“The sky up here is amazing,” Libby said. “How does it look so different in the higher elevations than in the lower? That’s fascinating to me.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure of the science behind it. I think I got a C in Earth Science, but I do believe it is just the difference in the elevation and how the light reflects off things, we are closer to the clouds, there is snow up here reflecting and so forth.”
“Wow, I think I’m in the car with Neil Degrasse Tyson,” Libby joked.
I smirked. “Oh, that is hilarious. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Libby said. “We have to keep things light.”
“Do you ski?” I asked.
“I do,” Libby replied. “I’ve been skiing off and on since I was a little girl. I have family in Colorado and we used to go there during winter break from school and ski and do all sorts of fun winter things.”
“Ah, so you aren’t just a spoiled southern California girl,” I said.
“Right. I can do all sorts of fun things.”
“I’m enjoying learning about all those fun things,” I said.
Libby winked at me. “Just wait until later…”
Oh, yeah. I was definitely looking forward to later.
The car almost couldn’t get down the road fast enough. Only the driving conditions kept me moving at a somewhat normal rate of speed.
CHAPTER 26
Libby
“Yay!” Toby squealed as he picked up a big, bunch of snow and threw it at me. I pretended to be hurt and then grabbed up a handful of snow, compacted it together into a solid ball, and hurled it at the four-year-old. It hit him right in the chest of his snowsuit.
He was shocked and appalled. It was hilarious.
“How did you do the ball?” Toby asked.
“You don’t know how to make a snowball?” I asked in mock amusement. Toby had never really seen the snow before. And he was loving it.
I was just glad that he’d gotten over the shock of waking up in bed in a different place. But as soon as he saw the two of us there he was fine. Mason explained to him that we decided to do a surprise vacation and visit the mountains so we could do all sorts of fun things in the snow. Toby had not stopped bouncing around with total joy and excitement since then. He didn’t even want to stop to eat breakfast.
“Here,” I said. “You grab a big bunch of snow between your two hands.”
Toby followed my instructions. “And then you push it together until you feel it getting really hard together. Then you use your fingers around the edges to make it into a nice snowball.”
“Great!” Toby yelled.
“Now, hit your dad with it,” I said. Mason had just come out of the cabin into the yard with his hot cup of coffee in hand. He’d driven late into the night and after the treatment I’d given him after we arrived, he was now having a hard time dragging himself out of the bed. He had yet to fully put on his snowsuit. He was a sitting duck for Toby’s snowball. It was perfect.
“Be quiet and sneak up behind him,” I said. “Then hit him in the back of the head.”
Toby did as I instructed while I laid back and videoed it all with my phone. Mason didn’t see it coming. It was perfect.
“What the—” Mason yelled as icy snow exploded over the back of his neck and began drifting down under his shirt collar.
I could not stop from falling to the ground laughing my head off. It was the funniest thing I’d seen in a while and a welcomed relief from the misery we’d all been dealing with lately.
Mason turned to face Toby (who was also laughing) and I. It took him a moment to see it from our end and then he started laughing along with us.
“Well, I guess you two think you are pretty smart and clever,” Mason said.
“Yeah, we do,” I replied.
“Well, I will get you back when you least expect it,” Mason said. “You have been warned.”
With that he gave a fake evil laugh and went back inside to clean the snow off him.
“That didn’t sound good,” I told Toby.
“I’m not scared,” Toby said with a tough look on his face.
“Is that your tough guy face?”
“Yes.”
“Can you make it look tougher? Grrrr!” I said playing with Toby.
Toby repeated the roar and made his tough guy face even tougher looking.
I pretend to be scared. “Wow. That is scary! You are so tough!”
Then I grabbed Toby and hoisted him up to me tightly. He laughed and threw his arms around my neck. He was so precious. I felt so lucky to be a part of his life. It was then I believe, that the first real motherly feeling came over me. For the first time, I could see that I might very well end up being Toby’s stepmother one day.