CHAPTER 11

“Ineed to get her up to bed,” Selma said.

Gia was pressed to her mother’s side, with Selma’s arm protectively around her.

“She’s out, huh?” Drew asked.

“She is, yeah. I’ll carry her up, and she won’t even wake up. She’s the soundest sleeper I’ve ever met.”

“It’s that overworked brain. It needs to rest,” Drew replied. “Need any help? I can carry her for you.”

“No, I’ve got her. I’m used to it. I’m convinced I gain more muscle from carrying my kid than I do from actual weightlifting.” Selma chuckled and moved to stand up from the sofa.

They’d moved from the table after their meal when others needed the spot to have one of their own, and Drew had been surprised that Selma hadn’t told her goodnight or made some excuse to leave or get back to work. Selma and a returning Gia, tired from coloring in the back but still not ready to go up for the night, moved to the sofa instead. Drew had joined them and sat opposite on a sofa of her own, watching Gia get more and more tired as the night went on.

“I should go up, too,” Drew suggested. “It’s getting late.”

“It’s, like, nine o’clock. This one’s going to have to take a shower tomorrow morning before school because I wasn’t able to get her in a bathtub earlier, but you can stay down here as long as you want, Drew.”

“I know. And I’m good. I’m tired. Is it okay if I ride up with you?”

“Of course,” Selma replied and then hefted the child, who was probably far too big for her to be lifting.

Gia’s arms and legs instinctively wrapped around her mother’s body. Drew smiled at it, and as she met Selma at the end of the sofa, she had an instinct of her own, so she held her hand out at the small of Selma’s back to let her know she could go first. She pulled it back right before it touched Selma, though, and lowered her hand to her side. Then, she rushed to the elevator, pressed the button to go up, and waited for Selma, who was obviously walking a little slower, to join her. The elevator arrived quickly, and they got inside. Drew was about to ask what floor they were going to, but Selma had pressed the button for both herself and Drew before she could.

“Told you; I’m used to this,” Selma said, holding a protective hand around Gia’s back.

“She’s lucky to have you, you know?”

“I wish she had her dad, too.” Selma rested her chin on Gia’s shoulder. “She deserves two parents.”

“My guess is that you’ve done a lot to make up for the fact that he’s not around, and she doesn’t even notice.”

When the elevator arrived, Selma looked out the opening doors.

“This is us.”

“Okay. Have a good rest of the night.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow probably, right?”

“Highly likely,” Drew replied.

“Good night, Drew,” Selma said before walking out of the elevator.

“Night, Drew,” Gia muttered to Selma’s clear surprise.

“Good night, Gia. Sleep well.” Drew smiled at the little girl.

Then, the doors closed, and Drew was left alone in the elevator.

◆◆◆

Drew woke up the next morning feeling energized and ready to get back out on the mountain. She also felt energized about seeing Selma and Gia again. That part was confusing, but she was choosing not to focus on that and to get herself out of the lodge instead, which was clearly doing things to her mind. She headed down to the lobby first and found her usual seat at one of the tables empty, so she sat down, and the waiter took her usual order of oatmeal with apples and walnuts and coffee. Then, Drew looked around the place, pretending she was only people-watching when, in reality, she was looking for Selma. Gia would be at school by now, so she didn’t expect to see her, only Gia walked out of the elevator beside her mother when the doors opened just a minute later.

Selma was dressed for work, but Gia wasn’t exactly dressed for school. The girl was wearing a unicorn onesie, so unless her school was having some kind of fun dress-up day, it looked like Gia wasn’t going anywhere.

“Drew!” Gia yelled and ran over to her, the fake unicorn horn atop her head bouncing as she did.

“Gia!” Selma yelled after her, following close behind.

“Hey, Gia,” Drew greeted when the girl arrived next to her. “Love the onesie.”

“Thanks. It was my Halloween costume this year.”

“I bet you got a lot of candy with it.”

“A whole pillowcase full of it.”

“Wow,” Drew said with a smile as Selma approached.

“Sorry,” Selma spoke to her. “Enjoy your breakfast. We’ll just…”

“It’s another snow day,” Gia shared when Selma said nothing else.

“Another snow day, huh?”

