Falling Snow (7 page)

She laughed. “The last time I checked I didn’t have balls.” She looked down at her crotch. “I just fucking landed a ten-eighty and three nines in a row!” She smacked him in the chest.

“You also just won another gold.” He said as Amy fell coming out of her landing on her second to last trick. “I guess we have to start calling you Goldilocks or something.” He joked and hugged her again.

“Oh how nice.” She rolled her eyes and ran over to Amy who had just come to a stop. She knew he had to know what went down with Kevin, she was glad he didn’t bring it up.

“Can you believe I fell on a goddamn five-forty?” She yelled in frustration and laughed. “You, damn girl, when you bring it, you fucking bring it!” She grabbed her friend and hugged her. “I’m so stoked for you. What a crazy run. I was cringing the entire time.”

“I said step up.” Adler teased. “Honestly I think I had my eyes closed the whole time.” They both laughed.

“Maybe I should ride with my eyes closed too if that’s the result.”

***

Cason watched the friendly exchange. Adler Troy was well-liked in the snowboard community. Several other riders grabbed her and put her up on their shoulders and paraded her through the crowd. This was her fourth Winter X Games gold medal. Judging by the way she just rode the pipe it was very well deserved. Cason wasn’t stupid, she knew that was the hardest run of her life, on a difficulty level yes, but also on a personal level. Her head couldn’t have been all in it, yet somehow she pulled it off. Maybe she was just lucky. One thing was for sure though, that beautiful blond standing at the top of the podium in the middle of the pipe base with the shiny gold medal around her neck was one hell of a snowboarder. If she didn’t make Cason nervous before she most definitely did now with the obvious straight baggage and fearless way she rode that board.

When the short ceremony was over and Adler finished what looked like her fifth interview Cason walked over to her.

Adler smiled. “There you are. I wondered if maybe you left.”

“No. I couldn’t leave without telling you how amazing I think you are.” Cason said as she watched Adler’s blue-green eyes dance in the bright flood lights that lit up the SuperPipe area. She had the most beautiful smile Cason had ever seen. When Adler Troy smiled it looked like she was smiling all for you and you alone.

“Thanks. To be honest with you I still can’t believe I didn’t crash. It was my best run on one of my worst nights.” Adler had no idea why she was telling this to her. Cason was practically a stranger. She just felt so safe with her, so open. She was usually a very private person and this threw her a little bit.

“Yeah, I heard. I’m sorry.” Cason said.

“It’s okay. Shit happens I guess.” She shrugged. “Isn’t there an old saying ‘what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger’ or something like that?”

Cason smiled. “Something like that.”

“Hey, I’m expected to go out and celebrate at this kick-ass party. You wanna go?” Adler bit her bottom lip.

Cason found it extremely difficult to say no to this girl. She watched as Adler shook her hair out and put her ski cap back on. She looked like a California surfer girl with the tanned skin, long curly blond hair, sexy eyes and slender lithe body. Oh she was in trouble here, big trouble. “Sure.” She said and swallowed the lump in her throat. What the hell would she have in common with a bunch of skiers and snowboarders? Not to mention she was probably ten years or more, older than all of them.

Twelve

Cason walked into the double-decker bar behind Adler. The room was full wall to wall with people and the second floor railing was packed with people looking down all the way around the room. A band was playing some kind of rock/punk mix on a small stage in the corner. People were congratulating Adler left and right and she was quickly swallowed up by the crowd. Cason noticed most of the other male and female snowboarders and some the skiers she recognized. She wondered what the hell she would have in common with a bunch of skiers and snowboarders. Not to mention she was probably ten years or more, older than all of them. She was alone in the middle of the room wondering if this was a bad idea. She had a feeling most of the Aspen Winter X Games population was in the bar. She pushed her way to the bar and ordered a beer. She was more of a bourbon drinker, but she figured that would really show her age.

“There you are.” A warm soft hand slid into hers and pulled her away from the bar. Adler was right at home with this crowd. She was laughing and smiling. Cason wondered how much of it was being faked at the moment because of what she was going through. They finally stopped upstairs in the corner above the band. “These are my friends, Gordy and Amy.” Adler said still holding her hand.

