EPILOGUE

The wind on Drew’s face was still one of her favorite parts, and she couldn’t wait to feel it this time. She was representing Team USA in her final Olympic Games, and the story about her comeback and her girlfriend had been running practically non-stop, according to her parents, who had caught it on their hotel room TV more than once themselves. Everyone wanted to know more about how Drew and Selma had gotten together and had made it work when they were competing against one another in these Olympics. They’d already done the feature story thing, and they would do their before-and-after-the-race interviews, but they’d decided to keep those all about snowboarding, warning the reporters that they wouldn’t be talking about their relationship again until they were done racing.

They’d been in separate heats for their first prelim race. Selma had won hers first. Then, Drew had won hers next, going up against Andy, who had come in second and had moved on to the next round along with Drew. In the next heat, Drew had faced off against boarders from Sweden, Italy, Poland, Australia, and Switzerland. Selma had Andy in her heat, another Canadian, two Germans, and an Austrian. There were two more heats after that one, and the top three racers would each make a semifinal heat.

There were a lot more female boarders in these Games than there had been in the past, and while that meant more people for Drew to compete with, she was also happy to see the expansion of the sport she loved so much. Her heat was first this time, and she’d managed to get out ahead early and never relinquished the lead. She stayed down at the bottom of the course and waited for Selma there with her parents, Selma’s parents, and Gia, who stood in front of Drew so that she could see.

“Come on, baby,” Drew said mostly to herself, but she knew everyone else could hear, too.

Selma was in second place for most of the race, and Drew felt good about her chances of moving on, but she knew Selma would want to win this to build confidence going into the semi. Drew watched the screen when Selma took a big risk on a turn and almost skidded out, but she held on and took the lead. They all cheered and watched as Selma claimed her victory.

The next day, it was time for their semifinals, and since Andy had come in second in her heat, she’d moved on along with them and was in Drew’s semi-heat. Selma was in the second heat of the day, and Drew was convinced that had nothing to do with how the straws were drawn, so to speak, but had everything to do with the fact that they wanted to ensure Drew and Selma were in the final together.

“Let’s go, Oakes,” Andy said. “Team USA all the way, baby!”

“Does Daisy like you calling me baby?”

“My wife doesn’t have a jealous bone in her body. She also knows you’re obsessed with Selma, so there’s that. But let’s kick some ass right now, okay?”

“Not a problem,” Drew replied confidently before they took their starting positions.

The two of them were the final remaining Team USA competitors in the running for a medal, and in this semi-heat, they would be up against a German, a Norwegian, an Austrian, and the other Canadian still in the mix. Leading up to these Olympics, Drew had managed to get up to the third-ranked boarder in the world. Andy was fourth now, and Drew’s own girlfriend was number two. The German to Drew’s left, though, was number one, and Drew was planning on knocking that crown off her head today if she could.

She ran through her rituals and took off at the start. She knew this course like the back of her hand, in both fast and slow snow, so she knew what to do. Taking that second turn that had given her some trouble in the second heat a little looser this time, she watched the Norwegian and the Canadian tangle up and fall. The Austrian, the German, and Andy were all on Drew’s heels, though, so she needed to find a way to get some space. She used the next turn, taking it tighter than she’d planned, but it saved her a millisecond or so, which mattered in snowboard cross. By the time of the last jump, Drew had enough space to land safely and secure her spot in the final. She turned to see Andy right behind the German, which meant that Andy was moving on to the final as well. They embraced before they hurried over to their families to hug them, too.

“It’s Mom’s turn now,” Gia said.

“Yeah, it is. Let’s yell for her so that she knows we’re down here.”

“Drew, our yells won’t make it up that far.”

Drew smiled down at their tiny genius, who was now nearly eleven and going on forty.

Gia had already been accepted to every college she’d applied to. While it had mostly been up to Selma to pick because Gia was still so young, the three of them had visited a few campuses together, and Gia had been most excited about attending the University of British Columbia, which was one of the best universities in Vancouver and in all of Canada, too. People sometimes referred to it as one of the Canadian Ivy League schools, and it also happened to be a top research university around the world, with one of the lowest acceptance rates in Canada. The other important part was that Gia would still get to live at home while attending a great school. Selma and Drew had also talked about Drew moving to Canada for work until they could figure out their next step, so Drew had accepted a job as a coach for Team Canada junior snowboarding. She’d been offered jobs in the States, too, but for now, her heart was in Vancouver.

Selma was behind midway through her race so far, sitting in third place, with a fourth-place racer right behind her, and there was a moment when Drew worried that she wouldn’t be moving on to the final. She yelled Selma’s name in support, and Gia echoed it, despite knowing that her mom couldn’t hear her. Drew held on to Gia’s hand and probably squeezed it a little too tightly as they all watched Selma break away from the rider in fourth place and join the front of the pack. Drew still wasn’t sure Selma would make it, but she should’ve been sure because this woman might be a better boarder than Drew now. Selma took it easy at the end, only needing to come in third to advance, but she moved up to second and landed safely.

“Mom!” Gia yelled.

Selma rushed over and kissed Drew while Gia hugged her around her waist.

“What was that, hotshot?” Drew teased.

“She clipped me. I was lucky enough to stay upright.”

“Not luck; that’s skill, baby.” Drew kissed her again. “I love you. Congratulations!”

“Love you, too,” Selma replied. “You realize what this means, right?”

“No clue. What on earth are you talking about?” Drew joked.

◆◆◆

“This is weird,” Andy noted as they all stood there. “I did not have me standing up here with my ex-girlfriend and her current girlfriend and us all fighting for gold.”

