The Snow Fell on Her Scarf Instead
308 Views · Ongoing · Piper Hayes
Our company's year-end retreat was a ski trip to Silver Peak, and it took until day three for Cole, the guy I'd been in love with for years, to finally ski a run with me.
We were only halfway down a green run when he pulled up at the bottom of a pitch and shook his head, clearly annoyed.
"Your balance is awful. I've shown you a hundred times and you're still doing the same thing."
One of our coworkers laughed. "Seriously? Cole had Addison for one afternoon and she's already doing blues."
Addison was the assistant he'd hired a year ago.
Cole didn't look at me again. He flagged down a stranger who had just skied to the bottom.
"Hey man, can you take her down a couple runs for me? I'll pay you after."
He was skiing off toward Addison before he'd even finished talking.
Addison hunched her shoulders and said she was cold. Cole pulled off his scarf with a smile and looped it around her neck a few times.
Looking at that scarf, I thought about the first time I ever stood on a ski slope.
My legs were shaking so hard I could barely stay up.
He stood right behind me, hands hovering by my arms in case I slipped, and we inched our way down together.
He kept saying the same thing the whole time. "Don't worry, I've got you. You're not gonna fall."
For all these years, I'd thought I was stuck on the green runs because I was a slow learner.
Now I finally saw it. He hadn't been behind me for a long time.
So I didn't need to keep looking back for him anymore.
We were only halfway down a green run when he pulled up at the bottom of a pitch and shook his head, clearly annoyed.
"Your balance is awful. I've shown you a hundred times and you're still doing the same thing."
One of our coworkers laughed. "Seriously? Cole had Addison for one afternoon and she's already doing blues."
Addison was the assistant he'd hired a year ago.
Cole didn't look at me again. He flagged down a stranger who had just skied to the bottom.
"Hey man, can you take her down a couple runs for me? I'll pay you after."
He was skiing off toward Addison before he'd even finished talking.
Addison hunched her shoulders and said she was cold. Cole pulled off his scarf with a smile and looped it around her neck a few times.
Looking at that scarf, I thought about the first time I ever stood on a ski slope.
My legs were shaking so hard I could barely stay up.
He stood right behind me, hands hovering by my arms in case I slipped, and we inched our way down together.
He kept saying the same thing the whole time. "Don't worry, I've got you. You're not gonna fall."
For all these years, I'd thought I was stuck on the green runs because I was a slow learner.
Now I finally saw it. He hadn't been behind me for a long time.
So I didn't need to keep looking back for him anymore.


















