“You’d think we’d be fine with snow up here, wouldn’t you?” Selma asked. “Her school’s parking lot got plowed in by the city’s plows, so it would take their staff hours to get enough snow out of the way to let everyone in. I saw the picture… The front door is blocked, too. The city told them they were too busy to get to it. So, this one here is supposed to have homeschooling today with some remote classes, but she finished all her work ahead of time, and her teacher just told me she’s distracting the class because she’s so bored. I’ve been instructed to have her take the day.”

“I can’t help it that I got done early.”

“No, but you could be nicer to the kids who didn’t, Gia,” Selma chastised.

“They pick on me for being little.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to pick on them back,” Selma suggested.

“So, you’re off school again, huh?” Drew asked.

“Yeah. Mom has to work, though. She said I could stay down here with her if I behave.”

“Can you go get your coloring stuff? I’m going to be in the kitchen this morning,” Selma said.

“Okay.” Gia ran off.

“God, I would kill to have her energy. Cinnamon roll again today?” Drew asked.

“Nope. She just woke up like this. She slept well, I suppose.” Selma sat down across from Drew. “These are the days where it’s tough. She has so much energy, and I know she wants to do something with it, but her teacher just told me that she’s so far ahead in her class that there’s not much she can do with her right now. They want her to go up a grade in the middle of the year, and they’re being pretty bullish about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s distracting the other kids.”

“Oh, so they’re going to make you?”

“They can’t really make me move her up again, necessarily, but they can tell me they’ll only teach her there if I do, so I’ll probably either have to do that or change schools, and that’ll be worse.”

“Sorry, Selma.”

“Me too.”

“Can I help today? Not with the whole school-grade-changing-decision thing – that’s all you, obviously – but I can keep her occupied with something, if that would do anything for you.”

“Drew, you’re a guest on vacation here.”

“So?” she replied. “I don’t mind. She’s a cool kid. I mean, she’s confidently running around here in a unicorn onesie and is probably smarter than me.”

Selma laughed and said, “She’s her own person, which I love about her. Even when they pick on her, she doesn’t let it get to her. She just keeps learning more and doing better in class. Of course, this picking-on-them-as-revenge thing, that’s a recent development, needs to stop.”

“I can take her up, if you want.”

“On the mountain?”

“There’s not a ton of space here,” Drew reasoned.

“Drew, I can’t leave her alone up there.”

“I’d be with her.”

“Yeah, but if you go down the mountain on a slope, she’s still up at the top.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t leave her. Selma, I’m not an idiot. She’s an energetic nine-year-old who’s learning to board and loves the snow – she would take off in a heartbeat if I don’t keep an eye on her. In fact, if you have one of those kid leash things, I can attach her to me to be extra cautious.”

Selma laughed again and said, “I do not have one of those. But she’s good about listening. If you tell her to stay put, she will, even if she really wants to do something.”

“So, I can take her?”

“Drew, I don’t know… You’re supposed to be rehabbing your knee.”

“My knee is fine. I told you that last night.”

“She’s a handful. You haven’t even seen the worst of it yet.”

“If she misbehaves, we’ll come back.” Drew shrugged a shoulder. “I can take her for the morning, we can grab lunch up there, and I’ll bring her back after, if you want. Or, if she’s okay, we can stay up there until you’re off.”

“I’m never off,” Selma replied, looking over toward the desk. “But I’m technically not off-shift until five. There’s no way she’ll last out there that long.”

“If she doesn’t, she’s probably not meant to be a boarder.”

“She’s nine; she doesn’t even last that long at an amusement park with rides, games, fried food, and prizes.”

“If she’s tired, I’ll bring her back. What do you say?” Drew asked just as Gia jogged over to them, carrying a box of what looked like crayons and markers and a pad of paper.

“Hey, honey?”

“Yeah?”

“If Drew were nice enough to take you up to the mountain, would you promise me that you’d listen to everything she says?”

Gia looked over at Drew with a wide smile on her face that only made Drew smile, too.

“Really?”

Selma took her daughter by the hips then and said, “You have to listen to everything she says and do what she says, or you come right back. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“And if Drew says that it’s time for a break or time to come home, that’s it.”

“Okay,” Gia replied, her little foot tapping fast in excitement.

“I’m going to ask her how you did when you come back.”