“Well, you should have, or you haven’t been paying attention,” Selma suggested. “No matter what happens…”

Drew winked at her. That had been their motto for the past several months: no matter what happened in this race today, they had each other. It didn’t matter if one of them won, both, or neither; they’d still be leaving here together.

“No matter what happens,” Drew replied and pulled down on her goggles.

Selma did the same. Once everyone was ready, they took their spots. The German was in the first gate. Selma was next to her. Drew and Andy followed. Italian and Polish boarders rounded out the final.

Drew took her deep breath, bent over, and held on, waiting. This was it, her last race at the Olympics. After this, she’d still race professionally for a bit, but she’d be starting her job in a couple of months and would likely stop racing regularly after that. For quite some time, she’d worried that she wouldn’t be ready, but she knew now, before her final Olympic race, that she was. Not all pro athletes got to choose when they retired, and she got to be one of them, so she’d give this course her all, and, hopefully, at the bottom, she’d find out that she’d be going home with a medal.

She took off, along with the rest of them, and made it through the first berm. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the Italian boarder hit it poorly and topple slightly. The racer wasn’t out, but she’d be behind now. Drew took the lead into the first turn, and she could feel her girlfriend behind her. She loved that. She loved racing with Selma. It made her better.

When she moved over for the next turn, Drew heard something behind her, and it took everything in her not to turn her head to check on Selma. She held strong, though, because she knew Selma would want her to. Then, as she prepared for the jump, Drew got a glimpse of red with her peripheral vision. Team USA was in blue, so it wasn’t Andy. Italy was in blue and white. Poland was in mostly white. It was Selma rocking her Canada red, and she was still alive in this race.

Drew allowed herself a small smile and made her next turn, still holding on to the lead. When her eye caught blue, she knew that it was Andy who was now even with her. Drew needed to get some space, so she got as low as she could, going into the next jump, landed it perfectly, and noticed there was no more blue but red again. Drew turned her head slightly and saw Selma there. They were neck and neck, with only one turn and the final jump to go.

Drew didn’t know where anyone else was now. For her, there was only Selma, and she knew that Selma wasn’t going to let her win without a fight, just like Selma knew Drew wouldn’t let her win, either. They made the last turn with Selma just behind her. Drew knew her girlfriend was drifting off her now, so out of the turn, she shifted wide, giving Selma some extra wind to deal with as they both raced for the final jump. When Drew was up in the air, she couldn’t move her head to check her standings because it could hit the wind and cost her a microsecond that she’d need in the end, but she knew Selma was right there beside her, a few feet away.

Drew landed, hearing the snow crunch beneath her board and feeling the hit throughout her whole body, and then angled herself just right and crossed the finish line, not knowing if she’d won or come in second. She just knew that she was going home with a medal, and when she saw the red uniform next to her, she knew that her girlfriend was, too. Drew tossed her goggles off and lost her helmet right after. They both landed in the snow somewhere before she hurried over to Selma and lifted her into the air. Selma’s goggles were gone, too. Her helmet was in the snow, while she was still in the air.

“We did it!” Drew yelled as she lowered Selma back to the ground and kissed her.

“Babe! You did it,” Selma said after the kiss and held on to Drew’s cheeks.

“Yeah, we did.”

“No, you.” Selma pointed up to the board. “Babe, you did it.”

Drew saw her name next to the number one, Selma’s next to the number two, and Andy’s name next to the number three. She’d just won an Olympic gold medal.

“I love you,” Selma said. “I’m so proud of you.” She kissed Drew on the cheek.

“I…” Drew met her eyes. “We went one-two.”

“Yeah, we did.” Selma laughed and pulled her into another hug.

“Drew! Mom!” Gia yelled.

Drew then turned to see Gia running up to them. She picked the girl up and held her to her hip.

“You won!”

“Yeah, we did,” Drew replied and kissed her on the cheek. “Andy! Hell, yeah!” Drew yelled.

“You said, ‘Hell,’” Gia whispered to Drew, who laughed.

“Congrats, you two,” Andy said, but she was busy hugging her new wife.

She and Daisy really hadn’t wasted any time. Andy had been the one to propose, and months later, they’d gotten married in a small ceremony. Drew, Selma, and Gia had been there to show their support.

“Drew?” Gia asked.

“Yeah?”

“Do you need it now?”

“Need what?” Selma asked, kissing Gia’s other cheek.

“Yeah, I do.” Drew set Gia down, and Gia reached into her coat pocket.

Drew turned around to see Selma’s parents standing there. Her grandmother would be watching them on TV because she’d been a little too old to safely make the trip. Next, Drew looked at her own parents, who smiled at her knowingly. She looked down at Gia then, and Gia handed her what she needed. Drew turned to Selma and took a deep breath.

“Selma Driscoll,” she began and knelt in the snow. “I love you so much. There was only one person I would’ve been totally fine losing to today, and that’s you. Babe, will you marry me?” She opened the ring box and held it out for Selma to see.

Selma’s wide eyes told Drew that she’d pulled off her surprise. Gia was giggling for some reason. There were at least two cameras aimed at them now, and Drew was sure the network airing the Games was eating this up, but she didn’t care. This was the moment she’d wanted for them. She only hoped that Selma actually said yes, or the best day of her life would turn into a mixed bag.

“Yes!” Selma laughed, and Drew loved that it sounded just like Gia’s.

Drew stood quickly and pulled the ring out of the box while Selma removed her glove to let her slide it on her ring finger. Selma then pulled Drew in for a messy kiss that they both laughed through.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“Bad idea?” Drew asked as she pulled Selma in for a hug.

“No, the best idea. I just can’t believe you did it.”

Drew felt an arm wrap around her, and she knew that it was Gia hugging both of them at the same time. Drew looked up at the top of the course, realizing that she was about to start the next and most important chapter of her life, and she had absolutely no regrets.