Chapter 1

It felt like a long drive from the airport to the hotel, as I crossed into Banff National Park. I arrived a few hours earlier at Calgary International Airport from my home in Iowa, wanting to spend a week skiing. It took a few hours to clear customs and get my rental car, but the drive along the Trans-Canada Highway into the Canadian Rockies was a sight to behold. I had never been up this way before and was excited to explore some famous slopes. It was such a visual treat to see the flatlands around Calgary and Canmore giving way to the sharp mountain peaks and valleys covered in layers of fresh white snow.

My parents brought me into skiing when I was little, having grown up in Upstate New York. The Adirondacks and Catskills had been my playground until I left for college. So many fond memories hiking the 46ers and skiing Whiteface Mountain and other smaller mountain resorts. I went to college in California and worked as a ski instructor on weekends to help pay rent. Those were some fun years that I look back fondly on, but life moves forward, and you can’t hang on to the past.

Life and work eventually moved me to Des Moines, Iowa, to work on network systems for a major corporation. The pay was good, and I slowly built a life for myself in the flat terrain surrounded by farmland. I never forgot the call of the mountains, though, and endeavored to travel whenever I could to commune with my true loves.

I rolled up to the Banff townsite, a small community built within the National Park. I drove down the main road as I looked for my hotel. I had booked a reasonably priced lodge in the heart of the town so I could enjoy the sights and sounds of the local community. It was called the Banff Aspen Lodge, and as I pulled in, it looked quaint compared to some of the fancier places on either side.

I waited at reception while a couple registered in front of me. The gentleman at the front desk seemed young and possibly Australian, as I waited my turn. After a few minutes, I was greeted with a warm “Good’ay!”

“Hello, yes. My name’s Shane Collins. I have a reservation for today.”

“Righty let’s have a look. Ah yes, we have you for a week. Doin’ some skiin’?” he asked in a friendly manner.

“Yeah, hoping to get the legs back into it.”

“Noice. Well you’ve got room 231. There are shuttles that will take you to Sunshine and Lake Louise running regularly each morning, and we’ve got a complimentary breakfast to get some energy in you before you head out.”

He handed me a flier and map of the property as well as a bus schedule for the shuttles. I thanked him for his friendly service and headed back to the car to find a parking spot and unload. There were only a couple of empty spots near the back, so I had to do a few trips.

The layout of the hotel was a large square, with it encircling an open-air courtyard that had a couple of jacuzzi pools. The walkways were also outside with a good view of the interior space. The room was quite nice and spacious with a large queen-sized bed, a TV, and Wi-Fi. I brought in most of my luggage and stored my skis in the lock-up. It was then that I sat on the bed, somewhat hungry and quite tired. Out of pure laziness, I wandered down to the café in the lodge and ordered something simple before I headed back to my room to get an early night’s sleep.

My alarm woke me up early at 6:00 a.m., but I was excited to get the day going. I jumped in the shower and shaved, threw on my skiing gear, and headed down for the free breakfast. After some coffee, fresh fruit, and some pancakes, I was ready to head to the mountains. I picked up my skis and walked to the front where a group of people waited for the shuttle to Sunshine Mountain.

The weather was somewhat warm that morning, so I didn’t have my hat on as the bus slowly approached. In the throng of people who jockeyed for position, I was surprised when a hand was placed on my shoulder, and someone shouted my name.

“Shane? Shane Collins?” The mysterious voice yelled out. I turned to see a man who wore a bright red jacket and dark black sunglasses look at me. I had no idea who this was.

“Yes? Do I know you?”

“I thought I recognized you. It’s me, Reginald Dupree. We met last year at that conference in Vegas.” He pulled off his sunglasses, and I recognized him. We’d met as part of a social mixer during that conference, and the guy kind of annoyed me. He was very loud and abrasive but wouldn’t leave me alone the whole rest of that week. I think he thought we had become friends. Now I questioned why the fates had punished me on this beautiful day.

I gave an awkward smile, “Oh hey, Reg. I didn’t recognize you with the glasses on. Plus, who’d expect to run into someone you know up here in Canada.”

“No kidding, it’s a crazy world. Come on, let’s load into the bus, and we can catch up.”

“Goodie,” I said quietly under my breath.

“Oh hey, this is my family. That’s my wife Theresa, and over here is my daughter Callie. Everyone, this is my buddy, Shane.”

I shuddered when he called me buddy, but I smiled warmly and greeted both of them. His wife smiled a toothy grin, but I got a cold feeling from her. His daughter just looked at me with vague indifference before she returned to her phone. We loaded onto the bus, and Shane talked my ear off as we made our way to the mountain.

