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O ne weekend at the start of winter, the three of them took off to the snowfields. Lucy was able to take the Friday off, so they left early in the morning. The snow season had started ahead of time, with some unexpected heavy falls of snow late in May. It was now June.

Sebastian’s father, Matt, joined them and Lucy was delighted to find he was a charming man with a wicked sense of humor.

At first, he seemed a little unsure of how to act around her. Lucy supposed it was because he’d gotten so used to his son being with Jack, and now there was a third person in the relationship, and a woman to boot! But after a few hours, he began teasing her.

Lucy had never skied before, and she spent more time on her bottom than upright.

The three men each tried giving her a lesson, but in the end, Matt turned out to be the best teacher.

Jack tended to make assumptions, and Sebastian was too worried she’d hurt herself.

By the end of the weekend, she was able to spend a reasonable amount of her skiing time upright, and Matt declared that after another weekend of practice, she’d be skiing like a pro.

Friday afternoon, after they’d spent most of the day on the slopes, Lucy made a snowman. She had finished it with help from Matt when the two boys decided on a few high jinks.

Jack threw a snowball at Sebastian but missed. Sebastian’s aim was truer and he hit Jack.

Then it was on.

Jack laughed too much and kept missing.

Sebastian started taunting him. “You can’t throw for nuts, gubba !”

“You cheat! You bloody, Abo!”

“Oh hell, now they’re insulting each other,” Lucy whispered to Matt. “I know ‘Abo’ is really rude. What does gubba mean? It doesn’t sound good.”

“ Gubba, as Seb’s just used it, is a derogatory term. Means white fella. Back in the 1800s, it meant a white government fella. If one came around it certainly meant some sort of trouble for the black man.”

The two men had started wrestling, both laughing at the same time. Jack got Sebastian in a headlock and, somehow, they managed to roll into Lucy’s snowman.

“Oh no!” She cried, “My snowman.”

The two looked at her and Matt, then at each other. By some unspoken agreement Jack released Sebastian, and they both began pelting snowballs at Lucy and Matt.

Lucy grabbed handfuls of snow and threw them in the general direction of the pair. But not one of them hit the target. Maybe it was because she’d close her eyes each time she threw one.

Fortunately, Matt did manage to get one or two good hits on the other pair.

After about ten minutes of playing, they went back into the chalet they’d rented. Stripping off their wet ski clothes, they hung them to dry in the warm, airing room.

Sebastian sat Lucy in front of the fire with his father while he and Jack made warm drinks all round.

Later in the evening, they walked down to the Village Green to one of the many restaurants for a meal before settling down for the night.

After more skiing lessons and a few hours with a toboggan, on Saturday they again had dinner out. That night, they sat around the large fire in the living room, and Lucy was so relaxed with Matt it felt as if she’d known him all her life. They talked about books and old houses.

He regaled them with stories about a young Sebastian, much to Sebastian’s embarrassment. Matt told them how he and his wife had been shocked when he’d come home from spending the Christmas holidays with scars from the clean-skin ceremony.

Lucy noticed how he always referred to Sebastian’s mother as ‘wife’, never by name. She understood he respected his son and late wife’s beliefs by not using her name.

Matt leaned over to Lucy and whispered, “Don’t tell him, but I’m very proud of my son and the man he has become.”

She gestured turning a key against her mouth. “My lips are sealed. It will be our secret,” she whispered back, knowing full-well that everyone could hear their conversation.

Sebastian pretended his father’s words hadn’t affected him, but Lucy knew they most certainly had by the sudden watery glint in his eyes.

They returned Sunday afternoon exhausted but invigorated. Lucy began stiffening up and was sure her bottom was black and blue from all the spills she’d taken.

Sebastian confessed he was so happy his father and Lucy hit it off. For her part, Lucy was saddened to say goodbye to Matt, but he promised he would come and see them all soon. Lucy told him he would be welcome to stay at her home anytime, and he said he would take her up on the offer.