“Mom, okay,” the girl repeated.

Selma let go of her and turned to Drew.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. But she can’t snowboard in a unicorn onesie… So, looks like we both need to change.”

About thirty minutes later, Drew and Gia were in the lodge’s shuttle, which took them to the lift. Drew was a little worried about having Gia in the lift with her, so she used one of the loops on Gia’s pants to hold on to her. The kid had so much energy, there was a good chance she’d spazz out and end up falling. When they got to the top, though, Gia got off with Drew, and they headed over to a flat spot to get in some practice.

“My mom is really sorry.”

“What?” Drew asked as they stood off to the side of the run a few hours later.

Gia had done a great job. She’d listened to every one of Drew’s orders, suggestions, and critiques on her form, and she hadn’t asked for a break once; water, yes, but not a break.

“She said she knocked you down at the Big Games, the Olympics,” Gia explained.

“Oh. Sort of.”

“I know she’s sorry about it. She told me. She said it’s part of snowboarding.”

“The kind your mom and I do, yes. But there are other kinds of snowboarding, too.”

“I want to do the kind you do,” Gia told her.

“It’s a lot of fun, but it’s very hard work. You have to be willing to put the work in. Are you?”

“Yes, I am.” The girl nodded rapidly. “It’s like, I want to be out here; not at school or doing my homework.”

“Because it’s too easy?”

“Yes. But Mom won’t let me go any higher, even though I know I can.”

“She has her reasons, Gia. Moms know best.”

“Does your mom know best?”

Drew flopped down into the snow and watched Gia mimic her.

“She still does, yes. I’m a grown-up, and I still listen to my mom. She’s the best.”

“What if I want to do what you and Mom do, but she wants me to do something else?”

“Like what?”

“Math stuff. I’m good at it, but I don’t want to do it all the time.”

“I think your mom would understand. And when the time comes – years from now, when you’re making those decisions – you just tell her how you feel.”

“But you said she knows best.”

“Your mom knows you better than anyone, right?”

Gia nodded.

“So, when you two talk about it, she’s going to listen to you, and she’ll know what’s in here.” Drew placed her index finger on Gia’s coat over her heart. “She’ll know what’s in there, and she’ll help you figure out what’s right for you. I don’t think your mom is going to make you do anything you don’t want to do, Gia.”

“You don’t?”

“No way.”

“I’m getting kind of tired. Is it okay if we maybe go back now?”

“It’s good that you asked. As an athlete, we have to learn to recognize when our bodies need a break. I’m not always that good at that.”

“You’re not?” Gia asked.

“Nope. Do you want to grab a late lunch and then head back? I’ll let you get a burger and fries if you don’t tell your mom.”

After lunch, they went back via the shuttle again, and Gia fell asleep against Drew’s side. Drew wrapped her arm around the little girl and let her sleep. She’d never really given any thought to having kids of her own before because she’d always put snowboarding first and thought that when her career was over, maybe she’d finally find someone, settle down, and she’d know then whether this was what she wanted. She understood that spending a few hours with someone else’s kid wouldn’t be what parenting was really like, but she had to admit that she’d been enjoying herself all the same.

“Oh. She’s out, huh?” Selma asked when Drew walked in carrying Gia.

“Yes. We had lunch, and she pretty much crashed on me.”

“How was she?” Selma asked, rubbing Gia’s back when Drew got close enough to her.

“She was great; did everything I asked of her and more.”

“Are you lying to protect her?”

“No.” Drew chuckled. “She also told me that she knows about our history.”

“History?”

“The whole you-crashed-into-me thing.”

“Oh, that. Right.”

“What else would it be?”

“I should take her,” Selma said.

“Selma, I don’t think I’ve directly said it yet, but I do forgive you. Even if it weren’t the sport and how things happened sometimes, I’d still forgive you. You know that, right?”

“What did my kid say to you today?”

“Nothing, really.” Drew smiled and went to rub Gia’s back when the girl stirred a bit, but Selma’s hand was already there, so their hands touched. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Selma said with a small smile. “I should take her up.”

“Yeah, okay,” Drew replied. “Or, I could. I’ve already got a pretty good grip on her.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’ve got her, Selma,” Drew stated.

“Okay.”