Page 51 of Just For Her

What had begun as excitement soon burned into a bitter, forceful gale that whipped around her body and carried her to the bottom of the trail. She didn’t see another soul – not coming up behind her, and not in the distance. She never once stopped to catch her breath in the clearing. There was only the goal of the invisible finish line in a race she practiced against herself. For the few minutes she spent on the downhill trail, she no longer breathed. Or aged.

When time naturally stopped like that, she likewise remained in a stupor that brought her back to the pressing thoughts of her life.

Shewasn’ta tool for her family. Shewasn’tan unloved cog in the Fredriksson machine.She wasn’ttoo old to fall in love and start a family of her own.

Tove didn’t realize how breathless she was until she reached the end and came to a slow and natural stop. Her head craned back, drinking in the overcast sky on her sunkissed face.

Somewhere else on that mountain was a woman who wanted to be more like her. Kayla liked her – maybe even loved her. She was seventeen years Tove’s junior, but so far, that hadn’t caused any problems between them. If anything, it was the image-conscious side of the family that had a problem.

They still call her a gold digger.Tove found the lift to another trail. The expansive view unfolding before her told stories of a boundaryless world that cared not for political barriers or family drama. Anything was possible. Love of all kinds was everywhere in that white and blue sky.And I don’t care.

Even if she lied, and even if she got in over her head, Kayla was a genuine woman. What gold digger would subject herself to the Buttercup lift with a gaggle of children and a retiree attempting to live his best life? If not for love?

Love.Tove imagined Kayla sitting beside her, besotted with the frosty treetops and the sun as it embraced a slow and strong descent beyond the horizon. She was young enough to remind Tove of what it felt like to have one’s whole life ahead of them, but she was mature enough to admit when she lied and try to make up for it. Could she love Tove? Could Tove love her? Likethat?Like forever and ever?

It had been twenty years since Tove was last in love. Back then, it had felt so real and raw. Was that a byproduct of youth and the endless possibilities of life, or were those the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia?

How much did Tove love Kayla? How real was it? How raw could it get?

Although they hadn’t exchanged such powerful and sentimental words yet, Tove felt them in the core of her soul. Some things didn’t have to be said out loud to be true.

Nobody would call Kayla a natural at the slopes. Yet she didn’t completely make a mockery of the sport over her two-hour course, and that was all she prayed for as a total stranger took her under their wing and ensured she didn’t get hurt while skiing for the first time.

Her new friend Glenn, the retiree from Portland, was more excited to be there than any of the five kids enrolled in the beginner’s course. Of course, the kids were incredulous that two big adults like Kayla and Glenn neededlessonsin a state like Oregon, but Kayla didn’t let it get to her. Glenn cracked a joke every five seconds that had either the instructor or the kids bowled over with laughter. When Kayla inevitably fell so the instructor could use her as an example of what to do in such sad circumstances, Glenn was the first one to quip that at least it wasn’t him – he had promised his sister that the moment he fell, he’d leave.

Once their instructions were over, they all boarded the Buttercup lift to try their hand at something more substantial. Kayla was one of the last to go, watching most of the kids and Glenn take off like original pros. One kid fell and promptly popped back up again. Glenn zoomed down the gentle slope and pumped his poles into the air when he reached the bottom.

“Do you want me to go with you?” the instructor asked Kayla.

“N… no. I’ll do it myself.” She positioned herself for takeoff. At least this slope was a lot less intimidating than the first one Tove took her to.

She pushed forward. Almost instantly, gravity took over.

Kayla went straight intoremember what you’ve learned!mode. More than once her legs wobbled and her knees threatened to shoot out before the rest of her, but she managed to keep her balance as she came closer to the finish, where Glenn and one of the third graders cheered her on. The instructor zoomed by her with effortless grace. By the time Kayla stopped a few inches in front of Glenn, the instructor was also there, applauding the student’s efforts.

There was someone else there. Tove, who had kept out of sight until Kayla finished her first run down a slope all by herself.

“Making sure I stuck with it?” she teased her girlfriend, whose visage was inscrutable beneath her jacket, hat, and hair. “Did you see me make it down that little hill all by my wee self?” She gently nudged Tove’s arm. “Not bad for an afternoon’s work.”

“Very impressive.”

“If you think you can do better, I’d love to see you take that hill on, Ms. Fredriksson.”

Tove held a finger up to her lips. “No need for anyone to know who my family is.”

Kayla poked several holes into the snow until she had created a smiley face. “Maybe calling you by your family name is turning into a kink of mine.”

“Surely, that can be arranged.”

“Oh?”

The instructor interrupted their flirting to inform Tove that Kayla was an admirable student and should, with more practice, be taking on most of Mt. Hood’s slopes by next season. Kayla beamed to hear it. Tove, however, was not as convinced.

“You don’t think I could do it by this time next year?” Kayla asked when the instructor had left to speak with Glenn.

Before Tove could answer, Glenn politely pushed aside the instructor and approached Tove and Kayla. One of them foolishly assumed that Glenn was there to congratulate the student on almost becoming the master – Tove knew better.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear this young lady call you Ms. Fredriksson. Are you perhaps related to Lianne?”

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