“About?”
“I’m giving you a raise,” Sergio says.
“Sergio.” Adrien laughs with a tinge of bitterness that makes Sergio nervous. “I don’t need a raise.”
“Sure you do. You’re the reason I stay afloat. Anyone can see that.”
“I’m the reason you make your deadlines. The money from our bottomless trust keeps us afloat.”
“Maybe so,” he says, dropping all pretenses and bluster. “But without your help behind the scenes, I’d be nowhere.” Sergio looks over his shoulder at his brother. His profile is striking against the backdrop of the high trees and ice blue sky. Sergio can’t help but want to take a picture. He pulls out his camera and captures it. Holding the screen to his brother, he shows it to him. “You always did photograph well.”
“You’ve always known how to take an excellent shot.” Adrien shrugs.
“Anyway, as I was saying, we make a good team. And it’s high time I started making you feel like you were an equal partner.”
Adrien lets out a sigh, and his cheeks lose some of their rosy color. “That’s the thing, though, Sergio. I don’t want tobean equal partner. I need to branch out on my own.” He pauses and takes a deep breath, then turns to look at Sergio with a bit of sadness. “I’ve been putting this off. But it’s time for me to stop working for you.”
Defeated, Sergio moves his gaze to their dangling skis. “How long have you felt this way?”
“I can’t pinpoint when, but it’s been a while.”
“Like since Daphne?”
“No,” Adrien snaps. “This has nothing to do with Daphne. This is about me wanting to realize my own dream. I can’t keep leeching off of you.”
Sergio turns and half smiles at his brother. “Technically, as you pointed out, we’re leeching off our trust fund.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t keep leeching only off that either and maintain any sense of dignity.”
Sergio nods. He can’t necessarily say he gets it, but at least he’s got a better answer as to why Adrien is quitting before he goes zooming down the mountain.
“Did you guys have fun?” Holden asks when Sergio and Adrien come to a stop at the bottom of the bunny hills.
“Could have gone better,” Sergio says, looking out for Henry’s impending crash arrival at the same time Adrien says, “It could have gone worse.”
“Uncle Sergio! Look!” Henry shouts as he zooms down the hill in a perfect miniature replica of his father’s crouched skiing stance before he somersaults to a stop. “Did you see?”
“Yeah, Henry. I saw. That wasveryimpressive,” he says as he lifts Henry back onto his feet. He crouches down in the compacted snow to come to eye level with him and starts to unlatch his skis from his boots. “Did you and your dad have fun?”
“Yup!” Henry says. “Maybe tomorrow I can ride the big lift with you and go down the mountain from the top.”
Sergio raises an eyebrow at him, then lifts him up with one arm so his other hand is free to carry Henry’s skis as they make their way to the lodge. “That’s pretty high, and it’s a long way down.”
“I know,” Henry says, dropping his head back and looking at the mountain in question upside down.
Sergio redirects his head to look at him. “We’ll have to check with your mom and dad first.”
“Just Dad.”
“Just Dad?”
“Yeah.” Henry laughs. “Mommy will say, ‘No way!’”
“Then I might have to agree with Mommy on this one. She’s mad enough at me already.”
“No duh,” Henry says seriously.
Sergio squeezes Henry firmly around the middle. “Thank goodness you’re not mad at me.”
