Ski Lodge

Prologue

14 years ago
First day of 3rd Grade- Santa Rita Private Elementary School

"Watch where you're going!" 5th grader Emmett Becker called out to me after HE stepped on MY foot in the middle of the hallway.

My face turned red, and I stomped my throbbing foot on the ground.

My family had just moved to Texas after my father got a job as a Psychiatrist in San Angelo. It was my first day of 3rd grade, and I knew no one except Emmett Becker, my neighbor.

I call Emmett by his last name in my head. "Becker." It's a sign of disrespect; plus, one time when I was in 4th grade, I called him Becker to his face, and he turned bright red. I guess it just stuck after that.

"Some little dweeb can't get in MY way!" Becker taunted while high-fiveing his friends as they all strut down the hallway.

"I'm not a dweeb!" I yelled back at him.

"You have frizzy pigtails and freckles. That makes you a dweeb, Trisha Phillips!!" Becker shouted over his shoulder before his friends' laughter drowned out anything I could've replied back.

How I wish I had a comeback to that! Instead I just started crying; it was the most embarrassing day of my life.

At the end of the day, my mother picked me up in her convertible.

"How was your first day of school, Trish?" she said while checking her lipstick in the rearview mirror.

"It sucked." I remember pouting.

"What was so bad about it?" She added some mascara.

"I just... I made no friends."

"Wasn't Emmett there?"

This was my chance to tell my mom what Emmett said. I was too much of coward to take it though.

"I didn't see him," I lied.

My mom then proceeded to tell me that we were going to dinner with his family that very night.

As you can imagine, reader, that night was not very fun for me. Emmett, however, seemed to enjoy himself immensely; every chance he got, he pulled my pigtails or flung mashed potatoes at me. 

Three years later, our neighbors Dr Midge Greene and her husband Dr Patrick Greene had their first son, Weston. And Emmett Becker became their go-to babysitter. 

The three families bonded quickly, so it was no surprise that new mom Midge Greene suggested they started a weekly book club to escape from their busy lives and complain about their children. The dads loved the idea of having a guys night, and until Emmett reached 15, the husbands took turns taking all us kids to a playground. Once Emmett was 15, he watched us upstairs in whoever's house played host that night. I kept trying to tell my mom that I didn't need a babysitter, but she was strangely adamant that it was a good idea. I was 13!

It wasn't until High School that Emmett Becker seriously struck again. It was his senior homecoming, and my sophomore one. My friends and Tim... my boyfriend who eventually dumped me at our senior prom... had a concert that night and cancelled last minute. My mom called up Emmett Becker's mom, much to my embarrassment and asked if I could join his group for the night. But Becker said, "If no one else wants to go with her, why would I?" I really shouldn't have heard it, but our house phone was on speaker. My mom ran to the phone and took it off speaker, giving me an apologetic smile and whispering, "boys will be boys."

One year later, and he was finally off to college. He went to San Angelo University for some med science undergrad program like both of his parents. I set my sights a bit higher and got into Baylor for Environmental Health Science. But you would imagine my surprise when as I was entering my penultimate year, Erica Becker informed my mother that Emmett Becker was accepted into medical school at Baylor. My mother squealed. I sighed. At least we would barely see each other; well, except for breaks. Winter break especially...