“I remember seeing them at the hospital I think.” Cason stuck her other hand out to shake both of theirs. She wasn’t letting go of the slightly smaller hand holding hers.

“This is Cason.” Adler said. “She’s a big shot doctor.” She smiled at the look on Cason’s face.

“Cool.” They both said in unison.

Everyone around them was dancing and it didn’t take long for them to start moving with the crowd. Adler finally let go of her hand and moved to the music careful not to spill the beer she was holding. There were so many people in the room is was impossible to move without bumping into someone or accidently grinding against someone else. This certainly wasn’t a scene Cason was use to. She hung with Warren occasionally and sometimes they would wind up at a dance club because he liked to dance. In fact, he taught her how to do the Soulja Boy dance from a popular rap song. They both had a little too much to drink and wound up doing that dance in the middle of the dance floor a few times. Alcohol made people grow courage they never dreamed of having. She shook her head thinking about the last time they had done that. She had so much fun that night and wound up going home with some brunette, Jana or Janet or something like that. She laughed.

“What’s funny?” Adler asked as she moved into Cason’s dance space. Less than an inch separated them. Cason was almost sorry that there wouldn’t be a slow song anytime soon, or at all for that matter.

“Oh, just thinking of something back home. The last time I went out it got a little crazy and that’s definitely not me. I was with a guy from work. I guess you could say we’re kind of best friends. Anyway, we drank a little too much and were dancing crazy.”

“What kind of dancing? Dirty?” She smiled almost seductively and wiggled her eyebrows. She was very playful by nature. Cason had noticed she was like that with everyone.

“No. I don’t dance like that.” Cason laughed.
At least not with men.
She thought to herself.

“That’s too bad.” She tipped her beer and turned back to one of her friends that pulled on the back of her sweater.

When the bar closed at two a.m. Cason was tired. She wondered how many of these people shouldn’t be driving because of their alcohol consumption, let alone the road conditions outside. A fine blanket of snow had fallen while they were inside. She had only drank a beer and a half and felt fine.

“Do you want a ride home?” Cason asked Adler when they got outside. She watched her hesitate. “I know you’ve been drinking, please don’t drive. I don’t want to get called in to work and find you. I see it all too often unfortunately.”

“I’m okay to drive. I really didn’t drink that much, only two.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not much of a beer drinker.”

“I saw people buying you drinks and shots all night.” Cason said.

Adler grinned, “I’m very good at handing them off to others nonchalantly.”

“Oh.” Cason smiled.

“Thanks for looking out for me though. I actually don’t want to go home and find my husband in my house to be honest with you. I hope he slithered back to California a while ago.”

“You can stay with me if you want. It’s nothing fancy, just a studio style condo.”

“Thanks. I’ll be okay. If he’s there I’ll just kick his ass out.” She said.

“Well, call me if you need anything.” Cason said. “I just realized you probably don’t have my number. I called you the other day to see how qualifying went, but it just rang and went to your voicemail. I figured you didn’t know the out of town number so you didn’t answer.”

“Never got the call. My phone’s in a thousand pieces up on Brush Creek Road.”

Cason raised her eyebrows. “Oh.”

Adler grinned. “Long story,”

“I guess so.”

“I’ll probably get another one Monday.”

“Alright, well I had a good time tonight. Congratulations again. You really are incredible on a snowboard.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you came out with me.” Adler hugged her lightly. Cason caught a whiff of the citrus scent that always lingered when Adler was around. It reminded her of the summer. It made Adler’s bright personality remind her of sunshine in the summertime.

Thirteen

Alder walked into her townhouse and was surprised to see Kevin sitting on the couch in front of the TV. She set her gear to the side and took her hat and jacket off. He stood up and walked towards her.

“Don’t touch me.” She growled. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Adler, come on we need to talk.” He leaned against the kitchen counter and watched her make herself a glass of water. “I just watched the competition. I’m glad you won your fourth gold. I’m happy for you.”

“I didn’t do it to make you happy,” she paused and sipped her water. “You son of a bitch. I still don’t understand why you are here…in my house.”

