They have the same eyes. Except she has long dark hair and isn’t the least bit tan. Well now, maybe I was wrong after all.
The moment I see the train I’m enthralled. “Oh wow, this looks fun.” It does. In Benjamin’s room, the train takes up almost the entire floor. Wooden tracks fit together like a puzzle, and there are numerous little train cars. Blaine and I plop down with the kids and slide into the fantasy world of child play.
Jenny hands me a purple train car. “You can be Lady.” She hands Blaine the caboose and begins to giggle.
Benjamin yells. “All aboard!”
We all place our train cars on the track and Jenny hooks them together. She leaves the caboose unattached and Benjamin moves the train. Blaine calls out in a high-pitched whine. “Hey, wait for me, wait for me.”
Benjamin stops the train and lets out a pretend, impatient sigh. They’ve played this game before.
“I had to tie my shoe.” Blaine sets them off into a fit of giggles, and I find I laugh too. I’ve changed my mind about him. He’s goofy and comfortable with the children.
Clara calls us for dinner, and we gather around the table to bowls of deliciousness. I notice the kid’s dishes are filled with plain rice, chicken and peas. I take a spoonful of jambalaya. The flavor teases my tongue, leaving me wanting more. I grab a big piece of bread and tear off a bit. “Blaine, are you Tim or Clara’s brother?”
“Neither. Tim and I have been friends since the first grade, and I’m the godfather for both kids. I came out here last summer to visit and never left.”
“I can see why. The skiing here is so amazing. What do you do in the summer?”
“I haven’t quite decided yet. I might work at a bike shop if I don’t have to be inside all day. What are you going to do?”
I speak around the piece of bread in my mouth. “Good question. I can probably keep my cleaning job, but I’d rather not.”
Clara lifts her glass. “Amen, sister! We have to work on that.”
I lift mine to meet hers and notice I’m only halfway through it. Tasting how warm it is, I excuse myself to go put ice in my glass.
Clara joins me in the kitchen and whispers, “So what do you think of Blaine?”
I give her a thumbs-up. What can I say? He’s funny, good with kids, and hot. Smoking hot. Except for the lack of a real job, he stacks up well on my list. I should have known Clara would pick a good one for me. The trouble is, I don’t think I’m ready yet.
When dinner is over, the kids watch a video while the adults sit around the table and talk. I listen to stories about Blaine and Tim as kids and laugh hard enough to have tears. It feels good. Looking at the clock, I realize it’s way past bedtime for Benjamin and Jenny. Seeing my glance, Clara touches Tim’s arm. “We should go put the kids to bed. Benjamin is already asleep.”
They each scoop up a child and take them to Benjamin’s room. Jenny calls out. “Casey, I left you a teddy bear to sleep with. His name is Brownie.”
Blaine leans over and I catch a whiff of beer on his breath. “I guess he’s brown.”
I whisper back. “I think you’re right.”
“So tell me the real story, Casey. What brings you to Colorado in the middle of the winter?”
Oh boy, how do I answer that? “Boy trouble. And great skiing.”
He leans back and crosses his arms while he squints his eyes at me. He’s not quite buying it. I can tell he wants to know more, but won’t push. I decide to turn the tables.
“So what’s the real reason you stayed?”
“Heartbreak.” He says nothing more, and I don’t ask for it.
Here we sit in silence. Both of us with sad stories we don’t want to talk about.
I swirl the wine in my glass. “Do you get many days off as an instructor?”
“We have one designated day and often can get out of work after lineup in the morning. Before lineup, we have an hour or so. The lifties let us on with patrol, and we can have fresh tracks every day. I try not to miss
The moment I see the train I’m enthralled. “Oh wow, this looks fun.” It does. In Benjamin’s room, the train takes up almost the entire floor. Wooden tracks fit together like a puzzle, and there are numerous little train cars. Blaine and I plop down with the kids and slide into the fantasy world of child play.
Jenny hands me a purple train car. “You can be Lady.” She hands Blaine the caboose and begins to giggle.
Benjamin yells. “All aboard!”
We all place our train cars on the track and Jenny hooks them together. She leaves the caboose unattached and Benjamin moves the train. Blaine calls out in a high-pitched whine. “Hey, wait for me, wait for me.”
Benjamin stops the train and lets out a pretend, impatient sigh. They’ve played this game before.
“I had to tie my shoe.” Blaine sets them off into a fit of giggles, and I find I laugh too. I’ve changed my mind about him. He’s goofy and comfortable with the children.
Clara calls us for dinner, and we gather around the table to bowls of deliciousness. I notice the kid’s dishes are filled with plain rice, chicken and peas. I take a spoonful of jambalaya. The flavor teases my tongue, leaving me wanting more. I grab a big piece of bread and tear off a bit. “Blaine, are you Tim or Clara’s brother?”
“Neither. Tim and I have been friends since the first grade, and I’m the godfather for both kids. I came out here last summer to visit and never left.”
“I can see why. The skiing here is so amazing. What do you do in the summer?”
“I haven’t quite decided yet. I might work at a bike shop if I don’t have to be inside all day. What are you going to do?”
I speak around the piece of bread in my mouth. “Good question. I can probably keep my cleaning job, but I’d rather not.”
Clara lifts her glass. “Amen, sister! We have to work on that.”
I lift mine to meet hers and notice I’m only halfway through it. Tasting how warm it is, I excuse myself to go put ice in my glass.
Clara joins me in the kitchen and whispers, “So what do you think of Blaine?”
I give her a thumbs-up. What can I say? He’s funny, good with kids, and hot. Smoking hot. Except for the lack of a real job, he stacks up well on my list. I should have known Clara would pick a good one for me. The trouble is, I don’t think I’m ready yet.
When dinner is over, the kids watch a video while the adults sit around the table and talk. I listen to stories about Blaine and Tim as kids and laugh hard enough to have tears. It feels good. Looking at the clock, I realize it’s way past bedtime for Benjamin and Jenny. Seeing my glance, Clara touches Tim’s arm. “We should go put the kids to bed. Benjamin is already asleep.”
They each scoop up a child and take them to Benjamin’s room. Jenny calls out. “Casey, I left you a teddy bear to sleep with. His name is Brownie.”
Blaine leans over and I catch a whiff of beer on his breath. “I guess he’s brown.”
I whisper back. “I think you’re right.”
“So tell me the real story, Casey. What brings you to Colorado in the middle of the winter?”
Oh boy, how do I answer that? “Boy trouble. And great skiing.”
He leans back and crosses his arms while he squints his eyes at me. He’s not quite buying it. I can tell he wants to know more, but won’t push. I decide to turn the tables.
“So what’s the real reason you stayed?”
“Heartbreak.” He says nothing more, and I don’t ask for it.
Here we sit in silence. Both of us with sad stories we don’t want to talk about.
I swirl the wine in my glass. “Do you get many days off as an instructor?”
“We have one designated day and often can get out of work after lineup in the morning. Before lineup, we have an hour or so. The lifties let us on with patrol, and we can have fresh tracks every day. I try not to miss
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