London Has Your Eyes

Chapter 65. Alex

- Are you sure he's not broken? - Max asks snidely as we set the boards down at the entrance to the cafe. We go inside. The walls are dark wood, lots of warm light and a huge fireplace. Max nods to a table by the panoramic window, which offers a great view of the training track. We take off our hats and gloves and put them away to dry, ordering from the waiter.

I look out the window, there's no sign of Daniel. Shouldn't he be on the kids' track? I'm dialing him again.

- Are you alive? - I ask cheerfully. He gasps back.

- Yeah, yeah, I'm coming down. Just climbed a little higher, I won't be long, - he doesn't finish and hangs up. I shrug and take a sip of hot mulled wine. It was just another image on my long wish list: snow, mountains, chalet, mulled wine, boards, and loved ones nearby. Could life be any more beautiful? Of course, Daniel and I have had all sorts of things in our relationship, but moments like that are engraved in the memory for life.

- AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! - Max cackles out loud. - It's wildly hilarious, - he grabs his phone and turns on the tape.

I follow my son's gaze. A snowball with a board flies down the training track. He gets up, rides for a bit and falls over. Then it gets up again and falls again. Is that Daniel?

That's really him. He's doing pretty good, but he's picking up high speed straight away, which he can't really cope with yet. Max can't stop laughing, and to be honest, it's funny for me to watch this from afar.

- I'll show him this video, it's wildly funny, - Max wipes away the tears in his eyes. - Oooh.

- Make sure your video doesn't get on the net. Oh, by the way, send it to me, - I ask.

I order two more glasses of mulled wine and a snack from the waiter. Finally, Daniel comes downstairs. I can see him freaking out and kicking the slope. He's literally covered in snow.

The door to the cafe opens and he enters. Max and I turn towards the entrance. Max points his camera at Daniel and asks:

- How was your first descent experience?

- Fuck you, - Daniel replies and shows him the middle finger. - I'll tell you guys, - he takes off his snow gloves and hat and shakes the snow out of his hood, - after what this mountain did to me, it owes me a marriage.

Max and I just fall over laughing. Daniel's cheeks are flushed. He puts his clothes to dry, takes off his jacket and sits down next to me. I hand him my glass and he takes a sip, sighing loudly.

The waiter brings our order: the food is amazingly good.

- Are you still going to ride today? - I ask Daniel. He shakes his head in the negative.

- I think I'm done for the day.

- What about you? - I ask Max.

- I'm going for another ride. I'll go to the second track we went down, it was fun, - Max pops a cheese ball in his mouth and puts on his jacket.

- You, my friend, made my day. I swear I made the best movie of your career, - he jumps up laughing. - I'll show it to you tonight when I edit it. - Max gives him a good-natured pat on the shoulder and walks out into the street.

- What is he talking about? - Dany asks.

- Max filmed your descent. It was epic. Something to tell the grandkids in old age, - I smile.

- You mean it was that bad? - He raises an eyebrow, looking at me.

- It was all right. Well, what are we going to do when you've dried off a little? - I ask.

- We could walk around the village, see what's interesting here, - Daniel's idea seems to me more than successful.

We sit in the cafe for another half hour and then we go for a walk. Skiers and snowboarders pass by, music and conversations in different languages are heard from everywhere. We take photos at every turn to make these memories.

We discover a cool restaurant that runs like a nightclub at night, so we decide to visit it. We walk around for about a couple of hours when it starts to get dark. Lights are lit on the streets, and the city turns blue. Max calls and says he's on his way to the final descent. So we head back to the cafe to take him with us.