Chapter 2

“That is so cool. How do you make him do that?” one of the boys said. They were both still standing at the base of the lift.

“I don’t. He does it on his own,” Paxine said as her dad joined her. She headed for the lift.

“That is so cool. How do you make him do that?” the boy said again, but to Paxine’s dad as he picked up Tache on his snowboard.

“Glue,” her dad said, skiing off to the lift.

“Glue?” Paxine said with a giggle.

“Is that what you told them?” her mom said.

“A little glue and his feet don’t come off. Then you just give the board a push,” her dad said deadpan.

A woman ahead of them looked back, frowning. Both Paxine and her dad almost burst out laughing. They were still chuckling as the lift chair scooped them up.

Paxine was determined this time not to fall. She took care to think out what she needed to do and not do. Her lift chair reached the top and she hopped off, heading straight as her dad said, then she turned, skiing with no trouble to the corner of the lift building.

“Hey. “I didn’t fall,” Paxine said to her mom who came around the other side of the lift building.

“Excellent. You saved your butt,” her mom said.

“There’s dad with Tache. He makes it look so easy,” Paxine said, watching her dad hop off the lift and ski up to her, still holding Tache and his board.

“Good job, Paxy,” her dad said.

“I don’t know how you hang on to him and get off the lift,” Paxine said.

“He’s not heavy,” her dad said, setting him down.

“Well, I’m getting the hang of this now. Race ya,” Paxine said, kicking off, heading for the Maple Syrup hill, but this time, she didn’t go slow. The curves were scary, but she maneuvered around them, and shot down the final hill to the lift.

She was the first one there.

“I won,” she said to no one, looking back up the hill.

Tache's yellow and orange coat appeared, keeping to the middle of the hill, aiming right for her. Behind him, she saw her mom. They both slid to a stop together beside Paxine.

“Where’s dad?” Paxine said, not seeing her dad’s red coat anywhere.

“He went down another hill,” her mom said pointing behind Paxine.

A red object that looked no larger than a pea swept down a hill that looked like it went straight up. The skier, growing in size as he drew nearer, zigzagged across the wide slope, shooting a spray of snow at each zigzag.

“That’s dad,” Paxine said, recognizing the red coat.

“Let head on over there,” her mom said.

Paxine fastened the leash she carried with her onto Tache’s snowboard and skied after her mom.

“That’s a serious hill,” Paxine said as they got nearer to the base of the hill, which wasn’t far from the ski lodge.

Her dad skied over to them.

“Now that is a hill,” he said, breathing hard.

“Wow. I don’t think I’ll go on that one,” Paxine, looking straight up toward the top.

“I…don’t think…we’ll let you go…down a triple black diamond ski run either,” her dad still catching his breath. ‘In fact, I don’t want you going down any black diamond hill.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Paxine said. “Oh, no. Look, Tache’s getting ice balls in his fur. I better go defrost him since the lodge is right here. Can you do that hill again so I can watch? Looks like our window is facing that way.”

She unhooked Tache from his board, picking him up.

“Okay. Security sees you,” her dad said. “We’ll catch up with you.”

“Okay,” Paxine said, heading for the lodge while her parents headed back to the lift.

The security guard that traveled with them came down, helping her get her skis off since she was holding Tache.

Paxine felt awkward, stomping up the steps of the lodge. The stiff ski boots prevented her from bending her ankles, making it hard to walk. Each footstep produced an embarrassing loud clunk that she knew had to be louder than everyone else’s clunking because everyone was staring at her.

“Meow,” Tache said.

“Oh, ya think everyone's staring because of your handsome coat?” Paxine said. “Maybe just because there's a cat in the coat.”

“Humpf,” he said, disagreeing with her.

“Oh, so you think its the handsome cat in a handsome coat,” she said with a laugh.

“Mow,” Tache said, saying it was.

