The first ski trip with the ex had gone as well as could be expected. I had asked Tina to come along so there was another set of eyes on our daughter, Zaida. It had been her first time skiing, and I'm not that great of a skier, so I was worried about losing her on the mountain. There hadn't been any squabbles, and just a couple of tense moments.
Fast forward a year, and Zaida wanted to go skiing again. I considered just the two of us going, but I was still a bit concerned about losing her if I fell. So I invited her mother again. She was pissed that I did not extend the invitation to her mother as well, but I stood my ground.
"You can come along...same deal as last time...but I don't want your mother's drama along for the ride."
It had taken Tina a week to respond, and I'm sure she was thinking I would cave on my demands, but I waited her out.
"I'd like to go. We had fun last time, and I appreciate you being so concerned for Zaida's safety."
...as if I wouldn't be... she's my daughter. But I was learning to choose my battles, and this wasn't one I wanted to engage.
I reserved a cabin in Taos with a bedroom for each of us and a hot tub on the deck from which the view was magnificent. Tina flew to Albuquerque, and we picked her up and made the drive to Taos. The travel had worn us out, and we wanted to get an early start to get our gear, so after we ate a delivered pizza, we each headed to our respective rooms.
The next day, a Tuesday, the traffic at the rental counter wasn't too bad, and we got our gear in under an hour and headed to the bunny slope. Zaida picked up her snowplow in a few minutes, and I was shushing shortly afterward. We headed to the lift and rode to the top of the mountain.
The day flew by, and we had fun. Tina actually laughed at herself after a fall on an easy stretch, and that broke the ice. At 4pm, the closing announcement was made, and we headed to the truck to head back to the cabin.
About halfway to the cabin, I spied a Chinese restaurant and pulled in. "Any objections to Chinese?" I knew better than to ask what everyone wanted.
"I like that idea," Tina smiles as she replied.
"Sounds good, Dad!" Zaida chimed in.
We ate a lot, having burned up more calories than we thought we had, and left satisfied. Once at the cabin, Zaida headed to the shower. I changed and headed out to run a few miles, and Tina settled on the couch. I returned an hour later, having accomplished a solid six miles on the dirt roads near the cabin, and headed to the now-vacant shower. I could tell by the mess and wet towels in the bathroom that Tina and Zaida had been there. So I cleaned up, threw on some shorts and a t-shirt and headed to the living room. The three of us watched TV for an hour, then Zaida headed off to bed. I didn't want the awkwardness of sitting with Tina on the couch, the only furniture in the living room, so I changed into my swim trunks and stepped outside to enjoy the hot tub.
A half hour later, the quiet of the night was interrupted by the sound of the back door opening. Tina walked out onto the deck in her bathrobe.
