Page 5 of All in December
“Traitor,” I mutter with a smirk and a wink because he’s not wrong.
Sam turns his little body to look at his dad on the other side of him next. “What about you guys? If you were a superhero?”
Caleb shrugs. “Flight, probably. Seems efficient.”
Benji looks at me next, expectantly. “What about you, Dad?”
“I’d want to be invisible. Maybe I’d get some peace and quiet, and get out of driving your butt around in traffic,” I say, smiling big at Benji.
That gets a laugh out of all of them, including Benji.
I wipe off the snow that’s piling up on his jacket as we’re riding up the lift. It’s coming down heavier now, and my mind immediately goes to Caleb.
“Feels like we’re about to get buried,” I say, turning toward him. “You think you’ll be able to get out tonight?”
He gives me a concerned look, as if we just shared the same thought. “I was just questioning my choices. I didn’t realize the snow was going to hit so early. I should’ve looked at the weather when we were in the lodge. This feels like poor planning on my part.”
“I can always see if the lodge we’re staying at has an open room when we get back down,” I say, secretly hoping they have the conjoining room next to mine open so we can keep hanging out.
He gives me a quick smile and the tension slightly eases from his face. “Probably not a bad idea, thanks for thinking of doing that.”
“Of course.” Even if part of it’s selfish, I still want them safe. Driving back to Denver in the snow is anything but.
When we hit the top of the run, the boys immediately start making their way back down. Sam is yelling something about racing again, and just like earlier, we ski behind them. Caleb is a good skier; he’s confident but not showy—not that I’d expect him to be, that doesn’t seem like his style, and it’s not like many people are show-offs at our age. Instead, he keeps an eye on Sam, just like I do for Benji. I’ve noticed the way he looks at his son with a mix of joy, exhaustion, and awe, and I know that feeling down to my bones.
By the time we hit the base, I’m sure I don’t want our time together to end, which, even as outgoing and extroverted as I am, is odd for me. I’m not typically the “let’s spend more time with strangers type,” but this doesn’t feel like that. It doesn’t feel like we’re strangers at all.
Lucky for me, the boys beg for a few more runs, and Caleb must not be that concerned about the weather, so we keep going in the fresh snow until we’re all completely wornout. Skiing in fresh powder always makes my legs extra tired, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun, so it’s worth it.
The snow has picked up even more by the time we unclip our skis, and I pull out my phone to check the time and the weather app. It’s worse than I was expecting as an alert flashes across the weather app on my home screen:
WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL TOMORROW AT 11 A.M. TRAVEL STRONGLY DISCOURAGED.
I turn my phone to show Caleb. “I’m gonna call the lodge now for you,” I tell him. Looking back, we probably should have done this five runs ago when we first talked about it, but we were having too much fun.
He exhales, a puff of white breath in the cold air. “Thank you. That’d be great. Shit, I should have done this at lunch.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. I’ll be right back,” I say as I step away to dial the number, waiting for the hotel to pick up.
“Summit Lodge, this is Ashley. How can I help you?”
“Hi, Ashley, do you have any rooms available tonight?” I check.
I hear her sigh like she’s about to give me bad news. “We’re completely booked for the night. The storm sold us out quickly. Sorry about that.”
Well, there goes the joint room dream.
I glance back at Caleb, who’s also checking his phone, all while Sam and Benji keep chatting without a care in the world. I could call other hotels to see if they have openings or offer to look on Airbnb for him, but I have another idea I like far better.
“No problem,” I say. “We’re all set, thanks.”
“Okay, goodbye, sir.”
“Bye.” I hang up and walk back over, already mentally rehearsing how to make what I’m about to say not sound weird.
Caleb looks up as I approach. “Any luck?”
“No.” I shake my head. “They’re totally sold out with the storm.”
