I’ve got wonderful friends with the greatest of intentions, but sometimes they can be somewhat annoying.
Every year, we take a weekend ski trip. And every year they try to fix me up with someone. They don’t understand that I take the trip to be with them, and not some stranger.
Until last year, that is.
The five of us own a time-share cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee that we go to once a year. There was six of us until my break-up with Ricci, four years ago. We have the cabin for a whole week, but we usually only use it for the weekend, since all of us have jobs to go back to on Monday.
Last year, Brandi and Nicole decided to bring a friend with them. Tanya was a nice person. Very cute, with short dark blonde hair. She had brown eyes, a beautifully shaped nose and luscious lips. Her body reminded me of a model, with larger breasts than most models I’d seen...not too large, and I certainly wouldn’t kick her out of my bed because of them! And she had a very pleasant personality.
Nicole and I were close... like sisters. We talked about everything. She told me that Tanya worked with Brandi and that Tanya had been seeing someone and it just ended. Nicole didn’t give me any details because she didn’t have any to give.
We arrived at the cabin on Friday night, too exhausted from the week to do much of anything, so we went just went to dinner and then back to the cabin to crash. We sat in front of the fireplace, sipping wine and chatting about the goings on in each other’s lives. Around 2 a.m., the girls started heading for their respective rooms, leaving Tanya and I alone in front of the fireplace. We sat in a stilted silence for a long time.. neither of us knowing what to say or do. She was on one side of the heat, and I was on the other, both of us laying on sleeping bags laid on the thick rug.
"Nicole tells me you work with Brandi," I said, trying to initiate some kind of communication.
"Yeah, I’m one of the accountants for Brandi’s firm," she said.
I thought, "Oh, great! An Accountant! Now what are we going to talk about?" But instead I said, "Accounting, huh? Sounds interesting."
"No. It isn’t," she said with a laugh. "I see that ‘oh shit! What do we talk about’ look."
Embarrassed that she read my mind, I laughed. But still didn’t know what to say.
"Brandi tells me you all come up here every year," she said.
Relieved that she started a conversation I could follow, I said, "Yeah, it’s a nice getaway from the everyday stresses. And the one time a year, we all force ourselves to spend time with each other away from everything."
"Wow, that’s great," she said. "You all seem so close."
"We try to do a lot of things together, but it seems we’re drifting apart more and more." I explained. "Anymore, we only get together once in the summer for a cookout and once in the winter for this ski trip. This is our eighth ski trip."
"That is so cool," she said.
We continued talking about the cabin, and some of the things we’ve done to it, and in it. All the animals around the place. And how peaceful it was up there, away from civilization. By the time we finished off another bottle of wine, we were getting sleepy. We had already stacked our sleeping bags to make the floor more comfortable, and were laying face to face with our hands supporting our heads. I vaguely remember saying goodnight.
The next morning, I woke up to "shhhhh.. they’re asleep". And to the pasty feel of old wine in my mouth. I opened my eyes to find Tanya laying beside me, curled up in a ball and snuggled with her back to me. Somehow, we were both covered by a blanket.
When I moved to get up, Tanya began to stir, I moved slowly so as not to wake her. I looked toward the kitchenette and saw the four of them watching me intently. Their disappointment was obvious when I emerged from the blanket fully dressed. They all groaned and turned their attention back to preparing breakfast. I spread my hands and gave them a "what did you expect?" look. Movement from the floor brought my attention back to the slumbering woman. I looked down at her and her eyes opened.
She gave a yawn and a stretch and said, "Good morning."
"Good morning," I said and reached down to take her hand. As I gave her a hand up, all eyes were on Tanya, to see her mode of dress. "It seems we have disappointed the girls," I said with a laugh.
Tanya laughed, and all four of them looked embarrassed.
Saturday was fun, well, most of it. We started off cross-country skiing. Re-discovered the paths that lead all through the snowy wonderland. The squirrels scurried around, watching these strange looking creatures invade their territory. We saw several rabbits and even caught a glimpse of a red fox jumping through the snow. I’m sure we would have seen more wildlife if we had been a little quieter.
Around noon, we headed back to the cabin for a quick bite before gathering our downhill skis to hit the slopes.
Tanya admitted that she wasn’t much for downhill skiing, that she’d only done it a few times, and wasn’t very good. She looked relieved when I told her it wasn’t my forte, either, but I enjoyed it. "So we’ll stick to the beginner slopes," I told her.
