view. It was very wide, very open, and I could distinguish that some parts were obviously flatter than others. Up until that moment, I had imagined it would be skis on, straight down, and don’t fall. But this was different. I had hope.

  We walked over to the side, to keep out of the oncoming traffic, and Link began with a basic lesson, “This is what they tell kids – make a pizza slice with your skis and you will go slower - make fries with them and you will go faster. Don’t let your skis cross or you will fall, straight down. So if you are going to make a pizza or ‘plow’ as I call it, keep the tip of your skis slightly apart. Don’t look down. You’ll lose your balance.”

  “How am I supposed to keep my skis from crossing if I never look down?” I complained.

  “Brief glances, that’s all. To turn, you put pressure on the opposite foot of the way you want to go. Pressure on the ball of your right foot turns you left. Pressure on your left foot will turn you right. Never head into the tree line. Serious injury will occur. For now just plow hard to stop,” he said, finishing my very brief lesson.

  He was trying to hurry this along. I could tell. I on the other hand was doing the opposite.

  “That’s a lot of info, what if I forget something? Maybe you should go over it again.”

  “I’ll stay right beside you. You’ll be fine. Trust me,” he flashed that smile at me and I could protest no longer.

  Link helped me tighten my boots and get my skis on. When we were both fully geared up and ready to go he pointed to the right.

  “That is a slower off-shoot of Meadows called The Peaks. It is extremely tame. We’ll start there.”

  And off we went. Weirdly, I found it nowhere near as hard as I had imagined. Link sped up just a tiny bit so he could turn around and ski backwards right in front of me. Showoff! As we made our way down the slope Link would shout out little instructions. “Straighten your left ski a little,” or “Press down on your right foot we are coming toward a curve,” and “Keep the skis straight for a minute we need to build up a little speed here.” The instructions kept coming and before I knew it The Peaks had joined Meadows and we were soon at the bottom of the hill.

  We got in line for the ski lift, our passes were scanned, and I shuffled and maneuvered my way to the lift. It was a weird sensation, sitting and being lifted up all at the same time. My feet, heavy with boots and skis, dangled in the air. I gazed out at our surroundings and watched all the other skiers below us. You could see them whizzing down, falling down, and gliding down the hill. I was extremely proud of myself for making it, without the falling down part.

  “Get ready, we’re coming to the end,” Link said.

  “Oh no, what do I do?” I turned to him with panic filled eyes. I hadn’t anticipated the getting off part.

  “Just keep your skis straight and stand up when your feet are firmly on the ground.”

  I looked at him with little confidence, “Okay,” I squeaked. I watched the people in front of us, determined to copy their movements. My skis hit the snow and I stood up. I started to slide forward, but my feet wouldn’t move the way I wanted them to. I looked down, saw that my skis were crossed, I lost my balance, and fell. An alarm sounded behind me as the ski lift came to a halt. Link reached out his hand to pull me up.

  When he was sure I was steady he grabbed my poles out of the snow and whispered in my ear, “It’s okay, everyone falls down sometime.”

  “I thought I was doing so well,” I whined.

  “You are, you’re doing amazing,” he smiled.

  I managed to move out of the way, thanks to Link, and the lift re-started. My cheeks were burning, I was mortified. My humiliation deepened when I looked up and noticed Summer and Rusty waving at me, a laughing smile played on their lips.

  “Told ya she’d be falling down,” Rusty whispered to Summer, keeping his eyes on me as he continued to smile and wave.

  “Shut up, they’re coming this way,” she hissed back at him.

  Sometimes I really wished my hearing wasn’t so sharp. I smiled and waved in return. Then we made our way over to where they stood, with one boot on their boards, one in the snow.

  “Hey guys, pretty smooth huh? Are Burke and Delilah with you?” I directed my question to Summer, too self-conscious from my fall to look Rusty in the eyes. His expression still screamed, I told you so.

  “They’re down there somewhere. We decided to do a couple of runs with them and then we’ll head over to lift four. Dee’s having a pretty hard time of it,” Summer answered me but kept staring at Link.

  “Sorry... Manners... Summer, Rusty, this is Link. Lin
k... Summer and Rusty,” I hurried through the introductions.

  “Hey,” they both chimed at the same time.

  “Nice to meet you,” Link smiled.

  “You guys go on ahead, we’ll start in a sec,” I urged, not wanting an audience for my next screw-up.

  “Okay, see ya,” Summer waved goodbye and caught up to Rusty who had disappeared in a flash the second I’d dismissed them.

  As soon as they were out of sight, through the narrow entrance, Link grasped my shoulders, “We’re going through that entrance. Just watch your speed like I showed you. We’re not going to do The Peaks this time, just Meadows. If you feel like you are going way too fast then turn and head back up the hill. That’ll bring you to a stop. Remember, I am with you,” he squeezed my shoulders and flashed me my smile.

  “Okay, thanks for the pep talk. I’m feeling brave. Let’s do it,” I smiled back a little more confident now.

  I dug my poles into the snow, pushed off, and skied through the narrow entrance. I plowed my way to a stop as soon as we came to a flat part. My face glowed in excitement. I did it. It wasn’t so hard. It was actually a little thrilling.

  “That was pretty darn good,” Link squeezed my arm.

  “Thanks, let’s keep going.”

  We pushed off again and this time I was eager. The wind ripped through my hair and bellowed in my ears as I picked up some speed. Link came up from behind me, fast. He turned in front of me, circled around me, and then passed by me as I steadily headed downhill.

  “Showoff,” I yelled as he turned his head and flashed a smug grin.

  When we reached the bottom, I caught sight of the guys from school, and plowed to a stop in front of them. Delilah was sitting down in the snow, openly displaying one of her pouts.

  “I’ve spent more time on my butt than on my feet. This butt is too cute to be abused this way,” she glowered at Burke.

  “You’re absolutely right Babe, but this was just your first run. It’ll get better. Give it some time,” Burke gave her a wary smile, hopeful.

  “You,” she pointed at me, “how many times did you fall?”