Their security guard opened the door to the lodge. The noise level increased as they entered the crowded common area. Paxine couldn't hear her stomping any more as she squeezed her way past people lining up at the cafeteria style cafe. The line snaked through the common area full of tables and chairs. Coats, hats and gloves covered more of the tables and chairs than people and their lunches. The air was steamy from the combination of snow dampened coats, gloves and hats, and the roaring fire in the huge fireplace that was the centerpiece of the area.

Paxine trudged up another flight of stairs to the reserved area where she and her parents had their own private table in front of the windows that looked out over the slopes. There were a number of other tables, but this area was less crowded and quieter.

The security guard followed her to the doorway, then posted himself at the door. He stood sideways, so he could watch in their area and outside with just a slight turn of his head.

Paxine set Tache down on a chair, propping his snow board against the wall. She unhooked his coat, setting it across a chair to dry.

“Ugh,” she said with a grunt, sitting in a chair. She unlatched and pulled off her ski boots while Tache pulled the ice balls from his fur. “I think this is more work than skiing,” she said, tugging off the last ski boot with great effort. “You’ll be dry before I even get my coat off.”

She set the boots aside, taking off her coat and snow pants and putting them with her hat, gloves, and goggles.

“What a workout just getting undressed,” she said, checking a carafe set on a warming plate.

“Yum, hot chocolate,” she said, stirring the mixture to make sure there wasn't any chocolate settled on the bottom. She poured a mug full, topping it off with two marshmallows from a bowl near the carafe.

“Time for you,” she said, taking two towels from one of their bags. “Here.” She put one down on another chair.

Tache stepped over from his chair onto the chair with the towel.

“You are a wet mess,” she said, wiping his legs, belly, and tail. “You missed an ice ball.”

He pulled the last ice ball from between his toes.

“Mer,” Tache said, indicating the wet puddle he'd left on the other chair.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll clean that up, your highness,” she said, wiping dry the chair.

“Let me swing your chair around toward the fire,” she said, sliding around the chair to face another large fireplace that was at their end of the room. “I’ll hang this towel behind you to dry. You should be toasty warm in no time. Now, let’s see if I missed mom and dad.”

She picked up her hot chocolate, looking out the window. There were a couple of skiers on the big hill, but they weren’t her parents. She took a sip of her hot chocolate thinking she did miss her parents, but then at the top of the hill appeared a red dot and then another.

The two red dots weaved back and forth down the slope like choreographed dance partners.

“Gosh, they’re moving fast,” said a red-hair girl standing at the table next to Paxine’s. The girl was also watching out the window at the skiers.

“Huh, I could go faster,” said a blonde girl, who was an inch or two taller than the other. She flailed her arms, emphasizing her point.

“Yeah, right,” said the red-haired girl with a roll of her eyes.

“Whoa, they almost crashed into each other,” the blonde girl said.

“One’s in front of the other. Just looks that way,” the red- headed girl said with another roll of her eyes.

Paxine held back a giggle, keeping an eye on her parents as they swept down to the base of the slope toward the lodge. Her dad stopped with a spray of snow just missing her mom. Paxine could imagine what her mom was saying and that her dad was laughing. She felt awed that her parents were such good skiers, hoping that she’d be able to watch them again.

Tache was still grooming his paws, but the rest of him looked well groomed and almost dry.

“Well, it looked like they were going to crash,” the blond girl said, waving her arms and running over to the fireplace as if she wanted to get warm.

“Wow look. Brat,” the blonde girl said, pointing at Tache.

“Oh,” the red-headed girl said, coming over to see what the other girl saw. Her hand covered her mouth when she talked.

“Does he bite?” the blonde girl said, reaching over to pet Tache.

“Yes, sometimes,” Paxine said, wondering why she called Tache a brat.

The blonde girl withdrew her hand with a jerk as if Tache was going to bite her.

“If you ask, you can pet him,” Paxine said.