She smiled a thankful smile. The other’s just rolled their eyes.
On the way out, Nicole caught my arm. "You’re taking a liking to Tanya, aren’t you?"
"Nicole, she’s a nice person. And she’s easy to talk to," I said. "Don’t go playing Cupid, we’re very different. If something happens, it happens... if it don’t, it don’t. I’m not worried about it, so neither should you. Besides, now you guys don’t have to babysit me on the bunny slopes this time."
"Yeah, I know," she said with a smile. "It sounds like you’re going to be doing some babysitting of your own!"
I gave her a little shove out the door and said, "Get outta here, you perv!"
We both laughed as we walked out of the cabin.
It continued to be a beautiful day. The sun on the snow made it look like millions of diamonds were embedded in its surface, and I was glad I remembered my shades this time. The air was crisp and cold, as it should be, but we were all cozy in our ski bibs, mittens and boots.
When we arrived at the slopes, Tanya and I went in the direction of the beginner hills, while the others made their way to the more difficult side of the mountain. Riding the lift was probably the most fun. We could see where people had lost gloves, hats, scarves, and poles during their ride to the top. And it gave us the opportunity to talk.
We talked about everything. Our upbringing, siblings, parents, past relationships and experiences. And our abilities on the hill were about equal.
Toward the end of the day, I was relieved to discover that, like me, she wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship. That she was very content to have her space at home without having to answer to anyone but herself. This was my kind of woman.
When I reached the bottom, I looked up the hill in time to see her sliding down the lower part of the hill on her stomach with her left ski preceding her by about 20 feet. It was a sight to see for sure.
Hiding my mirth, I ran up to her and asked if she was okay.
"Yeah," she said an embarrassed and disgusted look on her face. "I don’t know what happened... all of a sudden my skis came out from under me, and trying to keep my balance, I heard something snap, then landed on my face."
I retrieved her ski, and attempted to help her stand. I got her to her feet in time for her to fall again. Her "Ouch" exclamation told me something wasn’t quite right. After I helped her remove her remaining ski and taking mine off, I put her arm around my shoulder, put mine around her waist, and carried our skis toward the lodge while she hopped on one foot beside me. Thankfully, another skier saw our predicament and came to help. He carried the skis and I lifted Tanya into my arms for the remaining jaunt, all the while she complained she was too heavy for me to carry like that.
I said, "Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t weigh anything." Which was true. I bore her weight with very little effort. "Besides, it makes me feel good to rescue a damsel in distress," I said with a smile.
She smiled and turned beet red, but snuggled closer to my chest.
I sat her at a table and propped her left foot on my lap to remove her boot. It was a difficult task, because her ankle had already started swelling. I gently set her foot on the chair as I went to get an ice pack and two cups of hot chocolate. I set the beverages on the table and put her foot back in my lap, where I took her sock off. Her ankle was swelling nicely and was turning a deep purple.
"Excuse me, but can I help? I saw you get the ice pack and wondered if you needed help. I’m the medic for the lodge." He was nice looking, somewhat tall and thin. The way a ski medic should look.
He looked at Tanya’s ankle, turning it from side to side, moving her toes, and feeling around on her arch. He asked what happened, and she told him. "I don’t think it’s broken," he said. "Could be sprained, but most likely it’s just a strain. And I’ll bet it hurts like hell."
"Yes, it does," she said. "What should I do about it?"
"Exactly what you’re doing," he suggested. "Keep the ice on it, and take ibuprofen for the pain and to keep the swelling down... oh, and try to keep it elevated."
"I’ll make sure she does," I said. "Thank you very much." He walked away and I looked at Tanya, "I’ll be right back. I think I have some Motrin in the truck."
When I went back in, Tanya was sitting dejectedly at the table. "Here, take a couple of these. It should help," I told her and handed her the bottle.
I sat back down and put her foot back in my lap.
"I feel so stupid! I’ve ruined this whole weekend!" she said, as her eyes watered.
I wanted to make her feel better, but didn’t know what to say. So I came up with, "To tell you the truth, I was ready for a break. I just didn’t want you to think I was a wuss by asking you to stop and join me for cocoa."
"But now I can’t go dancing with you guys tonight!" she whined.
