Page 4 of Ski You Later
With the highest pitch voice I can muster, I cut her off from her speech. “Hello darling mother, how are you doing on this fine day?”
Without acknowledging my sarcasm, she proceeds as if we just started the call. “I’m good sweetheart; I’ve just been spending a quiet day with dad. I was actually thinking that – wait, is that wind I hear? Are you training Rhodes Jayne Langley!”
“Umm, no? I’m free skiing today. Obviously.” Forcing a chuckle between each sentence, and inwardly cringing at how fast she’s going to see through that.
“Rhodes,” she deadpans. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
“No,” I mutter back immediately.
“Those useless coaches of yours have no right to be booking practice at the very last minute like this! You have an education to study for, and a life to live! What if you were at a club last night, talking with a guy!”
The way that she confidently says those words as though it were an actual possibility makes me raise my eyebrows. “When has that ever been the case?”
“I just think you should get back out there, sweetheart,” she easily responds, as her tone goes from angry to suggestive in a second.
My saving grace comes into view as I see the unloading platform right before me. “Okay, I’m getting off the chair now. I’ll call you back soon.”
Instead of receiving the classic reluctant goodbye, she hesitates for a second. “Oh honey, did Carlos talk to you today?” Her tone fills me with immediate worry as I get off the chairlift and ski so I’m out of the way.
“No, why? Is he alright?” The fear that something happened to my brother quickly flooding my system.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, he was supposed to tell you so that I didn’t have to,” mom mumbles in the phone.
“Mom, I don’t have much time, is he alright?”
“Fine, I’ll tell you. But I want you to keep in mind that Carlos lost the draw and was supposed to do it.” She takes a big breath as I wait with anticipation, and all the information spills out in one go. “I recently talked with your aunt, and she informed me that Jasmine will be taking her boyfriend to Julian’s wedding. Then, when I fought with her about it, she said it wasn’t her wedding and wasn’t her decision.”
The silence from my side of the phone is deafening because I must’ve misheard this information. “She’s bringing Daniel? To Julian’s wedding?”
“I’m so sorry dear,” mom says gently.
“Just so I’m clear.” I shake my head to try and process this horrible news. “Julian’s wedding that’s in less than three months. That wedding?”
“Yes. That wedding,” she says hesitantly.
As if someone dumped ice water on me and then threw me in the snow, my body freezes everywhere all at once. The fact that Julian allowed him to come to thisfamily event completely baffles me. My living nightmare is quickly becoming my reality, so denial is the only emotion that I can process at the minute.
“Didn’t you tell her that she can’t bring him!” My voice starts to sound hysterical as I quickly lose my composure over this news.
My cousin, the most self-absorbed person I’ve ever met, has decided to bring my ex to her brother’s wedding. The same ex-boyfriend I caught cheating on me with her.
It took me months of therapy to even imagine myself trusting another man again, let alone actually dating one. So, when the Langley’s received our wedding invitations last week, we all collectively laughed when it asked if I was going to bring my partner.
While the last year has been brutal in every aspect, I’ve had a support system that kept me together the whole time.
Since Jasmine and I both joined the Polar ski in the same year, it was essential I had Aurora at my side. When my therapy sessions overlapped with my dryland schedule, Charles and Liam covered for me with the coaches. Finally, when the life of a full-time athlete and student was too much to handle, my family was always one call away.
The sound of my mom’s voice quickly brings my back to my unfortunate reality. “Honey, in no world do I think it’s appropriate that she’s bringing him to this event. The whole thing is going to be weird for everyone, but apparently Jasmine threw a huge fit. At the end of the day, it’s her brother’s wedding and he’s going to pick her feelings over yours.” The defeat in her voice causes my own hopes to deflate. “If you don’t want to go, just say the word and I’ll mark you as not going. No one will judge you Rhodes, this is all on Jasmine.”
That idea honestly sounds like the best option, just avoiding the whole event and eating ice cream on my couch that night. But Julian has always been so kind to me, even when Jasmine tried her best to have him hate me too.
At the end of the day, Julian is just as much of my cousin as she is, and he deserves to have family on his special day.
A new resolve fills me, in no world am I going to let some loser who cheated on me prevent me from attending this wedding.
I can do this. All that time I spent putting myself back together won’t fall apart in one night.
Hopefully.
