Learning to Fly - 14

Chapter 14 - Out of control...and I love it!

Jens was an home on the slopes. He strode with confidence to the lift, only pausing once to see if she followed. Once he'd reached the lift, he'd clipped into his skis and looked at her expectantly.

"What bit of complete novice don't you understand?" Her smile was more bravado than happiness as she laboured across the snow with all her equipment.

"You really have NEVER skied?"

She shook her head, "I don't even know how to put them on!"

He laughed, a real hearty laugh that shook his whole body, "I can't believe you're THAT much of a snow virgin!"

She blushed, "I told you I'd never skied!"

Nodding he kicked off his own skis and led her away from the lift towards the small undulating nursery slope. Despite it being barely an incline she felt a little apprehensive as she stood on the snow. Fear was not a pleasant emotion. Jens dropped to his knees and lifted a foot, talking her through the mechanism of the ski, how to put it on, how to get it off...quickly if she fell. Once she stood on the two pieces of highly polished wood...or was it fibreglass? She could feel the lack of friction, her feet would slip quite easily of she didn't fight to keep her legs still and together. 

Terrifying!

Jens stood in front of her in just his boots and called out instructions. 'Bend knees...weight onto toes...keep feet hip distance apart...push your heels apart...' There was so much to think about, but as she felt the skis move, she started to slide down the slight slope. Jens caught her after twenty metres and smiled. Gave her a few more tips, then made her re climb that slope and start again. After fifteen, or maybe twenty trips down an increasing length slope, she was shattered, collapsing onto the snow. 

"This is too hard!" she panted.

"No one said it was easy! But SO worthwhile. Imagine climbing to the top of that piste..." he pointed to a curving trail in the distance. "And whizzing down, wind in your face, no resistance with the ground. It's as close to flying as I've ever found!" He dropped to the snow next to her, relaxing back on his elbows turning his face up to the sun.

Carly struggled to catch her breath, despite the slope they were using being so small, it still seemed to have drawn every ounce of her energy.

"Tell me it gets easier!" she gasped looking at him.

Jens tilted his head to glance at her, "It does...you'll be so much better by this evening."

"Evening?" she sat up. "I'll never last that long, and may I remind you that there are twenty one children booked into the creche tomorrow. I need to be able to squat and bend, The way my quads feel already that's unlikely."

He laughed, "you do make me laugh! As you British say - in for a penny in for a pound. They'll hurt anyway, may as well do as much as you can manage!"

Carly leaned forward supporting her weight on her knees, glad her racing heart was starting to calm. It was such a beautiful location, pristine white snow, beautiful blue skies, and the lush green conifers, but she was too exhausted to truly appreciate it. 

"You're passionate about this aren't you? Skiing..."

Jens was watching her intently and there was an almost awkward silence before her offered, "skiing was, is everything I've always wanted to do..."

"More than run a hotel!" she laughed but suddenly saw the strange look in his eyes. "You'd really love to what? Ski all day? Wouldn't we all?"

Again Jens was studying her, almost as though he was contemplating what to say, eventually he replied, "I'm not stupid enough to think I could live as a skier, but I wanted to teach, then that'd leave me time to ski myself too. But..." he sighed, "that wasn't on Papa's agenda. So I'm here...working to the bone!"

Carly patted the snow with her gloved hand, "there are worse jobs than being the boss!"

"You're angry that I said that?" When she shrugged, he added, "all my life my father has been lining me up for this job. This was my obligation...not this resort obviously, but following in his footsteps, helping to run the company."

"And all you want to do is ski?" she finished for him a little too sarcastically.

Jens tried to reach for her hand, but she kept her head bowed, avoiding looking at him, "it's not like that Carly, really it isn't."

She laughed, "don't you feel like you owe him anything? Even if though it's not exactly what you want?"

"Do I owe him my life? My future?" he asked with wide eyes.

Carly shrugged, she'd already said more than she'd realised, but she'd started now, "you've had a good life, his hard work ensured that didn't it?"

Jens was bemused as he watched her, gesturing for her to carry on, "the opportunity to become a good skier was all because of your father's hard work and money. He created a situation that enabled you to experience so much, yet you resent the commitment he expects back. Where I stand a job like this, all these chances and opportunities sound anything but a chore."

Her comments were met by silence and when she finally looked up she saw Jens watching her a look of amusement on his face, "you've managed to sum up fourteen years of arguments with my father in two sentences!"

Carly was a little embarrassed she'd more than spoken out of turn, "I don't mean to sound judgemental..."

It was his turn to shrug, "would you do it? Give up want you want for what's right?"

Suddenly this wasn't about her, pulling herself to her feet she smiled down at him, "do you think it's normal for someone to start living at twenty-four? Life is a sacrifice! Now. Snow ploughing?"

And so it ended. Just like that. A couple of hours later, after a lunch break and several stops for water, she was ready for her first attempt at a small downhill. Jens led her to the lowest stop on the ski lift, and from there they came halfway back down the piste. 

"Right...remember everything I said. If you're scared or out of control bring in your snow plough, or turn and stop...stop being the operative word, I'm not pulling you out of the bushes. You ready?"

Carly looked up at him terrified, her heart was pounding like she couldn't believe her whole body thrummed with nervous tension...but with a smile she used her poles to push herself into the start of the descent...and then she was flying. Her skis whizzed over the snow, the wind almost took her breath away. Yes she wobbled, almost fell a couple of times, and yes, she only came down a hundred metres...but she LOVED it! 

Until she spotted an uneven section of the run, panicking she tried to avoid it, veer to one side, but she failed to remember Jens' words of relax and make subtle changes, insteadn she threw herself to one side and lost balance completely. Her outstretched body fit the snow face down, and it almost felt as though her legs were going to hit her head. The skis came loose and she tumbled very ungracefully the remaining twenty metres down the slope. 

As she finally slowed,  she saw Jens, or rather his feet, skid to a stop in front of her. kicking off his skis, he dropped down beside her limp body.

"Are you ok?"

She tried a smile despite her exhausted and battered body, "I take back everything I said earlier, screw the family and do this forever!"

"You liked?"

She rolled onto her back testing each of her legs as she went, "I loved...but it might actually kill me!"