“Oh, can I pet him?” the blonde girl said, “Please?” she added as an afterthought.

“Yes, you can, but he’s a little wet,” Paxine said.

The blonde girl reached out again to pet Tache, but he smacked her with his damp tail. She withdrew her hand as if he’d bitten it. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open with astonishment.

“I guess you better ask him, not me,” Paxine said, holding back a laugh. “He can be ornery like that sometimes.”

“That’s silly,” the blonde girl said, walking off looking offended.

The red-headed girl sat down next to Tache. “Can I pet you?” she said behind her hand.

“Yelp,” Tache said.

“He said yes,” Paxine said when the girl looked up at her for a translation.

The girl pet Tache with the hand that wasn’t covering her mouth.

“Oh my gosh,” she said behind her hand. “He’s so soft. Was he in the snow? He’s a little damp.”

“He was snowboarding,” Paxine said. “I’m Paxine. This is Tache.”

“I’m Lanny and this is my sister, Brat,” the blonde girl said, running back over and barging in before Brat could answer. “Cats don’t snowboard,” she said matter-of-fact.

“Brittney,” Brat said behind her hand. “My name is Brittney.”

“That’s our dad over there,” Lanny said, ignoring her sister.

A man with hair as red as Brat’s sat at the next table typing away on a laptop computer.

“Those are my parents,” Paxine said as her parents stomped into the room with clunks just as noisy as Paxine earlier.

“Did you see us, Paxy?” her dad sad, taking off his coat.

“Yes, I saw. That was cool,” Paxine said.

“Oh, hot chocolate,” her mom said, but she was looking at the two girls and Paxine.

“This is Lanny and Brittney,” Paxine said, answering her mom’s unspoken question.

“Nice to meet you girls. Been skiing?” her mom said.

“Nope, we just got here. After lunch we’re going,” Lanny said, stepping in front of her sister as if she was the only one that mattered. “Does your cat really snowboard?”

“There’s a cat around here?” Paxine’s dad said, looking around, pretending he didn’t see Tache.

Paxine giggled. “This is Tache and, yes, he does snowboard,” she said, picking up his custom-made snowboard to show them.

“My dad would like to see that. Dad,” Lanny said, shouting, even though he was only a table away.

“Doug?” their dad said, looking up, not quite certain of who was there.

“Champe. What a surprise,” Paxine’s dad said, hurrying over. “It’s been years.”

The two shook hands while Champe looked over everyone, including his own daughters as if seeing them for the first time.

“I would say years. I take it this is a wife and daughter. You weren’t married the last time I saw you,” Champe said in a slow, careful voice as if thinking about every word before he said it.

“Dalia this is Champe. Champe Gustaflynn. Champe, my wife Dalia. This is my daughter, Paxine. Champe and I were in college together,” Paxine’s dad said.

“My wife…” Champe said, looking around

“She’s still up in the room,” Lanny said, rolling her eyes. “She’s not finished with her makeup.”

“My wife, Janique, is up in the room still. This is Alandilisha and Brittney. They don’t look it, but they are twins. Not identical, of course,” he said in a slow thoughtful voice.

“I’m the oldest by ten minutes,” Lanny said with great importance. “Dad, look at the snowboard.”

“Kind of small,” Champe said.

“It’s for Tache,” Paxine said.

“Who is Tache?” Champe said, rechecking all the people around to see who he missed.

Paxine pointed in the chair by the fireplace.

“That’s a Bengal,” Champe said with no emotion.

“I call him a Tail,” Paxine, expecting no further conversation on the matter.

“I take it you are associated with Mrs. Pondoulee,” he said, surprising her.

“Yes…” Paxine said, not sure what else to say.

“My mom,” Paxine’s mom said.

“You married well,” Champe said, looking impressed at Paxine’s dad.

Paxine’s dad nodded in agreement. “This is certainly an out of the way place to meet,” he said.