“Damn it. I told you it didn’t mean anything it was a onetime thing.” He said.

“Kevin, I don’t care if it was one time or a hundred times!” She yelled. “I heard you demanding that she get back in the shower. Is that really what you want, some whore you just picked up sucking your dick in the shower? You absolutely fucking disgust me!” She threw the glass against the wall behind him. “I want a divorce!”

“God damn Adler, calm down!” He yelled back.

“Three years! I wasted three goddamn years of my life with you and two being married to you. I wondered why you never wanted to travel with me or come here during the season. You were probably off with your whores while I was traveling the world nine months out of the year. You had free rein to do whatever you wanted while you’re idiot wife was off playing in the snow.” The tears that fell on escalated her anger. She didn’t want him to see her like this.

He reached for her but she backed away. “I’m really sorry. We live such completely different lives. I know that’s not an excuse, it just happened. I love you Adler.”

“Different lifestyles don’t give you a free pass to fuck whoever you choose.” She wiped the last of the tears. “You don’t love me Kevin, because if you did you would have been here with me and know I had a bad accident at the beginning of the week and got rushed to the hospital with a concussion. You would have known I finally landed a double cork ten-eighty in Breck a few weeks ago. You would have known that tonight I made history and you would have been by my side for all of that. You weren’t though. No. You were with your whore or doing whatever else it is when you avoid having anything to do with my life. So, no, you don’t love me. Don’t hide behind that like some coward.”

“I didn’t know you got hurt. Why didn’t anyone report on it?”

She sneered. “So that’s how you get news on your wife, you watch your fucking network. You expect your job to keep you updated on your wife’s life is that it? Wow Kevin.”

“It’s not…I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Look, I’m done with this conversation. You need to leave.” She walked towards the front door.

“Where am I supposed to go?”

“Kevin, I really don’t give a shit. Go to a hotel, or one of your whores, or sleep in your fucking car. I want a divorce. My lawyer will be in touch with you.” She swung the front door open. She didn’t have to worry about giving any of his belongings, he had nothing there. She did have a few things at his house in L.A. but she could live without them.

“I didn’t want it to be like this.”

“Me either. You think I like this?”

“We probably never should have gotten married.” He said with his head hung low.

“You’re right. One wonderful summer doesn’t constitute spending the rest of your lives together. We are just two totally different people.”

He tried to hug her when he stepped outside. She backed away. “I guess there’s nothing to contest then. Just have the papers sent to me. I’ll sign them.” He wiped away a lone tear as he walked to his car.

Adler closed the door, put her forehead against it, and let out the breath she was holding. She opened a new bottle of wine and took it with a glass over to the couch. She cried away the last three years of her life as she drank glass after glass. What a mess. She had the best night of her life and the worst all at the same time. How did it get this far, this bad? How did she not see the signs? They were right in front of her face now as plain as day. She was miserable and she should be so happy she could shout it from the rooftops. She turned the TV off and opened the vertical blinds over the French doors leading to her patio. She swirled the red wine around the glass as she watched the snow fall silently to the ground. She wished she could go out and ride the fresh powder in the middle of the night. That was like asking for death. It was dangerous, dark, and the biggest rush she had ever had. She hiked up Snowmass when she was eighteen and free rode about two a.m. It was a full moon and the mountain was gorgeous. Just thinking about it made the fine blond hairs on her arms stand up.

Fourteen

A week after the Winter X Games Adler hopped off the chair lift and hiked over to the start of the black diamond trail. She had been going out and riding powder every day. Free riding in the back country for her was like chicken soup for a cold. It always helped her heal or made her feel better. She spent most of the day Monday at her lawyer’s office, then on the phone with her family breaking the news of the divorce. Her lawyer knew the truth, but she put irreconcilable differences on the papers. She also wrote a very small paragraph on her website announcing her decision to file for divorce and asked for privacy during the personal matter. She knew ESPN knew some of what the true reason because they saw the incident at X Games and tried to ask her about it in her interview. She was sure her statement was all over the internet and news channels by now. She changed her phone number when she finally got a new phone. The only numbers she programmed in it were her family, friends, and sponsors. The rest of the people trying to call her could go to hell.