Almost a Family

The teddy bear was dropped unceremoniously to the floor. “I can change. Can’t I, Aunt Molly?”

“Yes, you can. Your clothes are on top of your bed.”

With a squeal, Sara skidded out of the room.

“The invitation still extends to you, you know,” he said into the silence left by Sara’s exit. His hand still tingled from the feel of her palm in it.

She avoided his eyes, going instead to tidy up CD cases. “I probably should finish up here.”

“Leave it until tomorrow. Good sledding doesn’t happen every day, you know,” he cajoled. “We’ll never get a more perfect day. Besides, you know Sara’s going to ask you to come. You might as well stop fighting it and get ready.”

“Oh, all right.” She put down her dust cloth. “I suppose one afternoon out isn’t going to kill me.”

She was halfway to the door when he tossed out, “Hey, this is supposed to be fun. Remember? It’s not like you’re walking to the gallows. Leave your bad attitude at home.”

He heard her mutter something under her breath as she headed for the stairs and he laughed. Teasing Molly, knowing which buttons to push, had always been so much fun. He’d known how to do it back then and hadn’t forgotten. When Kim had first suggested Molly come, he’d dreaded seeing her again. He’d told Kim at the hospital he’d wished she’d never come, but he knew deep down that wasn’t true. Now he was starting to realize he was glad she’d come home. They’d supposedly been over for a long time, but their chapter had remained unfinished. Now, by getting closer, perhaps they could put to rest the ghosts that had haunted them all this time. Leave each other with some good memories instead of a bitter aftertaste.

“Uncle Jason, I need help.”

He jumped when Sara’s voice intruded from the foyer. How long had he been standing there? Hurrying out of the living room, he saw Molly coming down the stairs wearing the ski pants to Kim’s set. Sara was on the bottom step, doggedly trying to pull her pant leg down over her boot.

“Here, honey, I’ll do that,” he said, kneeling before her while Molly scooted around him and retrieved her own boots.

“We set?”

“Yeah!” cried Sara, and Jason laughed.

“Toboggan’s in the truck. Let’s go.”

*

The big hill, the one Jason and Molly had loved, was crowded with teenagers and university students with toboggans, Krazy Karpets and saucers. Molly laughed as one inventive boy sat on the blade of a steel shovel, holding the handle in front of him for steering. Jason looked down at Sara sitting on the toboggan while he pulled it and decided the hill next to it was a bit gentler and better for Sara’s size.

“Over there?” He lifted his chin toward the area, and Molly nodded in assent.

The afternoon was alive with chirping birds and the squeal and swish of sleds and inner tubes rushing down the hills. Jason reached the top and took a minute to straighten his back from tugging Sara up the slope. Some things seemed timeless, and seeing the hill crowded like it always had been years before took him back. They’d done this often. They’d spend the afternoon sledding, then head to the pub for some hot chocolate and Bailey’s to ward off the chill. But in the years since he hadn’t found any joy in the sport. Now that Sara was old enough, he welcomed the feeling of anticipation, the way his breath clouded on the air, the screams of those brave ones behind him hurtling down the steep hill.

“Pumpkin, you ready?”

Brown eyes peered up at him anxiously from above her scarf. “I dunno.”

“I’m going to sit right behind you, okay?” He looked up at Molly, her face obscured by a puff of air as she exhaled. “You give us a push to get started?”

“Sure.”

He sat on the long wooden end of the sled, tucking his boots near the front curve and keeping Sara cradled safely within his legs. It had been years since he’d gone sledding, and childish glee rushed through him as Molly’s hands pushed against his back and the toboggan began to move.

“Hang on, kiddo!” He looped the yellow rope around his gloved hands and away they went, skimming over the snow, the wind cold on their cheeks as the bottom of the hill rushed nearer and nearer. Sara squealed, Jason laughed, then all too soon they slid to a stop.

By the time he reached the top again, he was out of breath. “You’re heavy for a little mite,” he quipped, then aimed a deadly smile at Molly. “You’re next.”

He’d expected resistance, but got none. With an impish grin, she tucked herself around Sara. What the heck? he thought, and sat on the end of the sled, looping his legs over so his boots rested in Molly’s lap. She held the rope and he used his knuckles to push off, laughing at Molly’s “whoop” as they slid even faster this time.

At the bottom, a fir tree came rushing towards them and Molly tried valiantly to shift her weight and turn the toboggan, but to no avail. When they were close enough to see the needles on the branches, Jason shifted his weight to the left and they tumbled over into the hard white snow.

Legs, arms and rope were all entangled as they caught their breath, then Sara started giggling hysterically. “That was fun. Do it again!”

Jason became very aware that Molly, while off the toboggan, was still nestled between his legs. Her hat was askew and her cheeks were bright pink from the cold and laughing. For a moment, it was as if the past six years hadn’t happened at all, and they were simply Molly and Jason, the couple, out for an afternoon of fun. In this kind of situation, he would have pinned her to the snow and kissed the tip of her nose, promising all kinds of retribution for later. He stared into her eyes and knew she was remembering, too. Perhaps that had been the true purpose of this afternoon. It was a chance for her to see the past, to remember without rancor the kind of relationship they’d had. The kind of person she’d been—carefree and fun. Maybe what they really needed was to be able to remember the good times instead of the bad ending defining all that had been. Years of good memories had been clouded by a bad ending. It was easier to remember them when they were like this.