“Yes, but it’s the only place to ski during summer vacation,” Champe said, sitting back down by his computer. Paxine’s dad joined him.

“Cats don’t snowboard,” Lanny said, flicking her hair and leaving the room.

“She knows everything,” Brat said with a sarcastic roll of her eyes.

“Help me with my boots, Paxine. They are so hard to pull off,” Paxine’s mom said.

“Gosh, was that you coming down the triple black diamond run?” Brat said.

“Yes,” Paxine’s mom said with a grunt as the last boot slipped off.

“Gosh. You really know how to ski. We watched you. Lanny says she’s going to go down that hill, but I know she won’t,” Brat said, making sure Lanny was still out of the room.

“You don’t look like twins at all,” Paxine said.

“I look exactly like my dad,” Brat said, but she didn’t seem happy about it. “Lanny looks exactly like my mom.” She waved the hand hiding her mouth toward the door as if waving off Lanny who was nowhere in sight, revealing what she hid behind her hand. She had braces. They were the big metallic bulky old fashion kind. She could barely get her mouth closed over them. Paxine pretended she hadn’t seen.

“This is my first time skiing and his for snowboarding,” Paxine said, indicating Tache snoozing with his belly exposed to the fireplace.

“Lanny will be blown away if he really does snowboard,” Brat said.

“After lunch, I’ll show you,” Paxine said.

“Mom. Mom,” Lanny said, yelling despite the fact she was hanging off her mom’s arm as they entered, the room. “There’s a cat over there.”

Mrs. Gustaflynn was a petit blonde-haired woman. She was beautiful, but there was an empty look in her eyes. There was a smile pasted on her face that widened when she saw her husband. She ignored the clinging child yelling at her, walking over to sit by Champe.

“Oh,” she said, surprised to see someone sitting by her husband.

“Doug this is Janique. Janique this is Doug. We were in college together,” Champe said.

“Oh, it is so nice to meet you,” she said in a soft voice, lifting her hand over the table to touch his hand but not quite shake it.

“Over there is his wife, Dalia, and their daughter Paxine,” Champe said, completing the introductions.

Janique turned, with a wide smile, nodding in acknowledgement, then faced back to her husband.

“The girls need lunch. Do you want to order?” Champe asked her.

“Oh, yes,” she said, rising and leaving the room with Lanny bouncing after her.

“She’s an airhead,” Champe said, being candid, “but she is beautiful and I love her. Lanny is just like her. Brittney is the brilliant one.”

Brat blushed, pretending to be busy petting Tache.

“Champe is sort of like Garon. Absolutely brilliant. Champe is the one who invented the cube,” Paxine’s dad told her.

Champe chuckled, looking modest. “Yeah, Garon got a hold of me and helped me do the Room cube. That’s how I know of Mrs. Pondoulee. Awesomely powerful woman.”

“I think cubes are awesome,” Paxine said, blushing with pride about her grandma.

“I hear you’ve had one and destroyed it,” Champe said with a short laugh.

“Yeah, but…” she said.

“He’s teasing, Paxine. He knows why you destroyed it,” her dad said.

“You destroyed a cube?” Brat said almost forgetting to cover her mouth.

“Really long story, but it involved getting rid of a bomb. I had a cube, another long story, and a security man had a bomb to get rid of so I tossed out the cube. He tossed in the bomb, and I sent it somewhere safe where it wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Paxine said, trying to make a long story short.

“Gosh,” Brat said in awe.

A waiter interrupted their discussion, placing a tray on Paxine’s table.

“I’ll see you after lunch,” Paxine said, eyeing the food. She was hungry.

“Gosh, yes. Maybe I can ski with you this afternoon,” Brat said, moving back to her own table.

“One more Maple Syrup run and I’m going to try the next slope,” Paxine said to her parents as she ate.

“I think you’re ready,” her mom said. “We need to find snow pants for Tache that let the claws through. Might help with the ice balls.”