“Are you up here all alone? Where’s what’s her name, your fiancée you talked about?” Reg asked in his usual direct manner, or lack of manners.

“We broke up a month ago. I’d already booked this vacation, so I decided to just go it alone,” I replied, as I could feel that wound reopen.

“That sucks. You could hang out with us if you want,” Reg offered.

“Oh, that’s ok, I wouldn’t want to...” I tried to say before I was cut off.

“Non-sense, it’ll be great.”

As the bus pulled up to the drop-off location, I considered taking my things and throwing myself off the highest point on the mountain so gravity could spare me this new torment. Only my desire to ski again saved me from that fate and a voice that came from the seat behind me.

“Don’t worry, he’ll leave you alone soon enough.” I looked in the window to see that it belonged to his daughter, who was looking back at me. She gave me a sly grin, happy that I’d heard before it was time to disembark and pick up our lift tickets.

Reg and his wife walked ahead and chatted with each other while I was behind with the daughter. She wore a new pink ski jacket and black pants. I couldn’t get much of a read on her, but she didn’t seem too excited to hit the slopes. I noticed that all their gear looked brand new and wondered if they’d ever been skiing before.

“So Callie, do you guys go skiing often?” I asked, as I tried to talk to the other members of this family.

“Only a few times, but you don’t have to talk to me. It’s ok, I’m used to being quiet and ignored.”

This statement kind of threw me for a loop. I could get not wanting to talk to some random guy your dad knew, but why would anyone ignore her? I was more intrigued by this strange family dynamic, having grown up in a fairly conventional family home.

“Your parents don’t talk to you much?” I enquired at a lower volume, not that Reg or his wife likely heard me anyway.

“She’s not my mom,” Callie said sharply. “And no, my dad usually forgets I exist for long stretches of the day.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” was all I could muster in response. Stepmom, that made the picture a little clearer. I didn’t want to step on any toes, so I figured I should drop the subject for now. I looked over at the girl who just looked straight ahead. We bought our tickets and headed to the gondola to get to the base of the ski area.

The mountain was beautiful, and the conditions perfect for smooth lines down the groomed trails. The sun was bright overhead and the sky blue, which gave a picturesque quality to the whole thing. I found myself falling back into my old instructor habits as I would provide little suggestions to the family as we rode the lift back up for another run. I found Reg and Theresa were less receptive to my lessons, but Callie seemed to be more interested. On the third time up the lift, Callie actually started to ask me questions.

“How do you seem to glide so smoothly down the mountain?”

“Years of practice. You’ve just got to relax and let the skis carve and do the work for you.”

Reg interrupted at that moment, a few yards from the top. “I think we should stop for lunch after this one, what do you think?”

“Sure, yeah. I could eat,” I said, as we were dumped off of the lift and headed to another blue trail. The two older ones seemed to bomb down the mountain at warp speed, which was wildly dangerous. I stayed behind to watch Callie and observe her form a little more closely. She seemed to have a good feel for the basics. She still wedged a little on the corners, and she needed to bring her knees together. For someone who apparently didn’t have a lot of experience, she was doing quite well.

After a good twenty-minute descent, we reached the base lodge and met with her parents, who were already out of their ski boots. I always kept them on until it was time to go home, but maybe I was just more used to wearing them. Callie and I stored our skis on the rack and headed inside to get some grub. The lodge was very nice and large, which made sense for the size of the mountain and people about. The food line went quickly, and we managed to find a table easily enough.

“So where are you working now, Shane? Still in Des Moines at that ... uh, whatever company it was?” Reg asked when he remembered I was there. He seemed to really love his wife, and they were always locked in chatter about this or that nonsense. It was mostly gossip or the two flirting with each other. It made me wonder how old this relationship actually was.

“Yeah, still there. I’d love to move back to upstate New York or back to California again, though.”

“That’s cool, Callie is looking at schools in New York. Aren’t you sweetie?” Reg said, I think it was the first time he’d spoken to her since the bus that morning. Once I noticed it, it was difficult not to see it.

“Yeah, I hope to move far away and stay there.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, dear,” Theresa said in a condescending tone. “You’re old enough not to act like a child.”

Callie responded with an eyeroll and a “Whatever Theresa.”

“I moved away when I went to college. Gives you a new perspective on life, and you can be whoever you want to be,” I interjected, as I tried to cut the tension.

“See, Mr. Collins thinks it’s a good idea.”

“Well, Mr. Collins doesn’t have to pay for it,” Theresa replied in her cold way.

“I paid my own way, but everyone is different. Callie strikes me as the responsible type,” I hit back, surprised her own father wasn’t supporting his daughter. I felt like someone should, so why not the outside observer.