Carlisle's Diary

Ski Party

After we returned back to the top, we started mingling with other people and at that point Ashley approached me after she was in what seemed like a deep conversation with Nessie.

"Hey Dr. Cullen. You and your wife are amazing skiers. Your niece says she thinks you should try out for the Olympics and from what I've seen, I don't disagree. I was wondering if you could give me some pointers. I feel like I need a "Skiing for Dummies" book." She shot me an appreciative smile.

"Aw . . . come on Ashley, don't sell yourself short. Everyone has to start somewhere. A good chunk of my family avoids skiing like the plague. You should talk to my daughter-in-law Bella. If you put her on skis, she'll fall over before she even moves an inch," I told her with a laugh.

"Well in that case, that makes me feel a lot better. I can at least waddle a bit and slide downward."

"I'd say you do much more than that. I mean you came in second place with Nessie in the race. But I would definitely be up for giving you pointers. When do you want to go?" I asked.

"Um . . . well, what about now?" She looked around and then back at me.

"What about the food? You must be starving."

"Oh no! I'm stuffed beyond capacity, plus I had some food at the hospital before coming here,"she explained.

"Wait, you were in the hospital before this? I didn't think you had a shift today," I asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, I decided to pull a few extra shifts just so I had some more money in the bank. This cross-country move has stretched me a bit too thin; why with all the stuff, renting the apartment and leasing the car. Doesn't hurt, you know?"

"That is true, my dear. Were you in the hospital when the two patients passed? Bill informed me about that."

"Oh, that. Yes I was, but I was already in the locker room changing to come here and when I heard the alarm go off, I didn't get to the one in time and other one happened before I started my shift. It's sad. But you can't save them all." That last sentence came out kind of flat for a caring nurse.

"Yes it is quite sad, but we do try to save as many as possible," I reminded her. "Well let's not stand around here anymore talking about this morbid stuff. You wanted me to give you some pointers. What exactly are you having trouble with?"

"Well, pushing off without falling is a big one, and then taking corners—not even sharp ones. I always seem to lean the wrong way and fall or just miss the corner altogether."

"Alright then, let's go and I'll show you."

With a wink at Esme and a nod toward the others, we slowly skied over to the beginner's slope where I started very slowly showing her the proper way to ski. When she pushed off, she used her knees and her weight. After about two or three tries, she seemed to be getting the hang of it. Then we started skiing side-by-side slowly as I explained how to take a turn without over compensating and ending up on your butt or missing the corner and maybe hitting someone, or a tree—which wouldn't be pleasant either way. The first few times she fell but got up and dusted herself off then started concentrating again.

Then a very bizarre thing happened. She and I were skiing next to each other and I was on her right side and we were to turn left, she must have not calculated properly but the next thing I knew she started falling and, as I grabbed to catch her, I ended up on top of her in a tangle of limbs. We were facing each other. I started to jump up, but not too fast in order to avoid revealing my speed, but the look on her face stopped me. It wasn't one of panic, pain, or surprise even. Her eyes were half lidded and she looked at me with what I could only describe as a woman who was in a romantic predicament with a man and was waiting for the man to make the first move. My eyes widened, and then I really did jump up and pulled her up with me. I chose to ignore it and started to dust the snow off myself as she stood there looking at me, staring.